Halford & Brough in the Morning - Is An Offer For Tocchet On The Table?

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports (3:00), Brough gives an update on Rick Tocchet's future with the Canucks (17:52), plus they look ahead to the NHL playoff matchups currently locked in place, as Sportsnet's David Amber (27:50) joins the show. 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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It came out so fast! Good morning, Vancouver! 6.01 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. It is Halford, it is Bruff, it is Sportsnet 650. We are coming live from the Kintec studios in beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. A-Dog, good morning to you.

Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Bruff for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for dead health With over three thousand five-star reviews visit them online at sans-trustee.com We are in our one of the program our 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 they recycle you get paid visit them at

1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. Well, it's a Wednesday. It is the final game day of the Vancouver Canucks regular season. There's just two days left in the NHL regular season. So we got a lot to get to on the program today.

Our guest list today begins at 6.30. David Amber, Sportsnet, Hockey Night in Canada, NHL host is going to join us for Scotia Wednesday night, Scotia bank Wednesday night hockey. Here's what you need to know. It kicks off with Montreal hosting the Carolina hurricanes tonight. All the Habs need to do is get a single point and they're in the playoffs. But if Carolina wins in regulation, those pesky Columbus blue jackets control their own destiny tomorrow night in their final game of the regular season. Also the Canucks and golden Knights are playing this evening.

So we'll talk to David Amber about that at six 37 o'clock. Frank Sarah Valley from daily faceoff is going to join us. Lots to talk to Frank about today. His reporting on Tom Willander, the latest on Rick Tocket. We can also get updates from the rest of the NHL coaching carousel, which I imagine should start spinning pretty quick here because the NHL regular season will end on Thursday and it could be Black Friday, which is also Good Friday, but Black Friday for a lot of NHL head coaches.

Yeah, I don't even know if Peter Levyolette's going to show up to the office. I'll just leave my key card here. He's got some stuff there he's gotta get. Yeah. He's probably already got it already. Yeah. What are you doing coach?

Just cleaning up my office. Oh, for the off season? Uh-huh. Yeah, that's it. Somewhere. Spring cleaning. Eight o'clock, Randy Janda is going to join the program.

Canucks Golden Knights, seven o'clock from Rogers Arena. I was passed along a note yesterday that puck drop is going to be a little bit closer to 722 PM. So set your watches accordingly. It is the final game of the season for your 2024, 2025 Vancouver Canucks putting an end to one of the most dysfunctional and disappointing seasons in recent memory and maybe franchise history. We'll talk to Randeeb about all that at 8 o'clock. So working in reverse on the guest list, 8 o'clock it's Randeeb, 7 o'clock it's Frank Zarevalli, 6.30 it's David Amber. That's what's happening on the program today. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened.

I missed all the action because I'm moving. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? 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. Let's recap everything that happened in a busy Tuesday night in the National Hockey League.

The Calgary Flames, well, their playoff chase will come up just a bit short. The Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention yesterday after St. Louis whipped on the Utah Hockey Club 6-1 and more excitingly, the Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime overtime on Tuesday night. The ducks actually clinched their playoff spot with the goal that laddie played in the intro. It was the Joel Erickson echo with about 20 seconds left in regulation with the goalie pulled. That was it for the Calgary flames. The flames needed to win their final games of the regular season,

including last night's over the nights golden nights, which they did. But that win was ultimately rendered useless because the flames are out, the wild are in, so too are the Blues. The Wild clinched the first wild card in the West and will now face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. The Blues drop to the second wild card and will take on the Winnipeg Jets.

Quick note on the St. Louis Blues. After the Four Nations face off was done, they were out of that playoff spot by eight points. They made up eight points from the end of February on to rather impressingly make that final wildcard spot in the West. So all the playoff matchups are set except for, we don't know who Washington's going to play.

It's going to either be Montreal or Columbus, right? Could be decided tonight. Uh, the battle of Ontario is on between Toronto and Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, New Jersey. And as you mentioned, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Dallas, Colorado, Vegas, Minnesota, and LA Edmonton.

So some pretty good matchups. Really looking forward to LA Edmonton because I think the Kings might be the favourites in this. Although I noticed Connor McDavid is getting a little defensive about everyone calling the Edmonton Oilers, you know, injured and not healthy. And he was like, you know, everyone's acting like we're kind of like the walking wounded here. It's like, we're fine, we're fine. I'm like, you seem like you're being kind of defensive.

McDavid says- Is that part of your injury? McDavid says they're ready to roll. They're ready to roll. Yeah. Okay. Well, they're gonna have to be ready to roll. The quote was, I don't like the theory that people are counting us out. We're a great team here. Yeah, we've had bumps and bruises along the way,

but we're ready to roll. They're ready to dig in. It's a playoffs. And losing six to the Kings. Their path could be pretty tough as it should be to get to the Stanley Cup final if they want to do it again, because the Kings, again, the Kings are going to have home ice advantage in this series and the Kings are a pretty good team.

