Halford & Brough in the Morning - How Long Do The Canucks Wait To Make Another Trade?

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

In hour two, Brough and guest host Josh Elliott-Wolfe discuss the latest Canucks trade rumours with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:21), plus they look ahead to Saturday's big Seahawks matchup at the 49ers with ESPN's Brady Henderson (25:26). 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, Sirrevelli, Frank, welcome back to Halperny, know Mike, It's Josh Ellie Wolf, uh, filling. Yeah, okay. Josh Ellie Wolf filling. Gotcha. Alfred Abram. Got them. I'm just never going to know.

I'm never going to know them. And that's okay. Alford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt free in just two weeks. Visit sands dash trustee.com. This hour of Halperdunbruff is for Jason. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you, that's jason.mortgage.

We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio, Make 2026, your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech custom orthotics. We go to the phone lines now. We welcome in Frank Sera Valley, NHL Insider, host of Frank Lee Hockey, and Frank Sauer Valley is a presentation of Angry Auder Liquor. Appreciate taking the time, Frank. How are you? Good morning, boys, and happy year.

Happy New Year. I hope you're doing well. And here in Vancouver, it feels like the conversation after, especially after every home game, is when is a trade going to happen and when are they going to get started on the post-Quin-Hugh's sell-off? Do you have any idea of kind of what a timeline looks like here for the Canucks? In terms of an exact timeline, no. Everyone's just getting through their holiday hangover.

The roster freeze has been lifted, as you know. And as we inch closer to this next deadline, because in a lot of ways, NHL front offices need deadlines to make things happen, eyes are really on February 4th and this roster freeze prior to the Olympics. There's very likely to be big names that are participating in the Olympics, that teams are looking to make moves on prior to, subjecting themselves to that injury risk of high leverage hockey in Milan. So that's really the next thing.

In terms of some other pieces, you know, I think there's certainly less pressure on players that aren't going to be participating in the Olympics to have them moved before then. But when it comes to sizing up that market and if you're talking about pieces like pending UFAs and Kiefer Sherwood, I mean, there is certainly the possibility that they wait until closer to March 6th, but, you know, it's clear that the Canucks would like to try and get moving in that direction, but they want the best deal possible, so they're going to wait until they get it. I imagine a lot of the teams that might be in the market for Kiefer Shrew would want to

wait until the last possible minute just because, well, A, Kiefer Shurwood could get hurt the way he plays, but also you never really know the situation you're going to be in at that points, and I've talked about it earlier. Unless you're a firm playoff team. No, but even then, you might, you know, you've only got so much ammo to use at the trade deadline. And let's say you have an injury on the blue line all of a sudden in the next few months

and you're like, oh, actually, you know, we prefer to use this ammo on defensemen, but you've already spent it on Kiefer-Sher-Wood. I just wonder if that is having an impact on the Kinnock's decision because I think that the Kinnock's had a deal that they really liked. They probably would have pulled the trigger already. For sure, because, again, circumstances change and that deal might not be there later.

So I think right now they probably have a pretty good sense of what the market looks like and what kind of realm they'd be living in in terms of a return for keeper Sherwood. You're right, though. Ammo needs positionally and organizationally standings can shift. And the other part, too, is, and I've mentioned this a couple times, that when it comes to Sherwood specifically, there's a lot of things. that like the player, it's not really that different of a conversation than Pew Souter a year ago. They like the player, they'd like to acquire him, but they're not entirely certain that they're

going to like what the next contract number is. And that's also part of the equation in terms of making this deal. Do you think we'll be surprised by any of the Canadian players on the Olympic roster or any of the omissions? What do you think, what are the hot button players? Surprise. I mean, it's hard to say surprise

because we've sort of been talking about the same general circle of players for the last six weeks or so. I mean, one of the hot button conversations or debates is going to be a guy like Connor Bedard

I mean, he was trending toward 100 points when he got hurt and he's now skating again and he's trending closer to probably a mid to late January return for the Hawks but I have him on the outside looking in and probably as one of the first guys up as an injury replacement but if you're thinking about Team Canada's overall structure and format I mean if we're debating like 13th and 14th forwards. And that's sort of the embarrassment of riches that they have up front. And so is that a surprise? I mean, probably not based on the way the conversation has gone the whole time.

