Halford & Brough in the Morning - Frank Seravalli On What's Next For The Canucks Trade-Wise

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest trade news with Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli (1:22), plus the boys rank the three Petterssons in last night's Canucks win (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! Cerebelli, cerebelli, cerebelli Frank! Cerebelli, Frank! Cerebelli, Frank! Dearly face-off, Frank! Cerebelli! Frank! Daily face-off! Frank! 7.03 on AON's day!

Frank! You're 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 now in hour two of the program.

Frank Sarvali is gonna join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominick from jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, record scratch, who wants to do that? Then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Actually, let him do that. 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. Our next guest is a presentation of angry Otter liquor. Frank Ceravalli joins us now in the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Frank, how are you? I'm doing good, guys. What's going on? Are you feeling better? Yeah, way better. Apologies for missing the last couple weeks.

Just tried to grind through it. I can tell you, pneumonia is no joke. No, well, I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. I had it a couple years ago and it was no joke, especially for guys that are our age. We're all getting older, So we got to be careful. Frank, why is there such a disagreement on what Marcus Pedersen is as a hockey player?

I've seen your take, I've seen others takes, like what's going on here? Is this guy the most like controversial defenseman in NHL history or something? No, I'm kind of surprised myself. Look, he's not a flashy defenseman. We know that. And I think we'll get a pretty good sense of what he ultimately is and is not capable of is and is not capable of over a pretty short period of time. My look, I've been very consistent with my thoughts on Marcus

Pedersen going back a couple of years since you guys in the Vancouver market started asking about him. I personally don't believe he's a solution for the Canucks for what they've been seeking, which again, going back to even training camp this year, what is it that the Canucks are after efficient puck movers? That's, that's the goal. And what did they get in Marcus Pedersen? They got a defensive defenseman who can be effective against the four check, but is not, in my opinion, when you really watch his game closely,

is not an efficient puck mover. He's a guy who can chip the puck up the boards. It's a little dink and dunk. It's not, there's not a great first pass there. That's my opinion. Now others see it differently. And where does in, in, in my opinion, where does Marcus Pedersen fit on a contending team's defense and how many minutes is he playing?

I think he's a four or five. I do. And frankly, he's been paid like a four or five for a long time. And his next deal will pay him like a four or five. So let's not get caught up in, you know, what exactly, what number is he, where does he play, all those things. Let's just, does he solve for the Canucks what they're looking for? And I think my big confusion about the deal is, it's not confusion. It would, it would be criticism. Is this defenseman who you could have gotten at any point over the last couple years has been readily available.

Is he the best that the Canucks could have done with that first round pick? I think there's been a heavy recency bias, probably within their own front office, that they took that first round pick from the Horvats raid and they flipped it into Phil Horonick and it's worked out perfectly that they thought they could do it again with this deal. And I'm not the same player, not the same situation, pending UFA. And I think then the worst thing you could do next is then complete an extension

and double or triple down on your deal because you did give up such a significant asset that then could potentially set this team back. Well, we'll wait and see. So far I've thought Marcus Pedersen has looked good. It's only been two games, so I don't really have a great read on him myself. But what do you think his next deal looks like? Because I'd be surprised if they don't find

some common ground considering that this is the guy that the Connex targeted, there's a history there with the Pittsburgh connection. What does his extension look like? Well, they're committed now. Yeah, well, they could have been a little bit that this is the guy that the Connex targeted, there's a history there with the Pittsburgh connection. What does his extension look like? Well, they're committed now. Yeah, well, they could always flip them before the trade deadline if they don't come together, but

what are we looking at here? My thought process would be something for Pedersen in the mid fives on an extension. And a term of like four or five years? Yeah, something like that. Probably five years. I mean, honestly, having watched him play just two games, I'd be fine with that, but maybe I've been watching the Canucks defense for so long that I'm kind of desperate myself. But you said that there were other ways that you would have

fixed it. Who's out there that you think would be a better fit and might've been attainable with that first round draft pick? My point was not in that he's the worst fit. It's that, and of course they've been analyzing these fits for a long time and going through this process, but why did it have to happen in a series of hours? Well, I think it was probably done. I think it was probably done. I think they were probably

talking to Pittsburgh, right? Like if we did this first look, yeah. Well, it was, but my point is why, you have four more weeks until this deadline, let alone this summer, I understand the idea of attempting to salvage this season. Could there have been a better fit? That's, that's the only question to ask. Do any names pop up come to mind? I mean, look, we still are, are not, we don't even have a full scope of the market yet. There's still some teams that are in the process of figuring out, hey, are we in, are we out?

