Halford & Brough in the Morning - HalBro Try And Explain The Canucks Inactivity At The Deadline

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason discuss a busy weekend in sports (3:00), they chat Friday's Canucks win over the Wild plus yesterday's loss to the Stars (6:00), they talk about what was a disappointing Trade Deadline for the 'Nucks (12:00), plus they speak with Boston Sports Journal and long-time Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty (29:48) about the B's trading Brad Marchand, and how fans are dealing with the Bruins losing their captain at the deadline.  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.

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Good morning Vancouver! Six o'clock on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. It is Alfred and his brother at Sportsnet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studios, a beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you.

Good morning. Good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Alfred and brother in the morning. What was that? I've got a cold, my friend. I'm doing my best. I was out coaching minor hockey with a cold over the weekend And I lost my voice. What were you doing?

Good morning Good morning Good start good start good start. Helper to breath of the morning is brought to you by a bank. Sorry just caught me off guard You did to me too I'm sorry, just caught me off guard. You did to me too. I'm fine. Halferd and Brev of the Morning. I am fine. He is fine.

Halferd and Brev 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 one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling.

Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. All right, here we go. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step.

We got a lot to get into on a Monday show. We got four guests today. Guest list begins at 630. Okay, so here's the thing. There's a lot of drama in Canuckville right now. I think we can all firmly establish that after everything that did or didn't happen at the trade deadline on Friday, going into the weekend. I thought maybe, maybe it would be therapeutic, cathartic if you will, if we dove into some of the other drama filled situations around North America and their sporting squadrons. So at 6.30, we're going to go to Boston to talk to

Joe Haggerty from the Boston Sports Journal about the Boston Bruins. In the aftermath of the Bruins massive sell off at the deadline, Carlo gone, Coyle gone, Brad Marchand, the last remaining member of the 2011 Stanley Cup team also gone. Folks in Boston are pissed. They're pissed. They're pissed. They're pissed. off at the deadline. Carlo gone, Coyle gone, Brad Marchand, the last remaining member of the 2011 Stanley Cup team also gone. Folks in Boston are pissed. They are none too pleased about the way

Marchand was treated on the way out. The little return he got from Florida. We will talk to Joe Haggerty about all that at 630. Seven o'clock, Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN is going to join the program. Now, if you thought, wait a minute, Halford and Bruff, you just spoke to Brady Henderson on Thursday. One, you're right. Two, much has happened since then.

Since we last spoke to Brady, DK McCaff was traded, Geno Smith was traded, and Aaron Rodgers might be the new Seahawks quarterback? No. What? No. What? No, thank you. Dino Smith was traded and Aaron Rodgers might be the new Seahawks quarterback? No. What? No. What?

No, thank you. We're going to talk to Brady about all of that at 7 o'clock this morning. Really? Big time drama out of Seattle this week. Think that could actually happen? Dead serious. Not making it up. Was reported yesterday.

It was a busy weekend. Can you imagine? I kind of can now. I don't want to, but I'm kind of imagining it. We're going to talk to Brady Henderson about all that at 7 o'clock this morning. 7.30, we're going to go to Toronto. Sam McKee is going to join us from Real Kipper & Bourne and Leafs Talk. One of the most profound trades at this year's NHL trade deadline might have been a trade that didn't even come to fruition. We're going to get into the aftermath of the Leafs asking Mitch Marner to waive his no trade clause

to go to Carolina for Miko Ranntinen. Marner declining to do so. And then the fallout for both Marner and the Leafs organization. Very dramatic times. In a season that hasn't really had too many exciting moments for the Leafs. Things got real spicy over the weekend.

We'll talk to Sam McKee at 7.30 about that. Eight o'clock, Kevin Woodley's gonna join us. We will break down the Canucks results over the weekend. A 3- to Sam McKee at 730 about that. Eight o'clock Kevin Woodley is going to join us. We will break down the Canucks results over the weekend. 3-1 win over Minnesota on Friday, followed by a 4-1 loss to Dallas last night. We'll also hopefully get some sort of update on Thatcher Demko who still remains away from the team. It's now going on a month since he got hurt against Toronto in early February. Finally, we have not one, but two giveaways today. Halford and Brough showing how much they love

the automotive industry, Jason, because we're giving away first a four pack of tickets to the Monster Jam at Pacific Coliseum on Friday, March 21st. It's a four pack of tickets. We're giving it away. You get to see all your favorite trucks, Gravedigger, El Toro L Loco both of which are trademarks

So you can't buy your own truck and name them that truckasaurus Sparkle smash don't know much about that truck, but it's coming to Vancouver apparently so that's gonna be a sparkle smash Sparkle smash don't know anything about it, but it's a source again. Don't think that's a real truck. I think that's from the Simpsons March 21st is the date of the show we're're giving away a four packet tickets to caller number seven at eight o'clock this morning. The number here is 604-280-0650. That number again, 604-280- Sparkle Smash is a unicorn. I did not know that.