Hey, Baby Canada only wants one of Bedard and Celebrini or there's some concerns about experience. And I mean, there was a conversation earlier, obviously, about the smaller ice surface and how much will they lean on maybe some bigger guys, like a Tom Wilson, for instance. So, yeah, I don't really see any surprises. It's been the same ballpark of players, but I think we tend to focus on the moves made on the margins as opposed to the actual meat of the roster,

which is what's going to win you a gold medal or not. Yeah, I mean, we've been talking about this Canadian forward group as maybe the greatest forward group ever assembled in international hockey would be in the conversation which actually brings me to the defense

because there's there can be some very good players on the Canadian Blue Line no question about it but you know if you're going through this tournament and let's say Canada doesn't win right

I don't think it'll be because they don't have enough scoring and it'll be like oh they should have had Bedard on it if they don't have enough scoring and you're like well what were McKinnon McDavid and Celebrity doing

like what were they doing but I do wonder about a kid like Matthew Schaefer and the argument to put him on the roster over someone I don't know like is Travis Sanheim going to make the team is Colton Pereco going to make the team

what have you heard about the blue line yeah the blue line is I mean it's going to come down to blue line and goaltending right I mean the thought that has emanated from the team Canada camp over the last two weeks since they met before the holidays and heading into the break was there are a lot of people in that room saying do we really need to make

significant changes this is a blue line that was big it won four nations face off we've got this forward group that there's a lot of defensive excellence they can make simple plays they're not I mean outside of kale macar um most of them aren't going to wow you in terms of things that they do with the puck but that's kind of the point when you have such a vaunted forward group is that they don't need to and so that's been the prevailing wisdom has been there aren't many changes that need to be made here and are there questions about some individual performances this season has sanheim been as good as he was last year no has cold Pereko been as good as he was last year.

No, same thing with Jordan Bittington in net. But Brandon Montor is a name that's been talked about. He's been just okay for the Cracken. Matthew Schaefer has been excellent, but he's an 18-year-old defenseman and the fact that he's even in that conversation changing the Islander's franchise is amazing enough

for a guy that turned 18 in September. But he had kind of hit a little bit the wall of late. He had one assist in his last six games. And so you're saying this is the longest season, the biggest grind that he's ever been through. Now we're going to add in the Olympics on the back end of it. And he might be a great option to have. But I think the trend has been towards, it's been a fun exercise, but probably not this year. And then there's Evan Bouchard, who everyone understands the plus and minus of his game. So those are all the names that have been in that conversation and like it would bringing evan bouchard as the eighth

defenseman be a mistake i don't i can't say that it would be but they've kind of continually come back to well we like what we have you mentioned that a lot of the debate is is about guys around the edges right like the 13th 14th forward or 7th or 8th defensemen so theoretically like these guys aren't going to play that much anyway does the The conversation of getting young guys like Matthew Schaefer, Connor Baderd, or whoever it is, or for the American side too, getting them experience at the Olympics, does that factor in? Or is it strictly just, hey, these are our guys? No, it's way more, Josh, about these are our guys.

I mean, if you could have an unlimited taxi squad or an additional five guys to bring over and practice with you, they would be on the team for sure. it's this is about winning a gold medal it's not about getting someone experienced they didn't feel that way in 2006 about Sidney Crosby and it'd still be a mistake to not have brought him but their experience is going to be gained in the NHL over the next handful of years prior to 2030

and that experience can be gained in the 2028 World Cup of hockey so that's not their thought process it's solely about winning the Americans how much concern is there about Austin Matthews his health and his form I think more about his form than his health near as I can tell the productivity or lack thereof has certainly been alarming and I think more than anything when you look at how this Toronto Maple Leaf team has floundered this season and i mean maybe last night was their most impressive win of the year that they're not making a change at captain and austin matthews is wearing the sea like that to me

is it's concerning because you want someone who's been there not at the olympics and and done it and won it because no american has since 1980 but to have someone that's been in the fight and has gone deep and has been in these big clutch situations. Canada's loaded with that group and not just from Stanley Cup success but also holdovers from previous Olympics. I mean, Drew Dowdy

played in Vancouver and so did obviously Crosby. The U.S. has no one like that in their arsenal and I thought it was a mistake making Austin Matthews the captain for Four Nations faceoff and now continuing on moving forward, doubling

down and keeping him in that role when his play hasn't been up to snuff and you mentioned his health like he continues to provide zero context about what's happening we can only judge him by play on the ice what do you think's going on there is he is he just is he tired from all the the maple leaf's drama is he is he is he searching for a change of scenery what's what's going on What are people saying? I don't have any indication that he's searching for a change of scenery, not yet. When it comes to him being tired of the drama, I mean,