Look, I mean, you can go through the trade board. Let's get a full view of the chessboard before making the move, that's the point. This now feels like a decent time to bring up Bowen Byrom's name because he is on that board, as is the guy that he was traded for, Casey Middlestadt. So I guess it's fair to suggest that that trade hasn't worked out great for either party. Let's start with Byrom.

Where do you see his future as we get closer and closer to the trade deadline? Well, he's been called about a lot. Same thing with Dylan Cousins and some other guys on the Sabres. I mean, they've been constant subjects of conversation. The fact that both those guys are back to back next to each other on the trade board would suggest that this deal hasn't really worked out for either side

to the point where anyone's really happy with how it's gone. I think he's a really talented defenseman. You want to talk about efficient puck mover. I think he does that really well. Um, and he's someone that is also probably going to command a pretty decent price. And he's someone that is also probably going to command a pretty decent price. RFA with Arb Rites and needs a new deal. So that part does make it a little bit tricky, but under team control. And I think someone that with the right team, right opportunity,

right deployment could really do some damage that I don't think has really found the right spot yet in his career. Given what happened in Buffalo this week with the Tage Thompson incident, the lack of pushback and all the questions about a broken culture and everything, would this further push Buffalo to make a move of significance or is it sort of one of those things where like if it hasn't happened at this point, maybe it's not going to happen because it's been a really trying year for that organization. It has, but I mean, it's been this bad already. It's been lose however many in a row, 10 in a row and you travel in to see the Montreal Canadians, your owner flies in to meet with

the team. This big rah rah, hey, we believe in you guys. We're not trading anyone. Don't expect to trade. Then come out and lay an egg against the team. The only team in the East that's below you in the standings. I mean, I'd hate to say that this lack of resolve when your star offensive player gets a clear headshot is rock bottom for this team. I think what it did is just signal and symbolize to everyone in the league really

what this Sabres team is all about, which is they don't have the goods. They don't fight for each other, they don't care, and they're a team that needs significant overall. Everyone's known that for months though, and yet it feels like every time this topic of conversation comes up with the Sabres, that we're waiting for Kevin Adams to do something to fix it. And there's been plenty of talks. There's been very little action. And I think the biggest thing that stands out is they have a true trepidation

of making the wrong move. I just don't think that's how you can exist in pro sports. So you can't be sitting there. Oh man, what if we trade Dylan cousins and he becomes the next Sam Reinhardt? It's that's, that can't be how you operate. And they really like the collection of players that they have individually. And they truly believe that they should be better than what they are Unfortunately, that's also not how it works You are the collection of the parts and whatever your record says you are repeatedly is what you are

So massive change needed Where do they what do they start with will be the key. Should they start with a new GM? I think it should be on the table. I mean, this is year five of the Kevin Adams experience. And we've, all we've heard preached from him has been patience, which is great. I mean, he said, hey, the sins of the past regime, they don't, they don't come down to him.

They don't fall on his head. That's right and true. And this 14 year playoff drought that this team is riding, that's not Kevin Adams' fault. But five years is enough time to point this team in a better direction. And not only have we not seen progress, it's gone the other way. I mean, they've,

they were on the brink of, you know, their first four game winning streak of this season. And even if they had gotten to that point, and they have, there's still dead last in the East by four points. Not good enough, not close to being good enough. And I think everything should be on the table. Um, Frank, I, you don't know this, but I've taken it upon myself to be the, uh, the league's biggest critic of the Seattle Kraken, because I just don't feel like anyone is really ripping them, including people in, in, in Seattle.

I've noticed a bunch of their players on, on your trade board. Um, what, what do you think? You will then have enjoyed some of the language I used in describing a couple of the players. Yeah. I'm talking about Bjork Strand and, and, uh, Jamie Alexiak specifically, it was like their GM Ron

Francis does nothing that he doesn't step outside the box and he doesn't do anything that isn't required. Yes. So is someone going to force the Kraken into making a move for one of these players that has some term that this team can begin collecting something, whether it's collecting assets to then package, to get an impact player or to, you know, use additional first round picks to try and

mine themselves an impact player in the draft, whatever it is, the crack can mean to step outside their comfort zone. Next year is year four. No meaningful growth and the ultra conservative approach. It just doesn't work. It's, it's, it's not, it's we've, we have too long of a track record of Ron Francis going back to Carolina to know that he doesn't, it took Eric Tulski first year as GM, the next regime after, um, two regimes after Francis to then go out and get a difference maker and rant it in.

