Halford & Brough in the Morning - Frank Seravalli On The Rick Tocchet Situation

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason dive into Rick Tocchet's coaching future with the Vancouver Canucks, as Daily Faceoff NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:18) stops by to discuss, plus the boys look to the NHL playoff race and how last night's outcomes affect the Nucks (27:00). 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.

Frank! Cera Valley Cera Valley Cera Valley Frank! Cera Valley Frank! Cera Valley

Cera Valley Frank! Cera Valley Frank! Dealey face off Frank! Cerebelli! Frank! Daily face-off! Frank! 702 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody.

Frank! You're listening to the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Haliford and Bruff 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. Frank Cerfali is going to join us in just a moment here.

To kick off hour two, hour two 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. Just kidding, let him do exactly that. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio.

Kintec Footwear and Orthotics working together with you in step. Our next guest comes courtesy Angry Otter Liquors. Frank Ceravalli joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Frank, how are you? Pretty good, how you guys doing? We're well.

I wanna start with a brief bit of audio from yesterday's media availability after Canucks practice where head coach Rick Tauket was asked about his contractual status and the reports that are out there about his contract. We'll play the audio and then pick it up on the other side. Here's Canucks head coach Rick Tauket from yesterday's practice talking about his coaching future in Vancouver. This is a great city. I walk around the city. It is a great city. You know, like I walk around the city, it's a phenomenal city, the fans are great. So, you know, just say that.

You know, it's a great city, but there's some things that we'll talk about down the road and it's not the right time right now. So the reporting that's out there is that the Canucks are saying that if Taukeet coaches next season, it's gonna be in Vancouver. It'll either be with an extension or via the club's option and they will exercise that option if necessary.

So I guess a two-part question for you. Are you hearing the same things doing your reporting and do you have anything new to add to the Rick Tocket coaching situation in Vancouver? Oh, I guess the easiest way for me to say this is there's still so much to be determined. Okay. I don't think it's nearly as cut and dried as, as you just presented it. Okay. And that's not to knock anyone else's reporting. I just think there's, like the cart has been put way before the

horse and it's great that the Canucks are confident or at least appearing to be confident in this idea or notion that if Rick Tocque is coaching anywhere that it's gonna be in Vancouver next season. I would just say that a lot needs to happen between now and then and it's, it's not just financials. This is a clear, concise direction on the future of this franchise and this team needs to be determined by the people running it. And that's the easiest and cleanest way to say it. Is it fair to suggest that this might have been a shot across the bow of the rest of the league

to say that if you're interested in having Rick talk it as your head coach, don't worry about it because he's going to be coaching with us next year. Yeah. I mean, that's like the general manager out there that's posturing will match any offer sheet. Okay. Let's see what happens. I mean, I just think making any sort of bold proclamation without having an extension

done or a deal done is, it's false bravado is what it is. Is it also a PR risk in that if you don't get an extension done, you've essentially shown the world that the head coach, the guy that you really want doesn't believe in your plan. No, I think because it's a little bit more complicated than that. And I think if you, I mean, what's the old saying

you plan, God laughs. I get, there's a lot that needs to go together with, um, just having a lot that needs to go together with just having a plan. It's executing and bringing in the required players, it's showing a clear path for the ones that they the prospects that they believe in along the way. It's all-encompassing, it's including pay and financials on this next contract. It's messaging, it's reducing the volume and noise and drama that's surrounded this team.

It's having people and players that buy into team culture. It's so many factors and facets, which is why I would say there's too many layers for this, for me to accurately at this point in time, even give you a handicap of how I believe this is going to go. I really don't think that they've spent a ton of time diving into that stuff just yet. I think they've had some cursory conversations, but this is an all-encompassing thing. And with a couple of weeks left in the season and with Rick Tocket really focusing on trying to get this team into the postseason, that's really what

it's been all about from his perspective. I don't think that he spent a whole pun of time dwelling on his own situation. Do you think there are still issues in the room even though JT Miller is traded? I don't know that I'd be able to accurately handicap that either. I haven't heard a ton and I think the way that this team has has fought for each other, given the injuries in the lineup and things of that nature to try and hang in the race as long as they can. I think that that would suggest that there's

a pretty healthy group right now, but again, that's really just my outside perception from 2,500 miles away. The situation in Philly, which obviously last week really mushroom clouded with the dismissal of John Tortorella. What do you know about the current situation in Philadelphia? And I think it goes without saying that they would obviously

be interested in a coach of talk its caliber. Is it a case of that's out there, or is there something more to it than that? No, I don't think there's anything more to it right now. I don't know that there's another dot to connect. Look, would the Flyers be interested in hiring Rick Tocket? The answer is yes. Should the Flyers have hired Rick Tocket in 2022 when he interviewed for the position. The answer is also yes. Is he tight with Keith Jones? Flyers president of hockey ops. Of course.