And then I imagine I'd be shocked. I think this might be actually, might be the biggest mismatch. I think Vegas and Minnesota. Yeah. Yeah. I'd be shocked if Minnesota upset Vegas. So then they'd probably have to get Vegas and then you're looking at either Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado. I suppose St. Louis could surprise, but I don't think so. Tampa Bay,

Florida is another series I'm looking forward to. And then again, the Battle of Ontario, which we haven't seen for a long time. Lattie, you remember the Battle of Ontario as a kid growing up in Hamilton. What was that like? A lot of hatred, honestly. I grew up kind of in the middle of Leafsland, essentially, but there's still a lot of Senators fans. I remember those days and it was exciting to have just like a local rivalry like that. It's what I imagine the Canucks and Kraken could eventually be one time in the know the future Maybe maybe not We're still hoping for that. Yeah, yeah, there was there was some genuine hatred You know and the little lean stuff where the leafs picked on him that go from new and Ike along the wall

The Sundine clapper from the blue line off the post and in there's there's some memorable moments between those two Patrick Leleem I yeah, I think Patrick Leilleim might be on the broadcast, on the French language. I think you're right. Broadcast of the Sens. That poor guy. Yeah. Had to wear the goat horns so many times.

It was always this sort of like Achilles heel of the senators, him, right? And he wasn't bad, it was just the goals at the worst, worst moments. I know, there were big Dan Cluchey vibes, where it was like great regular season goal, they can get you to the playoffs, but as soon as the playoffs start, it's going to go bad. Well, it's funny, there are still some connections to the Battle of Ontario because Max Domi is

on the Leafs and his dad, Ty, played for the Leafs and I think played every game of those Battle of Ontario, which just also shows how the league has changed a little bit because Tiedomi was in the lineup and I mean, he was an okay player, but he was mostly known for dropping the gloves and being pretty tough. And then, you know, Max Domi is no, it's not like he's a super, he's not like a soft player by any means, but he's not like his dad.

Travis Green played for the Leafs in at least one of those battle of Ontario's. So the 2002 battle of Ontario, that year was the last time the Leafs really sniffed a Stanley Cup final because they beat the Sens in seven. This is how long ago it was, thanks to a couple of goals by Alex McGilmey and they reached the conference final where they lost to Jim Rutherford's Carolina Hurricanes.

Paul Maurice's Carolina Hurricanes, if I'm not mistaken. I was actually looking back at that 2002 playoffs series or playoffs overall. Yep. And the Leafs-Kanes series in the conference final went six games. Okay. Six games of hockey. Some of it went to overtime. Guess how many goals were scored total in those six games?

In six overtime games? No, no, no. They weren't all, they were no goal. They just went to six games, just six games. 14 six overtime games? No, no, no. They weren't all, they were no goal. They just went six games. Six games. Just six games. I don't know, 14 goals or something? Yeah.

It was 16 goals. Yeah. The hockey team. 16 goals. Each game featured three or fewer goals. Four finished with a 2-1 score line. The NHL at that time, there was, there was hate in the NHL, which there isn't as much of today.

Because you had, I mean, the Battle of Ontario, which Laddy just talked about, but you also had the Red Wings-Avs rivalry around that time. And, but there wasn't goals. There wasn't, there wasn't goals. It was, it was different hockey. So anyway, I can't wait to see Brady Kachuk in this one. And is he going to be the guy that's going to bring

the hate and spirit into this series? So if you're going to power rank the series in the first round, you can push back on this and be like, but I think it's the battle of Ontario. And then there's a gap between the rest of them. And then there's like the other series. Like I think that this is got all the theater you could possibly want.

I know we're a narrative driven show. And I know Bruff and I especially really lean towards crafting certain narratives in this one. There's about five or six that are worth paying attention to that are really going to drive the emotional energy behind this. Like Brady Kachuk on his own, getting to go to the playoffs for the first time, having it be one of those

make or break seasons where it was like, remember we were talking to Wish yesterday, like the Rangers were sniffing around trying to get him out of Ottawa. You really got the sense that with his brother's success, he was longing to get over the hump and get into the postseason. And then when you get there, be a kachuk. So he's gonna be able to do that in the best rivalry, historically, one of the best rivals

we've had over the last 20 years. Now it's been dormant for a long time, but when it was going, it was great. And who better to kick this thing off than the guy that goes out of his way at every big moment to make it a bigger moment like the Four Nations faceoff. So that's great. You know who's also going to secretly be or quietly, not secretly, quietly going to be under the radar?

This is a weird one. Okay. Leafs fans. Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. I know exactly what you're talking about here because they're kind of sitting all season waiting for this. Leafs fans in general.

I just read an article, I think Myrtle wrote it in the Athletic just about how Leafs fans are so quiet and they got called out. Yep. By their players earlier in the season. They mentioned a number of times this year. And. Media and fans and players.

