Halford & Brough in the Morning - Frank Seravalli Says Hughes Is 100% Committed To The Canucks

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest Canucks trade rumours with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:48), following the team's announcement that they are open for business, plus the boys look at the Anaheim Ducks with Sirius XM analyst Jonathan Davis (23:19), ahead of their home game tonight against Vancouver. 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.

Thank you, Sarah Valley, Sarah Valley, Syravelli, Syravelli, Frank, Sarah Valley, Frank, 7.05 on a Wednesday, happy Wednesday, everybody, Halford, at Brough, Sportsnet 650. Free! Gets me every time. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal

can get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks visit them online at Sands. Dashtrustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Frank Saravalli from Victory Plus is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to by Jason Hominuk

at Jason da Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.morgage. We're coming to live from the Kintech studio. Now's the time to maximize the benefits of custom orthotics before the year runs out. Visit kintech.com. Real quick, before we get to Frank, a reminder, it's 7.30 this morning. So in 24 minutes time, we're giving away a $250 gift card to Golf Town.

This is ahead of the Golf Town Black Friday sale, which is actually on now. Goes all the way till December 3rd. Be caller number 5. at 7.30 on the button this morning. 604-280-0-0-6-50. That number again, 604-280-0-6-50. Caller number 5 at 730 this morning will win a $250 gift card to Golf Town. To the phone lines we go,

our next guest is our NHL insider from Victory Plus. It's Frank Saravalli here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're good. There's a lot going on here right now. So I want to start by making this as open-ended and as wide-ranging as possible.

what do you make of what's going on with the Vancouver Canucks right now? I think the Vancouver Canucks front office after a particularly lifeless weekend sees this team in a lot of the same view lens or prism as a lot of others around the league, which is this team isn't close enough to competing. And you can talk about injuries, you can talk about a number of different things that have popped up over the last, not just quarter season, but going back a calendar year, they all contribute to a team in a position where changes need to be made. And so the note that was sent to general managers on Monday indicating that they're open

for business and ready to move on from pending UFAs and vets to speed up this process, no need to wait until the March trade deadline in order to send off a few pieces, let's get ahead of that and get to some real brass tax conversations, that's where they're at. One of the things we kicked around is them taking care of some business now because they might have to deal with Quinn Hughes ahead of the trade deadline. Is that possible? Yes. I think it's certainly in the back of everyone's mind. I think they hope that it's not possible.

I think they hope that Quinn Hughes is committed to Vancouver and that they can continue to build around him. And I'm not even convinced that if he told them point blank that, you know, sometime, well, let's just say hypothetically, calendar turns to 2026, Quinn Hughes, the Canucks sit down and he says at that exact moment in time, hey, I'm just giving you an early heads up because I care about you in the organization that I'm not going to be resigning here.

Even if that were to be the case, I'm still not entirely sold that he moves before the deadline. There's so much time. But what they certainly could use that period of time leading up to the deadline, the 100-day countdown essentially starting on Jan 1, is to have those exploratory information gathering, reconnaissance conversations that they'd really need to have in order to make a trade of this magnitude. It's not one that materializes overnight. It's one that's going to take weeks or months to play out. And that part, I mean, the number of teams would be staggering. The question is, do you wait until the deck is more full in the offseason when all 31 other teams can participate

as opposed to just the few that have the cap space or wherewithal to make such a surgical change like that midstream midseason? You know, everyone points towards New Jersey is the obvious landing spot because of his brothers, but as Jason's pointed out on a number of occasions, every team in the National Hockey League would be making as aggressive as a pitch as imaginable, I would think, to try and secure the services

of what many consider to be the best defenseman in the National Hockey League. Tell us about Philadelphia. There's a lot of different ties there, obviously, and I'm curious what kind of package the Flyers could put forth, and if they're at that stage where they're ready to make a splash, like every other team would, to acquire a guy like

Quinn Hughes. Yeah, I think there's certainly going to be among the list of teams that is extremely interested in Quinn Hughes salivating at the possibility of Quinn Hughes if he were to become available. I mean, the Rick Tockeet tie is easy, but Philadelphia is an hour and change away from the devils. He can run a power play without cannibalizing his brothers. appearance on the devil's top power play unit.

