Halford & Brough in the Morning - Is Garland On The Move?

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest trade rumours around the Canucks ahead of Friday's trade deadline with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:31), plus the boys discuss the Blues potentially being the big player at the deadline, as The Athletic St. Louis' Jeremy Rutherford (22:57) 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.

Sarah Valley. Sarah Valley. Syra Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank.

Frank. 704 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Do you have CRA debt? If you do. Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up. 80% with no upfront fees.

Visit them today at sands. That's trustee.com. We are now an hour two of the program. Frank Sarah Valley. Our NHL and Center for Victory Plus is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Our 2 is brats by Jason hominock at Jason. If you love giving the banks more your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

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To get your business assets sold and your building cleared. I'll tell you what, let's go to that Able Auctions hotline right now. Frank Sarvelli, Victory Plus, joins us now on the Halford-Inbuff Show on SportsNet 650. What a Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this as always.

Let's begin with all of this trade. deadline chatter, but specifically focus on the Vancouver Canucks. And I guess even further specifically focus on Carter Garland, who became one of the main characters yesterday. Reports swirling out there that Boston's interested, the New York Islanders are

interested. Maybe others are interested. What do you know, what do you have on the Connor Garland front, Frank? I don't think it's been nearly as active as has been presented. I mean, there was like breathless coverage yesterday, people trying to connect dots that

I'm not sure exists. Do I believe teams are interested in Connor Garland? Yes, as it was posed to me yesterday by someone very closely connected to it, they estimated the chances that Connor Garland moves between now and Friday at 15%. So not high. And because of the contract that's attached to him, that it's a significant transaction that may well wait better for the summer because essentially then the conversation becomes would we be signing

Connor Garland to a six by six contract? How do we feel about that? And then the acquisition cost on top of it. Right. So let's assume that the 15% thing holds true in Garland. It is something that the Canucks kick the can further down the road. We know about their unrestricted free agents that are likely slash hopefully to be moved by the deadline. Are there any other names are there? I know Tyler Myers is obviously kind of stuck in limbo right now. What have you heard on the Tyler Myers front? Just that he's been patient watching this market develop, clearly presented last week with an opportunity in Detroit. I think had been warming to the idea of and was excited potentially

about the idea of Dallas, but Dallas has been focused on some UFAs. And I know Dallas was one of the teams that was calling about Connor Murphy, and as that right shot, UFA market has dwindled a little bit, do they open themselves up to a player with term like Myers and go out and make something like that happen? Or maybe what would allow that to happen would be getting a deal done first with Jason Robertson.

And if you recall going into the trade deadline last year, they were able to get an extension done with Wyatt Johnson before getting the Miko Ransiton deal an extension done. So everything kind of has an order in Dallas and they want to put those pieces together before adding a player with term. So for now they've been focused on UFAs and Myers is kind of sitting and waiting.

And to be honest, not entirely sure if the Detroit offer is still standing. Do you expect Dallas to be able to get a deal done with Robertson because we're seeing some pretty silly trade rumors involved. I know that's their intention. Yeah, okay. Um, but, and I know that's his intention. I mean, he changed agents in the middle of this season for that exact reason. So he, he wants to be in Dallas. I believe they want to have him. I think he's been looking for something in that rant in a neighborhood. And I think the stars have been a bit south of that, but I don't know

that it's a gap that's not possible to close here in the next 48 hours. bringing it back to the Canucks, what is your confidence level that the Canucks will be able to complete trades for all three of their pending UFAs? Evander Cain, Teddy Bluger, and David Kempf? Confidence level for all three? I don't know, 60%. Okay. Who's the easiest to move?

Blugger is the easiest and most valuable. And then the next. would be Van der Kaine and then Kamp. I mean, have to remember the circumstances that Kamp was operating in, as I'm sure you do, earlier this season, was essentially an NHL player. And, you know, the value of the position that he plays is real, but I think one of the really interesting things about this trade deadline

is that a few things. One, you know, there's been a lot of focus on some of the bigger names and rightfully so, the Robert Thomas's and that caliber of player. There's been a lot of focus on the typical pending UFAs, but I talked to a GM yesterday who had mentioned an idea that, hey, if I could add in my top six, great. I'm a playoff team, but I'm not spending assets to help my bottom six. I have other young players I think can fit and do the job. and I see a lot of the depth players that are out there as not important players that help our team right now.