Yeah. You know, I was actually reading an article also in The Athletic and Patrick Laleem was saying that he remembers sitting in his home dressing room and the Leafs fans in Ottawa were drowning everything out. Like there was like a, you know, he was sitting in his home dressing room and he could hear before the game the go Leafs go chant And he was like God we're gonna have to have to score early So we get this crowd out of it and it's like this is a home game for us, right? like so but least fans at home and

No, whether you want to believe it's because they're all the suits and all the bankers and all the you know All the rich people there that don't make enough noise or whatever it is, they need to be there and they need to provide some sort of atmosphere because I would say in all of the NHL, if there is a fan base that has a reputation for not being good, It's the least fans. Montreal fans on the other hand have a great reputation, but are the Habs gonna choke this thing away? I watched the Columbus game last night

where they played Philly and that was a buttoned up Columbus team. They went into Philly and they played a very solid game. They played like fundamentally sound. They beat a Flyers team that is already out of it, really had nothing to play for. And it showed. I don't know. I thought the Flyers like there was effort there. Sure. But I mean they didn't score a goal because I think the Blue Jackets played pretty well. They played a solid game. Montreal is going to host Carolina tonight.

And you know, we had Wish on yesterday. He was saying, oh, the Hurricanes aren't going to give up, like they're a Rod Brindemore coach team, they're probably going to see an opportunity to come into Montreal and be like, okay, well, what a great time to warm up for the playoffs because we're going to be playing a very desperate team. So let's use this as a warmup for the playoffs and we're going to be playing a very desperate team. So let's use this as a warm up for the playoffs

and let's play really hard. Um, you know, the Montreal crowd's going to be into it. So this is going to give us a bit of a warm up for the playoffs. On that, so let's say Montreal loses this in regulation. All they need to do is get it to overtime, but let's say Montreal loses it in regulation. Columbus can get in with a regulation win over the Islanders. Correct.

You know, like that's, that's like going into Philly to play the Flyers. They can do this. This is the, there is a possibility that there is a, you know, unlikely, but, but certainly possible that the Habs could blow this and they will look back on it and go like, we couldn't beat Chicago at home. With the chance again to the playoffs, we lost to the Blackhawks and frankly got outplayed

by the Blackhawks. Did you know that the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Skyler Brindamore from their AHL affiliate? He of course is the- Skyler. That's Rod Brindamore's son, Skyler Brindamore from their A.H.L. affiliate. He, of course, is the Skyler. That's Rod Bryndamore's son, Skyler Bryndamore, former Triloac chief. Twenty five years old might and I think will play against the Habs tonight.

So I don't know what kind of lineup Caroline is going to be icing. You have seen teams across the NHL rest. Yeah, you guys going now. That is true. That is true. But I think I think they're going to play hard. Can I just say this? And I will apologize in advance to all of you Montreal Canadiens fans out there. I Kind of want to see the Habs lose tonight because I want to see what happens tomorrow if they do lose having the door open It's good theater and good drama. I'd rather the theater be in the playoffs. I want to make the playoffs

No, I know. I mean ultimately what cheering for the Habs not making the playoffs It's just cheering for the drama to come down to the very Last yeah, here's what I'm the risk that yeah, I know that's real Andy That's the chase here's the other dragon you know how for do you really want to see like you want Montreal to be in the Playhouse right yep, okay. Do you really want to see it play out like? Columbus has a chance Columbus poor Columbus has been through so much this season think I'd be great You want us, but but then you want them to lose. I don't want them to lose.

I want the universe to unfold in whatever way that it might. I just want that dynamic there where a team has the opportunity to control its own destiny on the last day of the regular season. It's very philosophical of you. Thank you. I want the universe to unfold as it will.

If it's, the Columbus Blue Jackets are meant to do it, then they shall do it. And that means that even though I would love to see the Bell Center faithful and Ivan Demidoff in the playoffs and all that stuff, if they don't get the job done tonight, then I think there is some sort of like cosmic energy where you're like, you blew it against Chicago and you blew it against Skyler Brindemore and the rest of the Carolina Hurricanes. Well, to be perfectly honest with with you if Montreal loses in regulation tonight

I might flip over to cheering for Columbus now. No seriously because well Montreal you don't deserve to be there It's not your time your time will come let's go blue jackets because I get to one five in a row down the stretch They're getting shoutouts from a guy named Jack Greaves who laddie loves. He's a tiny little guy, isn't he Laddie? Well, he's listed at six feet, but he's one of those guys where it's like. Is that a UC Saros six feet? Yeah, it's a UC Saros six feet. Okay. I want to quickly talk about Rick Tocket because I think things are

happening behind the scenes right now. I've heard that the Canucks have given Rick Tocket an offer that they are pretty hopeful about. And if you hear Rick Dollywall, he'll be like, the Canucks know the price, the Canucks know the price, to sign Rick Tocket or to get this deal done. Now, I don't know if they've met that price, but I think they've given him an offer that's pretty generous in their eyes. And I think they probably want to get this

wrapped up in the next couple of days. So the end of season presser, they can have Rick Tocket there signed, sealed and delivered, and then get onto all the other things that they have to fix. Now, if they don't get Rick Tocket signed by this end of season presser, whenever it's going to be Friday, Saturday, whenever, whenever, that is going to be a,

a big thing. And it's going to be tough for this management group that already has things to deal with. Like Tom Willender might be a back burner issue right now over the next couple of days, right? Like I, I'm not suggesting that they don't care about that, but they want to get this Rick Tocket thing done.