I don't know how many people have had it better than Austin Matthews the last decade. In terms of treatment, in terms of being in a situation that enables you, having everything provided for you to be able to win, to be surrounded with high-profile star players. I mean, everything's been put on a platter for you. And if you can't find a way to deliver in that situation, then that's on you. In terms of, you know, being tired or anything else,

I can't speak to that. but the I think what everyone would really like to know is how is how is his health impacting his game he doesn't talk about it and I've only

been able to take cues from what we hear their coaching staff and management group say which is very little about it and they're also at times relatively critical like Craig Buruby has not been shy about asking for more from Austin Matthews specifically over the course of the season.

And when the coach says that, typically they don't push, certainly publicly, when you have a player that's hurt. And there's no question that he's been playing through something. But this year, I've heard way less talk about him playing through something and more so just his overall lack of, not just production, but also lack of intensity and compete. which has been more concerning than anything. What are the Leafs going to do? We talk about the rebuild all the time in Vancouver to the point.

I'm just, I can't even do the debate. I will because I get paid for it, but I don't want to. I look at this Leafs team, and, you know, especially the defense. I mean, they're old. You know, they're not going to get better. And I don't, I don't, what is the plan there? Because it seems like they could use a serious freshening up of the roster? But how are you going to do that? I mean, they don't have, they, they mortgaged all of

their futures for players who aren't difference makers. So they have no picks for the foreseeable future. Their prospect pool is relatively barren. And now we have these existential questions about Austin Matthews. And is he the guy to lead the team moving forward? Is he, the centerpiece, is he the guy that you build with? I mean, we're talking about two, relative to his own standard, two pretty average seasons in a row. I mean, this is a guy who was a 69 goal score and a hard trophy winner. So, Marner's gone.

If he's not the answer, then what? And now, as these guys are approaching 30, it becomes then a different, you know, question. You mentioned their defense is old. like the rest of the forward group isn't exactly young anymore so you blink and you go okay the Leafs are one of the

older teams in the league now now what it's not really all that different like look how fast the conversation has changed around the Winnipeg Jets I mean now you've got Colorado Dallas and Minnesota in a clear separate tier the Jets I think woke up today

30 second in the league if I'm not mistaken and they've got all these guys signed like for the relative long haul what do you do Frank this is coming a bit from out of left field well maybe it's not but

has there ever been any discussion about limiting the amounts of no move clauses and no trade clauses because yeah because it just seems like I look at the Canucks I'm like how do all these guys have no move clauses back in my day a no move clause

was reserved for you know the best of the best Well, there had been talk about it, and it was something that general managers had put on their list with the NHL to discuss during the CBA negotiations. There was a relative non-starter for the NHLPA, understandably so, and they talked about limiting them to a certain number, potentially, and also the league at some point, you know, they had their list of priorities. it wasn't high on the list because it's something within the GM's control, right? If you want to limit the number of no trade clauses, then don't hand them out. So it's entirely within their purview, and I think what happens is a lot of management groups approach it like, well, we'll just give it out because it gets the deal done, it gets the job done, and we'll figure it out later, that there's so few players that want the pressure of, this team doesn't want you anymore, please leave,

that they don't like to stick around anyway, and it ends up just solving itself. So I do see it both ways. Like, I do think if you apply the right pressure as an organization, that the player gets the hint and it becomes a non-issue, but there are certain circumstances, particularly with guys that are pending UFAs, that have a lot of either total or a lot of control in the next destination,

that I think it really hampers and limits your return. Well, that's what it does too. And sometimes it gets to the point where as a team, you're like, well, actually, we might as well just keep them because our return is going to be so limited by this. What's that? Well, I mean, a few suitor is not the great example because he doesn't have the clause.