It's a unicorn monster truck. Is that like Mr. Sparkle? No, it's a unicorn. It's got the horn and everything. Sparkle was a guy. So monster truck giveaway at 8 a.m. this morning, be caller number seven, 604 giveaway at 8 a.m. this morning. Be a caller number seven, 604-280-650.

At 8.15, we're giving away a four pack of tickets to the Vancouver International Auto Show. That's gonna be at the Vancouver Convention Center, March 19th to 23rd. More than 200 vehicles from over 30 manufacturers. If you wanna go, be a caller again, number seven at 8.15 this morning, 604-280-0650 that number again 604-280-0650. Obviously with my rundown going as long as it has we have a lot to

get into on the show so without further ado laddie let's tell everybody what happened. Hey did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened?

What Happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. Over the weekend, we will start, although I don't know how much time we're gonna spend on the actual games, but on Friday as mentioned, Kiefer Sherwood scored late in the third period,

Kevin Lankin in 37 saves, the Canucks beat the Wild 3-1 at Rogers Arena. That was good. On Sunday, as mentioned in the intro, Mikhail Granlin scored his first goal for the Dallas Stars, and the Dallas Stars beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. That game was also at Rogers arena. That was not so good.

As a matter of fact, that one was bad. Yeah. As you mentioned, I'm not sure how much we're going to discuss these games today because there's nothing really new to report about the Vancouver Canucks, especially after the trade deadline where they didn't do much of anything. This team still has a lot of trouble scoring and

I'm not sure how that's going to change this season. If they get Quinn Hughes back soon, that will obviously help, but the forward group is still the same forward group. And yeah, it was nice to see Pedersen rip home that one timer against the wild. And I guess he did hit the crossbar early against Dallas.

We keep hoping he'll break out and every little thing or big thing. I mean, that power play goal was nice. We hope that'll lead to more, but he hasn't broken out yet and the rest of the forward group isn't exactly making up for it. Last night against the stars, Derek Forbort was the only guy to beat Casey DeSmith because

Derek Forbort got his feet moving and found the area. Noted sniper, Derek Forbord. Connor Garland made him, gave him a nice pass, was a nice give and go between Derek Forbord and Connor Garland. Maybe that's a duo that could work for the Canucks. The Canucks, I, look, last night they did make

a push in the third. They were down a goal playing at home and the Stars were playing their second of a back to back, so they'd better have made a push. Dakota Joshua had some chances as Tuckett reunited the third line, which was nice to see. But Joshua also had a brutal turnover that led to the star's third goal. So if you look at the guys that didn't get it done last night, Pedersen certainly wasn't alone.

None of the forward scored. Besser wasn't good. Debreusk wasn't good. Heedle, you know, Heedle had a little bit of a didn't get it done last night. Pedersen certainly wasn't alone. None of the forwards scored. Besser wasn't good. DeBrusk wasn't good. Heedle, you know, Heedle had looked good early on in his tenure with the Canucks. I think he had a lot of adrenaline going through

him, haven't noticed as much since. Um, their most effective sender last night was Teddy Bluger, which is good for Bluger, but bad for the team. Did the Canucks play badly? No, not, not really. You know, they worked hard, but it's the same story we've seen for over a year now.

They don't create many chances. There's not a lot of creativity in the lineup. They don't give up many chances either, which is why so many of their games seem like a coin flip. They come down to the details and you hear things like, well, they got to, it's not much, I'm a margin for error out there with the way the Vancouver Canucks play.

Yeah, cause they can't score. And I know a lot of people are taking shots at the coach, Rick Tauket and Rick Tauket seems like a guy that is banging his head against the wall. It's like, what else? I'm out of answers. And that's not a good place for a coach to be when you're kind of out of answers and you keep

saying the same things over and over and over again and people are saying figure it out and and he's like well I can't because these guys aren't playing very well for me. Tauke was visibly frustrated last night in the game against Dallas. This is probably my biggest takeaway wasn't necessarily what happened during the game but in the aftermath. So in the aftermath and we will play the audio from Rick Tauket here. Jake DeBresque who leads the team in goals with 22 played a grand total of 12 minutes and 45 seconds and had a grand total of two shots. Brock Besser who's been struggling real bad and we'll get into a lot more with Brock Besser as it pertains to the trade deadline in a couple minutes here.

He had 1549 of ice and had one shot on net. And then there was Elias Pedersen, who in just 16 minutes of ice time, 1605, if you want to be exact, had no shots on goal. So I mean, he did, he had the crossbar. Okay. So one, one shot on goal, even though technically that doesn't count.

So you're talking about maybe your three best offensive forwards, none of them getting over 16 minutes and six seconds and combining for three, maybe four shots on goal, depending on what you think of the crossbar. And also out there for a few defensive breakdowns as well. So Rick Tauke was asked about this in the aftermath and it was a short clip. So we're going to play the question as well, because I think you maybe need to hear Tauke and answer it as opposed to just the answer part.