And so I think KAMF kind of clearly falls into that category. The difference with Kaine is that he's previously, of course, had that top six game, and it slipped. And maybe the physicality and also the, you know, when he's engaged and on, and the playoff performer that's in him, maybe that is brought out again in the next place, but no matter what, I mean, no one's giving up a lot for him,

and the fact that it's taken this long to move a guy that the Canucks have been trying to move for two months now, two plus months, has been pretty eye-opening. Is there a realistic chance that the Canucks aren't able to find a taker for Evander Cain? Yeah, I think it's possible. I mean, the fact that it's, again,

gone on for two months, yes. But I mean, I think it wouldn't really take that much. Yeah. We're going to talk to Jeremy Rutherford coming up next to, you know, covers the St. Louis Blues for the athletic. Is Robert Thomas

the biggest trade chip out there? And could where he goes, you know, if he's traded, let's say, today, could that start some knock-on effects? Or is there another player that's kind of number of? number one in everyone's hearts? I think there's a ton of actually hanging on, in terms of a trickle-down effect, on Vincent

Trocheck. Because I think Trochec then helps dictate or determine the interest level and what happens with Nazim Cadry. And I know Trocheque has a different set of parameters that are attached to him, doesn't want to go west and made that clear this week, and will manage his no-trade. appropriately based on that. But Thomas is kind of in a class of his own. I mean, he's far and away the most valuable player that's been talked about.

He is arguably the most impactful. And because of those reasons, it's still really difficult to envision the St. Louis Blues getting to a place where they're moving on from a 26-year-old at a premier position who's just cresting into the prime of his career and signed for the foreseeable future at a very reasonable number moving forward in a rising cap environment. So when you smash all those things together,

like to really simplify it, in my view, if you're the St. Louis Blues and you're trading Robert Thomas this week, you're essentially announcing to the NHL that you don't have any plans on being competitive in the next five years because the first thing that you do once you trade Robert Thomas

is trying to figure out how you get the next one. We're speaking to Frank Sarah Valley from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. It feels like talking about the St. Louis Blues is a decent pivot point to talk about the goalie market because there's so many goalie questions out there. Edmonton seems like it's a perennial goalie question. I know Vegas has had troubles in that. And I know the Bittington's name has been out there along with a handful of others. But break down the goalie. I know it's a big question, but break down the goalie market for us as we get closer and closer to Friday's trade deadline.

Well, there's a few interesting names out there depending on how you, which prism you view them in. And there's a real shortage, as usual, of teams that are authentically looking. So the teams that I would put in the category of in the mix to potentially add a goalie include Montreal, Vegas, Carolina, Ottawa, and then if Pittsburgh were to move Stuart Skinner, are they looking for someone else? Right. So it's a small handful.

And when it comes to the goalies that are available, Skinner is one of them. I think to a lesser extent, Sergey Bobrovsky is, and I view that as more a negotiation tactic than an authentic threat to move. Look, when you haven't been able to get one of the best goalies of his generation signed to a new deal and you're trying to manage your cap, you want to pay him, you want to give him what he's worth, but you also recognize that at 38 that he's got a relatively limited runway.

So I don't know who's taking on a 10, even at Bob Brodowski's stature, who's taking on a $10 million goalie this week, and even if the Panthers are willing to get crazy and retain half, how many teams are really signing up for that, or when I say signing up, meaning trading significant assets enough to make it Florida's worth or while, to know that maybe in the end he's just going back to Florida anyway.

Who do you think is, who are you hearing right now as being especially aggressive, which team or teams? I think there's a few that fit that category. Buffalo is one. I think Utah has been aggressive for a long time, like going back to the summer. I think Seattle wants to add in their top six.

Carolina has been searching for that missing piece that gets them over the top. The Detroit Red Wings are particularly motivated to not just end this drought, but hey, if Buffalo and Detroit are actually meeting in the first round, which seems the likeliest possibility today, one of those two teams is guaranteed to advance to the second round,

which is a pretty exciting possibility for two teams looking to end droughts. Not to mention how raucous that would be between those two really proud hockey markets returning to the playoffs. So both those two teams are on this collision course that they want to try, they see an opening here.