But I was going to say the other part is there are some general managers who would tell you, even if they don't have the clauses, that a lot of times what the agent will do behind the scenes, because you know that teams call the agent a lot of times before even making the trade, you know, it's not a conversation that's quote unquote supposed to happen, but they're calling about another player that's a client of that agent and just happens to come up in conversation that they try and ascertain, hey would this player be interested in signing here longer term or would this person be interested in

resigning at all and sometimes if the answer is no like that also then crosses the team off of a list and a guy that doesn't even have the portrayed protection ends up being protected from a destination that he doesn't want to go to before it ever even gets close to materializing yeah I guess I guess my point is just like a lot of the Canadian teams right now seem quite stuck And I, look, I don't think this. Stuck in what way? Stuck in the, and I don't think no move clauses are the main reason, but stuck in that they either refuse to rebuild or it's difficult to rebuild.

And I'm just wondering if the no move clauses are part of that. I don't think they're the main thing. But, you know, if you look at the Canucks and you're like, okay, well, let's start trading away some of these veterans, the no-move closets do hamper that effort and could hamper that return, where if you didn't have them, maybe it would be a little easier to change the roster around. Maybe, but like I said, there's certainly a subset that players that are coming up on new contracts end up seizing a lot of control anyway. in my belief is that any Canadian team that is stuck

and there's some American teams smaller mid-market teams that operate this way as well any Canadian team that is stuck in trying to do the right thing and fully repair and rebuild is because purely business decisions and look we've talked about this before but this is the next larger conversation to be had as the cap continues to increase

and Canadian teams pay out players in American dollars, as long as the Canadian and American dollars remain where they are right now, in a couple years' time, we're talking about a $160 million Canadian

salary cap. Yep. That's really significant because you can't just double your ticket prices overnight. To have revenue catch to that, it's going to be a long time before that happens. And teams are feeling the duress of if we're going to rebuild and we might have a half empty building, look at San Jose. It was

one of the most full buildings in the league for 20 years. For the last five, they've been averaging like somewhere between 8 and 12,000 a night. Yeah, it's not even the half empty building. It says also that you can't charge as much for the tickets. So, you You're per ticket. It all goes together. When it's a half empty building, the concessions are half. Alcohol sales are half. I mean, little things, I mean, little things add up to big things.

And budget-wise, like, unless you're prepared to cut a check for $50 million of operating expenses for the year, which a lot of people aren't, to fund the operation through that lean time, then you want to try and remain in the mix, which is why I'm in. mention Winnipeg. There may be the post Calgary's another poster child. Like, the reason why they don't fully tear it down to the studs is because they need, they want the money. They need the money to remain competitive. And maybe Winnipeg's just okay

having these guys locked up long term, even if they're battling only for fourth in their division, because let's remain in the mix as opposed to tearing it down. Frank, we appreciate the insights. Thank you for your time and happy New Year. These two guys, have a great one.

to you next week. Sounds good. There's Frank Serr Valley on SportsNet 650, brought to you by Angry Otter Liquor Plus program members save for game days at Angry Otter Liquor. This month, score big on 750 milliliter bottles of Crown Royal and absolute vodka. Stock up before puck drop. Visit Angry Otterlicker.cr.s. The Seahawks and the 49ers have a huge game on Saturday,

and Brady Henderson is going to join us next to preview the C-Hawks. Seahawks side of things. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. Welcome back to Howford and Brough. we're filling in for Mike Halford and

Halford Abruff is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt and back in the game with the financial fresh start. Visit sands dash trustee.com. This hour of Halford Abruff is for Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around

to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason. Dot mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Context Studio and you can text in 650, 650 is the Dumbar Lumber Text line. right now we go to the phone lines we welcome in Brady Henderson covers the Seahawks for ESPN

appreciate you taking the time Brady how are you? You got it guys how's it going? It's going pretty well pretty excited about the Seahawks game on Saturday I got to admit Brady I didn't predict that heading into the final week of the NFL season the Seahawks would be a top