Does he have an affinity for the city and the market? I think also yes, but I have another big question for both the flyers and for Rick Tauket, which is are the flyers ready for a big Flyers and for Rick Cogut, which is, are the Flyers ready for a big time coach? And I would suggest that with their build, their lack of talent, and really the overall need for more years of pain, I don't know that it makes much sense for the Flyers to go out and hire a coach of Rick Tawkins caliber. He's the next coach after you knock down a few of those dominoes, not this coach right now. And for his own perspective, that's

gonna be one of the questions that he's gonna have to ask himself this summer or I should say in a few weeks as we get closer to the end of the regular season and the coaching carousel starts to spin is where my best position to have a chance that has a team's best chance to succeed and and win a Stanley Cup and there's zero question that the Canucks are much further along than the Flyers. But then the next question, and it's, it's probably going to be the $20 million question, which is going

to be, is there a another team out there that's even further ahead than both of those teams? And it's not just about jockeying for the best chance to win, it's also fit and culture and some of the other things that I mentioned. I got to ask, what's it been like in Philadelphia post-Tortarella dismissal? Because we've heard the anecdotal stuff coming out. There was obviously the Cam York situation, which really kind of blew up after he had been dismissed.

There's been other guys talking about their time and relationships. And I'm just curious now that he's gone and everything that happened last week in a very tumultuous week happened, what's it been like in Philadelphia in the aftermath? I think it's been a huge sigh of relief. I think for the players, for the front office who had been doing battle with John Tortorella behind the scenes, for the players to feel like they get a chance for the final 10% of the season to wipe the slate clean and just play. You've seen Matvey Mitchkoff explode again. He's had multi-goal games.

He looked like a different player in practice with his swagger, um, you see a team that is just playing more free and unfortunately for the Flyers that's meant more wins. And that means the worst draft position. They've gone from fourth worst record in the league to seventh in the last couple days, and that's not a position that if you're in the front office you want to be trending But at least you're getting some signs of life from your players that hey Maybe there's a little bit more here than we might have realized that maybe this was a group that was really beaten down by I

Guess you could say one of the NHL's coaching bullies by, I guess you could say, one of the NHL's coaching bullies. Okay, let's turn our attention to the playoff chases here and the playoff bound teams in the East and the West. The Colorado Avalanche, I know you were talking about this on Daily Face Off with Colby Cohen. What's the outlook for Gabriel Landisgog in Colorado? It's looking so much better than it was a few weeks ago. The fact that he's stringing together

practices, the fact that he's being put in special team situations, he shed the no contact jersey, he's starting to take some bumps and contact in practice and you're seeing multiple days in a row on the ice really seems to indicate that this is a guy that is going to be appearing at some point during the Stanley Cup playoffs. I think it's too early to indicate just yet whether that's gonna be a round one game one thing, but for someone who hasn't played since June 26th 2022, it's shaping up to be an incredible story and by the way he looks really good doing it. Like this is a guy that looks like he can still play. So maybe that part isn't a shock, but coming back from a mostly unprecedented knee injury,

at least in NHL terms, and to do it at such a high level, it's taken a long time, but it seems like this is going to be worth it for Gabriel Andescock to at least go, you know, check it out and test it out in real time. So he had cartilage transplant surgery in his right knee all the way back in May of 2023. Is there any, I know I'm putting you on the spot here, but is there anyone in the NHL and the history like come back from something like that?

Never. Not one person. He's doing something no hockey player has ever had a surgery and played again. So is he like heavily braced on that knee or is it just, you know, like it's, he's just feeling better and it's, I'm sure it's not back to new, but like, how, how are, how are they, how is

he managing this? It's a really good question because I reported earlier in the year that one of the big things that he was struggling with was he would push it in practice or a morning skate. And then he would deal with swelling the next day or soreness. And that kind of happened off and on to the point where he wasn't

able to string together multiple days in a row of practice. You'd see him one week and you wouldn't see him again till later in the same month or a couple months would go by until he'd be spotted again at practice. And so the Avs at that point in time had swatted that reporting. They said that wasn't accurate but I don't know any other way to explain, and I feel confident in the people that told me, I don't know any other way to explain why there was the lack of consistency

and why it's taken so long. I'm sure someone out there listening is going, yeah, of course, because the abs wanted to spend his LTIR money and then bring him back for the playoffs. Like, I don't think anyone goes through a three year rehab period to try and game the schedule and, uh, and be at this exact point in time. So it's, I know it's been frustrating. It's been long for him.

