Halford & Brough in the Morning - Is It Time For Canucks Fans To Panic?

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss if it's time to panic for Canucks fans (3:00) and if it's possible for the team to improve the defence (15:00), plus the boys preview tomorrow's CFL West Semi-Finals matchup between the Lions and the Stamps, as radio commentator Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich (25:25) 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.

here's the one two to verdugo breaking ball caught on him is strike three ball game over world series over dodgers win los angeles is the new champion and they are going nuts on the field. I don't blame them. 703 on a Friday. It's times like this I wish we had a dog cam, because while that was playing, Laddie was doing some sort of salsa dance to celebrate the Yankees losing the World Series. He's got a huge grin on his face right now. It was scary there for a little while. It's cold-blooded, given AJ is waiting patiently.

Oh, I forgot AJ's on the line. Whoops. Oh, did you now? You are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff. They can help with anything you're looking for,

sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in Hour 2 of the program. Hour 2 is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him on the internet at Jason.Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider

powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, Sophie, what are you waiting for? Kintec. To the phone lines we go. He is the owner, operator, proprietor of AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. He is also a very angry and sad Yankees fan. AJ joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, AJ?

I'm fired up. I am fired up this morning. Ask me about Aaron Boone. I know what to do. I know what to do. AJ, what do you think about Aaron Boone? Okay, if we had an hour, I could maybe go through

all of his gaffes, but it was his post-game comment when asked why Cole, he didn't think why Cole covered first base. He said he might have been tired. Tired. You guys are big fans of Band of Brothers, right? Yes. Season 7, when they're in the foxholes, that zone, taking mortarshells for days. Those guys are big fans of Band of Brothers, right? Yes. Season 7, when they're in the foxholes,

that's on, taking mortarshells for days. Those guys are tired. Those guys are exhausted. This guy's making $33 million a year. I mean, it's unbelievable. I cannot believe that this series is over. I can't. When we had you on last Friday,

we were previewing the series. When I was in there on Saturday hanging out with you and Teresa, optimism was high. Everything was going to be okay. And then it all came crashing down. I'm sorry. That was some of the worst baseball

I have ever watched. Yeah. I mean, they shot themselves in the foot all over the place. What happened in that fifth inning, AJ? What happened? I don't know. Listen, Laddy, I'll tell like what happened in that fifth inning aj what what happened i don't know listen laddie you're getting i mean i'll tell you what happened judge he dropped a judge he dropped a

texas leaguer i mean come on it's just like the gaffs at the gaffs i mean i mean even even the highlights when when um when oh god why can't i think this morning who's the shortstop oh volpe yeah even when volpe even when he hits the Grand Slam, the inning before that running gas, I mean, it's just the list is on and on. Well, there's bright news and brighter skies on the horizon, not weather-wise because Jason just looked at the weather. It's going to be terrible. But it's a reason to go to AJ's this weekend

because you've got the Canucks on Saturday night. You can get some nice $6 pints from AJ. Sunday, there's football all day, and there's happy hour all day. And here's the thing, AJ. You don't have to think about baseball anymore because you don't have to think about it until next year. Trust me. Everybody in my house is so happy it's over, and so am I.

Enjoy the weekend, buddy. Yeah, you guys too. Take care. Enjoy. Thanks. That's AJ from AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Visit them this weekend. Specials on Saturday for the Canucks game.

And then happy hour all day Sunday. Go watch some NFL. Maybe the Seahawks will be able to ascend back to the top of the NFC West. All fairness, I feel bad for AJ. I'm playing it up a little bit here. Are you? Is that what you're doing? I actually feel bad for him. No, you don't.

I do. You love seeing the Yankees. I watched you. Every day you came in, you got steadily happier because the Yankees kept losing. Yeah, but it's a personal note, I'll say. It's so bad for AJ and AJ alone. We are getting

a little bit more market research on what a youths, what the youths do to party. So prior to break, someone asked, you know, what age? It's for Ask Us Anything Friday, by the way, get them in,

Dunbar Lumber Tax Line, 650-650. What age did you stop attending Halloween parties? And then you expanded the conversation to just parties. Yeah, yeah.

And then the question became not when did you stop attending them, but how fast can I leave them? And then we started thinking about the youths. Like they don't, do they do the house parties anymore? I think there's a common theme in Vancouver.