ESPN's power rankings how big a surprise has this season been for you? Yeah I don't think I would have predicted that either. I think I could have predicted that they would have one of the best defenses in the NFL and maybe even the best special teams unit in the NFL. But I don't I don't think I saw them being quite in this position. I think I want to say I predicted them to go 11 and 6 or something around that. So they have surpassed my expectations. And, you know,

it's interesting. They have some pretty serious issues on offense. you know, with the turnovers and the slow starts and some shaky play by the same Arnold, and yet they might be the best team in football, which is kind of strange to say. But again, it's a testament to how good their defense has been, how good their special teams has been, and we'll see if that is enough to carry them in this game on Saturday and then into the playoffs. You've got to be thinking that every NFL team that makes the playoffs, everyone has got to be thinking, well, whine on us this year. yeah it's funny i i remember saying this to some friends earlier like you know when i go on the row

or when i cover games and i talk i always talk to you know my counterpart at espn before the game and i kind of get a feel for you know the other team and and a lot of times the conversation will go you know the other person i talked to will immediately start talking about the issues with the team that they cover and you know they don't do this really well or uh you know a quarterback play has been kind of suspect or had a defense got some holes on it and I think the takeaway is like the closer you

are to a team the more in tune you're going to be with their flaws and the reality is like every NFL team has flaws even the ones that end up winning the Super Bowl have flaws and somebody's got to win it every year and rarely if ever is that

team a totally complete like team where you really can't point to anything and say yeah that's that's a potential issue in the playoffs. And so my point there is, yeah, the Seahawks offense has been really shaky over the last month and a half. And Sam Darnal, you know, for the first 10 weeks of the regular season, was leading the NFL in total QBR. And over the last seven weeks, he's down in the late 20. He's like 27th.

But guess what? Every other team they might play in the playoffs, that's some issues. I mean, the 49ers, for instance, you know, they are getting by with a very, anemic pass rush given all of the key pieces they've missed and kind of like similar to the status offense. You wonder at some point, is that going to catch up to them? And I think you look at some other teams. Like every team has its problem.

And so, yeah, I think there is that question of, okay, despite that, why can't the Seahawks go all the way? Because every other team they're going to face just have some issues of their own. It is interesting for Sam Darnel too. And I've brought this up a few times this week because I'm a Vikings fan and I might be a little bit mad about last year still,

but he's in a very similar situation to last year where in the final week of the season, you know, they were playing for the division, they were playing against the Lions, and Sam Darnold didn't really have a good game, and now he finds himself in a very similar situation. And the question for me, I guess, about him is how he performs in these meaningful games

where the bright lights are on him. Is there any concerns with that with him? in my opinion I think that has been a little bit overblown I think it's a fair question I just think people have kind of prematurely jumped to a conclusion

that he can't do it and my counterpoint to that is well he really hasn't had a lot of opportunities too because when you play for the Jets for three years you're not playing in very many big games same is true with the two seasons he spent in

Carolina and you're right like he did not play well in that regular season finale last year with the Vikings and then obviously in the playoff game now with the playoff game you know like sacks are kind of an odd thing to like diagnose if you just look at the the box score like yes definitely some sacks are in a lot of ways on the quarterback but I watched all nine of those sacks he took and I'm telling you like I don't think there was a whole lot he could have done on a lot those. Like that offensive line had suffered a lot of attrition by that point in the season. So, but you're right. In the week before that, you know, the issue was open receivers that he just didn't find. And that was definitely on him. And so I just think, you know, he, you talk about big games.

Like he, and I know this was in college, and this was a long time ago, and this was one game. But he did play phenomenally in the Rose Bowl. I think he threw for like five touchdowns and 400-something yards in the Rose Bowl. So I just think there hasn't there hasn't been enough of a sample. to really say in the NFL that he can't win big games. Certainly you can say, though, you haven't seen him do a lot of it, though. How would you rate Seattle's past protection right now? You know, I thought that I think that when you have, when you're starting left tackle is out, I think Josh Jones has played as well as you could ask a backup left tackle to play.