I don't, we don't have any answers cause he really hasn't addressed his situation much and the abs have kept a lot of this close to the vest. They're kind of saving it for this docu-series that Landiscaug is doing on his own. Yeah. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm rooting for this guy, but I, I think, I mean, that, that whole notion that you're going to keep them out and use as LTIR, I

mean, it's, it's just, it's, it's ridiculous because he's so important to the team. And also like we see players have trouble and oftentimes, you know, they won't catch up all season if they miss training camp because of injury or maybe some sort of contract negotiation, especially with younger players and their RFA years and they struggle all year.

I can't imagine the challenge of coming back from an injury like that and then being dumped not into the regular season, but the playoffs. Yeah. I mean, think about the physical grind of just how that physicality ramps up when you get to the playoffs to be chucked into that. That's why I'm really hesitant to say round one, game one, even though he looks pretty good. I don't, like, I don't even know that you could

proper, like if, if someone gave you three consecutive months of just practice, I don't know that you could possibly feel really good about stepping back into a game. It's almost like you just have to rip the bandaid off and do it. Um, I want to talk a little bit about Minnesota cause I heard them being discussed

on the station and I thought this was kind of interesting, but also kind of funny. Is there a chance that they could have all three Minnesota Brocks next season? Brock Faber they already got, Brock Nelson and Brock Besser. I think so. Um, I think so.

I think it's probably a little bit of a stretch from a salary cap perspective. Now I know that the wilder having that $14.7 million in dead space come off their books, but they're also going to be handing a huge chunk of that to Kirill Kaprizov and his next contract, which will likely be extended this summer. And so he's getting a chunk of that. The cap is also increasing. And so the wild should be in pretty good position. And it's incredibly nice for them to have Brock Faber locked up on a long-term deal, which feels like a bargain at this already before it's even begun. But to then add Nelson and Beather, it's...

I also just don't... Like, I think Nelson fits with what they want to do. And yeah, I think they'd love to find more players that can contribute to their scoring issues or inconsistencies. I just don't know that Bester's game necessarily lines up with the style of team that Bill Guerin has formed. Now, could be wrong. That's just my look at it, but that plus the dollars, I'd say it's obviously a greater than zero chance, but I wouldn't put an incredibly high probability on it.

I know you spoke with Russo recently. How is the current state of the Minnesota Wild because they are slip sliding down the standings now holding the second and final wild card spot in the West because the St. Louis Blues are never going to lose a game again, apparently. I know they got off to an amazing start and then they've been a 500 team ever since. They can't have that much optimism going into this postseason, even if Kaprizov and Ericsson at comeback, yeah? Well, I have optimism for them and not necessarily in the way that I think that they're gonna

be a live dog and win a round because whether they go up against Vegas or the Jets it's it's not going to be easy and they're definitely going to be a significant underdog but provided that and this is why I haven't been overly concerned about their slide in the standings you're not talking about missing any two players like those two guys are the absolute heartbeat of their team. Kaprizov was just finally passed by Matt Boldy for the team goal scoring lead and he hasn't played in almost 40 games. Those two guys are knocking on the door of a return.

It's possible seven-ish days from now, a week or so, that they're back. And you're talking about a gifted play-driving winger and a horse of a center that you're adding back to your team, which it changes the perspective. But also at the same time, I think this team has defended relatively well throughout it and the, so the scoring will get a bump. And the reason why I mentioned the playoffs is even if Vegas or Winnipeg, whichever seed they end up staying in, even if they get the wild in round one, I just don't think they're going to be an easy out.

It's going to be a bruising physical tough series. That's the way that team is built and plays. And good luck because you may survive in advance, but you're going to be hurt. And I think that's the hallmark of their team. We could have some really good geographic rivalries in the playoffs, right? Hufford, you've got the battle of Ontario, potentially you've got the battle of Florida,

potentially Minnesota and Winnipeg. There could be a lot of traveling fans from Winnipeg down to Minnesota to watch the wild. And I suppose vice versa. Um. Not as close as it looks on the map though, by the way. It's like an hour drive.

But it's as close as they come to those two markets, right? Right. Yeah. Yep. Um. I covered that series in 2018. Um, and it was fun.

It was short though. Um, that said, we're going to find out a lot about that East seeding in the next couple days because there's a chance that by Thursday night when the games end, believe it or not, I know if you're looking at it right now, you're like, huh? But the Lightning could be in sole possession of first in the Atlantic after Thursday night if two or three

games fall a certain way. It's crazy that the Lightning aren't in first given their goal differential. Like plus 72 is ridiculous. It's, is that the best in the NHL? No, Winnipeg's got plus 80. No, Winnipeg is 80 something. Yeah, but it's better than Washington and plus 71,

slightly better and way better than Leafs at plus 23. Do you think there'd be a lot of people that would pick Ottawa over Toronto? Probably just for the fun of it. I mean, based on nothing other than this is a team that's really struggled to get out of the first round historically. Um, I don't, I don't know that I've seen enough