Question and answer is important here. Here's Rick talk it, talking about the low minutes for DeBrusk and Pederson and Besser following a four one loss to Dallas on Sunday night. In a game where you were trailing for a good portion of it, uh, DeBrusk was leading goal scorer plays under 13 minutes, Pederson 16 minutes, Besser under 16 minutes. Do you think that was that a reflection of how they were playing? You gotta earn your ice time. Gotta earn it? Yeah, you gotta earn your ice time around here. That's how you win. So you guys can stir it up all you

want. You have to earn your ice time. I don't care how long you've been here. You gotta earn your ice time. That's the way it works. That's how you win Stanley Cups so he was punctuating it did you hear that you gotta earn your ice time he was super fired up behind the bench last like that's the most animated I think I've ever seen him behind a Canucks bench yeah well right desperate man yeah he was and thank you for all the text about my voice yes I am sick what yeah no I am never would have known so yesterday we also had a- I thought he was just trying a new thing. We had a barn burner of a U9 hockey game.

There were many goals scored and it was a good win for the boys at the end. And during the game I was like, you are ruining your voice right now with all the yelling. And yes I did at any rate. But it was worth it. But it was worth it. For the kids. For the kids. Yes. For the kids. If you've got any questions or comments about the Canucks or my voice, text into the

Dunbar Lumber Text Line, 650, 650 Metro Vancouver's Trusted Choice for Contractors and Rental Warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. So I just want to park the games for a bit. I think that's appropriate. Okay.

We can get back to it later, but the story of the weekend for the Canucks was that they didn't do anything at the trade deadline. And when we last left you, we were talking about, you know, there's, if there's one thing we want to see from this management group, it's them adding some creativity to the offense and then they didn't add anything to the offense.

Like the sum total of what they did to the trade deadline was trade away Carson Sousi for a third round pick. And they tried to do a bunch of stuff. Um, I, the fact that they didn't make any moves was not for a lack of trying. They weren't sitting there going, well, I'm pretty happy with this group right now. They dusted their hands and are like, let's sit back and wait for the weekend.

We got two games. And I've got a theory on what happened. It's not a unique theory by any means. And I'm sure a lot of you have probably come up with the same thing. But I think we are all trying to understand what happened on Friday. How could the Canucks make no moves? How could they keep all three of their pending UFAs? Well, I think it starts with the notion that the Canucks still view

making the playoffs as important. I'm not saying they don't have any of the big picture in mind, but I think making the playoffs is important to them. They don't want to take a step back from last season. They don't want to wave the white flag with where they are in the standings, which is one point out of a playoff spot today. I think they were more than willing to move better, but there needed to be a second part to that.

They needed to replace him with someone, probably a younger player where they had some term on the deal, whether it was Josh Norris or Dylan Cousins, or maybe a guy like Alex Tuck, but they needed to do it before the deadline. They weren't willing to lose Besser from the lineup and replace him with a prospect or draft picks. We saw over the weekend how much trouble they've had scoring goals and it's been basically a year now, maybe over a year where they've had trouble scoring goals. If they had traded better for draft picks and not replaced them with anyone,

scoring goals gets that much more difficult. Yeah. I, I, your theory is probably pretty sound without knowing the exact inner workings behind the scenes. It definitely sounds as though one thing needed to happen for the other thing to happen. In this case, you're right. Like if, if they were going to move forward without

Besser and nothing coming back, I mean, I, I'd shudder to think what the offense would look like and it doesn't look great right now. And Besser's in one right now and not in a good one. He's in a bad one. He is struggling mightily right now. I have no idea what his head must, where his head is at or what must be floating through his head right now.

Cause it's probably been a whirlwind last 72 hours. And I think on the subject of Besser, it's probably a good time to replay probably the most divisive, controversial audio from the weekend. And that was Patrick Alveen addressing the Brock Besser situation after Friday's deadline. The Connex General manager made it pretty clear that they were entertaining the idea of moving Brock Besser.

And then whether it was intentional or not, many people saw a borderline sewering of Brock Besser with the remarks that Patrick Alveen made about the offers they were getting for Besser. We're gonna clip together two different bits of audio here into one just to give it a little bit more symmetry. Here's Patrick Alveen from Friday's Presser talking about the offers they were getting for Brock Besser

and how not great those offers were. Yeah, good question. I think that's a question you might wanna ask the other teams. I think it comes definitely leading up to today. My conversation with other teams made me aware that there might be a situation as we are here today that we didn't do any moves.

And I made some players, agents, aware of that. That this seems to be a market for some of the players. And you can also see that some of the players that were dealt, they had certain playoff experience and some of the players have performed well in bigger games and I think that's what some of the teams are looking for. If I told you where I was offered for Brock Besser, I think I would have to run out of here

because you would not believe me. I'm gonna let that one hang in the air there for a minute because a lot of people did not care for that remark. I didn't initially take that as Alvin criticizing Besser and I'm still not sure. I'm with you on that. I saw it as Alvin supporting his position that the offers weren't good enough and he'd

prefer to keep the player. But. But a lot of people thought it was unnecessary to put it that way or maybe even a way to scare Besser into signing with the Canucks as opposed to testing the market on July 1st going like, hey, there wasn't a lot of interest for you at the trade deadline.