For example, here's a text, 27 year old here, house parties are still the go-to for socializing, much better than the Granville Strip, but they are rarer these days. You also need friends who have a house. That's fair. I didn't even think about that at the time,

but that is a fair and valid point. To have a house party. One must have a house. But not just any house. Nobody has houses anymore. We got a text from BK saying, the movie Grandma's Boy, where Nick Swardson's character would live at home,

but he would call his parents his roommates all the time. That's what he's imagining these days with all the four year olds living. I'm having his party with my roommates. Cause when I was in my twenties, I had friends that rented a house together. They were be three or four guys there and they would rent a house. I imagine that would be super expensive now. Airbnb.

I'm sure you could pitch in. So we were actually really fortunate. We had a guy in our high school and family was very well to do. STM was a football school too, right? So we actually had one of those. They had a football game on Friday night and then the whole football team went back to this guy's

indoor pool, hot tub. It was a massive estate of a house and had one of those proper movie-esque high school after football game parties but the whole thing was contingent on the fact that this guy had a mansion yeah you couldn't have done it if he was living in a 1300 square foot townhouse no i know right what are you gonna do where are you gonna go there's no pool in here people will complain because you're right next people are actually physically in the bathtub

trying to make a go of it but it was we had one of those party houses too because the parents were going through a split yeah and so they were like never there he's like Juan I'm sorry about your parents too this is awesome this is amazing so they're like never home that's incredible yeah uh ask us anything from Mike and Richmond watching the Boston Carolina game last night I was reminded that there are a lot of players that played with the Canucks that are still playing. So which player would you want back that is playing in the NHL right now

as a long-term player for the Canucks? Player that used to play for the Canucks. So the first one that came to mind was Tanev. Tanev. Chris Tanev, I think, would be perfect for the Canucks. They need a one that came to mind was Tanev. Tanev. Chris Tanev, I think, would be perfect for the Canucks. They need a right shot defenseman. I can't believe we both said that. You know, so I told you I was watching the Leafs game.

I only watched the first half of it against the Kraken. One of the panel conversations was them putting forth the notion that Chris Tanev should be in consideration for Team Canada at the Four Nations. I was like, okay, it's interesting. They said it's like a seventh defenseman, so he maybe doesn't necessarily have to play all the time. Right.

But his cagey leadership and versatility and ability to, you know, he'd go in there. I would say Tanev, given the needs of this team, given, because you have to take everything into consideration. Who are the other candidates? Like Jared McCann? Would that be a candidate? I don't know.

Based on the needs of the team, you'd have to think defenseman. So you would say Tanev, Zdorov. But there's no superstar out there, is there? I'd take a run at Jalen Chatfield again. He turned into a player, which is one of the more impressive stories I've ever seen.

Because I remember him during the COVID season and i just did not see him turning into a bonafide nhl defenseman but oh dennis from langley forsling forsling yeah there's your answer good job dennis i think the blackhawks could use him still as well yeah that's what the only organization would take him back in a heartbeat yeah would you take forsling over tananev though? Because Tanev's a righty. I'd take Forsling. You think Forsling's better than Tanev right now? Yeah. And younger.

He's probably got more miles left on the old odometer. I think he would be a great pickup, a reacquisition. Yeah. If you will. But yeah. It's funny. I completely forgot about Forsling and how good he is and that he played for the Canucks and that the Canucks pretty much gave him away.

So that's nice. Someone texted in Todd Bertuzzi, I don't think you understood the assignment. I mean, he'd make a difference. Yeah. And Tyler Bertuzzi doesn't count because he never played for the Canucks in the first place.

I watched him play last night. Tyler Bertuzzi? Yeah. He is just, I know he scored, but not effective. just looks like he's kind of skating around out there running around

yeah not even you'd like him to run around no skating around no I know I'd like him to run around no no no running around

I'm like no running around means you're doing stuff just not effective YVR Ray ask us anything if my beloved Canucks and Petey lay an avian flu-like egg

in the next two games against bottom feeders, what is more likely? Fans hitting the regular early season panic button or a management panic trade? Well, I think the fans are already panicking in some ways. How much more, or how much more aggressively could the fan base hit the panic button if the games in California don't go well?