They see a window. And maybe if you hit the Tampa Bay Lightning at the right time, that you, you know, you give yourself a puncher's chance. So that's sort of, like you have to keep an eye on some outliers here. And when I say outliers,

I mean, there are threats to do something big, but I wouldn't say likely. Montreal Canadians have been lurking in those waters. They've been engaged in conversation. The Boston Bruins. And then, you know, it kind of goes without saying, but the Central Division with Colorado and their center quest, same thing with Minnesota, and Dallas is looking to add up front and on the back end. Carolina is in Vancouver to play the Canucks tonight.

Is the big question there about the 2C and whether Logan Stancoven can handle that job and help get, you know, I mean, the bar is very high for the hurricanes. They've done the whole make the playoffs and maybe even win around a few times. they need to get to a Stanley Cup final and, you know, hopefully win the Stanley Cup final. You know, they've got Sebastian Ajo as their 1C, Stankovin as their 2C, and then 37-year-old Jordan Stahl as their 3C. Is that the position,

or are they willing to look elsewhere to give themselves, you know, just a better chance to finally get over the hump? So they aren't thinking about it from that perspective. like they're fully confident in Stancoven and they believe he's a player that's going to continue to grow with them and they feel really well situated there. I think if what we're actually alluding to here is the Elias Pedersen conversation because the Keynes have been one of the teams that's been connected to him, that they would view it through the prism of how many of these true difference makers really exist. exist and could we get him to be one again? Now, I think that's the same prism that a lot of teams view Pedersen through.

And this last couple weeks being particularly miserable in the stretch and saga of Pedersen, it's really hard to find stars and difference makers. And Carolina, I mean, that's been their quest. is the team that got Ranton in, they chase the big stars. And it's not because their owner likes them and wants to be in the news and is chasing only stars.

It's because they've got everything else covered. They need someone that when you're in the playoffs and it's game six or game seven, that's going to score you that massive goal that's going to be that 5% difference. That's what they've been chasing. And so they've yet to really get their hands on it. And I'd imagine that they're going to continue to have conversations like this one internally and externally about trying to find it, regardless of what position it comes in.

Before we let you go, what are you expecting for the actual trade deadline day on Friday? I know on frankly hockey, you and Bucci were talking about like there could be a blockbuster. When is this thing going to heat up? Or is this going to be the lamest trade deadline of all time? Did you guys come to an answer on that one? Are you still kind of up in the air? I mean, I'm personally, and I'm usually really optimistic about this because there's typically a lot percolating behind the scenes.

I'm leaning more towards deadline than deadline. And part of that's just because I think when you were really handicapping the chances of one of these blockbusters, whether it's Robert Thomas or, I mean, go through the list of players, is like the true impact guys. Like I think Pedersen is probably the lowest that he's been in terms of trade probability in a while. Like who really moves the needle for you?

Like Cadrey probably doesn't. He's one of the biggest names that could move. Does Garland really, like does he count as a blockbuster? No, no. I mean, so like these are the bigger names in that pocket of names that we're talking about. I don't know It's always hard to predict exactly

But I'd say I'm leaning more towards less than more Well I hope for the sake of the deadline You're wrong But all the tea leaves that I've been reading Suggests that you might be right I hope that at the very least we'll get some action Not necessarily blockbusters But Garland would be like a nice

Independent production that you know It was well reviewed Did the festival circuit or something It would be like the Queens Boulevard Yeah Yeah All right, we got to go, Frank. Thanks for taking the time to do this today.

We really appreciate it. Enjoy Friday. Hopefully it's a lot of fun. We'll do this again next week. All right, thanks. See you guys. See you later. Frank Sarah Valley from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650.

I do need to now do the one to watch, brought to by Limitless A.V., Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts. Can I make a suggestion? Yeah. Logan Stancovin. I was seeing what that guy looks like is the 2C tonight. I was thinking about doing it, but I was thinking about doing it. I have a more Canucks-centric one, and by nature, a funnier one.

Okay. So yesterday of practice, the Vancouver Canucks yet again shuffled deck chairs on the Titanic. And the new, and I'm hesitant to say it, but I will say it, top line is Nils Hoaglander, Elias Pedersen, and Connor Garland. Oh, okay. In a year where they're trying everything, they thought, hey, why not? Let's try this. They've tried those three before, right?