And we told everyone about that. Do you really want to go to free agency? To me, that felt and sounded like a guy that kind of stepped in it. Like maybe it was in the moment and maybe he was trying to talk off the cuff. And he said something that I would guess, probably regrets.

Cause it does come off as flipping at best and kind of undercutting a lot of different people. Besser, the agent, the negotiations that you think would be moving forward, it feels like it hamstrings that to a certain degree. And now you've got a guy who, I mean, take a step back and consider the situation. You're kind of reliant on Vester as a top six forward

and one of your best goal scorers to try and score goals for a team whose objective is clearly still to try and make the playoffs. You need him to not just snap out of this funk, but also get back to some semblance of the guy that we saw last year. And you would not blame the player

or I wouldn't anyway right now, if he had his mind elsewhere, one foot out the door thinking about what's next for his career. I mean, I'll say this. I don't think Besser has been treated like gold over the last little bit. I think that he would,

I don't know if he was willing to entertain a trade. I don't know if he was maybe prepared to move. I don't know if he was willing to entertain a trade. I don't know if he was maybe prepared to move. I don't know if he wanted to move, but that is a very, very delicate situation that I don't think was handled great. And as we've seen in other markets, cause we're gonna talk in Boston and we're gonna talk in Toronto

about deals that went through and deals that didn't go through for core guys, important guys and guys that mean a lot to their teams, there's a ripple effect, right? There's an aftermath to all of this. And I don't know if one precedes the other, but I did think it was pretty telling that on Sunday, like that was the most visibly frustrated

we've seen Rick talk at, I think, all year, all year. He was pissed off behind the bench at the officials, which he never does, was super demonstrative in yelling at them, which he's very loathe to do. And then after the game, he was pretty terse. In his remarks, I just, you get the sense that he's a guy that's frustrated because... Do you think he's lost the room? I don't know if he's lost the room, but I think maybe he's looked... Do you think he's lost his star forwards?

I think maybe he thought that some semblance of a cavalry was coming on Friday, that they were going to make some moves and they were going to be busy. And then after Friday's deadline passed, he was left with pretty much the same lineup that he had prior to the deadline, except Carson Sousi wasn't there.

Now Carson Sousi is scoring goals for the New York Rangers. Losing the room is a tricky one. If I was, if I was tricky one. Um, I mean. If I was, if I was Rick Tocket, I'd be looking at this group and going, you better make big changes to it. Or I, I, like, I don't know what else to do

with this group. Don't you think, don't you think Tocket for all his, like, I, I, I realized that there are some people that want the system to change. But me personally, my opinion is, is that's not the issue. Like there is, there is a decided lack of creativity in the top six right now.

And there's a decided lack of jam of juice or whatever reason, whatever thing you want it. And I don't put that on the coach. I see it as a personnel decision. I see the personnel problem more than a coaching problem too, but you're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem, right? If you're out of answers and it feels like he does,

he is, he's like, I can't keep saying the same things. I mean, it's coming down to basically like try harder, you know, have no, no, seriously, like try harder, go, go, go pick up loose box, have some desperation. He said more hungrier, which is not great grammar because he was rattled. He said it twice.

We need to be more hungrier, just hungrier, Rick. Just hungrier. Just hungrier. And, you know, get, get those, get to those loose box, but that's, that's not systems. just hungrier Rick. Just hungrier. Just hungrier. And you know, get to those loose bucks. But that's not systems. That's just him looking at his players and going like, you guys aren't giving me enough here.

And maybe they don't, I don't know, maybe they don't want to give enough or maybe they don't have enough in them. All I know is like, after the trade down, I was like, oh my God, we're gonna do this for another 20 games with this team. I mean, I've said on a few occasions here that you're hired as a head coach to solve problems and come up with solutions, not point out the problem. There's a big difference there.

I just wanna, if you don't understand what I'm saying, going up after another loss and pointing out what the guys aren't doing is fine, but you're also the guy in charge of either getting them to do it or finding a different way to go about it. I mean, at this point, like if you're not, if the guys aren't able to execute your plan and your strategy the way that you want, then maybe it is time to change the plan or the strategy or do something different because running it back with the same thing of like, as you said,

they need to be more hungrier and they need to try harder. Yeah, move your feet and that sort of stuff. This type of stuff you, you know, I was yelling. And it's right. To lose my voice at U9 players, you gotta move your feet guys. But it is, and it's right and it's my voice at you nine players You gotta move your feet guys But it is and it's right and it's accurate that if you do if you do the things that he's saying exactly 100% to a t The results theoretically should be there. That's great, but it's not

Converting to what they need right now, which is finding more goals at the most crucial time of the year It's not the time to fall back on well We you know, the system is in place and the process is good. Trust the process. It's gotta be something more than that. And that's where you're getting the frustration point. Because I'm sure talking doesn't wanna go up there and continually say, we need to protect the guts of the ice.

We need to be more creative. We can't just rely on point shots. The same talking points that we've heard through 60 plus games this year. And the frustration level's high. I guarantee you from the top down in this organization, there's a high level of frustration, right? Try and pick someone that's not frustrated right now.