What's stopping the Seattle Kraken? We're speaking to Frank Sarvali from Daily Faceoff here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 658. It's a good question, Frank, and it's one that we kind of watch a little closer maybe than some others because Seattle's so close to us and we have such a relationship with them as a sports market and we're looking at that market right now and frankly, I don't think that Seattle is all that enamored with the Kraken.

Like they haven't gone in and. Why would you be? No, exactly. I don't blame them and it's not, you know, I know some people might think, well, you know, Buffalo is a great hockey town probably because it's close to Canada or something like that. Or, Minnesota, they're practically Canadian. And they like hockey, just because Seattle is

close to Canada, it's not a hockey city. Yes, they support some of the dub teams down there fairly well, but it's not a hockey city. Yes, they support some of the dub teams down there fairly well, but it's not a hockey city. There's not a lot of hockey being played down there. And so to make an impact in a city that's not a hockey city, you've got to have some flash and you've got to have something to sell. And I don't know what they have to sell right now. They're the most mid team in the league. I think. I agree with you.

Not to steal a term from the kids, but I just, I don't see a path forward for them. I've said before, I think they're the Islanders of the West. Interesting comparison. But look at all the other teams that they're bunched with, like Utah, they've got star players in the making. They're exciting to watch and they've got way more on the way in terms of picks and prospects, at least Nashville took a swing. The Chicago Blackhawks have Connor Bedard.

At least Nashville took a swing. The Chicago Blackhawks have Connor Bedard. San Jose has Macklin Celebrini and Asgarof and soon to be Sam Dickinson. All these other, the Ducks, you know, they've got stuff on the way. Trevor Zegress and their group. What is it that the Kraken can hang their hat on? Nothing. What is it that the Kraken can hang their hat on?

Nothing. Speaking of the Kraken, former Kraken defenseman, now a current Vancouver Canucks defenseman, Carson Sousi, has had his name appear in trade rumblings over the last 24 hours. I'm curious what you know or what you've heard on the Carson Sousi trade front, and if he'll be making appearance on the Daily Faceoff trade board anytime soon.

He will eventually the next time I do one. Carson Suzy is available. Also as you guys know has the full no trade. I find it really interesting that they bring Pederson in and he becomes available only in the sense that there's a team that has been yearning for depth all year on defense and one of the biggest shortcomings of this season was their build out from the summer in that they miscalculated how many defensemen they had and how many they were short based on what they brought in. Vinny DeHarnay and Foreboard and what the additional ask was of someone like Noah Juleson for instance and it's really left this team shorthanded in a lot of ways. So to bring in Pedersen and obviously Hughes has been struggling with injury and you know you've you've got Phil Aaronik who

missed a significant chunk of time it feels like you finally get to a place where hey we have four legitimate defensemen we could hang our hat on, bona fide NHL defensemen, and then now all of a sudden, you can include Tyler Myers in there too, excuse me, but you get to a place, okay, we got five. Now we're gonna trade one? Why? He's under a reasonable contract,

and he has term, and last year year he played really well in the playoffs. Is there something that I'm missing in terms of evaluating the structure of this decor? That's the question I've asked myself. Let's take it the other direction. Is there something there that maybe they're not done moving pieces in and out yet? Well, I think that part is true. I mean, look, they're absolutely looking for a center and let's see what else they want to accomplish

with this defense core, but why is, why was Carson Soussi the target? Why is he the scapegoat? Is Casey Middle, I would circle it back to Middlestead because we had Arif Dean on the show yesterday at Colorado and we were talking about how close or how close the Avalanche did or didn't get to a JT Miller deal. And he said like, you know, Middlestad is a guy that would be going out if a 2C was to be coming in. I'm curious, while he might not necessarily be the type of player that the Canucks want,

I'm curious how much longer he's going to be in Colorado. how much longer he's gonna be in Colorado? It's a good question. I'd say they're actively looking. And I do think that they ultimately were one of the teams that were calling about J.T. Miller and couldn't make, I don't think they could make the money work. But moving forward,

I think they're very interested in moving Casey Middlestad and solving that second line center spot. But can they actually pull it off between now and March 7th? That's the question. And by the way, I mean, there's a developing story here. The Avs can't score since they're Anson and Tray. 15 goals in six games. McKinnon five points, McCarr five points in the six games,

but it feels like it's drying up a little bit. Three of McCarr's five points came in one game. That means he had two points in the other five. Oh, it is interesting. There's one more I wanted to ask before we, I know we're right up against it for time, but what is the word on Rantan signing in Carolina? So they've begun some initial discussions and conversations.