Most of the flyers actually live in New Jersey. Their practice facilities there. It makes sense. There's a lot of competition, obviously, and it's certainly a lot closer. But look, I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here, and I'm all for rampant speculation and, you know, finding interesting storylines. But I got to tell you, like, I've done a lot of. of, you know, investigative work, quote on quote, I've made a lot of phone calls in the last week

to try and drill down on the Quinn Hughes story. And the people closest to him that know him best say he's 100% committed to the Canucks and doesn't plan on going anywhere. So take that for what you will. Well, say more about this because if you can, I don't know, I don't know what you can say but I think most of us in Vancouver it's just the consensus seems to be he's gone so we is that is that consensus wrong I think it's it's undefined I mean look feelings change things change windows to win become different realities which I think is really what the Canucks are staring down at this exact moment in time. And I don't think Jim Rutherford's quote yesterday to Patrick Johnson really helped anything

in terms of the narrative or discussion because it seemed to be so open-ended. But the conversation that Quinn Hughes has had internally, again, with some of the people closest to him, he's not thinking about that. He's not talking about it. and he has reiterated on a number of occasions that he's 100% committed to the Canucks. So that's out of his own mouth to people around him. Now, is he saying something different at home? Is he planning or plotting something different?

I couldn't begin to tell you. I can only share what I know. What do you think the, like if someone, if Hughes were, okay, this is going to sound, bad but if Hughes were to say I'm 100% committed to the Canucks and someone were to say why what would the answer be I think it would be loyalty belief in you know finishing something that you started it would be in trust in the management team to be able to to surround you with the right pieces, obviously a certain amount of luck would be involved. But at the same time, some belief in what the level the Canucks have played at to this point

in time is maybe he believes that this is not really what they are. Maybe he believes that they're better than this and have been beset by a few tough circumstances. What if they had an authentic number two center here? What if Thatter Demko wasn't injured? What if that's her Demko wasn't injured? What you can what-if yourself to death. But if you're looking for a path inside one of the ultimate competitors' heads, that's generally how people that rise to the level that Quinn Hughes has is super belief in your own abilities to help transcend what has been a really tough run. I mean, that's generally how it works.

So the plan now for Rutherford-Nalveen then seemingly would be, pivot hard, make some deals, and then try and present a new rosier future for Quinn Hughes beyond this season. I mean, I think one thing is clear is that there's been whatever color flag, and we were joking yesterday. Is it white? Is it off white? Is it Moves? I don't know. But is it just your way, this season essentially is cooked, is that they're not going to turn this thing back, the least of which is the issues in net, which we haven't really even scratch the surface of on this show today. But is that, that seems like a maybe logical game plan is try and make a bunch of moves in the moment to show it rose your

outlook for the future beyond this season. Yeah, I mean, that's just, it's not just for Quinn's use. That's for the overall health of the franchise. I mean, what is the path forward here? It's not with some of these pieces that have been assembled, and particularly not with UFA is that they don't want to get into a position where, hey, we lose Pew Souter because we talked ourselves into whatever. that's that's not the thought process so get ahead of it now um don't get wrapped into the moment

and make those decisions as to who's staying and who's going ahead of time so you can set out this long runway to get exactly what you're looking for and what you need you mentioned a suitor there and talk ourselves into whatever well that whatever was kind of a van der kane do you think they have some regret about that? Probably, but I would argue that even with his I'll say relatively poor play based on his own standard

I you're still probably making that deal like the trade was still the value proposition presented to you like I don't know why you wouldn't do that um yeah the suitor one look i i think for as much as he brought probably still a relatively imperfect player and they had drawn a line in the sand but i think what confuses the marketplace is why is it that you drew a line in the sand for pew suitor and he walks but then you go back

and you did draw a very clear line in the sand with brock bester and caved at the last minute So what is the rhyme or reason? What is the process? What is the thought that goes into assembling the team as opposed to just panicking at the last second and giving Brock Besser everything that he was looking for? We're speaking to Frank Saravalli, our NHL Insider from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Frank is a presentation of anger out or liquor. I do want to pivot to a couple of these other teams in the National Hockey League who might also be on the precipice of making moves are just making some changes. I want to ask what's going on in Nashville. They've been in the news a lot over the last 24, 48, 72 hours. I was watching a clip that you had on Bleach Reports Open Ice saying that I've talked for weeks about the environment around the Nashville predators