And part of the reason is because they really like Rick Tocket and they've come out and said, like, we want Rick Tocket here. And if they, if he, if he decides to say like, yeah, I don't really want it. Like even though you've given me a good offer, not really digging the vibes here or whatever. Sure.

That's going to look awful on management, awful. And like they'll have to deal with that and then they'll have to go out and find another coach. They'll be like, okay, well, this is another thing we got to add to our list. And what is Quinn Hughes going to think about that? Because Quinn Hughes and Rick Tuckett are tied together now because Quinn Hughes has gone out of his way to say, I want Rick Tocket back.

And if Rick Tocket says no to the Canucks, he's also saying no to Quinn Hughes. And you know, Quinn Hughes is pretty important for the Vancouver Canucks over the next two years. Yep. They have to show him that they've got what it takes as an organization to get things done and to turn this team into a Stanley Cup contender. If they can't convince their head coach to stay,

what's that going to say to Rick, or what's that going to say to Quinn Hughes? Well, can I also just expand on why time is of the essence here? And that's because the NHL regular season ends on Thursday. Traditionally, the teams that want to get rid of their head coach do not waste any time in getting rid of them as soon as the regular season is done. So right now, if you want to talk about Rick Talk it and could he go elsewhere? Would he go elsewhere?

Right now, there are three interim gigs up for grabs. That's Brad Shaw in Philadelphia, Anders Sorsen in Chicago, and Joe Sacco in Boston. I would suggest, and we'll talk to Frank about this coming up in about a half hour's time, that all three of those jobs, I mean, if they're not already conducting interviews, and I think the Blackhawks are already down that road,

they will be shortly. Then you've got to throw, it's almost 100% that Peter Lavillette's gonna be dismissed in New York, right? He won't be the coach of the New York Rangers after Thursday. Maybe they wait a day or two, but I think they'll probably get it done right away.

So then there's another job that opens up. Then you start looking around and you're saying, well, what other teams might make a change? Like I could be convinced that the national predators would look at making a change behind the bench because it was such a disaster this year. The one that you always have to keep an eye on every year they don't make the playoffs

is the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mike Sullivan. And I know that they love Sullivan, that the ownership groups love Sullivan and they respect him. And I think Cal Dubas feels the same about him but they're going in a direction that it's nobody sure exactly where that direction is Sullivan's been there for a long time I think he's the fourth or fifth longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League so you got to keep an eye on all of these jobs because

the more jobs that open up the more leverage it gives a guy that's looking for one right if there's six or seven openings, you could always be like, I got your offer. Thank you very much. I would like to interview. And you can always play it off. Like, I just want to go through the process. Just want to learn, learn how to interview, right? And everyone knows that's a lie.

You're just out there trying to get the best deal imaginable. But Thursday, NHL regular season ends. Friday, it gets really interesting for coaches because there's a very small window where jobs open up and then quickly jobs get taken away. But would talk and be able to talk to them. That that that's the other thing that's, that's, that's hanging over this because we've heard.

You can talk to some, I'm doing air quotes on the air right now. You can talk to someone. No, no, no, no. You can have someone talk to someone. No, no, no. You can have someone talk to someone. No, but if the Canucks, so I know Elliott Freeman reported over the weekend that the Canucks have kind of cooled on the idea of

using that team option that they've got on Rick Tocket as this like, don't talk to anyone. Right? Like you're staying, you're either coaching the Canucks next season or you're coaching nowhere. You can go back to TV, right? Apparently they've kind of cooled on that idea. But I just wonder if this week is it.

Cause Freach has also reported that you're going to get a decision one way or the other pretty quick. So is Thursday almost the last day? D-Day? Where they're going to say, okay, look, we've made our best offer to you, take it or leave it. And if you leave it, you can go if you want. Yeah.

Right? Because we're not going to be this organization that, well, we might, but we're not going to be this organization that says like, you have to stay, right? Like no matter what you have to stay and we're going to, we're going to, you know, cause that would be spiteful at that point, right? Just to be like, well, we're going to, we're going to wield the option. Even though if you're, even though you're probably not going to come back and coach

because you don't want to. Right? Like at some point you just have to say like, here's our best offer. Do you want to be here or not? And if you don't, then buy. Because we only want people that want to be here. That's valid. I think as an organization,

that's actually the right way to do things. Because otherwise you just look kind of, like desperate and sad and like spiteful, right? Can I just have this on the record though? If I'm Rick Tauke, this is just me speaking personally and entirely opinion-based, but if I'm Rick Tauke and I'm looking around and I want to continue coaching in the NHL next season,

so I take a look at other available jobs and other opportunities than what I've got here, the Vancouver Canucks job, despite not being perfect, there's one thing that you've got, and it's you would get to coach the best player out of any of the other options out there. And I'm confident in saying that, confident in saying it. You get to coach the best player in Quinn Hughes

out of any of the other options. So I think that's a tick in the positive column. Also, that player loves you. Yeah. That player wants player loves you. Yeah. That player wants you back. You have. Papa? Yeah, right.