Obviously wanted to get his feet wet and the Carolina Hurricanes are gonna push and push to try and make this happen. They went into the trade eyes wide open, knowing it would be expensive. And given the significant cap space that they're gonna have this summer and beyond, I think they are a prime, prime candidate to keep them.

Frank, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. Glad you're feeling better. We'll do this again next week. See you guys. Have a good one. You too.

Frank, Frank Sarali from daily face off here on the Halford and Bref show on sports net six 50. Uh, okay. We got an open segment on the other side. So text into the Dunbar lumber text line. Uh, any questions you might have. There was a question about Carson Susie in there that we can, uh, we can dive into a little bit, um, Dunumber Text Line 650, 650 Metro Vancouver's

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from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 731 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. The new wrinkles of the show today. 50% of the staff is wearing tukes. I repeat, 50% tuked. Not just tukes, but the same tukes. Ladi and Jason are wearing identical, matching,

gray Herschel toots this morning. Frosty texted in and said, is that a Herschel toot? Looks good. Thank you, Frosty. And said, did you get that from a WestJet flight? I got this from my house. It was just laying around. I don't get the reference.

Was it worth it giving away on WestJets? Apparently, I got this from my wife, so I don't know. Yeah. Maybe he meant like you were on a WestJ apparently I got this for my wife, so I don't know yeah Maybe he meant like you were on a Westchett flight someone left it behind and you found it No, I think they're probably giving away his partial to well. I don't know why her shills a cool hit brand They're not just giving that away to people okay free well regard layers of fine children's backpacks and adults tokes apparently you guys Do you guys like tokes? I don't really really like tukes because I get an itchy forehead with them. I am a big tuk. You know?

Lattie wears tukes. This goes way back to when I was a kid. Lattie wears tukes all the time. Andy just put his on. It's funny. So Andy has a tuk that says, cam loops across the front. But the only thing that was showing was the K, the A, the M, and the L. So I thought it was a Kamala tuk, which would be very befitting for your online persona. Kamala guy. Producers for Kamala. Anyway, I got this from Hawkeye.

Alfred Love's toe in the lips. Yeah, take that. You're a soy boy. Nine guys listening to it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Crank up. Yeah, I'm way better Am I a big to guy I was you It's I wear it for functionality only like if it's freezing cold But I wouldn't wear it like you indoors where it's not warm because the it's too I'm uncomfortable right now

It's itchy and it's hard to wear with headphones to headphones Do not make it any better. No, especially if you're big poof. I could grow up you guys like come on You can't put a to con with a headset on top like feels weird. It doesn't feel weird grow up Yeah, like a weird girl like a weird direction to take that cover It's a maturity issue is that what's uncomfortable on my head like you sound like it is uncomfortable on my head actually That's like an old man. Not a little kid I guess he'd make the full circle right and why are you wearing? I'll say comfortable breath Because it's cold man. He looks old outside and it's cold in here alright Let's go on and get on to an actual program here. Yeah

Do you have any business? Yes, how pretty rough in the Morning is brought to you by Tuke's. No, Vancouver Honda, Vancouver 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 Tuke of the program. Our too is brought to you by Jason Hominuk 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 on the internet at jason.mortgage.

Okay, Snoop the dog texted in and he said, is Susie being floated a sign that in the trade calls management saw a high value for defensemen and they are open to selling when the market is overvaluing defense? Snoop, maybe there's something onto that, but I think there's two reasons why Susie is being floated. Number one, he has really struggled this year. Oh, he's been bad. He has been bad and he has not looked comfortable

at all. He's had a few games where you're like, eh, that was better. Maybe he's going to build on that. And then he doesn't build on it. I was prepared. You know what? I was to say, not today, but earlier, when last week actually when I was like, Susie needs to sit down. I was ready to proclaim him as the Canucks worst defenseman this year, non-Juleson category.

You can't have a non-Juleson category. Guess what I just did. Take De Harne then. Yeah, after, no, I would say he's better than De Harne. I think she loves has been the best goalie in the non-Demko-Lankenin category. I don't, the non-Juleson division was a joke. I actually think that he might have been more disappointing than De Harne.