and it is the most toxic in the NHL from top to bottom. Why and how? Why did it get so toxic? How did it get so toxic in Nashville? well the why has been i think for a while it's it's poor play it's no light at the end of the tunnel it's been a bunch of really proud vets who came to Nashville and have been incredibly disappointed by the overall experience and they've enjoyed living there um their families have really enjoyed it but they've put it

this team's in a spot where now the general manager is pounding his fist on the table saying I need bleeping more and it's he's trying to get blood from a stone from a roster that he assembled so look

I think the guys there have been beaten down they're looking for a way out they're looking for a solution and when I say way out I mean some of them are really ready to move based on my conversations and whether or not those deals can even be facilitated with their

cap hits and with potentially unrealistic expectations from their management as to what they can get for those players that they're struggling to see a path forward both in competitive sense and in a how do I get to a winning team who are the guys on that list that are unhappy and one out? Yeah. I mean, it's a great question. I mean, one that I have them reveal publicly themselves, but I don't think it requires a super sleuth

look at their cap table to figure out which players have underperformed and are probably pretty unhappy. We're speaking to Frank Zara Valley from Victory Plus here on the Halpert & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Let's go to Edmonton. it was an 8-3 loss at home to Dallas last night. Another tough night at home with a lot of goals being conceded by Edmonton. Can you walk us through exactly what was going on?

Again, another clip that you had out there on social media talking about. Maybe they wanted to make a change, get Connor Ingram up, but there was some faith bestowed in Calvin Pickard. And then last night happened. Is there a deadline for when they're going to actually address the goaltending? Or are they just going to try and hope and pray that this thing gets sorted on its own? Well, they might have to now. I mean, I don't mean today, but soon, sooner rather than later.

I mean, Tuesday night was so lifeless against the stars. I mean, they didn't even show up. And I get it. First home game in seven games. Fans have waited two and a half weeks for this team to come back home, thinking that this is going to be one of the turning points of the first quarter of the season to get back on track. and to show up or I guess not like they did against the stars is just it's completely unacceptable and the goaltending obviously both guys wearing that on Tuesday

but I think internally the thought process was let's give them until Christmas or so to figure this out and see if with this change and schedule they played 16 of their first 18 games or 16 of their first 24 games on the road and so they were thinking let's see if normalizing the schedule a little bit will help these guys get into a rhythm, we'll make some determinations around Christmas, and we'll figure it out from there on the goaltending front. And even before that, while they were in Tampa, the thought process was let's just find some spark here.

Let's potentially bring an Ingram, swap him out for Cal Pickard. And I think that was ran by their leadership team, and they said, no, we love Cal Pickard. We love the way that this guy has stepped up for us in big moments. It's us that hasn't played well in front of him. We are going to play our tails off to show you that we want Cal Pickard to be here. And they did that in Tampa. But they're going to need a lot more than that. Who's a more obvious trade target for the Oilers?

Jordan Binnington or Thatcher Demko. And I don't know that you'd feel really good about either. and for Demko it's purely health and injury related and for Bennington I mean he just he hasn't played well he's been maybe the worst goalie in the NHL so far this season and he's got that big game charisma and confidence but he's also prone to stretches in his career

where he doesn't play well for a long period of time and so they're going to have to wrestle with that is that the right guy to try and go after it's a tough one for them it's a real tough one for them not to mention the cap considerations if you're bringing in a goalie that makes what Bennington makes

you're prying off 5 million bucks off your roster yeah lots to chew on there Frank thanks a lot for doing this today buddy we really appreciate it enjoy all the action tonight and the rest of the week happy early Thanksgiving as well we'll do this again next week thanks guys see you buddy frank Sarvalley from victory plus here on the Halford & Bruff Show presentation of angry otter

Plus program members save for game days at Angry Outer Liquor. Stock up on Canadian-made favorites ready to enjoy before puck drop. Visit them online at Angry Otterlicker.cr.s. I was going to say it's a tough one for them. It's tough and I'm really enjoying it. Yeah, it's great to watch. That game, that game devolved into a beer league game last night in the third period. I didn't watch a third.