Papa? Are you leaving? Yeah, you have the best possible relationship. You're not going anywhere, Pepsi. Right there, right there. That could tip the scales, right? It's like. Yeah, but he also has to coach Elise Pedersen.

Does he though? You don't know which one I'm referring to though. Does, ooh. To come around, but. Very well done, Andy. Okay. Do you think the Rutherford and Alvey? You know, it'd be like Quinn make those puppy dog eyes Yeah, go go and talk to go and talk to talk hands in his pocket. Uncle Rick. Yeah, Rick Are you not uncle Rick? Unki Rick?

Fish we got a lot more to get into on theales of fish. We got a lot more to get into on the Haliford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. David Amber, Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host is gonna join us. It is Wednesday, Scotiabank, Wednesday night hockey. Tonight, we've got a bunch of games on tap, bunch of Canadian teams, but the one everyone's paying attention to,

it's the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes. Huge game for the Habs in their playoff chase. Uh, David will join us next to talk about it all. You're listening to the Halferd and Brev 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 post game show. Listen four to 6 PM weekdays, and on demand through your favorite podcast app. He is on the hotline baby It is time for David Amber He will talk some hockey maybe

I'm on the hotline baby I'm writing to the shrooms talking I remember what I was doing at 23, pooping in my pants There's a massive butt coming here guys No one's fighting rig talking No one wants to fight rig talking I'm on the hotline baby It is, it's David It is, it's David Amber It is, it's David Amber It is, it's David He's on the hotline for debt help with over 3000 five star reviews. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in hour one of the program.

David Amber, Sportsnet NHL Hockey Night Canada host is gonna join us here in just a moment. The highlight of hour one. 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, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver.

To the phone lines we go, David Amber joins us now on the Haliford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning David, how are you? I'm good. Second last day of the season. Seven of the eight series are locked in. Scotiabank weren't saying any hockey tonight. The Habs, it's a must get a point scenario for them. It's an exciting time and some really good matchups.

I know we're upset about the Flames not making it, of course the Canucks, but we do have some really good matchups to look forward to in the first round. Yeah, we're super upset about the Flames missing here too. I was crying all night. I will be upset if Montreal chokes this away, although Columbus getting in would be fine. Montreal, I mean they put themselves in a position here where it's not likely that

they're going to miss the playoffs, but it's certainly possible. And imagine if it all goes back to losing to Chicago at home. Yes. The whole narrative is switched, right? Like they were 13th in the East on February 28th and then they had this incredible run. And the whole narrative has been, oh my God, Montreal, unprecedented run and totally unexpected. And it's great. If they don't make the playoffs, that's all forgotten. It's going to be what a choke job. They lost their final four games of the regular season and missed the playoffs. How the heck did that happen? So the whole narrative has changed from underdog to like,

what are you doing? And it comes down to tonight. And yeah, you blow a two goal lead on home ice against one of the worst teams in the league with, you know, everything on the line for you and nothing on the lines for them. That'll be the game that probably really resonates with fans and the media and everyone else as to why they're not in the postseason. For sure, that'll be remembered as the moment. Do you think they're feeling the pressure a little bit? Because I mean, I think their last four or five games

haven't been very good. There's a game where they actually beat Detroit, but their first period was dreadful. Yeah, they probably are. I mean, again, it's a lot. You're look at the Buffalo Sabres in the last like two, you know, six weeks or whatever it's been, you know, they're playing free, they're

playing light and loose and just going out and playing and they're doing a lot better than when they actually had to think about what was that on the line, the prospect of potentially making a run or getting to the playoffs. And Montreal probably, you know, you're playing with the casino's money or the house money or however you put it for a little while there and now it's like, uh-oh, we have expectations here and externally, you know, you can feel some of that pressure for sure.

Having said that guys, they're certainly a younger team but they do have a lot of veterans when you look at the David Savars, Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson of the world. You know, they're not an overly young team in that sense. There is guys there who've been there. And quite frankly, remember, you know, a portion of this team was in the Stanley Cup final four years ago during the whole bubble situation. So that they they've been some I'm not gonna think this I'm not gonna chalk this up to inexperience in that situation But I imagine they're feeling the normal pressure of a of knowing, you know, everything's on the line tonight. Here we are We've let there's no more margins, right? And again, they don't even have to win. They just have to not lose in regulation so

I'm sure they're feeling a bit of the pressure and they know what's at stake and they've worked so incredibly hard to let it slip through their fingers. You don't want to let the New York Islanders decide your fate, right? If they lose tonight to Carolina, you know, Patrick Waugh, I'm sure he's going to wake up and come up with a great game plan to save his former franchise. I don't know about that, you know? Yeah, he might fit everyone to make sure Montreal doesn't make the playoffs. Yeah, they could take care of business tonight.