Okay, disappointing is, I agree with. And might have been worse. I agree that he was the most disappointing of the defense. It's just been really bad. But they're trying to move him because of his contract too, right? What they pay him for his position.

They're trying to move him. Probably part of it. Because on the left side right now, they've got Hughes, Marcus Pedersen, Forebort, and now DPT. He might be blocking Foreboard DPD from achieving. He played, he played on his, uh, he played on his offside yesterday.

He was on a pair with DPD and like credit to him also stuck up for DPD. He was right into that scrum. Um, when that started and you know, I don't think anyone questions Susie's character or anything like that. He's just really struggled. And when Hughes is back and you've got

Marcus Pedersen in there. And again, Forebort is a guy that they're going to want out there. Um, I mean, he was paired with Hronik last night. I'm fine with Forebort. Like I, I think, yeah. Eh, Forebort is up and down. Okay.

But he's not supposed to be like terrific, right? No. I think the possibility that Susie will have a market also opens up cap space because the biggest need right now, like the defense for me, fine. Go with that. Like I don't need the defense adjusted anymore. I'm fine. Let's, let's get some, let's get everyone healthy and let's get this group rolling.

Uh, I want to see Mancini. We might see Willander. Yeah. After the college season is over, we'll see about that and we'll see what level he's at. But right now I'm good with the defense. Where I'm not good is the forward group. Okay.

I do like the addition of Heedle. I do like the addition of Drew O'Connor. I do like the, you know, Heinen was not doing much for me, so I'm glad. No. He's, he's somewhere else now. Nothing personal, Denton. I know you're a local product, but like, he didn't, he didn't seem to ever find his fit.

No. With the Vancouver Canucks. This is a team right now where you could say there is nobody playing like a 1C and maybe who Hedl's playing like a 2C, but he's never really done that job before. So we have to monitor and see, first of all, if he can stay healthy.

Second of all, if he can handle it, like he's playing with adrenaline right now. He's really excited. He's playing 20 minutes a night in Vancouver. That's around what he's average. This is a guy that typically played 14 minutes a night for the Rangers or even less. So to sit there and say like, yes, he's your

new 2C might be premature. I hope, I hope he is. I really like him. I like his game. I like the energy that he plays with, but so let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that he does the two C right. PD's not playing like a one C right now. It is a, it is the number one issue.

Now that the defense has been sorted out. The number one issue is there, which is crazy because you come into the season and you're like, oh, Pedersen and Miller down the middle, like no problems there. Well, turns out there's a problem. Cause Miller ain't on the team anymore. And part of that was related to Pedersen and

Pedersen in the two games that we've saw seen since JT Miller has been traded. Well, it looks about the same to me. See the forward group is, it's so close, but the piece that they're missing is so big and so profound. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Like I like a lot of the pieces of this forward group. I think they've got depth. I don't think they're heavy enough. We talked about that on text last night. Like they're still a little light. Who's a guy that can lean on someone? Well, Joshua, but he's not doing it. Well, hopefully you would like to have more than one guy that can lean on someone.

I mean, O'Connor should be able to with his size. Yeah. Big guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know? I mean, he made a nice play on the empty netter. He actually did use his size and speed. But like, I like the fact that they've had so many guys that they've called up the American League and plugged in and have played well.

I like a lot of the pieces that they've added. Jake DeBras scored his team leading 19th goal of the year last year. He's been a good addition. I know he's streaky. And I know that the game kind of evaporates for games on him. But then he comes back and does some really nice things. Without Pedersen going, it just creates this void where you just don't have that.

And we're talking about like building the ideal team here and it's very difficult to do, especially where the cap is at. But because the blue line has gotten better in the course of the season and by a fairly decent margin, I would say. I think the blue line improvements are to the point where Quinn Hughes didn't play last night.

And previously this year, when Quinn Hughes didn't play, that was a death knell for this team, right? Like, God, Hughes isn't playing. You'd run to your sports book and be like, how do I bet on the other team as quickly as possible? Now it's like last night, I thought they looked pretty good against a good Colorado team without Hughes in the line. They didn't look terrible against Detroit either.