The third was bad. It was just like, and there's another goal or whatever. and I think the Oilers scored, right? Like, it was just it was not intense hockey in the third period because the game was over but like the Oilers still kind of wanted

to score some goals and the stars were like, all right, you can have a couple. It was intense enough for Jack Michaels to lose his voice. Okay, let's unpack all this. So first, I'm... No, that was earlier in the game.

That was early in the second. I was driving around in my 2025 Equinox EV. Thank you to the Doeuk people. and I was listening to the call on Sirius XM Radio. They got the, and so I was listening to Bob Stauffer openly talk about whether a goal that was knocked in with a high stick was going to count or not, right? So I had to park and run into the store. So as I'm in the store, I got a text and someone's like, it's 4-0-Edmonton.

And I replied, I'm like, oh, I guess that high stick goal counted. They're like, no, no, that one didn't count, but they scored right after. to make it for nothing. So I'm like, wow, this is going awful for Edmonton. So get back home. And then, for those that missed it, the guy that scored, his name's Connor Clattenberg. He was called up recently. He's like a fifth round pick, wasn't supposed to get to the heights that he has, made it into the NHL, scored his first NHL goal yesterday. Jack Michaels, in a 4-0 game, tried to show some excitement for the young guy who just scored his first ever NHL goal and had a very loud, very exuberant call of the goal, and then promptly

lost his voice. like just blew out his vocal cords and there's about a two-minute stretch afterwards where he valiantly fights through it and actually was able to recover some of his voice that's got to be the worst imaginable feeling for a play-by-play guy. You got the tea with honey delivery or something

because his voice, yeah, it was not doing well there. Has that ever happened to you? Calling a game for you? Not that badly. I've been sick and tried to power through and it's not great but I've never had it completely cut out like that. That's got to be a horrible feeling. Okay, we got to pivot to the one to watch here

brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audio-visual integration experts. I thought I had one on a plate here because on Monday I talked about Connor Bedard's next game, which was on a Wednesday. I was a little ahead of myself, but I'm going to pivot again. Tonight's one to watch.

I'm going to go out on a limb here. What do you guys think about making Nikita Tolapilo tonight's Limitless A.V. One to watch. It is possible that with Kevin Lankin and not on this trip sitting out due to personal reasons and Thatcher Demko injured,

that it will be Tolapilo's game tonight, given that he is the organization's number three goalie. He is back healthy, and it was Yuri Patera that got called up under emergency circumstances to fill in after Lankan and got hurt. So if it is total of Pelo tonight, it would be his first game of the year.

He's played a grand total of five games for Abbotsford this season in the American League, 901 save percentage, 3.35 goals against my favorite goalie stat. So I'm going to go ahead and say it that I think Tolopilo will get to start tonight, It's either him or Petera, and I think it will be Tolapilo, and he is your one to watch. Brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts,

specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at Limitlessavv.ca. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. 734 on A.O. Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 6.50. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt back into the game with a financial fresh start. This is them online at Sands. That's trustee.com. We are an hour two of the program. We're the midway point of the show.

Jonathan Davis from Sirius XM-NHL radio is going to join us in just a moment here. Perfect time to get JD on. At the Anaheim Ducks tonight for the Vancouver Canucks, the California road trip continues Friday and Saturday in San Jose and L.A. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason.

mortgage. To the phone lines we go, as mentioned, our next guest is from Sirius XM NHL Radio. Jonathan Davis joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, JD. How are you? I'm doing fine. I've been fielding calls for the eBug responsibilities tonight for your boys. Oh, man. You know what? It's so funny. There's so much going on locally with the team and, you know, Jim Rutherford's proclamations that they're in cell mode and everyone wondering about Quinn Hughes's future that we come in this morning first half hour of the program at the very end we're like, by the way, Kevin Lankinen is not on this road trip. Just thought

we'd throw that in there as well. So yeah, you might get the call to be an e-bug tonight, although I think Uri Patera is there as the backup now. But Jason, I think you wanted to start here, if I'm not mistaken. Well, yeah, how's the goaltending been for the Anaheim Ducks? I mean, look, you've got Lucas Dostall who, I mean, every time he's out on the ice, there's a chance that they're going to win. There's a really good chance. And even Peter Mrazik has had, I would say, a better start to the season than I would have expected. I mean, I look back at a game in Vegas that they ended up winning in overtime a couple weeks ago, and it was strictly because of Mrazik, Anaheim without shot, I think, 21 to 2 in the third period.