It's not like the ones preceding the games in California have gone especially well. It's one goal in 11 games. Yeah. The, the fan base is very uneasy right now because I think everyone just sees it as the team has so much potential and it's been a long time since we entered the season hopeful, really legitimately hopeful.

And you'd say, okay, look at this. We got this, we got that, we got this. If it all comes together, the Canucks might be able to make a run. And they're just, something seems off about the team. Would you say it's time for everyone to panic? Yes, I would, Kent. I will say this. If they go down and lose to San Jose,

that's going to be a problem. Let's crack each other's heads open. San Jose is a wagon, granted. Three in a row. Three in a row. Three in a row. They're hot. They don't even have

a scar of up. Two Thomas Drances hit yesterday, which was actually full of optimism once you parse through all the big words and run on sentences.

He said, if I had told you going into the season, no Demko, Petey would be a shell of his former self. Miller would be playing injured to the point where he couldn't take faceoffs in a bunch of games.

Seelov's was terrible. And you still managed to collect points in. Yeah, I can't remember what it was. You'd say, OK, that's great that they survived it. I do think there's an element of that optimism that should be reflected in our analysis, however, people are very much trained to expect the best right from the start and then every single night. When we were talking about Boston earlier and how Boston has trotted out this, well, the last couple of years we started like a house on fire and then petered out by the end. We're trying to do the inverse and everyone kind of side eyes them um you do want the canucks like drance said to be peaking in march and april not like last year where the offense dried up in march and april the power play i mean the power play is bad now but

the power play got worse as they went down the road and then in the playoffs they really struggled to generate chances you're hopeful that the stuff that Todd could implement with transition play will afford them more scoring opportunities throughout the season. But it's a bit of a wobble right now for sure. Do you see the management being able to make a trade to fix the defense? To fix the defense to the point where

you're confident with the defense? They're certainly accruing enough cap space by sending down Baines. They're pinching their pennies. Every day. Frugal organization. Yeah. They're pinching their pennies. Every day. Frugal organization. Yeah. Some people have.

Growing their own vegetables in the backyard. Right. But, you know, like people like Rasmus Anderson, first of all, he might not even be available. And if the Flames do trade Rasmus Anderson, the price for this guy is going to be, it's at least a good prospect and a first round draft pick.

Are you willing to do that? Because the Canucks have like two good prospects, right? They did it last year too. They traded away a prospect and a first round pick last year. That does, over time. But would you be willing to give up a Lekker, a Mackey or Willander plus a first for Rasmus Anderson?

Don't yell at me. That would be the price. I don't think. Other teams aren't going to be all that interested in any other prospects that the Canucks have. Right. They're going to focus on those two guys. Those are their blue chippers plus a first

round draft pick. Are you willing to do that and do it with a team like Calgary? They're just, you know, everyone puts in Rasmus Anderson. They're like, go get him, go get him, go get him. Because to get a top four right shot defenseman, there just aren't many guys available. Like it doesn't happen very often. It just doesn't.

I would tell the fan base to cool their collective jets on Anderson for a variety of reasons. One is, as you pointed out, that's going to cost big. And I'm not sure the Canucks are ready to spend that kind of prospect capital. And then probably a draft pick on top of it.

Two, I'm not even sure what Calgary wants to do yet. I know they've fallen on hard times right now, but Anderson has been so good for them. And there's one more year of term left on the contract. They just might make the decision to keep them around and try this again next year. Or try to get them locked up in the offseason. So you don't know what Calgary's going to do yet. And the third factor in all of this is that, as you pointed out, because the market's so thin, there's going to be teams lined up,

lined up to try and get him in the door. I'm not worried about the left side of the Canucks' defense as much as the right side, because I think the left side, when you got Quinn Hughes and his ability to play big minutes, I think Soucy will come around. He has really struggled early on, but I have to believe that he will come around.