I'm sure they're feeling some amount of pressure, but it should be sort of within their grasp to recognize what they have to do and do it. What do you know about the lineup that Carolina's gonna ice tonight? Well, I only know what I had read initially. Oh, first of all, I think Rod Brindimore's son, Skyler. Yeah, he's up.

Is gonna, yeah, so that's a kind of a fun little family story there. I don't think they're bringing all of their regulars. I don't know Svechnikov and Ajo and Jarvis. I don't know, but I think there's gonna be some mishmash of players. Kind of like what we saw with Vegas last night with no Ikel and no Stone etc so it'll be a watered-down lineup but you know Carolina is a good team and they play a

very good system and you can they have interchangeable parts to some degree so it's not going to be a gimme by any by any sense of the imagination I don't know who's going to get the start in, whether it's Freddie Anderson or Kochakov. Not that there's a discernible difference necessarily between the two. I think it's less about Carolina and it's gotta be more about Montreal. And their starts have been,

even when they were winning games, you guys pointed out the starts were really crappy and they had a lot of third period dramatic comebacks. I think they need to come out of the gates flying, as they did against Chicago. Get a lead and this time hold a lead. We are speaking to sports net NHL host David Amber here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. David how excited are you for the Battle of Ontario? I'm really excited. It's been a long time and when you get all Canadian matchups whatever they are in the

postseason I think it adds a whole other element because every fan base is so passionate and so big. This is, you know, when I started out in the business, this was something I remember covering almost, you know, every year for a stretch of three, four years, it was Toronto versus Ottawa and Toronto always ended up winning even in series. They didn't deserve to just because of you know some some goaltending situations etc. But it's a good it's a good fierce rivalry you know it's a few hundred kilometres up to 401 from Toronto to Ottawa there will be a lot of Leaf fans in attendance in Ottawa you know people are laughing and saying great we have seven home games I'm not sure it's going to be like that but there will be a loud minority of Leafs fans in attendance in Ottawa. I think

there'll be at least a few thousand and it's going to make for a really fun atmosphere and then you know above and beyond the atmosphere guys look at the matchup the Leafs are really rolling right now they have everything on the line here you know we, we say this every year, they can't have another first round disappointment. But the difference between going into the first round versus Tampa or Florida where they would have been the prohibitive underdog, they're now going in as the prohibitive favorite against the team that hasn't been in the playoffs for seven years. So that changes the dynamic for the Leafs. As for Ottawa, you know, there's an incredible amount of excitement here.

Brady Kachuk's been sort of resting and getting healthy and rested and healthy Brady Kachuk, my goodness, that's gonna be a handful. It's gonna be like a bull shot out of a, out of the stables just ready to run wild and go crazy. So it's gonna be really exciting and we can't wait to have it. I'm not sure if it starts Sunday or Monday, but it's going to be a fierce, fierce, fierce series in Ontario. So this might be hard for you to answer because you're in Toronto and you're

around the Leafs every day, but does it almost feel like it's been a quiet season for Toronto? I know from our show's perspective, Halford, have we talked much about the Leafs? Like we've talked the odd time about, ah, is Borubei's the new coach? Is he going to be good for them or what are they going to do with, with Mitch Marner? Oh, the goaltending looks better.

But overall we, we haven't really, we've, we've talked about the senators more than the Leafs, I think. Yeah. You know what? I think that's fair. One thing, I'll give them a lot of credit. This Mitch Marner thing, the opening narrative of the season, oh, what's gonna happen to Mitch Marner? We're gonna be talking about this all season.

And to Mitch Marner's credit, he sort of addressed it right away and just said, I'm not gonna address it again. And to the media's credit, I think most people sort of respected that and understood, okay, when there's going to be news, we'll know. And if something happens mid-season,

as it happened with Nylander, the news will break and we'll get on with things. So it hasn't been this massive dark cloud hanging over the team and things have quieted down to a certain degree. So it's been- Oh, that hasn't quieted down. Yeah, everything's quieted down except my certain degree. So it's been. Oh, that hasn't quieted down. Yeah.

Everything quieted down except my crazy dog. Yeah, you know, it has been a quieter, it has been a quieter season with the Leafs guys. And I think they've just sort of gone out there in a business like fashion. It'll ratchet up. Listen, if they lose game one to Ottawa, you're talking about the Leafs. Um, you know, again, I think that's part of it too,

guys, is it doesn't 50 wins, a hundred points. It really doesn't matter. We've seen this from this group for the last seven years and it hasn't translated into anything. So it's kind of been like, let's see what April and May brings and then we can have the deeper conversation. So, you know, it would have been a noisier season, have the Leafs really underachieved, have they struggled to make it into the playoffs or had they had any of the drama off the ice

like we saw with the Canucks this year or the Rangers this year or Nashville perhaps as an underachieving team. Then there'd be much more noise. They've kind of just been very business-like in our approach, very professional, taking on the identity of Craig Barube, you know, workman-like efforts, low event hockey. So the games haven't been these 6-five, up and down the ice. It's been more two-one and three-two type games and hasn't been maybe as exciting, but certainly the wins have been piling up for them and they seem to be as