So goal-tending has not been an issue. The one thing that this exciting Ducks team does is that they do tend to give up a lot of chances. And is that something that Joel Quenville, the new head coach, is like, is he concerned about or is he more concerned about getting the offense going? Look, I think there's some concern. I think that part of that comes from, you know, four of your six defensemen, I think, are what, under 25 years old. So, you know, there's still going to be some growing pains. I mean, you've got the stability with Goudis and Truba. But, you know, look, and many times they've been able to, you know, they can outscore their mistakes.

They score four goals in most games. I mean, they're just, you know, for a while, they were, they along with Colorado, were the only teams to score four. The offense has dropped off a bit. But they're, you know, they've got enough weapons here on this team where they can't, you know, outscore mistakes many times. Tell us about the return of Joel Quinville to the NHL. You know, the ducks are, certainly their record is better than a lot of people expected.

What are the types of things that he's been preaching? Well, I think that there's just a, there's a confidence level and there's a, you know, look, Greg Cronin did a very good job here at the, you know, in the end. I mean, Anaheim had a 21 point improvement last year from the year prior. Only Columbus had, you know, a larger point increase. So there was a foundation that was set. But I think that, you know, there's a respect level with Quenville that, you know, Cronin didn't have.

And I think that, you know, you're seeing, you know, Crenville further develop the talent that is here. So, you know, and look, the fact that, you know, this is, I think Anaheim is going to become, you know, more of a destination now than it was before. The fact that Crichter wanted to come here would never have happened if not for Joel Quenzel. What's the excitement level and energy and buzz around the team right now? Because I know we had you on last year

and it was near the end of another year where the Ducks didn't make the playoffs and that was eight straight seasons without making the post season. We talked about Joel Quenville coming in and that was going to be a move that was probably going to improve the team but it was obviously going to be polarizing given his history.

That part has worked out but I'm curious about the market because Anaheim is what it is as a hockey market. But this team is in first place in the Pacific Division they're playing an exciting brand of hockey. It definitely looks like they're back and they're going to try at the very least to snap that postseason drought. What's the energy like around the team right now from the market? It's great.

I mean, the building is loud. It's, I'd say, close to capacity on most nights. You know, they've definitely revitalized, you know, the hockey community here. I mean, they've been waiting for this. They got a taste of it last year. And look, right now, I mean, they're on. a hundred and eight point pace. That would be a, what, a 20 point or 28 point improvement from last year.

So, yeah, no, they've definitely ingratiated themselves. You know, in a market that, you know, that has a great youth hockey program. I mean, you know, look, you guys know, BX has been here for quite some time and really worked on the youth hockey here. It's continued to grow and grow even before BXA got here. But the fans were begging for a good team. I mean, it's been so long, and they've definitely embraced it. And look, you know, Vancouver tonight, but look, guys, Friday afternoon, I can't wait.

You know, Corey Perry's made returns to Anaheim, but never with the hated rival L.A. Kings. And so Friday, when L.A. comes into Anaheim, it should be a great atmosphere for that. game. Tell us a bit about Leo Carlson. He's now, you know, 20 years old. This is his third NHL season. Based on the numbers, his game has been taken to another level this season. 100%. And, you know, what Eccalindel is called Baby Barkoff, I would argue that, that Leo Carlson is Baby Barkoff. You know, with his size, how we can push defenders off, off of him. You know, look, some of these guys have hit a bit of a lull. You know, they got off to such a great start, whether it was Carlson or Goce.