And then you've got either Forbort or Branstrom on the left side, depending on the type of player you want in there. I think Forbort's a pretty good player for a third pair defenseman. I think you're going to be reasonably, like I understand that a lot of people have thrown him in the same category as a Day-Arne and I think

although that's understandable, that's not the right thing to do. Day-Arne is a real project. Forbord has been in the NHL for a while. He's a pretty established product and I think you know what you're going to get for the most part with him. But that right side, Hor what you're going to get for the most part with him but that right side Koronek's going to play with Hughes unless they really switch things up

and then you've got I think you want Myers ultimately you would want him on the third pair on the right side or at least playing third pair of minutes. You just want an upgrade on that right side. That's the most obvious thing, but that is also the toughest thing to fill. That's the problem with it. I have seen some people throw out Ivan Provorov from Columbus, who is a lefty, it should be said, and he's in the last year of his deal.

He was a UFA in 2025, and he's only 27 years old. Again, I think that the ask is going to be sky high for a guy like that because of the dearth of defense but you can throw out all the names that you want someone said like what about cam fowler in a in anaheim or little jacquard's gone now he's off the market i don't think he would have been a fit here anyway but um it is always difficult to get them in the door, which is why I think last year was the door off is going to end up looking like more of an anomaly than the norm. That really was a good bit of management from the Canucks and identifying

him as a guy who fit very well, probably better than he fit in Calgary, to be honest. Just don't expect that to happen year over year i would not be surprised if there's a move in the month of november from the canucks just based on past history they've gone out and they've made moves and you know that with rutherford in the mix he's always keen to make that transaction because he feels like it gives the team uh either some juice or maybe shocks

them out of whatever funk or malaise they're in here's here's another question for you okay is it worthwhile to make a big trade for a defenseman if petterson is still playing like this and is that part of the fact is that Is that factored in from the management? Because I think, and also we'll throw in, just so we're not picking on Petey, we'll throw in Demko's status. If it remains uncertain going forward, do you? So to me, that's a chronology thing.

Like certain, A and B would have to happen before c which is the big trade yeah you need to get some clarity on both and with petterson i'm sure that there's a certain threshold or point or tipping point even with this management group where they either know what's happening or dangerously know what's not going to happen with him right it's not going to come around or the play is not going to improve. Demko is a little bit more straightforward, weirdly enough, because at a certain point you're going to know if he can come back, and then when he does...

If he can play or not. Yes. And what's those two questions? Although if he does come back, are we all going to be on pins and needles? Yes. Yes. Yeah.

So will there be certainty on that? The only thing is that you've got... You can make a calculated guess. And you've got Lankanen. That's true. Yes. Yeah. So will there be certainty on that? The only thing is that you've got Lankan. You can make a calculated guess. And you've got Lankan in. That's true. You know, I think you can go. Let's get fooled by small sample sizes again. True.

Let's do it one more time. Well, or is there a defenseman out there that you could trade Petey for who is good enough to warrant a trade for Petey. You keep doing this. Is there somebody out there? You did this yesterday, too. I'm not saying Rasmus Andersen. It'd have to be something better than that.

Is there a D-man out there? You did this yesterday, too. Just trying to incite chaos. The issue with an ins— Well, Dollywall's going to come on and talk about it. I actually don't know if there is. I'm being facetious. Dollywall's going to come on and say,

would any teams be interested in Pettersson? I don't know. Maybe he's made some calls, but Drance and Sat would say 1,000%. There would be teams lining up for a shot at Elias Pedersen. If you believed in the player. You got to get a diagnosis first.

That's what, that's what, that's what, you know, yesterday I'm listening to, sorry to cut you off here, but yesterday I'm listening to Sat and Dan and they were taking ideas from the listeners like, what's wrong with Petey? And there's just this massive range from the physical, maybe it's an injury, wrist, knee, to the mentality or like the mental side or to, you know, he doesn't want to be in Vancouver. You know, you got pressure to sign with Vancouver last year and, and, you know, we don't know the answer.