from Ottawa in the last few weeks to really feel confident about making a selection like that. But what I think it does is further enhances the pressure on the Leafs to close out and win the Atlantic. Because no matter what, it's whether you think Ottawa is any good or not, they're certainly not nearly as daunting of a challenge as either Florida or Tampa in round one. And you've got to close out the Atlantic division to avoid one of those teams in round one. Uh, what should Oilers fans be worried about

the most, the health of the team or the goaltending? I think it's the goaltending and there is obviously some health tied into it. But I think after last night's game in Vegas, the Oilers are now 34, one and two, if my math is correct on games this season, when they get 900 save percentage or better, I know some people might say that's a captain obvious stat, but I think it just goes to show you the

bar for this team in net isn't insanely high. Like we're not talking about 915 or 920 save percentage. We're talking about basically league average. And when they get that, they win. Right. And when they don't, they really struggle. And so from a health perspective, I think this team is going to look totally different. McDavid, Frederick, Vandercain, a healthy Matthias Eckholm if you can get him, you know, in some relative proximity to full health. That's a different lineup than the one that we've seen recently. The question's gonna be, can they get more

consistent goaltending? And that part, I'm not as sold on. Frank, this was great stuff as always. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. We'll do this again next week. Have a good one guys. Yeah, you too. Thanks.

That's Frank Cerfali from daily face off, a presentation of angry Otter liquor here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. We got an open segment coming up on the other side of the break. We'll talk some Canucks. We can get into some of the scores, some very dramatic finishes

in the National Hockey League last night, some great audio, some great goals. We'll get into all of it next on the Haliford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 7.30 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford 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. They can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. 50% done. Halford and Brougham in the morning, hour two is brought to you by Jason Homonuck at Jason.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 him online at Jason.Mortgage. Open segment here on the Helping and Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. Let's go back to a very busy Tuesday night in the National Hockey League. There were two very, very dramatic wins by two teams, one in the East and one in the West, who were fighting for their playoff lives, one more so than the other.

I'm gonna start in the West because the team that everybody was chasing in the West for a long time, the St. Louis Blues, you're not chasing them anymore. You are now chasing the Minnesota Wild. That is because the St. Louis Blues won their 10th straight game last night, 2-1 over the Detroit Red Wings.

Who do you think they are, the Abesford Canucks? Who also won their 10th straight game last night, which we'll get to a little bit later on. In this game, for I think about the third or fourth time during this improbable 10 game stretch, the Blues had like little to no business winning this game. They didn't play very well. As a matter of fact, they were losing 2-1 late in the game until Jordan Kairou scored very late. 28 seconds left in regulation. Kairou

scored his 32nd goal of the year. Here's what it sounded like. St. Louis Blues tie the game up 1-1. 30 left. Here's Fowler. Right in front. They score! Hyro! Un-be-lievable! Not that unbelievable because in overtime, the guy who set that one up, Cam Fowler, scored with 1.34 left in OT. Here's what it sounded like as the Blues won their 10th game

in a row last night. Checked on the wall, Blues get it free, Thomas and Fowler. Thomas to Fowler in the clear, backhander, he scores! And they're joking, the Blues have won again! 10 in a row! Points! It's so improbable to do this at this time of the year. Like I've seen teams rip off these crazy long,

really improbable win streaks where some of the games are like, you should have lost that game. They should have lost one, two, I think it was Nashville a few games ago, and somehow they found a way. They should have lost last night, but somehow they found a way.

So they are in. I have no faith that they'll do anything in the playoffs. So I think I said that in 2019 as well. Well, they're not as good as the team in 2019, I don't think. Just on paper, they're not. No, but this is honestly one of the biggest surprises to me, because I watched St. Louis a couple times.

Incredible. I watched them pre-Montgomery and then a couple times post-Montgomery and they had nothing going, nothing. And now they're the hottest team in the national hockey league. We don't talk about the pre Montgomery times. You had their record under Montgomery, right? Yeah, I gotta find it.

I think it's 31, 16 and six. I'm trying to think of a past time, the blues when they were down and out, made a big roaring comeback. Has that happened before? Never, never happened. I feel like it has. It never happened.

This seems different though. Different cast of characters, obviously. Yeah. Now it's Kairu and Thomas. So it'll be interesting if the Blues get Vegas, Patrangelo versus his old team. Maybe get a matchup, I'd like that. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm kind of like you, I don't think they have what it takes to do much in the playoffs, but man, I didn't think they had what it took to win 10 in a row at this stage of the season. So prove me wrong, St. Louis Blues. takes to do much in the playoffs, but man, I didn't think they had what it took to win 10 in a row at this stage of the season. So prove me wrong, St. Louis Blues. Um, the game I really, really enjoyed the ending. I did not enjoy the ending of the Blues game.