They're trying it again. I will note that Nils Hoaglander does not have a goal in the 21 games that he's played this season. So that's a 21 game goalist drought. Connor Garland has gone 22 games without a goal. Elias Pedersen is the hottest score of them all. He's only in a 13-game goal drought. Should that line be able to manufacture a goal tonight? Yeah.

It will be one of the more... Guys, we are all very due here. Like the fact that Pedersen is looking at the other guys and he's like, you need to pick it up. I scored 13 games ago. It's quite remarkable, but that's where we are in this Canucks season. So you're one to watch tonight. The new look line of Nils Hoaglander,

Elias Pedersen, and Connor Garland, as they look to get off the collective Schneid against a very good Carolina team. And this is after the Canucks got waxed by a very good Dallas team. on Monday night, 6-1. And I will say this about Dallas, so they did go into Calgary and win 6-1 as well again last night. So, you know, the connects are in some familiar territory there with some familiar company and getting blasted 6-1.

But anyway, there's you want to watch, brought you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audio-visual integration experts, specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessavv.cav.ca. So I'm really looking forward to this interview

with Jeremy Rutherford. He's one of the great longtime beat reporters in the NHL has been covering the St. Louis Blues for a long time. And the Blues could be a very interesting team ahead of the deadline. We've been

hearing rumors about this team making significant changes, whether it's trading Robert Thomas or Jordan Cairo or Jordan Bennington for a long, long time. And they do have the potential at least to kickstart a significant rebuild.

If they were to trade Thomas, and I know the reasons against trading Thomas, Frank just talked about them, and they were to trade Cairo and move out some other guys like Braden Shen, and then, you know, pick maybe first overall, second, third, fourth. you could do a big time remake, rebuild and like take some massive steps this is the opportunity that there is for them right now

so we'll talk to Jeremy Rutherford on the other side of 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 Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650.

Halford Brub in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Do you have credit card debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands-Trustee.com for more. We are in hour two of the program of the midway point of the show. Jeremy Rutherford from the Athletic in St. Louis is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Hominock at Jason Dow Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage,

then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason.com. To the ABLE Auctions hotline, we go. Our next guest, St. Louis Blues reporter for the athletic. Jeremy Rutherford-Juels us now on the Haliford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning. Good morning, how are you? Good morning.

How are you doing? We're well. We're probably not as busy as you, though, because every time that I either go on social media or do a cursory Google search of trade rumors. The Blues better do something big at this deadline, let me tell you. Is half the team on the trade block right now? Is that what I am to understand, Jeremy?

I think, yeah, just about half the team for sure. And it probably would be more if half the team weren't a 22-year-old up-and-coming prospects that they're banking on for the future. But the other half, yeah, it looks like they're trying to move them out. Tell us about Robert Thomas. because we've heard Jordan Kairu's name in trade rumors a lot over the last few years. And he's still there. Why now the focus on Robert Thomas specifically?

Yeah, it's a great question. A lot of people around the league are wondering. He's a 26-year-old who, after the Four Nations last year, he led the entire league in points with 40. And I'm not a big stat guy. I don't want to bog you down with stats. but since 2021-22, there's been 26 players in the league that were better than a point per game, and he's one of them.

So, you know, he's a top-line center for the Blues. He's probably a top-line center on a number of teams in the NHL and on the contenders, on the teams with, you know, Connor McDavid. He's a real good number two. So why is he available? I think it's because the Blues have been stuck in the sand for the past couple years. They have a kind of a mix of players where you get older veterans like a Braden Shen and a Justin Falk. You know, Colton Prakow is starting to get up there a little bit.

Then you have your Robert Thomas, Jordan Kairus, you know, 25, 26, 27. And then you have the Jimmy Snuggaroods, Jake Neighbors, 23. So I think what the Blues are deciding to do is, you know, we're going to trade out probably the Fawks and the Shenz at the deadline. And then what's our core? and our core is still that Robert Thomas Jordan Kyruh group that hasn't gotten it done the past couple years. What could we do? Okay, well, if he's the best asset at the trade deadline

or even this summer, then, you know, can we make a deal with Utah? Can we make a deal with Buffalo and get two, three, four, you know, equivalent first round assets? And I think that's what they're exploring. The thing is, I think they've gotten pretty far down the road. They've made it kind of clear that they do want to move Robert Thomas. if it doesn't happen today, it doesn't happen before Friday.