Because the reality is there's not enough good starting left tackles in the NFL, let alone good enough backups, and I think he has played as well as he could hope. You know, Donald has taken more sacks of late, but I think that, I think that in some cases he's taking sacks as opposed to doing what he did in that first Rams game, which was, you know, put the ball in harm's away

when he's under pressure. So, I mean, part of the reason why he, you know, led the NFL in total QBR through the first 10 weeks was he just was not taking it. sacks. And that was a testament to the O line. It was a testament to him getting the ball out. But then you started to see, like, and it really started in that Rams game, okay, there's times where he would be better off taking a sack instead of just, you know, throwing a ball off his back foot under pressure like he did a few times in that game. So he's, he is taking a few

more sacks, but you will, you would rather him do that than, you know, try to chuck the ball and, you know, try to fit into like a really tight window to avoid taking a sack. So I think past protection-wise, you know, there were some free rushers in that game, and I think for Mike McDonnell made this point, I totally agree with it, that for as ugly as kind of the numbers looked, and that was the second worst game of Sam Donald's season by Total QBR, Sunday against Carolina. There were some big time throws he made on third down, like a third and four to Jackson Smith and Jigba in the fourth quarter to extend the field goal drive, where he takes a shot, man, and he just stands tall on the pocket.

pocket and delivers a throw to JSA. There's a similar third and four earlier on that drive to Cooper Cup, another third and nine to A.J. Barner, where I think he scrambles around. So, you know, that's the money down in the NFL, and for as kind of rough as that game was overall

at times, he got it done in some key moments. But that's going to be something to watch for, right? I mean, you've got the Seattle pass protection, which hasn't always been perfect, versus the San Francisco pass rush, which hasn't always been that good the season, especially some of the guys that

they're missing. Who do you think has the advantage there? Well, yeah, I mean, it depends on who is playing left tackle for the Seahawks and that suddenly, based on the injury report we got yesterday, that suddenly looks like it's going to be

maybe one of the biggest stories of the week going into that game because as I mentioned, you know, Charles Cross, he has not played the last two games because of a hamstring injury. Josh Jones has played pretty well, in his absence are well enough, but now Josh Jones is hurt, and he's dealing with a couple injuries. So never a good situation when your backup tackle is dealing with two injuries

while your starter is hurt. And, you know, by the way, their third string left tackle is an undrafted rookie named Amari Kite. So I guess if any team, like if the Seahawks had to be in the situation, this, believe it or not, is probably the team that you would want to have that situation against because the 49ers have just lost so many, you know, key players in their pass rush. Nick Bosa is out, Fred Warner is an inside linebacker, but he's out. And then Mikel Williams, their first round pick. So as well as the 49ers have been playing overall, they've done it despite patchwork pass rush.

And it's really like, and they got to Philip Rivers, but that's Philip Rivers, you know, and he's 44 years old and all that mobile. But for the most part, that has been one of the most. anemic, maybe the most anemic pass rush in the NFL over the second half of the season. Well, the Niners have issues at left tackle, too. I know Trent Williams didn't

practice yesterday. Neither did Chris from McCaffrey, by the way, but that sounds like he's going to play, and we'll get to him later. What are you hearing anything about Trent Williams, expectations about whether he's going to play on Saturday? I have not known. Maybe a little early in the week

to know, but yeah, he went down. I think it was the first play of that Bears game. Sunday night did not practice yesterday. So yeah, that's another, I guess the left tackle is, left tackle availability is going to be the big story this week. And, you know, Trent Williams is damn near my age and he still maybe the best left tackle in the NFL, which is pretty remarkable. So that would be a pretty significant loss for them. Well, let's talk about Christian McCaffrey right now because it brings us to Seattle's run defense. And, you know, we've been chatting for a few years now, Brady, and I remember a couple years ago, we would talk about

Seattle's run defense, and we would be sad because it was bad. It's one of the best in the NFL right now. How have they done it? Well, they've got the scheme and they've got the players. And, you know, I think it also takes not just talented players, but it takes guys playing unselfishly. And, you know, a lot of times when a team is not getting it done in run defense, you know, sometimes it's just you don't have the guys or you don't have the scheme but other times it's you don't have guys playing together in a connected and unselfish way and i've heard so many times where defenders will say like yeah we need to do a better job of just sticking to the scheme and trusting our teammates and not getting you know not abandoning my assignment to try to make