We don't know. It's impossible for us to know. We can speculate on it. And Drance has made the point that Pedia doesn't want to talk about it. So he's not going to share it, which is his right to not talk about it if he doesn't want to talk about it. But there has to be a diagnosis from the Vancouver Canucks on what is ailing Pedersen before they make a decision on it. And nothing I have heard so far, you know, you hear certain things from the coaching staff, like maybe he isn't working

hard enough. Well, then the question I would have is why? Why isn't, why? Is he unhappy? Is, is he like, because what I heard about Pedersen when he broke into the league was this is the guy that is obsessed with hockey and he, and he loves it and he, and he just wants to

play, just loves the game so much. And now we're hearing, and he and he just wants to play just loves the game so much and now we're hearing you know he's got to work harder he's got to be you know more dedicated to his craft so so my question is like what the hell is going on right but and we and the Canucks need to have a diagnosis on that before they they you know decide to trade him or think he's fixable or whatever. I think the Dranson-Satz assessment of this mythical trade value is that any team that would be offering, and a lot would, because it would be the ultimate buy-low candidate. You would come in and say,

we understand that you've got to foot the bill for this $11.6 million over the next eight years, but if they truly believe in the talent and the ability for the player to reach a ceiling, they're going to come in and it's going to be the ultimate buy-low candidate, right? A guy that you never thought would shake loose, that oftentimes, conceptually speaking, you would make an offer sheet for. Like, that's what they're talking about. That if you were to, if he was to even entertain

and by he i mean the collective front office of the canucks entertain a deal for the guy everyone sending offers would be trying to buy low it'd be very hard to win that deal like yes they would all be buying low one guy was like adam fox for pd i'm like the rangers would not do that that's but that's the kind of d-man it would take for Canucks fans to be like, oh, okay, that's good. But that would never happen. We're getting all these texts in, one text in, he just looks out of shape. I don't think it's that complicated. If he's out of shape, that's complicated. Why is he

out of shape? Why didn't he put the work in? And then you go back to the whole thing of, well, did his knee hurt him too much in the offseason? He did mention that he had to train around it. Is he not motivated? I mean, that's the thing. We need to, the Canucks, and obviously have more information than we do

because they don't say anything and Petey doesn't say anything. And I need more than Rick Talkett saying he needs to move his feet. Right? I get what Talkett is saying, but like, why isn't he moving his feet if he's not moving his feet? Is that an injury thing? Is he not motivated? What's going on?

I'm so confused with this. I'm so confused watching this guy play. I'm like, what has happened to you, man? That's something a potential trade partner would ask as well, right? They'd be like, what is going on with this guy before we make this deal? Hey, we've been watching some tape. Share this with us because it seems important. But to wheel it back,

that's why I was talking about the chronologies. There's so many things that would still theoretically have to happen. Chronologically speaking, before you get there. Oh, yeah. We're still in the infancy. I say this half-jokingly. I realize we're a ways away from this even being a potential conversation.

Speaking of chronology, what a weekend for our local sports team. Saturday, the first one, it's the Lions and the Rough Riders from Saskatchewan. Sunday, it's the Whitecaps and LAFC right here in BC. Coming up next, Bob the Moj Marjanovic, play-by-play voice of those BC Lions

is going to join us ahead of the West semifinal. It's a 3.30 kickoff our time from Mosaic. We'll talk to Moj about the task at hand for the BC Lions as they try and get the road from Saskatchewan through Winnipeg and all the way to the Grey Cup in Vancouver. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance.

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. It's the Moj. I did not eat four burgers. Yes, it's the Moj. I don't want to go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg. Yes, I love food.

It's the Moj. I went online and kind of did a little surfing. It's a millennia. Yes, it's the Moj. Halpert's fine, but, you know, Brough is just grumpy all the time. Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj, Moj the mooch. Halpert's fine, but, you know, Brumf isach, it's the moach. Moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, it's the moach. 733 on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650.

Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. Moj is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage,

then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. I am joking, of course. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Presentation of the West Coast Auto Group. Bob the Moj Marjanovic here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

What up, Moj? Well, first off, I've got to be on my best behavior. I just got a text from Dollywall at 727. I'm listening to you on 650 in the car. Don't F up. I'm on it and we'll rip you so just coming from the guy who lost his

cell phone last week and basically well he didn't lose his cell phone he basically gave out his number on Twitter and had to change his number so not the brightest bulb in the house the elevator doesn't go to the top floor you can say whatever you want about him but anyway anyway. He doxxed

himself? Yeah, he posted it himself. Okay. I guess he was messaging somebody and he said, here's my number, and instead he put it online somewhere. With his credit card info for some reason? Social insurance number in there for good measure.

Okay, Moj, this is it. The playoffs are upon us. Saturday from Regina. It's the Lions. It's the Rough Riders. The Lion isn't nearly as lopsided as I thought it might be, but then I realized that even though the Lions were 9-9, the Rough Riders weren't much better at 9-8-1.