playoff ready as we've seen a Leaf team in the previous, this iteration of the club. Yeah, that's kind of what I was getting at is that, you know, it's been a relatively for the Leafs quiet season, but you know, I think we're all going to be looking at Brady Kichuck in this series and like, okay, go do something crazy, you know, and, and we'll see how it turns out because, um, Brady Kichuck can oftentimes be a great player for his team, but there have been criticisms

in the past that sometimes he gets a little out of control or overly emotional and in an attempt to help his team, he ends up hurting his team. Yeah, I've said in the past, I don't know if I go as far as to say he's hurt his team, but I've gone, I've said in the past, he's too good a player to be leading the league in penalty minutes. He's just too valuable to be like the Leafs, Ryan Reeves isn't dressing.

There's no one really for Brady Kachuk to square off and fight against. I mean, he could, I guess, fight Simon Benoit. The Leafs would love that. There's nothing they'd love more than to have their number five defenseman taking the senator's top goal scorer and captain off the ice for five minutes. So he's going to have to play with purpose and passion as he always does, Brady Kachuk that is, but he's also have to be sensible and play to the situation of the game. Having said that, I mean, there's going to be some healthy runs being taken at the Leafs star players, Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander, anyone, Travis Green, who

actually played in the Battle of Ontario 20 years ago. These guys know what the Leafs reputation come playoff time is and the time and space goes away and things get more physical. And these star players who average so many points and so many goals don't average the same goals and points in the postseason. So the playbook is pretty simple on what to do with the Leafs but you want to do it within the framework of the game where you're not taking silly penalties and not putting yourself on the penalty kill because the Leafs power play has been very good. Having said all that guys, Ottawa, and I don't know what this matters. I don't know if it matters at all, but Ottawa

is a perfect three and O versus Toronto this year. They've really had their number. I don't really think all of that matters come playoff time because we can go through, you know, even last year, some of the series where, you know, Winnipeg had swept Colorado in the regular season. Canucks and Oilers. Canucks own the Oilers during the regular season and then the Oilers got it done.

But I actually want to pivot to the Edmonton Oilers. What are you feeling these days about the Oilers? Conor McDavid is, you know, there's an article that Mark Spector wrote where he kind of pushes back on this notion that the Oilers are all banged up and injured, but they will be without Matthias Ekholm for the first round. Um, and you know, that's, that's a, that's a big

one. That's a big one for them. How do you think they're going to handle it? Yeah, I mean, it's funny. Um, it almost appeared like McDavid was sort of saying, well, it was a bit of a rope-a-dope. And listen, they needed some rest. Uh, McDavid needed some rest after Four Nations

and I'm not worried about Connor McDavid. I'm not worried about Leon Dreisaitl. I think they're going to be, you know, as they always are come this time of year, the best players on the ice. I am a bit more concerned about the complimentary pieces around McDavid and Dreisaitl. You know, they let, they made a decision. They let a lot of offense go in McLeod Fogel and who am I forgetting? Holloway, obviously. They let a lot of good forward speed and dynamic talent up front leave the team and

they brought in Skinner and Arvidsson, like seasoned veterans who are desperate to win, but they're not as dynamic up front. And the line especially without at-home as you pointed out is thinned out a little bit and the biggest question really is the goal pending and they have to start on the road against the best home team in the NHL so there's a lot of check marks there and you kind of say this is the most vulnerable addition that we've seen of the Oilers as they've gone you know now four years straight against LA they beat them in seven games then they beat them in six games. Last year they beat them in five games.

I don't think I'm anticipating a four-game sweep for the Oilers. I think this will be their toughest matchup of these four years versus LA. Having said all those things, I still am not going to bet against the Edmonton Oilers simply because they have two of the most proven playoff performing superstars we've seen in the generation in Leon Dreisaitl and Connor McDavid. That's just that they are the kind of guys who can single-handedly, or not single-handedly, but combined can go out there and win a game. Do you think McDavid's going to play tonight in San Jose?

Are they going to bring him down? It's funny because we're talking about McDavid. He had 99 points in 66 games, which is funny because 99 and 66 but You know and and he scored the winning goal in in the Four Nations One of the big goals in Canadian hockey history and we're also like a bit of a down season for McDavid Well, I mean it was I mean first of all, he's such a high standard right like this is this is the thing I mean he had 150 points a couple of years ago, right? If I'm not mistaken.

So he's set such a high bar that you're right. It seems pedestrian when he's flirting with the century mark. Um, I don't know if he's going to play tonight. I imagine that is something that he and the coaching staff and management will discuss and my guess is that if Conor McDavid wants to play, he'll play. And if he doesn't want to play he won't play and the only thing I can guarantee is when the playoffs start he's going to be 97. I was a bit nervous, I was a bit nervous before he came back then he came back and he looked incredible spurts had a seven he had seven assists in the first

two games he was back and he looked and he was controlling the ice. He looked like Connor McDavid. And I said, okay, great. So he's back. Um, I'm not worried about him. Um, it was a quieter season for him, but he had the rigors of going through that whole emotional Stanley cup final run and the physical toll it takes. And then he really looked tired after four nations. And I think if the Oilers made one mistake, it was

he scores the gold medal winning goal on Thursday. And then he played both Saturday and Sunday, two afternoon games. He played 36 hours after bringing Canada gold. He was back out there on the ice. They should have, you know, they should have given him some time and, you know, sort of sacrificed a little bit early to have him a hundred percent ready.