Right. And Detroit's a good team. I mean, you're talking about two games in a row against teams that are in playoff positions. You took three or four points without your best player in the lineup. You can hang your hat on that a little bit. If you look at this team over the last little bit, the four, one, and one of their last six with the Miller trade thrown in there, you can kind of start to say, yeah, maybe I will buy into this notion from Rick talking about everyone's starting from zero and new beginnings. And you got two Pettersons on the blue line now, previous to this, he had zero on the blue line. And that's interesting. It looks better.

You get auditioned by subtraction and I'm gonna say this not just with Miller but with Not having to play Heinen and not having to play day car and a like they got better there Now people are gonna say did you just say out loud that you got addition by subtraction with Miller? That's the hope The hope is that by subtracting half of the rift, you remove the rift from the rest of the group and that part is solved. The other half of it is that you remove the riff from Pedersen and then it's solved.

And that's where I pause in my tracks and I'm like, I can't go there. I don't think. I can't go there. JT Miller is addition by subtraction at all, especially the way Pedersen's playing. I would much rather seeing Miller on the power play right now than number 40.

Sean Texin, uh, morning guys. Can you discuss the urgency to trade Petey and the fact the longer you wait, the more his value will continue to plummet given just how bad he is playing and all the red flags. If they wait until the off season and nothing changes with, with his play his play, teams may not be so willing to take such a chance on him with his contract.

Well, yeah, that is the judgment that the management is going to have to make and they're going to have to judge when they were floating Pedersen's name out there. And maybe this is part of the reason they were doing it. What was the interest level? Were there people out there and maybe this is part of the reason they were doing it, what was the interest level? Were there people out there that were like, yeah,

I'm not all too worried about how he's, he's playing, you know, in the last year, uh, you know, we've seen this guy play at a very high level. I'm sure we can get him back. Carolina, right? Well, maybe Buffalo, but, you know, or, or, or, or other teams that are like, yeah, that's like, what happened to this guy?

Yeah. You do run the risk. You know he said he had tendonitis, right? Did you guys look into that? You do run the risk right now of playing another 30 plus games and having him crater, if he hasn't cratered it to a significant degree,

cratering even further. I mean, I think the biggest condemnation right now and why I talked about the addition by subtraction angle is that a lot of people said, hey, nothing's gonna be able to move forward if this relationship and this rift exist. Yeah. Jim Rutherford said it.

Mm-hmm. If you go to those lengths and by those lengths, I mean, moving a very good player out the door, taking a public loss on the trade and acknowledging that you're doing it for reasons, there's an intense amount of pressure on Pedersen to step up in the wake of this. Because right now, everyone's run out of excuses and problems to solve to right the ship. There are some people that are like, the four nations will bring him back. Oh my God. Who's that? Vikingstad put that out there? God bless you, man. I know you text in all the time and it's great that you love the show. We love you texting in, but brother, I cannot use any more benchmarks.

I love this. Like maybe that'll motivate him if he's not motivated right now. I know he turned off his social media. Honestly, if the four nations does bring him back and he plays really well and he looks like old PD, it's not going to. I know. But I'm saying if that were to happen the connection absolutely work for us No, no, no, let me finish

I'm saying if that were to happen the connection absolutely flip him at the deadline because I his value would not be any higher But if for some reason the four nations turns Pederson back into his old then you'd be like play like that for us No, but you know, you don't risk that cuz probably maybe he won't but that's publicly what Rutherford now being of both Probably maybe he won't you guys like like trade Rutherford now being of both probably Maybe he won't you guys like like trading at his highest value if you're going to move see the sounds like they are But the problem with your line of thought is that both? Alvin and Rutherford have said publicly we know what level the player can get to and we're confident he can get back there So if he gets back there, they would almost be like Counteracting everything that they said that I go like, oh good, Petey's back.

He's playing back to a level that we're happy with. And this is why we signed him to an $11.6 million. Yeah, but not for us. I'm going to start getting frustrated too with some of the texts that are coming in. Heedle is the perfect winger for Petey. He needs a player like that. No, what Petey needs to do is move his feet.

I was yelling at the TV during that power play last night. And let's not forget, Pete, Petey just gets gifted PP one time. Like he doesn't deserve to be out there, the way he's playing. He's not creating passing lanes. He's not creating shooting lanes. It's gotten to the point where he made a play

in last night's game where he was in the corner, offensive zone. He was getting some back pressure and he held onto the puck and he made a pass. He made a nice pass back to the point. And Shorty actually called it out on the broadcast. He was like, that's what talk it's been working with them. Like this is an elite player who's in his head coach has to spend special time with him to make sure he's not flinging the puck away

in the offensive zone and actually making plays. It's our special time. It's our special time. Like, how far has the bar fallen for this guy offensively? You know how far it's fallen. It's crazy, man. And then you see McKinnon last night, and people are like, you can't compare McKinnon to Petey.