So it's a pretty even match. They split the season series. I know that the Rough Riders have home field advantage, but it does seem like it's going to be a fairly tightly contested matchup, at least according to the Vegas numbers on it. Yeah, and you know, hopefully the Lions start off a little better

than they did the last trip to region. I think the big key to this game, number one, is getting off to a fast start. If you look at the Lions' numbers this year, I think they've only come from behind once at half where they were down. So clearly getting off to a fast start. If you look at the Lions' numbers this year, I think they've only come from behind once at half where they were down. So, clearly getting off to a good start and having

the lead early bodes well for this team. And to do that, they've got to come out there and just play with a lot of energy, right? And, you know, we talk about mindset, and to me, that's the biggest thing heading into this game. Bad things are going to happen to you, right? They always do in sporting events, unless you go out there and totally dominate. And when they do, you things are going to happen to you, right? They always do in sporting events

unless you go out there and totally dominate. And when they do, you've just got to pick yourself up and continue to believe that you're going to get the job done. So for me, that's probably the biggest thing, the battle they have to have is between their ears. And then when I look at this football team, offensively, I think the big thing is, hey, you've got William Stanbeck for these type of games.

Utilize him. And use William Stanbeck. Stay type of games. Utilize him. Use William Stanbeck. Stay on schedule. Make second down manageable. If you can do that, you're going to be in the football game. Yeah, we were talking to Rick Campbell on Tuesday to preview the Saturday playoff game. We were wondering,

could it be just as simple as ground and pound and use Stanbeck and then use Vernon Adams Jr.'s legs as well to try and get something going on the ground and really maybe win that war of attrition or at the very least keep that Saskatchewan offense off the field? Yeah, and I think one of the things, too, when you look at what they're going to do on offense, I think they're going to obviously use the short passing game because Saskatchewan plays a different defense than Montreal. Montreal like to come with the blitz.

They ran a lot of cover zero, and the Lions exploited that. They played kind of in a Vernon Adams Jr.'s hands, right? He loves going deep. He loves pushing the ball downfield. Saskatchewan's not going to give you as many opportunities in terms of running cover zero or running blitz packages. So you've got to be patient. You've got to nickel and dime.

But that being said, you still have to take those shots downfield. You still have to have those explosive plays because Saskatchewan is just too good to nickel and dime all the time, right? So what you're hoping for is to catch them maybe in a second-and-five situation where, you know, maybe you can exploit that, you know, in downs and distances. You want to create doubt on the defensive side right if it's second and ten all of a sudden your offense becomes one-dimensional

everybody knows you're going to pass and as a result the defense can play with so much more aggression particularly the defensive line what happened the last time the lions went to regina and how can they avoid that this time well Well, second play on offense, ball goes through William Stanback's hands in the far side flat, hits his heel, pops up into the hands of A.J. Allen, and he's off to the races. I mean, they were behind the eight ball

right off the get-go, right? But still, I mean, yeah, that's a bad break, and that's what I'm talking about in terms of mindset. In that instance, it just seemed like the Lions couldn't overcome that. It was something that just kind of killed them almost in a way. And that's what I'm talking about mindset. If that happens again, you've still got 58 minutes left of football. Go out there and compete.

Go out there and play. It's just to me like I just look at this team and the potential is there. We've all seen it. They've knocked off Montreal twice. And the one game they knocked off in Montreal, 37 to 23, when they beat the Alouettes there. That night, I was looking at that team and going, they're not going to lose tonight. They just had that swagger. And that's what they got to play with in Saskatchewan. Is there a hope that there's going to be more swagger with Vernon Adams at quarterback? Like there seemed to have been something weird about the vibe of the team when Nathan Rourke

went back. Yeah. I mean, you can't dispute that. All you have to do is look at the energy that Vernon has brought since he's become the starting quarterback again. Right. I mean, here's the thing.