someone else's play and they just they play really sound fundamental run defense and they they they don't do unselfish things. And, you know, you've got guys like Byron Murphy, who's a first-round pick, who is, you know, taking on double teams. And, you know, watch the way he does it, by the way. He'll go down to a knee and he'll hold, you know, strong against, like, 600 pounds worth of offensive linemen who are trying to move him and he doesn't move. And so, you know, guys like that up front, I think they make the second level,

the job of the second level, really easy. and, you know, by the way, Ernest Jones is a really good player himself. So the run defense, it's just, I think it's a combination of they got the dudes, they got the scheme, and they all play together. And this is now 25 straight games that they have not allowed a 100-yard rusher. And that's despite facing a gauntlet of running backs, you know, in the last month or so, with Jonathan Taylor, it'd be John Robinson, Kyran Williams twice. None of those guys have topped 100 yards, and now maybe the best all-around running back.

football, and Christian McCaffrey will be another test whether or not they can do that. Hey, Brady, John Schneider must be feeling pretty good about his decisions these days. Not only with the guys that he brought in, which you mentioned, but also the guys he's let go, including Gino Smith and D.K. McK., who we've spoken about a bit this week, because if you think about it, that decision by him to go and engage that Detroit Lions fan could cause the Pittsburgh Steelers to miss the playoffs, because they should have beat in Cleveland last week. and now they've got to beat Baltimore this week and they won't have him.

Yeah, I mean, that was just a horrible situation there. But yeah, you're right. I mean, just so many home run moves one after another. And, you know, when they trade Geno Smith and they trade D.K. Metcalfe in the span of a few days, the natural reaction among a lot of people is, well, this team is rebuilding. And yet, you know, we've seen them a few times now.

like they have undergone some pretty drastic offseason changes and thinking back to like the 2018 season and it was kind of the same thing like a lot of people assumed that they're you know tearing it down to rebuild and what do they do in 2018 they make playoffs and now they're you know one win away from being the number one season so yeah i think john schneider is owed a tip of the cap for a number of moves he made and not the least of which was moving on from gino smiths And I've said this before, because I think it's a valid point that, you know, Sam Darnold was seven years younger than Gino Smith. His contract was quite, you know, a little bit cheaper than the contract that Gino, that would have taken to re-sign Gino Smith. And they got a third round pick in that trade. So if Sam Darnold was only just as good as Gino Smith, that trade is a win. And, you know, even with the shaky play over the last month and a half, San Donald's been quite a bit better than Gino Smith. And so that trade was just a home run.

And signing to Marcus Lawrence was a home run. And, you know, I think Cooper Cup is an interesting one because the production hasn't been, you know, anywhere near, like, what his best day is what the Rams was. But, you know, he's been productive. And I think he has a guy whose value really is, like, goes beyond the bottom line production because he's a really important guy behind the scenes, kind of a tone setter, guy who helps out a lot of players around him. So I think that's been a good signing,

even though $15 million per year average is maybe not, doesn't, maybe the production doesn't quite align with that. And then, you know, his first two draft picks look like they have Pro Bowl, all pro potential maybe even, Graze Abel and Nickyman Worry. And then he pulls off the mid-season trade for Rashidjee, and the guy who made the Pro Bowl, and it's been a huge catalyst for them,

on special teams and even more recently on offense. So, I mean, the guy, it's just one home run move after another for John Schneider this off season. And when you zoom out and look at the reasons why they're, you know, 13 and 3 and in position for the one seed, I think you've got to start there. Hey, Brady, appreciate you taking time. Looking forward to the game on Saturday and happy New Year. All right, thanks, guys. Happy New Year.

We'll talk to you next week. Sounds good. There's Brady Henderson covers the Seahawks for ESPN. and yeah, just a monumental game on Saturday night between the Seahawks and the 49ers to determine the number one seed in the NFC who gets the buy and who has to go play what should be a relatively easy game

against either Carolina or Tampa Bay, not Tampa Bay, Atlanta. No, it's Tampa Bay, isn't it? Is it Tampa Bay? I thought because Atlanta won, they made it so Tampa can't make it. I don't know. Regardless, whatever team makes it, it's not going to matter too much

because theoretically either the Niners or the Seahawks should have an easy time against those teams. Anytime you go on the road, it can be tough, though. Sometimes I get jealous, considering I spend most of my time talking about the NHL of the NFL and how easy it is, relatively speaking, to make changes. Like rebuilding changes? Cutting guys.