I really do think it's something that we'll see before, you know, next season starts. I mean, they have the potential to turn this off season into a franchising, defining offseason with, I mean, they have a chance of getting the first overall pick, and I think the furthest they could fall right now is fourth overall. Imagine what they could get for Robert Thomas or also Jordan Kairu, and, you know, You know, you throw in names like Braden Shen and Justin Falk and I don't know, maybe Jordan Binnington. Do you think they have the, I mean, in the NHL, we know how conservative GMs are and how low they are to trade away talent. Do you think they have the courage to do something like that? Yeah, yeah, I definitely think that's what they're doing.

And, you know, the umbrella view here in St. Louis, too, you got to keep in mind that Doug Armstrong is turning things over. to Alexander Steen. So there's almost like a feel around the organization of just a lot of transition. You know, they're going to transition the roster. They're going to transition the GM. And I think Doug Armstrong, you know, he's had a great run 2010 until 2026. He's got a Stanley Cup. You know, I think if you look at the regular season points percentage in his 16 years here

with the Blues, I want to say it's top five, top six team in the league, which is pretty remarkable. But, you know, now it's time for some change. And so the captain, Braden Shen, you know, his name's in there. I would, you know, expect to see him moved. I'd expect to see Justin Falk. You know, there's been some talk about Jordan Bennington, Colton Pareko, potentially. So I think a lot of the veterans, a really good chance of them moving out.

And then the big, the hammer is, of course, you know, Thomas and Kairun, if and when that happens. But you're right. If the blues are able to pull off all these moves, and, you know, that's a big if, this would be completely, you know, evolving the roster and franchise altering, I think you could say. What does ownership think about all that? I mean, we're here in Vancouver and, you know, the Canucks have kind of been dragged, kicking, and screaming into a rebuild just because there's always been that concern about like,

ah, we don't want to rebuild, that affects season ticket sales, that affects revenue, and that's been a concern before in St. Louis. What have you heard from the ownership side? Yeah, so, you know, Doug Armstrong and, chairman, blues chairman, Tom Stillman, he leads the local investment group in St. Louis. You know, they've been tight, you know, since day one when they got together. And, you know, Tom trusts Doug. I think that when Doug came to him a couple years ago and said,

we don't need to do a full-on rebuild, we can retool this, then Tom was on board. You know, what's crazy here in St. Louis is, you know, I don't know that they'd be selling out the building if they had a full-on tear it to the studs rebuild. But even this year with the way things have gone, you're talking second to last, you know, the building's full. And so, you know, the fans are sticking with this. If they did change course and go to a rebuild, yeah, I'm sure we're going to see some empty sections at some point in the next couple years.

But for the most part, I think with all the Jake neighbors, Jimmy Snuggaroos, fans in St. Louis, you guys might get a kick out of this. The Blues have Otto Stenberg. They want Ivar Stenberg and Otto to be the new Sedeens in St. Louis. There's a good chance they can do it. That's what they're looking for. So fans have been on board. What do you, I'm sure you've heard the rumors about

Doug Armstrong potentially going to Toronto and taking the job over from Bradshaw Living. What do you think of those? Yeah, only for about five years or so. Yeah, that's true. Like, I think he was going to get the job before tree living. But now that things aren't going well for the lease, you know, again, then, yeah, the rumors are definitely cropping up.

The only thing I can tell you is this. When Doug Armstrong went to Tom Stillman, let's just say two years ago, with the plan to have Alexander Steen take over as a general manager this coming June, Doug agreed to a three-year extension in which, right now, he's president of hockey operations and he's GM. in June, when Steen takes over his GM, Doug, according to his title, will be president of hockey operations. In St. Louis, we're still trying to figure out whether that means Doug calls the shots,

Alex calls the shots, it's a collaboration, you know, who knows. But by title, you know, he's going to be the president of hockey operations for the next three years. You know, there have been a lot of people who suspect that that could be Doug's out at some point, you know, after a long, long run in St. Louis to go be the man. somewhere else. And Toronto, I think, is something that would definitely be up his alley. And I think that people around him feel like he's wanted to be a manager of a Canadian team at some point, obviously with his ties to Team Canada. And that over the years, you know, to have an NHL team that he could run on a day-to-day basis in Canada, I think is something that would intrigue him, especially if it's the Leafs.