The game I really did enjoy though, was the ending of the Montreal Florida game. And even though I would not cheer for Montreal to win the Stanley Cup, because I do not cheer for Canadian teams to win the Stanley Cup because I do not cheer for Canadian teams to win the Stanley Cup. Um, I hope they get into the playoffs because there's no better place, uh, than the Bell

Centre for playoffs in the NHL. And last night, just watching the game and watching the atmosphere and watching the standing ovations for Nick Suzuki as it ended. It gave me the chills and it'll be awesome if Montreal gets back into the playoffs. I want to play it. I want to hear it. It was such a pop yesterday when Suzuki did what he did. If you missed it, Habs are down, 2-1 late in regulation, eight seconds left. It's all the young

guys that everyone's so enamored with doing the business. Suzuki was leading the charge of course, but Lane Hudson was out there as well. Here's the game tying goal, late late late in regulation to force overtime. Nick Suzuki the first of two heroic goals last night for the Montreal Canadiens. Hudson poke check. There was a lot of luck there. There was a lot of luck there. There was a lot of luck there. Hudson just fired the puck towards the vicinity of the net.

Yeah. And it got redirected to Suzuki. And Suzuki's like, yes. Now, Laddy, there's a lesson to be learned there from play-by-play guys, is because that was a Florida call, right? Correct. Nah, didn't really capture the energy of the building.

I know that he was calling the game for the pain. He sounded a little disappointed on that. Yeah, can we give him another shot? Sure, we'll hear how he sounds on the game winner. 29 seconds into it. So eight seconds left in regulation. Suzuki scores to tie it at 2-2. 29 seconds into overtime.

Nick Suzuki plays hero again. Here's what it sounded like. Go for it. He'll give to Suzuki. By some space light circle. Here's Indiana. Tries to wrap it around. He scores.

Nick Suzuki in overtime. Three-two, Montreal wins it. Suzuki tied it with less than nine seconds to play. He forced the game into overtime. Suzuki wins it for Montreal. A little demure. You're the Panthers, you're the Cup champs. Come on, have a little respect for your opponent. If you're in Montreal though,

and you know the situation, you should have a little bit more energy, even if it is your team that's on the losing end. By the way, old school wrap around from Nick Suzuki on that one, that was a nice goal. Lane Hudson, three assists in that game. He's gonna win rookie of the year, right? 57 assists on the year.

Yeah. Passing, passing. No. Yeah, I got it. What about Wolf for the Vezna? He's not gonna win the rookie of the year? I don't know. I bet you, passing. Passing. No. What about Wolf for the Vezna? He's not gonna win the rookie of the year? I don't know. I bet you, I'll bet you straight up

that Leighton Hudson's gonna win the rookie of the year. Let me finish the stat. 57 assists on the season, passing Chris Cellios, second most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history, so that kinda gives credence to your argument that he's gonna win it. I'm kind of with you though, cause Wolf is the major reason why,

I know the Calgary Flames have had good performances from other guys, but Dustin Wolf's the main reason why a team that has quite frankly no business being in the playoff chase in it. I don't know, who's the betting favor right now? That would be a good one Let's look that up real who's the unlucky third candidate to go up against these two celebrini Yeah, I see something where the Rangers team bus swiped his car yes in the parking lot Yeah, he lost him the rookie of the year is like no respect no respect

Did they just drive off or they leave a note? This is the Rangers team bus. Sorry about that. It could be one of those things where it's like, I'm driving a bus. I didn't even feel it. I didn't know. It's a big blue and red streak along the side of my car. How did that get there?

G.T. Miller was like, just go, just go, go, go, go. I bet you Lane Hudson's the betting favorite. Laddie, do you think Dustin Wolf is the betting favorite or just in your mind? I don't know about the betting favorite, Ladi, do you think Dustin Wolf is the betting favorite or just in your mind? I don't know about the betting favorite, but like I said, he's getting buzz, legitimate buzz for the Vezna. So I have a hard time believing that he wouldn't get at least in the-

I bet Hudson's a heavy favorite. This can't be right. What? I'm reading an article from covers.com. They're like one of those like getting like magazines. Yeah. This is from March 27th, 2025.

So just a few days ago and the odds were celebrating was the favorite stuff. No, I'm reading it, Jason. I'm reading it. Okay. I'm reading it. Everything you read on the internet is. I mean, it's tight.

Wolf is a distant third. Really? Yeah, I would disagree with a lot of that. Well, it's just the betting odds, right? Yeah, but I think the voting would reflect with a lot of that. Well, it's just the betting odds, right? Yeah. But I would, I think, I think the voting would reflect it way closer than that. Celebrity and Hudson are like, like ones minus 20 at one book, ones plus 100. And then the other one, one's minus 21 is minus 10, one 10. So it's really close.