But Leo Carlson, you're seeing why the Ducks and Pat for Beak selected Carlson over Fantilli. And it's no knock on Fantilli. I wish, you know, I was a big proponent and still am of Fantilli. But there is no mistake that was made in taking Leo Carlson, who is a legit number one center and can match up, I believe, against really most number ones around the league at a young age. What about Mason McTavish? Where's his game right now? Yeah, I mean, it kind of goes up and down. I mean, I think, you know, the late arrival to training, you know, to the team and missing most, if not all, of training camp, you know, it sets back everybody.

But I think, you know, at the end of the day, this is a guy that, you know, I think he's going to wear a letter for this team, fits in quite well with this group. And, you know, he doesn't, I think that some of the pressure for McTavish to succeed is been alleviated by the start and the fact that, you know, you don't have to rely on him. I think, you know, they were definitely counting on more than four goals in 22 games. but, you know, with the depth that they have with Carlson and Gochay and Beckett Seneca, I mean, that's a lot, they've got a lot of young talent up front and I haven't even got to Kreider who's third on the team in goals.

So, you know, McTavish can just kind of, it's a lot easier when the team is doing well and sits in first place. Would you like his numbers to be better than four goals than 14 points? Sure. But he's still sixth on the. team in points.

And the Ducks have so much more coming. I mean, who's the best prospect that they've got, or who are a couple prospects that they've got beyond some of the good, really young players that are already in the NHL lineup? Well, I mean, look, Ian Moore is a guy that worked his way into the lineup for Anaheim. I mean, he's taking Pavel Minchikov's spot. essentially on the blue line. And, you know, this is a guy that was, and he was only a third round, a third rounder

back in 2020. They continue to find guys. And, you know, Minchikov is someone that, I think, you know, he would love to be moved. You know, he's only, he's played in 19 games, but, you know, he has sat a lot recently. So I just, it's going to be hard to crack this lineup for the young kids because the guys that are there right now that are leading this team are all so young. We're speaking to Jonathan Davis

from Sirius XMNHL Radio here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. It's interesting times for hockey that the triangle of the California teams right now. You've got the Anaheim Ducks who are first in the Pacific Division. You got the L.A. Kings who are only a point behind and third. And then you've got the San Jose

Sharks who are just two points out of the final wildcard spot in the West. And I know, I mean, we have followed the exploits of the San Jose Sharks and specifically Macklin Celebrini over the first quarter of this season and he's been fantastic. It is an interesting power dynamic though because you look at San Jose and Anaheim and it's founded around like very good young, talented core groups. Talk to us a little bit about the Los Angeles Kings because

they're the elder statesman of the three but still off to a pretty solid start this season with 28 points through 23 games. Yeah but guys they've lost more games than they've won. I'm at the end of the day, they've got a negative goal differential. I mean, look, every, you know, outside of what, Anaheim and Vegas, everyone's got a negative goal differential in the Pacific. But, you know, L.A., they're like their record, what the old Bill Parcell's line, our record is, you know, what our record is, is what we are.

And that's what, you know, they're, they're just mad. I mean, it's been a struggle. Like, there's no, you know, Ante Copatar has, has, is now the, not. number two center on this team. Their top line is Quentin Byfield with Fiala and Kempay. And since they put them together for the past four games, it really

hasn't worked. I don't think. I think they were better off when they had Laferrier playing with Kempay or with Byfield and Fiala. They've only scored, I think they scored eight goals at five on four and five goals at six on five.

Like, that's kind of crazy to me. So they're middling, and, you know, yeah, they got a win at home against Ottawa, you know, just their second home win in nine games. That's very bizarre. You know, they still haven't figured out how to use Brand Clark. Like, they finally scored a power play goal in their game against Ottawa, and it was Brand Clark who scored the goal, and he really should be on the top power play unit. Like, Jim Hiller ripped his team after their loss to Boston over the weekend.

said our power play is costing us games. We need to make changes to our top unit. So what does he do against Ottawa? He rolls out the same top unit. Like, it just, it's mind-boggling, and then it's the second unit that scores the power play goal. I still find this team rather befuddling. And, you know, they don't have the ability to really make trades because any guy that they would like to move has all got no move clauses or no trade clauses.