We do a lot of the same wondering about who's calling the shots here in Vancouver, because Jim Rutherford is the president of hockey ops and Patrick Alvin is the general manager. And there's constantly a bit of confusion, but at the end of the day, I think we have come to the conclusion that Jim Rutherford calls the shots in Vancouver despite the fact that Patrick Alveen is the general manager.

How much... A little anecdote on that, just real quick. I was going to say that when Jim Nell got GM of the year, what was this a year or two ago, you know, I text Jim. him, no, congratulations. And he saw Rutherford. He must have thought it was Jim Rutherford.

He said, well, you and Patrick are doing a great job there, too. So thanks for the congratulations. Another word that comes up a lot in Vancouver this year, especially, is culture. And, you know, the Blues, when they won that Stanley Cup, they had a lot of great culture guys, Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Petrangelo. And, you know, it was Craig Brewabase type of team. and they kind of outbrunzed the Bruins at their own game and managed to win a very unexpected Stanley Cup.

The core, as you pointed out, was then handed over to Jordan Cairo and Robert Thomas, and those two didn't, especially Cairo, didn't exactly mesh under Craig Burube. How is the culture now in St. Louis? And is this part of the reason why they might be looking to move on from, guys like Cairo and Robert Thomas. Yeah, I think so. And, you know, let's keep in mind. So Doug has had a lot of success building a sub-core under the main core.

He's done that forever. Back when it was Oshy and Bacchus, he had Tarasenko and Schwartz waiting in the wing ready to take over. And it worked. You know, those young players grew into the players that you would hope they would be. So when I say keep in mind, you know, Thomas and Cairo, their contract, weren't due. I think they had another year left on them. And that's the time that the, that the Matthew Kachuk situation in Calgary was brewing where, you know, you could get to a point where you could force your way out, you know, if, you know, if, you know, if you wanted to.

And so I think the blues could have been looking at that like, holy smokes, if Robert Thomas and Jordan Kairu go nuts here, you know, we could be looking at a tough situation. Hey, how do they project? Okay, this is how we think they project. Let's give them the deals now. So they went, you know, what was it seven times and, you know, got the 8.125, and they both got the $65 million deals, I'm at eight year. And, and I think for the most part, there's been some production, Kyru 37 goals. You know, Thomas has been an 80 point guy twice, but is that culture there? So going back to your question, you know, are these guys bringing the type of leadership that you need to have that we saw with that Stanley Cup team and the Craig Gruby led teams.

And I think that it's pretty obvious that that hasn't been the case. I think the world of Braden Shenz leadership, Justin Falk, the culture they bring. But I don't know that that is necessarily being carried out with a group of players who would be kind of taken over the blues once these veterans are moved at the deadline. I know that we've gone all over the map here, but as far as the future holds for Jordan Bendington, I know that there's a lot going into it, both at the deadline and then beyond, with regards to a contract extension.

I know Joel Hofer's there. I just kind of wanted to set the table for the long term, as far as it goes for Jordan Bennington, either in St. Louis or not in St. Louis? Yeah, he's got one more year left on the deal, and just doing some due diligence on that the past couple weeks. He's got a 14 team, no trade clause. The belief is, though, and I've seen this in action,

Doug does a pretty good job of if you've won and helped the Blues win, which nobody did better than Jordan Bennington with the Cup in 2019, then he'll kind of work with you on a preferred destination. So it's not like he's going to go to him and say, hey, I got a deal, you're going to such and such because they're not on your list. So, you know, I think that, again, in doing the due diligence, people were of the mindset that a deal would not happen before this Friday, that this would be something that would be addressed in the offseason. I'm not saying it won't. It very well could be.

You know, a deal takes place before Friday. But I think, I think in St. Louis, it's viewed as, yes, Joel Hofer is taken over. You know, he's played wonderfully this year with the exception of a, you know, about a three, three. three-week kick up there, and they like them. And so Jordan Bennington is likely going to move on. He's likely going to go. He wants to go to kind of a big market, big city, place that can win. That's the type of guy.