I mean, this is Vernon's team. And as much as everybody loves Nathan and wants to see him succeed, it's like nobody wanted Nathan to fail. But the thing is, Vernon Adams is the guy that had the receivers down in Tacoma this past offseason, before the start of the season, you know, working on having a little passing camp, working on the passing game. He was the guy that led them through training camp,

led them through the first, whatever, six, seven games of the season. Vernon Adams was their quarterback. And when he got hurt, Nathan came in, and all of a sudden everybody thought Nathan Rourke was going to be the 2022 Nathan Rourke. Well, to Nathan's defense, those expectations were unrealistic. And, you know, people were just kind of wondering, well, how come Vernon's not getting a chance? It was Vernon's team. Well, guess what? We got an opportunity in the last game of the season, and here we are. So

it's Vernon's time. What's at stake for the Lions in this playoff run? I think a lot's at stake. I mean, anytime you go out there and perform as an athlete, your job's at stake, number one. So there's going to be players that obviously want to secure their future with a good playoff performance, coaches, general managers. I think everything is under review. And clearly, if they go on a run and win tomorrow and then win in Winnipeg and then get to the Grey Cup, I think everybody has a lot more rope to play with.

If they lose in Regina, all of a sudden that rope gets a lot shorter, and that's for everyone. The Lions gave a CFL high 42 sacks this year. regina all of a sudden that rope gets a lot shorter and that's for everyone uh the lions gave a cfl high 42 sacks this year is it fair to suggest that it didn't matter who was behind center va or nathan rourke that with the amount of sacks that they were giving up no quarterback was going to succeed and they're not going to succeed on the weekend unless they get their pass protection sorted out yeah i mean that's obviously a key is protecting the passer. We've seen the Lions play games this year where they've kept their quarterbacks clean

and kept them upright. But, you know, I think when you look at those numbers, not all of those sacks can always be pinned on the offensive line, right? I mean, sometimes it's a situation where the quarterback should have made a throw. He didn't. Sometimes it might be a situation where maybe a running back, maybe a tight end or an H-back might have missed a block. Maybe somebody missed an assignment.

So it's not always on the offensive line. But, I mean, I always talk about it. You hear me. I mean, I heard Gruff talking about it. I think it was on Monday when he was talking about the Seahawks. It starts in the trenches. Yeah. He quoted me, actually.

It starts in the trenches. And that's, you know, games are won and lost with the line of scrimmage. So it's a cliche for a reason because it's true. Flip it around. What do the Lions need to do defensively to make life uncomfortable for Trevor Harris, the 38-year-old grizzled vet for the Rough Riders? We've got to get to him. Yeah.

They can't allow him time to sit in the pocket, so they have to get to him. But I think the bigger thing goes back to what we talked about. Here's the thing. I think the offense is the engine of this team. Everything starts with the offense. If the offense is going well, the defense plays with a lot of energy. The defense plays with a lot of energy.

It's flying around. Guess what? Specials are going to be doing pretty well because most of the guys on specials are from defense. So, to me, it starts with the offense. They're the ones that provide the energy. They're the ones that provide the spark for the defense, right? And for the defense to be successful, number one, they're going to have to

get the riders off schedule, and what I mean by that is hopefully stop the running game with Ouellette on first down or the short passing game. get the riders off schedule. And what I mean by that is hopefully stop the running game with Willett on first down or the short passing game. Get the riders in second and ten situations, second and eight situations. Then they've got to get after Harris and make his life uncomfortable. But it goes back to what I talked about earlier with mindset, particularly on defense. And I'll give you an example.

I mean, if they're going to run an under route, right, you don't let the guy catch the ball at five and pick up another three or four yards, maybe another six yards and makes it a 10-yard gain after you tackle over an eight-yard gain. Jump the route. Break up the pass. Be aggressive. That's the way you've got to play on defense. That's the mindset that they have to have in terms of executing all their assignments. Be aggressive. If you're going to make a mistake, make it at 100%. This kind of is going to tie into what's going on with the Canucks right now as well.

But there's an expression called paralysis by analysis. Don't think, right? Just go out there and play. We're speaking to Bob the Moj, Marjanovic, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Moj is a presentation of the West Coast Auto Group. Great service, great selection, just over the bridge in Maple Ridge. Moj, nice segue the bridge in Maple Ridge.