I'm like, well, one C, one C, $12.6 million for McKinnon, 11.6 for Petey. Like I feel like I can compare them. I feel like I can. And right now there's McKinnon on one planet and Petey on a, they're, they're not even in the same neighborhood. I don't even think they're in the same galaxy right now. Okay.

So we had two texts coming in, one from Nav. Hey guys, did we win last night? And then another one right after that. It's unbelievable you're frustrated about the text. Stop talking about the rift, talk about the win. I'm willing to entertain that for a bit because I was, there were a lot of positives from last night. And by the way, we did spend the first half hour

of the program going over a lot of them, including a lot of audio from Rick Tocket about Phil Petel, Drew O'Connor, and most importantly for us, DPT. So I understand that you might've just tuned in right now and heard us talking about this, but go back and download the podcast. Where do we get our podcasts now?

One of them's out, Google's out, right? Apple and Spotify. Apple and Spotify. Where's the list on the website? Is Podcatcher a thing? Is Podbean a thing? I get mine on MySpace. Oh, yeah. Yep.

I think we're up on Tinder too. I don't know why, but we're on there as well. Swipe right on Halford and Bruv. I see Q. Imagine. Anyway, that would be kind of cool actually. Anyway, so there's a- I got a question. Was Elias Pettersson the least noticeable peterson last night?

Halford wants to move on. No, no, Adon wants more. He wants to move on. Was Elias Pettersson the least noticeable peterson last night? Of all three. Halford wants to move on. No, no, no. No, no, Adog wants more on the question. He wants to move on. Was Elise Peterson the least noticeable Peterson last night? Of all three Pettersons? Well, I think Marcus played a quiet game. Oh, you didn't think he was good?

But it's by design. I didn't say I didn't think he was good. Sounds like he was good. I thought he was playing a- Playing like a 5D? Listen, Adog, it's hard for me to answer that question because I spend a lot of time focusing on Peterson. True. Where I'm like lot of time focusing on Pedersen.

True. I'm like every time he's out there, I'm like, I'm yelling, move your feet at the TV. Yeah. So anyway, to the previous two textures though, like we did spend a lot of time specifically talking about DPT. I think we're just going to go with that

nickname by the way. We've kind of decided it's going to be PD, DPT and then MP3 or 3PD. I haven't agreed to MP3 or 3PD. Whatever. We can, I don't mind saying Marcus and then M.P.3 or 3 Petey. I haven't agreed to M.P.3 or 3 Petey. Whatever. We can, I don't mind saying Marcus Pettersson. Like that's fine. So long.

Oh, that's okay. It's a couple extra syllables. I think I can deal with it. Don't put that. So yeah, it is so long. The emer, so the emergence of D.P.D. and by the way, the reason that I'm so excited about DPT isn't that he's the savior on the blue line.

I'm kind of want to tap the brakes on that a little bit. I like that he's a truck. Yeah, that's awesome. That's the best part. It's awesome. Right? Like you can tell that Foot in particular, and talk it as well though, but you can tell that what is like, this is exactly what we needed in this particular moment because he brings, he's got enough offensive abilities

and puck moving that you're intrigued because he's young and he's a talented kid, but he also brings that physical element. And here's the kicker that I think we really need to pay attention to. And this is the reason for the most optimism. He's been fast tracked a couple times in his very young career and he's thrived.

Like he, when he got to Abbotsford, I remember we, I think we had Brandon Astle on the show. I think we also talked to Ryan Johnson about it too, and it's like he got in, he figured it out and he thrived right away to the point where he was, he was an AHL All-Star, right? Like he was one of the better defensemen in the league. This is at age 20.

This is without a lot of North American experience. He's only 20 years old. Guys like that. 21 and like 10 days. Right, so he'd be a year older, but still 21, it's pretty good. With the limited amount of North American hockey that he's played, sometimes there are guys that you have to keep.

It's like, you know, the, the gifted kids in school or the gifted kids in sports, you play them up a year or you skip them ahead of grade because they take the challenges and they're not perturbed by them. It doesn't bother them. And there will be setbacks and he had a setback. Remember he booted one into his own net a couple of games ago, right? But for, but the fact that he's been able to bounce back from that.