Uh, Ovechkin just four goals away now. Yep. He sure is. I Wish we had something for her to say about the chase. Cause the chase is the chase. Yeah. He either gets it or he doesn't. Like, you know, he's going to score. The only question is, is he going to do it

before the end of the regular season? And that's great. But that really, that chase only comes out, it's like the one goal. Yeah. You know? Like. That's when I'll flip over.

Honestly, that's when I'll flip over was when, you know, unless it's a, it's like the one goal. Yeah. You know? Like. That's when I'll flip over. Honestly, that's when I'll flip over was when, you know, unless it's a, it's a good caps game, but actually watching Ovechkin to try and score, like I'm, I'm not going to do that. I, it doesn't, it doesn't really interest me until he's that one shot away. So they, ESPN has now unveiled the OV cast by the way,

which is the picture in picture second screen, basically any time. I think it's any time they go on the power play and then they're gonna go, they won't do a lot of live looks other than the power play, but then they'll jump right towards his goal on the sub cast any time that he scores in a game.

So it'll be interesting. So at least if the Sens make the playoffs, which they will, at least they won't have to play Buffalo in the playoffs. They got swept by Buffalo this season. Montreal sweeps Florida, Buffalo sweeps Ottawa. I don't, I have no idea.

Laddie, you said some people were getting in your business about the Sabres fans were getting in your business. Not in my business. I just noticed they were, they were very confident after that win against Ottawa. They're dunking on cousins and it's like, you're still the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres have actually won a few games in the last little while. I want to say they won five of six and scored a bunch of goals. There's seven in three. Nine points out of a playoff spot now. Seven and three in their last 10. Yeah.

So they're giving that last bit of like, oh, maybe next year. We can care, see? Yeah. Technically they haven't been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Oh, they're nine points out now. Yeah.

I'm not saying they're going to make it, but look how many teams in the West have been mathematically eliminated. The Sharks, the Blackhawks, the Predators, the Seattle Kraken, who we're going to see tonight. By the way, quick anecdote behind the scenes at the Haliford and Brev show. Uh, we were, I was trying to find someone that would speak critically about what a disappointment who we're gonna see tonight, by the way, quick anecdote behind the scenes at the Haliford and Bref Show.

I was trying to find someone that would speak critically about what a disappointment the Seattle Kraken season has been, I had a hard time finding one. Yeah, you have to speak to me. Yeah, there's just, the coverage is, this is not meant to throw shade at anyone that works for the team or is team adjacent, but there's a lot of people that are very optimistic

and still in that newness phase with the Kraken, and that's great. I love it if you're finding optimism in a dark season or you're finding that silver lining in that dark cloud. Like that's great. They stink, man. Optimism, optimism is in short order here at the Haliford and Brush Home.

Glad other people embrace it. Do they just not have a lot of independent coverage of the team yet or what's the deal? I don't think they have the media knowledge. Let's work through it. That's a good point. I, glad other people embrace it. Do they just not have a lot of independent coverage of the team yet or what? I don't think they have. Okay. Media knowledge. Let's work through it. That's a good point.

About hockey. I think that's part of it. And I actually want to ask Halford. Okay. About this because you were more in tune with the Grizzlies when they were here than, than I was. Yeah. Now I know there were critical voices, like

Tony Gallagher was a pretty critical voice of the Vancouver Grizzlies, but was there enough knowledge about the NBA here to truly understand what was going on with the Grizz? Nope. Nope. I know a lot of the guys that were covering the team. Um.

Like Howie Samaura did a good job covering the team. Sure. But it was, part of it was that it was also an expansion team. So there was the understanding that it was supposed to be bad. And I think a lot of people had a hard time figuring out is being this bad normal. And that, cause that'll dictate a lot of your coverage is what's normal. Like for example, I think a lot of people in Seattle, just to tie it back, are still leaning on that crutch of, well, it's still new and they're an expansion team,

which they shouldn't because the expansion rules were so favorable. When the Grizzlies came, everyone understood that this team was designed to be terrible because all the rules were really restrictive against being good. What people had a hard time figuring out was, I think it was poking holes more in like the higher level

stuff, the Steve Jackson plan. Um, the drafts, I think a lot of people would always give the team a bit of an out because they were handicapped by the very, very restrictive draft rules. Like they couldn't get the number one overall big. Um, and then you gotta remember like when they drafted Steve Francis, for example, a lot of the media coverage

was more about Francis's petulant response as opposed to who's not doing their homework and who's picking this guy instead of saying he doesn't want to be here, let's pick a player that wants to. And so there was a lot of that that came into it, but I will say this as it relates to the crack and there was a lot of people that were just happy to cover a team that was new and

exciting and interesting. And they covered it with that enthusiasm. You know what I think might be tough for people that are new to the game is, um, and this, and this, frankly, this goes for a lot of people, the difference between good or even very good players and great players that win Stanley Cups. Because if you look at teams that win Stanley Cups, there's almost always at least one future hall of