Think about it. Well, how about in the business department, trying to sell sponsorships and season tickets in a tough economy for a team that can't score? Right. Like last night was a hard fought hockey game and Dallas is a good team, but there wasn't a whole lot to cheer for. Now someone astutely pointed forward. That was a nice goal.

Someone astutely pointed out, just look at the Dallas roster. I did make note yesterday that despite the fact that they didn't have Heiskenen hints, obviously Tyler Sagan's out of the lineup, still a very talented team, still with a lot of really good hockey players that can generate offense. So that's where I go back to the personnel argument. The top six right now is not good.

Yeah. And there's no drivers. And when you are, again, if you go, if you were to step outside, you were saying you're leading goal scorer in Debrus saying you're leading goal scorer in Debrusk, your 40 goal scorer from last year in Besser and your $11.6 million a year center in Pedersen can't give you more than 16 minutes of ice time and collectively go pointless

and put like four shots on that. Is that a system thing or is that your guys just woefully underperforming? I get so frustrated with the people that just continually make excuses for the Canucks players. It's just like, man, is that how you live your life? Just zero accountability for the players and they just put it all on someone else, someone else,

something else. How about just, you know, like, and I think that's probably where Taked is right now. Just banging his head against the wall. He that's probably where Tauke it is right now. Just banging his head against the wall. He's like, can coach any system we want right now. If you're giving me that sort of effort, if you're giving me that sort of commitment and the buy-in, it's not going to work. Joe Haggerty is going to join us next talk about the Boston Bruins on the Halford and

Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the postgame show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. 6.33 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour one of the program. Joe Haggerty

from the Boston Sports Journal is going to join us in just a moment here. Highlight of hour one, love haacks, lovehacks. Hour one of this show is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. This is in 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver.

Canucks fans, if you're looking to divert your attention elsewhere, or maybe focus on the drama in another market, we're gonna turn our attention to Boston. Before we bring hags on the air, we're gonna play some audio from Elliot Friedman over the weekend. This was Saturday Headlines, Hockey Night in Canada, right here on Sportsnet,

talking about what happened and what led to that stunning trade late on Friday That's uh Brad Marshawn go to the Florida Panthers But an hour after the deadline that trade finally came through For the low low price of a conditional second round pick that could become a first what happened How did they get to this point? We're gonna play Frege's breakdown first and then we're gonna talk to hags afterwards. Here's Elliott Friedman on Marshawn's Exodus from Boston. I think the Bruins and the player had agreed on term, three years. But as Don Sweeney said

yesterday there was a gap and there was a gap on AAV. And I don't think he was being asked to take a pay cut or anything like that but I do think it was a sizable gap that they obviously could not bridge. Where I think this really went sideways was there was a point this week where Brad Marshand, who was currently injured and not in the lineup, asked for a face-to-face meeting with Bruins management. I don't know exactly when it was, I don't know exactly who was there,

but it did happen, and in that meeting, Brad Marshand asked for a compromise. He said, I will compromise, I will bend on some of my ask. I'm asking the Bruins to bend on some of their stance and we'll find a way to get this deal done because he wanted to stay as a Bruin. And it just didn't happen. The Bruins had gone as far as they were willing to go.

And look, anybody out here watching hockey in the hockey world has watched Brad Marshan play. We know he's going to the Hall of Fame for one major reason. He's got an incredible amount of pride and he puts everything on the line. I think he was really stung by that and then all of a sudden the Bruins started to look, okay, we're not going to go any farther. We're going to start looking out there. And I think one of the things that really happened in the last 24 to 48 hours before

the deadline was that Marshan's agent, I was told by several teams, Wade Arnott, made it very clear that Marchand had a place he wanted to go. And obviously that was Florida, and in the last minutes, the Bruins acquiesced and made the deal. But so that's everything I understand there, and I think it really hurt Marchand that the face-to-face meeting couldn't get a deal done. So right now in Florida, Brad Marchand is being introduced

as the newest member of the Panthers. Wearing his very red quarter zip emblazoned with the Florida Panthers logo, also wearing a hat. He's not going to join the lineup soon, but he's there all smiles and looks very strange to see Brad Marshawn in Florida Panthers gear. Joining us now for more on this story, our good buddy from the Boston Sports Journal, Joe Haggerty here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Haggs, how you doing? What's up Halford and Brough, how you guys doing?