I don't know how they improve themselves. The C.C. Dumlin thing, you know, it's possible at best. So, look, I just, I don't really understand what's going on here. And, you know, yeah, they've got 28 points, but they're not that far out from being out of the playoffs right now. And so, you know, it's not very encouraging to me. Also, the weirdest home road split in the NHL. Like they're the New York Rangers of the West. They have two wins at home, as you mentioned, and nine.

And then they're nine, two, and three on the road. I was trying to figure out how to make sense of them. How long do you think it is before you could take any number of teams, but I would look at them just because of the California thing before they're surpassed by the San Jose sharks in terms of their trajectory? Oh, I mean, look, I said to you guys last year that it was Anaheim and San Jose and then L.A., you know, two or three years from now. now, you know, L.A. would definitely be the third best team.

I mean, you know, you know, you take a look at what L.A.'s got. You know, they'll lose Copa tar next year. You know, we are seeing their number one line of the future. You know, Phil Ditto has, you know, right now, they'll be your number two centers that stands next year. It's not very encouraging. And, you know, I'll tell you, you know, you guys are, obviously, you've got the Quinn Hughes situation.

You know, they got Kempi signed, but, you know, Brandt Clark guys is a restrictive free agent. And if I'm Brandt Clark, I'm asking for Luke Hughes' contract. Like, that's what he should be getting. That's something that they have to deal with. And the one bright spot, though, I will say for L.A. down the road is goaltending. Carter George, you know, is the goalie of the future in Los Angeles. And that's a guy that, you know, at least has the potential to win you games every time he comes on the ice.

I just wanted to ask you one final question. I know you mentioned Pavel Minchikov, but would he be worth taking a flyer on? Is he a reclamation project that you think could pan out? I don't think it's a matter of a reclamation project. I just think he's been passed by a couple of other guys on this roster. I mean, I think that he would work out quite well in a lot of spots. It's just, you know, they're really happy with what they've gotten. You know, look, Zelliger was a guy that they were counting.

on. But Ian Moore is the guy, you know, you don't really hear much of. He did score, I think, in the Ducks last game, but he has kind of solidified himself into that top six. And, you know, so I wouldn't say it's something that Mitchikov hasn't played well. It's just that these guys have played better. And I think, you know, he would love out, but, you know, what, you are, you know, you always said, you want to have, you know, eight defensemen come playoff time. We'll see. There's just, there, right now, there's not. enough room for Minchikov. I got to admit, every time I tune

into a Ducks game, I learn about another guy that I didn't know. I just don't pay enough. Who's that guy? Well, because I was watching the game against Boston when Moore scored, I'm like, who is Ian Moore? And I was like, watching him play. And I did the same thing last year. I'm like, who is Jackson Lacombe? Like, why is this guy putting up the kind of numbers that he does? But I guess it speaks to what you were saying.

Like, it's not just the high-end guys that they found in Anaheim. There's other guys filling in the second, third, fourth-round picks that they've really hit on. And that's why you've got such an abundance of riches, not just at the NHL level, but in the cupboards as well. Yeah, I mean, look, you could draft really high,

but you've got to hit with those picks. Like, that to me is the one difference between, one of the differences between Los Angeles and Anaheim. I mean, look, the Kings fans will say, oh, we haven't had high draft picks. But, you know, you had Alex Turcott, and you drafted him way too high. But, you know, look, you know, that was just, well, I mean, that was not a shock to people who know the situation in Los Angeles with the relationship at the time with Alex's, you know, with Alfie Turcott and Rob Blake and the whole Junior King's ties.

And it was just dumb. It was a bad, bad move. And you just can't afford to waste those guys. And look, quitting Byfield, he's good, but I still would have taken Tim Stutzlow over Tim. over quitting by-field. Like I, you know, it just, I don't know. They just haven't drafted very well

over the years. JD, this was great today, buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. Enjoy the game tonight. It should be interesting, especially when we find out who the Canucks going to have and go out.

Look for me on the bench. We'll do, buddy. Appreciate it. Thanks for this. All right, take care. Yep. Jonathan Davis, serious XMNHL radio here on the Halpert & Bruff Show on Sportsnet, 650. So after sitting through that Calgary game on Sunday, I'm actually looking forward to this road trip.