famer. And that's where I look at the Kraken and I'm kind of like, yeah, Matty Benirs, he's a good player, you know, Shane Wright might pan out, but where is your greatness? Where is your future hall of Famer? And people will say, well, that's unfair. Like you can't just look at a team and say,

it needs more future hall of Famers. I'm like, yeah, you can. Like that's the idea. I know it's a team game and you need to fill out, but it all starts with the future hall of famers. And that's why, you know, Quinn Hughes to me has been such a gift because the Canucks for years and decades and decades never had that number one

defenseman future hall of Famer type. They had it in goal, they had it upfront, but they never had the defenseman and lo and behold, they've never won a Stanley Cup. So I think it's understanding that yeah, you can have a team of good players or even some young guys that are kind of promising, but until you get that guy.

Well. You know, or even two or three of those guys, you ain't winning. Well, I'm going with a look here. Look, if you want to, and they're always going to be compared to Vegas, but you look at how Vegas went about acquiring star players, difference makers, Hall of Famers are guys very

close, is they stockpiled assets, then they went on and made trades, right? Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Alex Petrangelo, those guys were all, I mean, their very first draft class, remember they, when they had their first draft class, the Vegas Golden Knights, it was in 2017, they had three top 15 picks, and they picked Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, who's been incredible.

Imagine if Nick Suzuki was still in Vegas and Eric Branstrom. And instead of waiting and letting those guys matriculate and they being the core, they moved them. They had no problem moving them. They saw things that they wanted and they went out and they moved these guys accordingly. Seattle's done it much more methodically, right?

Now, like we drafted Shane Wright, we're gonna draft and develop Shane Wright. We drafted Matty Beniers, we're gonna develop Matty Beniers and that's fine. It's just a different approach, but it's more methodical, it's slower and your prospects have to hit. It's so imperative that they hit.

Who's the most likely Hall of Famer on Vegas? Is it Eichel? Ooh. Patrangelo? Petro is closer because he's closer to the end of his career. Yeah, but I think. Is Alex Patrangelo a Hall of Famer?

I don't know. I don't know. Usually the- That's Chris Pronger and he says he is. If it's, the test is usually- He's won an Olympic gold, he's won Stanley cups. But he's kind of like, yeah, I don't know.

I don't know, his numbers wise, is he gonna get there? Let's throw it out to the listeners. Don Bartlever text line is 650 650. We'll write an exercise here. Who is the most likely future hall of famer on the Vegas Golden Knights? Currently, Eichel. Zach Whitecloud.

Yes, and also Zach Whitecloud, yeah. No, Eichel. Like you could make the same argument for, I mean, I don't think Stone's there. Stone's really good. I love Mark Stone. Stone is really good. I love Mark Stone by the way. Like I love everything about Mark Stone.

More of a Michael Stone guy. Yeah. I love Michael Stone too. So, so Mike, Mike texting and said, I thought Brough says it starts with a Selkie winner. Well, yeah, but that's often- You need one of those too. That's often future hall of famers. You know, think about the guys that have won Selkie.

I think Bergeron's probably going to be in the hall of fame. Jonathan Taves, Pavel Datsuk, Barkov is for sure going to be in the hall of fame. Definitely. Yep. Yeah. Two way centers. That's what wins into, oh God, I'm doing it again. I'm doing it again. I'm doing it again.

No, no, don't do it. That's why you bring it back to Pedersen and the importance. That was the guy. That was the guy that everyone was like, this guy's Datsukian when he's on his game. That's how important he is to- You compared him to Gretzky.

But most of the time when I was watching him, it was just that one shot, man. It was the one shot where he came down the wing. That's how you compared him. That's not how I recall it. Okay. Because you're disingenuous. But he had that ability to both look dynamic offensively, but also like dogged defensively. Okay. So Alan Calgary just wrote in, hmm, is there something to be said for following Vegas and trading Leckaramacky and Willander

in the present for the now? I would caution against it. I think this management group is gonna take your text into consideration, Alan Calgary. I really do. Like I know- Well, we just played two amazing goals from Nick Suzuki. Yep.

Where did he come from? Vegas. They gave up on him pretty early. They did. But Max Patcheretti. Yeah, that was a mistake. But they won a Stanley Cup. But so maybe it wasn't.