We're all right. So we were saying, you know what, we've had enough of the Vancouver Canucks drama for the first half hour of the program. Let's pivot to Boston's. I just wanna start with the reaction. What's the reaction been like? Well, you know, there was, leading up to it,

there's the very vocal sort of social media people and the people that you end up seeing the sort of extreme faction of the Bruins fans and the people that comment on stuff that were all about like, oh, blow it up, trade, march in, trade everybody. You know, this team sucks, let's start over, blah, blah, blah. Um, but like, once he was traded, uh, once the shock, I think of, um,

trade deadline day and seeing Charlie coil, Brandon, Carlo, Brad, March, and, you know, Trent Frederick was traded before that. Uh, once that like shock, uh, wore off, uh, I think there was a lot of Bruins fans that are really just bummed out and unhappy and upset that you know the people that they pay the money to buy the tickets to go watch play are now gone and the much bigger sort of faction of the Bruins fan base, I think, is pretty upset about it. And, um, you know, I can kind of understand it. Like, I, you know, at the end of the day, I, I was very consistent saying I didn't think they should trade Brad Marsh and even if he and the Bruins were not going

to come to an agreement on a contract and it looked like maybe it was gonna end with him walking away at the end of the year and they weren't gonna get anything for him. I just think he's one of those players I don't think you can do what they did with and not have some kind of lasting reaction to. He's a Hall of Fame level player. He's one of the most iconic players in the game, he won the Stanley Cup, he's going to go down as a Bruins legend and it becomes this really

sort of like uncomfortable footnote towards the end of his career that just happened at the end where he was a player that wanted to stay with the Bruins, that wanted to be like his buddy Patrice Bergeron and be at Bruin forever. And the fact that this sort of happened at the end. And, you know, there's going to be, he said, she said, he wanted too much money. They walked away.

Like, I'm sure there's blame to be put on both sides. But I just think it's incumbent upon the team to take care of the players like Brad Marshand that are the most treasured players in your franchise history and make sure that it ends well with them and that you continue to treat them well because once you start going down the path of those kind of players not being treated well and kind of given the rough treatment on the way out like that is a reflection on how that franchise is viewed how other players of that level of that magnitude are going to view

that franchise moving forward and not to players of that level and that magnitude are going to view that franchise moving forward. Not to mention you're making it weird for a player that you're going to want to be an alumni and be a guy that comes back. And he's a guy that, you know, frankly, like I said before, people pay money to watch Brad Marchand play. They have much less players now on that roster that are, people are excited to spend top dollar and prices are going up 4% next year for the Bruins ticket prices.

Uh, there's, there's less players now on that team that people want to pay money to go watch play. And I think that's a big misstep to do that, but clearly they wanted to go in a different direction. Yeah. Hags, David Posternak and Charlie McEvoy, is that, is, are those the guys that people pay to watch? Yeah, I think that's it now.

And I guess Jeremy Swainman too, he's got fans out there, people that really want to watch Goaltending. I'm sure there's that level of people too, that will go out and watch those people play. But like, there was something about Brad Marshan and the way that he played that was very much a connection, his whole approach that was very much a connection his whole approach That was very strong connection more even so I would say than Posternak and McEvoy

to Bruins fans to the expectation they have for that team to the way for the way they want that team to play and he was the last link to the 2011 Stanley Cup team, you know, and I just I 2011 Stanley Cup team, you know, and I just I Totally on board with them trading the other players restocking the system with assets with prospects with everything else. I Just felt like the Marshan one was a move They didn't need to make and it's gonna end up Blowing up on them more than it's gonna benefit them getting a conditional second round pick at the end of the day I don't think the draft pick is gonna to be worth the PR and the sort of image hit and the damage that could potentially

be done by moving a player like that, sort of treating them the way that they did. Hegs, is there a risk that the Bruins are locking into mediocrity here with, you know, adding KC Middlestadt, who's already been traded a couple times in his career. You know, he didn't work in Colorado and he was a problem in Colorado and Colorado did address that.

But you've also got the former Canucks and Lindholm and Zdorov who are making quite a bit of money for their level of play. Um, you know, what, where, I guess my question is where's the upside for this Bruins organization? How can they, how can they reach the levels they, they they did or is it just going to be impossible and it's going to take a few years? Well, it's going to take them drafting a Patrice Bergeron level talent, you know, and maybe

as a Dana O'Chara level talent along with it, either acquiring them in free agency or drafting and I would suspect with a number one center type, it's going to be a draft pick that they're going to have to draft and develop and really get lucky with to some degree. But that's where it's going to have to come from. They have the structure in place to be a playoff team. It was never going to be a fire sale, blow it up, sell, trade everything, like, you know, sink all the way down to the bottom. Because they're never going to do that with McAvoy, Posternak, Swainman, you know, having a legit goaltender. Like,

they're never going to sink to being the worst team in the league based on the players that they still have left after, you know, the rubble's been cleared from Deadline Day. So now what they've done is they've amassed a ton of draft picks and they're going to have a lot of salary cap space and they have to make flawless decisions. They have to hit on these draft picks. At this point right now, if they lose games, they're going to end up in the lottery. And they should with the ragtag group that they're throwing up there, throwing out there right now with the injuries and everything else, they should have a lottery first round pick. You know, they should get a good player with the first round pick that they have. And they've also got other draft picks. They've got a bunch of second round picks, which they've hit on a lot of second rounders over the last, you know, five plus years.