He is. He always talks about it's the league. This is a show. He likes to be part of the show. So I think that's what he's going to like. And I just don't know whether it's going to happen in the next, you know, three days or later this summer. his game has been really difficult to diagnose because the numbers are bad in St. Louis.

He's clearly going forward going to be not going to be the guy. Hofer's going to be the guy. But he was once again very solid for Canada at the Olympics. And I assume that there will be a handful of teams interested in acquiring his services because he's only 32 years old. Jeremy, did you laugh at the Olympics when Pareko? I can't remember what game it was, but there was like a horrendous turnover. and Cana and Bennington got scored on and I was like I think a lot of people were like

that feels like it's been like that in St. Louis all season. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, that's how it has been. But you're right. Like it has been tough to evaluate the job he's done. The one thing I will say, we've got to be honest in these situations. You know, there's always been a question in the past couple years about the team in front of him. And, you know, I think this year you could honestly say that,

it wasn't just the team in front of it. It was Bennington too. Like you don't get an 8, 68, 70. Save percentage just because the team in front of you can't clear the puck. So this is kind of, you know, I don't want to say the first year because, you know, people, I think they just look at the save percentage since 2019 and say, you know, one hit wonder. And that hasn't been the case. Like there were legitimately a couple seasons after the cup where he was good.

He was saving their bacon. And the team was just not good in front of them. but I think this year that's been a little bit of a different story. He hasn't been great. But you put him in front of one of the best teams, if not the best team in the world, team Canada, and he's going to make the saves you need him too, and that's what he did in this last tournament.

Since everyone in the organization is pretty much up for review at this point, what do you make of the job and what grade, I guess, would you give Jim Montgomery behind the bench? Yeah, that's a tough one too because I really do think that, you know, he along with a Braden, Shen type, you know, Braden Shen turned down a trade last year. And I was standing in the, outside the Blues locker room in Anaheim the day of the trade deadline. And I saw Jim Montgomery stick his hand out to Braden Shen and shake hands. And he said, I'm glad to have you here still.

And Braden said, I'm glad to be here. And that kind of got the entire team motivated to have a strong finish last year. And of course, they snuck in the playoffs. So this year has been a just, I don't know, whatever step back times a thousand is, that's. what the Blues have taken this year. But in terms of Montgomery, you know, I still think it's going to work. I think that he's a teacher. I've seen him coaching more and working with players individually more in the last

couple months than I've seen, you know, in the year and a half that he's been here. You know, eventually these young players, the snuggerroods, you know, the Stenbergs, these types of guys, Justin Carbino, you guys might be familiar with. You know, these guys are coming up and I think they're going to, take to the instruction and it could still work. It's just that, you know, Jim Montgomery for years now has been with a team, you know, let's just talk about the Boston Bruins where, you know, they're winning president's trophies and, you know, trying to get to the Stanley Cup.

And, you know, now you could be talking about a situation where it's a three or four year retool. So, you know, I think he can do the job. It's just, you know, who knows how long it's going to take and, you know, will he have the patience for that? Jeremy, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it today. We really appreciate it. Still a couple days left until the deadline.

I imagine you'll be very busy. So enjoy the rush and whatever comes on Friday. We'll do this again later on in the offseason. Yep, sounds good, guys. Thanks for that. Thanks for coming on. That's Jeremy Rutherford from the Athletic in St. Louis here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sports Net 650.

Interesting team to watch over the next couple days. It sounds like... I have many different things in the hopper. According to what Jeremy said, that Robert Thomas, whether a deal happens at the trade deadline or the off season is going to be going. Yeah. Wasn't that way you took from that?

That's what I took from that. Like they made that decision. They made that decision, yeah. Yeah. And that's fine. It hasn't worked out with him being the driver, him and Cairo being the guys. Well, that's fine, but it's just interesting because someone's going to get a really good player.

Yeah. And, you know, he might not be the type of one C that can win you a Stanley Cup, but throw him somewhere behind. a legit one C and there's there's quite a few teams if you think about it there's quite a few teams or you're like, hey, you like their 1C but you don't love

what they've got behind it. I mean two that just jump to mind right now is like Montreal I got Suzuki is their 1C got who is their 2C I don't even know Carolina we already mentioned Sebastian Ajo is their 1C and then you know I'm

not criticizing Logan Stancoven but he's not the biggest guy and when the playoffs start, that matters. Ask Marco Rossi. The 2C in Montreal is Oliver Capitan. The 3C is Philip Dono. Yeah. And the fourth C is Jake Evans.