Not so much for the Canucks, but for the teams that they're going to be playing because I want to see what Anaheim's all about. I'm kind of with you. Like I've watched a bit of the Ducks this season, but I've tried to make it a not an appointment, but a priority. Okay, I'm working late at night. Yeah. If nine o'clock rolls around, there's only a handful of Western teams that are playing. So I watch a lot of Vegas. Anaheim, San Jose, L.A.

So I got to try and pay attention to this Ducks team because I cannot remember a time where the Canucks have gone in to Anaheim where the Canucks were this low in the standings and the ducks were this high. You have to go way back, way back. So on this trip, you're going to get Anaheim tonight. You're going to see Celebrini Friday night.

That's going to be awesome. Saturday they're in L.A. And then Tuesday, they're in Colorado to play the avalanche. So, you know, if you're going to pick one game not to watch, probably the King's game for me. I agree with that. Do you know what I mean? Because I really want to see Colorado.

I love watching them play. Leo Carlson, I want to see what he looks like tonight because he's at that age where you go from, okay, you've been a teenager in the NHL for a while. I'm sure you, or not a while, two years. You kind of show potential, but at age 20, 21 is when someone, guys really become superstars. And correct me if I'm wrong, at the Four Nations.

He didn't really play much of a role, did he? He was there. He was there. Yeah, but he didn't do much. Did he play in all the games? Or was he playing limited minutes? I can't really remember. I'll be curious to see what his role is with Team Sweden at the Olympics.

Anaheim has all these young players in the lineup. And, yeah, some of the draft picks haven't worked out as expected, a guy like Pavel Minshikov. But when you have a plan like Anaheim did, and it was painful, the ducks, they were irrelevant for a lot. They were totally irrelevant for a while, and their attendants suffered. You know, the Canucks would go in there and you could see the building looked half empty. But now you look at all the draft picks that they've taken that. if a few of them don't pan out okay we got a lot more coming

you know that was sort of the argument that a lot of people made and then J.D. sort of reemphasized there is that you're not going to in the case of the LA Kings the L.A. Kings are one of the ones where you say they bottomed out and they stockpiled a bunch of picks and they didn't hit on a lot of them like Turcotte was kind of a disaster Byfield, I think J.D. actually summed it up pretty well. He's good, not great.

He's never turned into the player that they thought he was going to be. They thought he was going to be a franchise type number one center, and he's turned into being a good center. And the Kings have kind of, so there is a, there is a risk. But the other thing with the Kings is they never really found like diamonds in the rough, and they didn't stockpile a ton of picks and find third, fourth, fifth round guys, which is what the ducks, early days and all. But that's what they've been able to do.

But they've also hit on some guys that they took in the first round. I mean, Leo Carlson, they've hit on it. No, I'm talking about L.A., though. Oh, yeah, no, I know. That's what I'm saying. And with the ducks, now here's the issue. I don't want to throw a bunch of flowers at the feet of the Anaheim ducks because they went almost an entire decade without being in the postseason.

And they haven't totally arrived yet. But they're fun. And, I mean, you mentioned you all much Carlson. Like, Gochase the guy for me. The way that he can score goals. And there's always been that bit of intrigue around him because of the way that he departed Philadelphia. That's a guy that I would want to watch. It's funny because you don't

have that vibe with a lot of other teams. I want to see that guy play. But a lot of it has to do with young, exciting, invigorating players, like what Celebrini's done in San Jose, and of course what Bedard has done in Chicago. Now you're seeing it what Carlson's done. True superstar potential.

Leo Carlson's on pace for 40 goals and 100 points. Rand Ebe's going to join us next. We'll talk about this Canucks road trip that starts tonight in Anaheim. Randeep's probably excited about his day today because his Arsenal team is playing Thomas Mueller's

old team, Byron Munich. It's funny, I was talking to him with a buddy of mine texting with him. He lives in England now and he's a big Arsenal guy and I was talking to him about the White Caps game and he was like, man, that Thomas Mueller, I don't miss him because he scored some

big goals against Arsenal in the Champions League. Before we go to break, I need to remind you that this segment of the show was brought to you by Jan Pro. From waiting room to exam rooms and everything in between Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected for a free quote, visit them online at JanPro.com.com. You're listening to The Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.