Yeah, I will say. Just cut them. Yeah, it's so... Yeah, he has a contract, cut them. Yeah. it's awesome and honestly it's like if you are a fan of whatever team in the NFL too you can just make the case that like okay hey next year they're going to make all these changes in the off season they're going to make a trade they're going to sign a few guys and there's always like good free agents too yeah you can be an immediate impact too yeah you can find multiple guys in the draft that are going to play that have to play yeah on your roster right away you know if you look at the Canucks even if they get a top five pick next season that's not it's not going to be a difference maker and their second rounder certainly won't be in the in the lineup or you know that doesn't happen second rounder in the NFL drafts like you're starting yeah sometimes six rounders by the end of the year like they're they're they're in the lineup too it's

it is a it's a completely different approach I guess and it's it makes it a lot more fun for fans I think for the most part because as soon as you have the quarterback or at least a competent quarterback yes you just go you know what it's we're ready go all in do whatever you can to to to go and get pieces and yeah, you might still be trying to get draft picks and build through the draft, but it all of a sudden becomes a lot more realistic, whereas in hockey, it's like, okay, you need seven guys in the draft and it's going to take them like four or five years to really be good, and then you've got to go and get complimentary pieces, and it's like, ah. And there's a hard cap.

It's a hard cap. And you can't cut guys. You're just stuck with that. Why do they all have no move clauses? Yeah, they're stuck with bad contracts. They're like, God, how can we get out of this. And then to re-sign guys, you know, so often have to go to max term to keep guys. It's, uh, the NFL, it gets a lot of criticism, but it's pretty dialed in in terms of delivering. Um, it's not very player friendly, to be fair. No. But fan and league friendly, yes. Because it's the weakest of the unions. Yeah. Yeah. Of the four majors, the strongest one will be baseball. They don't have a salary cap yet. And then you've got NFL where you're like, you're cut, but I have a contract.

That doesn't matter anymore. And I know there's guaranteed money and teams have gotten themselves into trouble, but the fact that there are still the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets of the NFL says more about those franchises than the league, really. Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. And it's almost, it makes it easier as a fan, I think, to be legitimately. frustrated with the team

in the way because you could just be like this is incompetent if you can't figure it out in this league for that amount of time especially when you are getting high draft picks and you are I mean I would Well the Browns quarterback situation over the last what is it now

10 decades century like it seems like a long time when I was a kid I was a bit of a Browns fan because I watched yeah I mean this is at their old stadium and I and I I loved like the dog pound

I loved their fans and you know when you first started watching something you're like oh this is cool I didn't know this existed and those were back in the years of like Bernie Kosar and then the drive by John Alway killed them but it's it's insane to me

how many quarterbacks they've gone through since what are they going back to Bernie Kossar is like that is that the guy they go back to I did see a which is crazy if they are I did see the uh there was talk going around that like hey maybe the bucks consider trading baker mayfield in the off season and then browns fans are like well we need a quarterback i would love it i don't think

they do it it's hard to it's hard to like bite that bullet even if you think he's your guy but it would be fun i would love the narrative okay it's new year's eve i think with rand deep uh who is our next guest we should just go over the year that was in 2025 for the vancouver canucks and perhaps throw out the question, how can it be better in 2006? Can it be worse? It can always be worse. It can always be worse.

But in 2025, J.T. Miller was traded to the Rangers. Yeah, that happened this year. It was in late January where that trade went down. A few months later, some people weren't all that upset with this, but Rick Tocket says to the organization, thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to go to Philly. And then a few months after that, Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild. So J.T. Miller gone, Rick Tocket gone, Quinn Hughes gone.

And that all happened in the same calendar year. And I actually think it's fair to say that the Canucks, in a very short time, maybe two years, have gone from having three difference makers on the ice as skaters in Miller Hughes and Elias Pedersen to having none. I guess you could say they still have a potential difference maker in goal with Thatcher Demko, but we all know the story with his health. Over the last few years, he hasn't played many games because of his health. So hopefully a better 2026.

And we'll discuss that coming up next with Randeep on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650.