Right. Maintain that confidence. That's kind of the thing, like the confidence and it's partly because he's got the physical attributes to go out and match up with a lot of these guys. And I think what's happened is, is he's realized that he can go and do a lot of the things that

have made him successful at other levels and hasn't had to change his game per se. Like he's brought his game to the table. He's big and strong, man. That helps a lot. And it helps a lot. And that's the connection, more of that upfront. They do.

I mean, that's hard to find. And I know the game is so fast now that, you know, speed is so important, but so is size. And when you get into the playoffs, if we still have hope for the Canucks winning the Stanley Cup, you know, Dakota Joshua, yeah, they've got Dakota Joshua and Drew O'Connor, right? I'm talking about the top six, Mecs. Yeah, yeah.

Right? Like that's where you need to have these impact guys. And you know, Besser may not be back. Right? Like that's where you need to have these impact guys. And you know, Besser may not be back and I really like, I like Besser can play. You wouldn't describe him as a heavy player, but I like Besser along the wall. I think he does a good job.

I think he's, I think he's a pretty strong guy. He's not the greatest skater. And he was joking that he got, he got a shift with Heidel and Drew O'Connor last night. He's like, I'm just trying to keep up out there. It's like the fastest kids alive out there. They're too fast. How do you guys move that quickly? He's like, I'm still out of breath.

We'll just take it easy a little bit. He was kind of like, he was chuckling along, but I mean, he recognizes that skating's not really his thing, but you know, if the Canucks are going to have any success in the playoffs, they need to get bigger and stronger in their top six. You can't just say like, oh, the bottom six will do it. The bottom six will do the dirty work. No, the top six has to do the work, the work work.

Look at the guys that win cups. Look at the teams that win cups. Look at the guys they've got up front. Guys like Kacak, he just won the cup, you know, like that's the type of team. You got to have at least a few guys up there that are heavy, heavy with skill and it's hard to find. Very hard. By the way, on that note, someone tweeted this at me last night and then I retweeted it. It did warm my heart that there was some serious Wolfpack per 60 on display. It was awesome. It was great. It was awesome.

So, Miles Wood was running around and I jokingly referred to him as James Franco off Tmoo. He was frustrated and was lashing out. And finally, finally, the Canucks collectively decided like, no chance, we're not letting you get away with this and we're gonna put you in your place. And look at the guys that stepped up and did it, right? He went and did that little backhand.

And you know, I know Shorty and Ray reacted like it was a vicious spear in the moment. Then upon replay to Carlson, it wasn't that bad, but it was still cheap. But you know what Hoaglander did? Didn't think about it, didn't waste any time, and jumped him straight away. And then I think he actually landed a gloved punch

on somebody else, which I appreciate. Because he couldn't get to Wood, and he's like, someone's going down right now, and I can't remember who he hit. But you need those moments, you need those moments. Can I also say, as we go to break here, because I only want to mention this really quickly, what the Buffalo Sabres did yesterday was the lamest, stupidest thing I think I've ever seen in sports. What did they do? I missed this.

So they obviously were getting called to the carpet by media and their fans and everyone else after their game against New Jersey a couple nights ago where Stefan Nason hit Tage Thompson up high. No one responded and then Lindy Ruff in the aftermath like kind of tried to defend his guys, but also got frustrated. So they decided that they were going to have a team meeting about their lack of response and their lack

of team toughness. And then as some sort of like public gesture, they were going to act tough against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their next game. So there was a fight right off the hop? Right. And I'm like, I like fighting. I like violence on the ice.

I like, but I'm like, do you guys even know how revenge works? Do you know how revenge works? Do you know how it works? It's retribution taken out on an appropriate agent, not against just the next team that shows up. Maybe they said something in the pregame on the ice. It would be like getting beaten up in high school and then not going back to confront your bully, but finding a random student the next day and taking it out on them.

Like that's not revenge. That's not retribution. That's not sticking up for your teammate. Like none of it. So that's why. It was a nice goal by Kent Johnson last night in that game. Did you see that Pat Kener?

His, his celly was the best. You got the Halford and Bruff bump. Yeah. His, his celebration was the best. There was a very, there's a cool casualness to it that I really appreciated. Okay. We're going to talk to Randy next on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Friendly reminder to reserve your spot for the big football party at the Clayton Public House hosted by Sportsnet 650. Visit theclaytonpub.com for more Clayton Public House good food, good people, good times.