I mean, there's a team that could make a play for Robert Thomas. Yeah. He's a really good player. And if you put him in a situation where maybe he's getting some of easier matchups, then I think he could really thrive. He can put points up. He's a very good distributor of the puck. Yeah, I'm less interested in where Thomas goes

and more interested in what he leaves behind in St. Louis because I do think that it's a knock against him that him and Cairo were tasked with carrying on the next generation. Well, sometimes you're just not good enough to be an elite 1C. I mean, that's a high bar. It's very, it's very hard. But we're not talking about being elite. Like, they're miserable.

They're one of the worst teams in the NHL. And last year they were no good either. But we've seen good players on bad teams go to teams where they're slotted in correctly and then they become heroes. I mean, the one that always jumps to mind is Phil Kessel in Toronto. I mean, they built around that guy.

They built around him and Dion Funnuff. Yep. You know, it was insanity. And then they finally made the management change and they traded him to Pittsburgh where he was a very, very valuable member of that Pittsburgh. Penguins team and a penguins team that had the right guys in the right position.

Maybe that happens to Pedersen. Maybe Pedersen goes somewhere and, you know, he's not the guy. He's not the number one center. Now, you know, he's a much more complicated scenario than a guy like Robert Thomas. But, you know, if you're Elias Pedersen, maybe that's your hope, that you go somewhere where you're just a solid 2C and because there's not so much pressure on you, you're able to rediscover your game

and maybe rediscover your joy for the game a little bit. So it's time now for the smart decision brought to you by Crow. And I'm going to go a little bit off the board here. This is actually something that just kind of popped up. Canada soccer in anticipation of the Canadian men's national team participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which of course is going to be partially hosted by Canada. Canada soccer has got this cool little initiative,

which I think is a smart decision, in celebration of this being 2026, and in an effort you try and get as many people as they can butts in seats for these games in March against Iceland and Tunisia, they're offering $26 tickets to the matches. Okay, where are the games? At Bimo Field.

So in an attempt... Are you going to make the trip? 26 bucks, I might. Are you a walk or something? I could get maybe like some sort of bus across Canada. Maybe I could take the train. I don't know. But with 100 days to go to the start of the World Cup,

there's going to be a lot of, I was told about this through someone I know that works back east, that there's going to be about a million different initiatives over the course of these next five friendlies they've got, I think, which culminates with the last one against the Republic of Ireland right before the World Cup starts, that they're going to try and drum up as much fan-in-executive. as they can.

It's less than 100 days to go now. Yeah. And also, this is a nod to the outlandish prices that are being offered by FIFA for actual World Cup tickets. Canada's soccer trying to say, if you want to see the Canadian men's national team, play against, and I know that they're friendlies, and I know it's not the real thing. Was it, was it 94 when Canada played Brazil in Edmonton? Yeah, Eddie Bredusco scored the equalizing goal for Canada against the Brazilian.

No, Canada wasn't in that World Cup. No, they were not. But Brazil was. Brazil went on to win that World Cup. And Brazil, yeah, they came down. And Canada drew them. Yep, on one. Eddie Bredisco. Yeah, yeah.

It was a big goal. So basically we co-won the 1994 World Cup. That's how I looked at it. Yeah. And probably Eddie Bredusco. But it was one of the more, maybe the most famous friendly that Canada's ever played, to be perfectly honest, because it was right before the 94 World Cup. And I don't think anyone gave Canada a puncher's chance of hanging.

And it's a friendly. So I doubt the Brazil. Brazilians had their foot fully firmly, like, down on the pedal. So we've got to win this. Yeah, but it was a big result. We cannot go into Edmonton and blow it. It was a big result at the time for Canada. So I think the Brazilian players were like, is this America?

Where are we? What is this place? It is the smart decision brought to you by Crow, your trusted accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years. Crow, smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at cromachai.com.ca. Two hours of the show in the books, one final hour to go. Randy Jand is going to join us on the other side. Canucks analyst will join us ahead of tonight's game.

7 o'clock puck drop from Rogers Arena. It's the Canucks and it's the Cannes. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.