So they've got some pretty good history there. But between that and the salary cap space that they have very significant, you know, going into this off season, they can't afford the Dorov Lindholm type mistakes. They have to identify a player that's going to be a difference maker. Like, you know, they signed the best free agent, I think, in NHL history, Nzdeno Ochara, when they got him from Ottawa. They need that level of a free agent hit, somebody that really is going to be able to come in and be a big difference maker, along with, like I said, like actually hitting on their draft picks. They can't afford to draft Dean Letourneau in the first round and have him not

even score a goal at Boston college this year as an 18 year old. They can't draft Ural Vakkanainen in the first round and have him be a guy that has never looked like a first round pick in any way, shape or form. Like when he was, you know, struggling with team Finland there, uh, when they got all the injuries in the four nations tournament. Like they need to actually hit on all of these things. And if they don't, Sweeney and Neely are going to be gone at some point. You know, like they got the vote of confidence from Charlie Jacobs

after all these trades. Clearly, ownership was on board with what they did. But they can't really afford more mistakes with some of the things that they're doing. Or like you said, they're gonna be stuck in mediocrity and stuck in the middle forever. And we all know once you get in the middle of the NHL, it's really hard to get out of there. What's the confidence level that,

I guess Sweeney in particular, is the guy that's gonna be able to orchestrate this very tall task? I mean, it's mixed, right? Like he's done some good things and he's done good jobs at the trade deadline, like he's had some really good trade deadlines where he's, you know, gone out and been bold when he needed to be, he's gone out and gotten really good players when he needed to, he's, you know, been able to sign those

guys to extensions at times. They're really good at identifying, I think, Diamond and the Rough type players and other organizations that like the Morgan geekies of the world that come in and like now he's got 22 goals this season and he's a top line player and he's on a really reasonable contract. He's still going to be an RFA and he's going to be up at the end of this year so he's going to get a big raise. But like they've done a really good job with a lot of different things. But the draft is one that has not been good for them, especially their first round picks, and they

have to do better. That's something that's mandatory, especially when you will mass all these draft picks, like they've done by making this choice, you've put yourself into a corner where you have to hit in that particular one. Like the free agency thing, it's been up and down. Like they've had some good free agent signings, they've had some not so great free agent signings. I would say that more of the free agent signings than not, that they've had the big ones have not been great. You know, the David Backus, Matt Bolesky, Zdorov and Linholm recently, like when they really go out and spend money on free agents that try they want to come in and be like

big time players for them or be impact players. More often than not, it felt like whoever they brought in did not live up to the expectations of the salary they were given and did not live up to what they thought they were going to be. So they need to be better there. So like, you know, Sweeney's done some really good things, but I think there's a deserved or a legit sort of label of him as a guy that was a benefit of inheriting a really talented team that still had Hall of Fame level players and David Creci, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and he has not adequately been able to replace those guys and keep the team where it needed to be. And I think that's valid, but it's really hard to replace guys like Patrice Bergeron,

David Creechie, and Zidane O'Chara, too. That's a tall task. And this is the first year they're really, I think, going to be out of the playoffs run during Don Swiney's tenure so like you have to do things right in order for you to be at the playoffs every year and to be one of the best teams in the East so he's earned I think the slack to be able to go out and try to rebuild or retool this now and see what they can do for next year but like I wouldn't say the confidence is sky-high in him that he's going to be able to do it that he and Neil you're

going to be able to do it they're and Neil You're gonna be able to do it They're gonna have to improve on some things that they historically have not been like flawless in and they've not been great in If they're gonna return the Bruins to what they need to be Interesting times in Boston to say the least hey Hags. Thanks for doing this today, bud We really appreciate it. Enjoy the remainder the regular season and what should be an interesting offseason in Boston You got a guys any time and I want to have you both on the Pucks with Hag's podcast real soon. We'll talk some connect stuff too. Sounds good. Let's do it, buddy.

All right. See you guys. Bye. That's Joe Haggerty from Boston Sports Journal here on the Helford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. So one of the main questions of today in Vancouver Sports Radio is going to be what happened with Brock Besser on Friday at the trade deadline. And what didn't happen. And while he didn't get traded, that's

what didn't happen. But why is that? Uh, and I know Rick Dollywell has some reporting surrounding an offer from Carolina that might have come in pretty late. Um, it might've had Kokanemi involved in it and we don't know if the Canucks actually wanted Kokanemi and it also might've required the

Canucks to give up one of their young players. But I'll leave that to Rick to report on his show. Here's Elliot Freeman who reported over the weekend that the Canucks wanted a first round draft pick as part of the Brock Besser package and they didn't get it. So there is some disagreement on certain things about whether they were offered a

first round draft pick. Carolina might've done it, but there might've been like, there's a catch. Sure. You know, but here's Elliott Freeman on the most recent 32 Thoughts podcast, talking about a deal that potentially could have happened with the Los Angeles Kings.

Yeah, I heard they were looking for a first rounder and we talk about how some teams, they set a price and they just never go lower because they think that you're going to learn that, or they're going to show weakness that if other people outweigh you, you'll drop your price. So that does happen more than you think, but I heard they were looking for a first rounder.