Yeah. Yeah. Here's the thing. If you're going to have a philosophical approach as an organization, you may as well be all in and just be like hyper focused on it. And if you fail, at least you fail like doing what you believed in spectacularly, maybe, but doing what you did. The issue with Seattle right now is like,

they were like, we're going to be slow and we're going to be methodical. And then they kind of, we're going to keep our jobs for a very long time. And then they kind of panicked and they're like, and then we're gonna sign Chandler Stevenson and Brandon Montour in free agency. I'm like, why would you do that? Yeah. If you're gonna be slow on methodical, don't try and ramp it up in free agency

when you're not even really close to being a good team. You know? Then there's Vancouver Connects. Again, I still maintain that the proper course of action, from my perspective, would be, if you're gonna take an L on a Pedersen trade, take it and start moving other pieces on the chessboard to build whatever center depth you can for next year. Because I just think that that's, I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory, but based

on what I think might happen and what history has suggested and the fact that they've had them in trade talks, what, how many times now? Three times? They've gone pretty far advanced down the road on it. Leads me to believe that that might be the course of action. So Brandon in Vancouver, I mean, he makes it

pretty obvious here. Two time cup champion as the team's number one demon, talking about Patrangelo, multiple gold medals. If freaking Kevin Lowe is in the hall of fame, a good Canadian boy like Petro, who's legitimately elite, will make it guaranteed. Yeah.

Okay. You know, if you think about winning the Stanley Cup with two different teams and being a really important part of those teams, yeah, I think Patrangelo's going to get in there. Um, I wanted to read one from Christopher in Langley who takes in, uh, you said you need two or three hall of famers to win and the Canucks never had that.

I don't think I said that. Sure. They didn't have a defenseman, but the Canucks had three hall of famers on the 2011 team with both Sedines and Luongo. If I said that, I was mistaken. I meant they'd never had that on defense. And I think in hindsight, losing to that

Bruins team feels more understandable now and even more acceptable because one of the things we didn't know at that time was really how good Patrice Bergeron was. Nope. And we didn't really understand how good Brad Marchand was. We knew Chara. Mm-hmm.

Is Chara already in the Hall of Fame? I can't even remember. Has he been retired for three years? Yeah, I don't think so. I don't think so. No, he's not. No, okay. But he's going in there.

No, he's in the international. Okay. The IA. Ah, yes, the international. He's a Hall of Famer. You Google Tara Hall of Famer, shows up, all right? He's a Hall of Famer. Bergeron's a Hall of Famer. Marshawn, whether you like it or not, probably going into the Hall of Fame.

And Tim Thomas provided one of the great goaltending performances of our time. So you had an incredible goalie, an incredible number one defenseman. You had Bergeron, you had Marshawn, like, but that's the bar you need to get to, you know? And that's why there's criticism of the team's best players. And some people see that as unfair. It's like, well, why don't you pick on this guy instead of the team's best players. And some people see that as unfair.

It's like, well, why don't you pick on this guy instead of the team's best player? I was like, well, yeah, but the best player is going to be the guy that leads the team to the Stanley cup. Correct. Right. And lead is a very important phrase in that as

well, right? Like you need, you need to walk into a dressing room and see that guy, that guy, that guy, and realize there is a standard here. And I am not going to drag my butt on a team that employs that guy. And I think the connects are still working towards that level.

Quinn Hughes is a big part of it, but that is something that's going to have to be discussed. Like how are you going to get to that level? And I know people are probably tired of hearing the Pittsburgh guys be like, you know, we had Sidney Crosby. It was like, yeah, but that's the bar. Look, you might get tired of hearing about it

and you might say, well, it's unfair to compare him to Sidney Crosby. Is it? Like, do you want to win a cup or not? You know, that's, those are the types of players that win cups. Like Sid, Nathan McKinnon, Barkov, you know, McDavid hasn't done yet, but you know, he might, and he came very close last year.

Um, you know, even in the very close category, the Sidines, you know, you walk in when the Sidines were elite, you wouldn't dare drag your butt on a team with the Sidines because you'd feel guilty. Yeah. And you'd feel like an idiot. But on a team that doesn't have the strongest

leadership, it's a little bit different. You're kind of like, well, whatever, right? And that's why, um, a team that doesn't have the strongest leadership, it's a little bit different. You're kind of like, well, whatever. Right? And that's why, um, sometimes culture gets thrown around as like, as an excuse, like, ah, bad culture.

And then you look at the roster, you're like, yeah, also bad players. Bad culture. But you need both of them. And I don't know which one comes first, the players or the culture, because you know, you can say, well, we're going to build this culture. But if you build a culture with, you know, not

very talented players, then you'll have a hard working team that still loses. I think what happens is you get these special players into the team and all of a sudden the guys start talking like, we could really do something here guys. And that's how the culture gets built. You almost have this understanding between the group.

Like we have an opportunity to do something really special here. Are we going to take advantage of it? And that's when the culture builds. The Canucks have just six home games remaining this year. One of them is tonight, a 730, the last 730 game of the year. It's the Seattle Kraken in town. Our next guest coming up on the other side of the break

will be on the call. Randy Janda, Connex Color Man, is going to join us next on the Halford & Breff Show on Sportsnet 650.