And he just didn't seem to physically or emotionally be where he needed to be for the first few weeks back after Four Nations. David, this was great, man. As always, thanks for taking the time to do it. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the games tonight. And then when we do this next Wednesday,

we'll be well into the first round of the playoffs. Thanks for having me, guys. And yeah, tonight we've got Carolina and Montreal. Montreal needs a point to clinch. This should be a really big game and a lot of excitement. If you haven't seen Demidov play, I suggest you tune in tonight because the kids have something special as well. So thanks again for having me.

Thanks David. Appreciate it. That's David Amber, Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. So it is the final game of the regular season for the Vancouver Canucks tonight as well That will be part of a Scotiabank Wednesday night hockey across the Sportsnet Network I can't remember when the Canucks hand out their team awards, but I think it is tonight I think that's maybe why the start of the game is gonna be delayed tonight all the team awards of course are wildly important

Including as Justin and hesvan just texted in, the Aaron Rome Least Exciting Player Award. Now this is a Haliford and Breff special. We've been doing this for years. Oh yeah, I know who it is. I know who it is. You've already got one. Oh yeah.

Okay good, so the premise of course is that the Canucks have a most exciting player award. I believe it's the Pavel Bure award. We wanted to celebrate the inverse, the least exciting player award. Aaron Rome is the namesake. For those of you youths out there that don't remember, Aaron Rome was a defenseman. He was as simple and plain as you can get, except for the massive controversial hit he

had in the 2011 Stanley Cup final. I think this award was started before that. It was. Yeah. It's designed for a guy that goes out there and he's a Milford man, right? You don't see him, you don't hear from him, but he does the job, but with no flash.

And you look back and you're like, he played that many games? Now that's the kicker, is when you go back and you look at the year end totals, the Aaron Rome Least Exciting Winner Award has to play in so many games that you can't believe he played in that many, because that means he was out there a lot, doing a lot of nothing.

And there wasn't an obvious winner of the award this year, but I would like to congratulate, although he's no longer with the Canucks, he is a local boy. Congratulations to Danton Heinen, who played 51 games for the Vancouver Canucks. He played 51 games. He played 51 games for the Vancouver Canucks. Six goals, 12 assists, 18 points, traded away. There weren't really any great candidates besides Danton Heinen.

That is number one with a bullet. Yeah, he was, yeah. He passed the test, which is when you tell somebody how many games he played this year, what's the reaction? I was shocked. That was like Tim Schaller. He played that, what? How many games did he play?

I think Tim Schaller won it one year when he wasn't even on the Canucks. That's how boring he was. But Dan, Dan Hyde is a great choice. I would not have guessed even close to 51 games. I thought 30 max. He started the, didn't he start the season on the top line? Maybe.

With JT Miller and Besser, was he? Yeah. Who's to say? And he was all over the place. Yeah. I never really found his groove. Hey, he's only a minus one, Halford, you'd be happy. Oh yeah, who ended up? Plus minus, respectable.

Who finished with the best plus minus this year? Well, it's not over yet, buddy. Marcus Pedersen. Right now, but he only played 30 games. Wow, you know who could be in the running for it? Because he's played 71 games so far. Nils Hoeglander, plus five. Yeah, Linus Carlsen has a plus five in 22 games.

Yeah, I'm gonna put the cutoff that you have to play at least half the games for your respective NHL team. Although in Pedersen's defense, the fact that he's a plus player at all this season is great because he played with two teams that had horrible goal differential. So good on Marcus Pedersen.

I think Hughes had this, the plus minus award locked up and then he's had some rougher games. He got down. He's still worn down. I's, he's so worn down. I mean, it's crazy that he is playing the minutes that he's playing, but I think he just wants them. I mean, half the time they come in overtime, right? Like three or four minutes in overtime.

He's plus three though. So let's see if he can finish with a positive plus minus on the season. Um, I wonder like what's the over-under and how many minutes he plays tonight? 30? I don't know. Would he play, it's the last game and how many minutes he plays tonight? 30. I don't know. Would he play, it's the last game of the year. It goes to overtime. But even if not, it's the last game.

No, no, no, no, but that can make it. That can make it. Well, I know. By the way, uh, Brock Besser could be playing his last game, uh, ever as a Vancouver Connect tonight, he is heading into this, uh, with a big lead in the clubhouse while he's not in the clubhouse yet. 24 under Brock Besser. The next is Jake DeBrasco at 14 under.

Get the tailors ready. There's a green jacket on the way. Yeah. Okay, Frank Cerovelli is going to join us next on the Hal Ferdinand Bruff Show on Sportsnet 650.