One of the teams I wonder about LA, LA traded third for Kuzmenko. And I've heard before that LA is kind of whenever Besser's been available, LA tends to kind of be around there. But if you look at Kuzmenko, he's a right hand shot. And if you look at Besser, he's a right hand shot. They offered a third rounder for Kuzmenko. I would I would wonder what L.A. They offered a third rounder for Kuzmenko. I would wonder what LA was around there with.

Because if I think if it had been a first rounder, I would bet it gets done. So I mean, mostly this is me kind of thinking out loud and just trying to put two and two together here. But I kind of wonder if LA was around there and just didn't give us high a pick that, uh, Vancouver wanted. I like, I've said this, I really like Besser, uh, and I think he's been a very loyal Kinnock, I hope one way or another, uh, this works out for him. Do we think Besser is just going to play out the season and then walk?

Is that our assumption right now, or is it way too early to make any assumptions with that? If I was the player and I kind of went through everything that I had gone through the last few weeks, I'd be inclined to see what was out there going into July 1. What about if you're management? Do you just need to make some changes to the

roster and can't afford to bring back Besser or do you, I mean, Besser wants to stay. He's been very clear about that to the point where, you know, I think it's pretty much a given that he might be willing to leave some money on the table in order to stay. Yeah, like I don't think the relationship is fractured to the point where if like a nice fat contract couldn't make everyone happy at the end

of it, but I would say it's an interesting thing sometimes because, you know, we've heard past anecdotes in the National Hockey League of players never even considering the option of going elsewhere until they kind of get like a taste or a sniff or a look. They get intrigued or enticed by something and then the idea sort of starts to percolate. Right? It's exciting in some ways, right? Yeah. And then you start looking at, well, maybe, you know, life could go in this direction. Then you start thinking, well, I have been in one place for a long time.

Maybe a move wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing. Also, you know, unless this year takes a 180 in terms of trajectory, there's probably going to be a bad taste left in a lot of people's mouths in the Vancouver Canucks organization from this year. Like go down the list of Vancouver Canucks and

you can start in management and then the coaching staff, and then the players who right now is walking away from this year being like, that was a really good season for me and for the team. I had a really good time. We had a really good time as a team. Like who's saying that right now? Maybe Lankton.

Maybe, maybe Garland. Sure would. There's only a handful of guys. There's more guys that are probably saying this was a really tough year. This was a slog. We went backwards and I would also look at management and there's a lot of blame to be laid at the feet of the Alvin and Rutherford duo this year. It's There's been, for the first time for me, some real concern about things that they've said in the past or behaviors that I've liked, moves that they've made,

staples and signatures of management that they've had that have kind of seemed to have either been clouded or muddled or they've gone in the opposite direction. I think the notion of we don't let our unrestricted free agents walk for nothing. We don't let guys go out the door. That's hanging on by a thread. Cause if Souter and Besser V.

Cause they just did. But well, but here's the thing. I mean, there's still time to, I guess, theoretically to either re-up with both. Yeah. Maybe you trade the negotiating rights to both. Maybe you are able to, I don't know how, but maybe you do something with these guys. But right now they put themselves in a position.

And I think just putting yourself in this position is a problem where both those guys could walk after the team misses the playoffs. I just can't wrap my head around right now, the idea of giving Besser a big contract extension, not because I don't like Besser. I think he's a good player. Um, I think he's been worth the money that

he's gotten. I think he's been a good part of the team and a good part of the community. But this forward group needs so much change. I agree. I mean, they need to figure out, I mean, Freage has reported in the past that the end of the season, there's going to be a big come to

Jesus moment with Elias Pedersen. I mean, they need to answer a question of whether or not Pedersen and Tauket can continue together. Because if we go into next season and Tauket is still like, you got to move your feet. I don't know, I don't, I can't do 82 games of that. you got to move your feet. I don't know. I don't, I can't do 82 games of that. Like I can't do it.

I don't think they can either. And it's not good for the brand. It's not good for the organization. Like those two have to decide whether or not they can work together and it might be a choice for management to make whether or not, you know, you, do you have, do you keep, do you keep one of them? Do you keep none of them?

I just don't see keeping both of them a solution unless that come to Jesus moment has all of them like breaking down in tears together and saying like, can't we all just get along? Right? Like it's, and even then, right? Like talk is cheap. Talk is cheap.

Like it's, and even then, right? Like talk is cheap. Talk is cheap. And even when, um, PD had that nice goal against the wild on Friday night and everyone was like, wow, he shot the puck. You know, he had the courage to take the one time where he ripped it and it went in. You know, Rick Tuckett's comments after the

game were kind of like, yeah, it's good, but it's got to be consistent. And then the next game, you know, he's not saying nice things about Pedersen after the game. So this, this can't continue like this. And the uncertainty around this team right now is very high. Our one is in the books before we go to break.

I need to tell you about Jan Pro from the boardroom to the break room and everywhere in between Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected. For a free quote, visit JanPro.ca. Coming up on the other side, Brady Henderson is going to join us. We're going to talk with some Seahawks after a massive weekend. Geno Smith gone. DK Metcalf gone.

Who's going to be the new quarterback in Seattle? We'll try and figure it all out next on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.