Nice segue to the Vancouver Canucks. Could you see that 6-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night coming from a distance? I don't want to take a victory lap, but I guess I will. At the skate on Wednesday, I was talking to JT Miller, and I talked to Rick Talkett about it as well

during their sessions, and I just said, is there a false sense of security? Because, you know, that's the message that we've received, particularly from players like leaders like JT and also from Rick Cockett, was the fact that they haven't played well. They haven't put together 60 minutes of playing their brand of hockey. They haven't adhered to the staples.

And, yeah, as Rick Cockett mentioned, it's great that you're getting points. You can't sit there and rip guys when you're picking up points. But at the same time, you have to be concerned in the sense that sooner or later that catch is up to you, right? And that obviously caught up to the Canucks Wednesday night by losing to the Devils 6-0. So maybe – and, you know, hopefully it's a wake-up call for this team. You'd think it'd be a wake-up call.

And it's going to be interesting to see where they go from here. And I don't want to say it's a turning point, but in a way maybe it's a fork in the road, so to speak, because, yeah, okay, some people are going to say it's just a blip. Okay, and hopefully it just is a blip, because that means they use that as a wake-up call and they play much better hockey moving forward. But as a lot of people have pointed out I mean maybe this is the game you look at and go this is where this was kind of like you know the alarm bells going off the so-called canary

in the coal mine of the issues that might perplex this team through the course of the year I hope that's not the case because everybody wants to see this team succeed but we'll find out and I think they're going to snap out of it I think think that, you know, Rick Talkett and his staff are just too good of a staff to kind of let this in. They're not going to let it slide. They're going to make sure that these guys adhere to the staples, but it's going to be interesting to see how they do on this trip.

Moj, have you got a theory on Petey? Oh, man. Well, the one thing that just keeps coming back to me is practice habits. Like you keep hearing the Canucks talk about it. Like, I mean, you've heard talk, I mean, you mentioned it on your guys' show, right? And when you're talking about those type of things, in a way, you're also talking about a player's passion for the game, right? His drive, his

desire, right? When you talk about the Crosbys and all player's passion for the game, right? His drive, his desire, right? When you talk about the Crosbys and all the greats of the past, all you heard about was their work ethic and how hard they work. You don't hear that about Petey, do you? In fact, you're hearing messaging saying that we need him to work harder, right? So that, to me, is a little concerning because, you know because talent only takes you so far. And then it's hard work that has to take over. When you look at all the superstars in this game, in any game, any sport,

they're always, yeah, they've got that great talent, but they also have an unbelievable work ethic. And I think that's something that they're working on with Elias Pettersson. Moe, are you ready to do an Ask Us Anything? Oh, baby, I'm ready. It's Friday. Hey, man, I'm getting packed. I'm going to Regina. I'm going to have some smoked Old Fashions tonight. I'm ready to go. Give me anything

you want. Alright, I'm going to throw you a curveball because it's not a food one this time, but it is a football one. Tyler wants to know, Ask Moj Anything, how will UBC do against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies this Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Thunderdome? That, of

course, is Thunderbird Stadium. The third time in the last four years, UBC Saskatchewan, Hardy Cup semifinal. UBC looking to go to the final for a third consecutive year, if I'm not mistaken. Do you have a preview for us, Moj? UBC 38, Saskatchewan 29. I called it right there.

Tell A-Dog to clip that because when I come back next Friday, it's going to be pretty close. UBC 38, Saskatchewan 29. Wow. I like it. Have you got a prediction for the Lions game? Oh, no. He's not

as confident. Not quite as confident. Never mind. One PC team I'm really confident in. Hold on. I'll give you a. Not quite as confident. Never mind. Never mind. One BC team I'm really confident in. Hold on. I'll give you a prediction. I'll give you a score. BC 23, Saskatchewan 21.

Okay. Good. Good. Good. Moj, you recovered well. You are the best. I love it. Really well done.

Enjoy your trip to Regina. Hopefully, when we do this again next Friday, we're talking about a matchup against the Bombers. Hey, by the way, speaking of Dollywall, because he's now kind of laid down the groundwork, I've got a whole bunch of stuff planned for him down the road. We're going to have some fun with Dollywall, especially when it's around Christmas,

because I've got something up my sleeve for Christmas. Well, I think we should just find out his new phone number every time and just tweet it out. Post it online. Ask him about that. I got the tags. It's like, hello, this is Rick Dollywall. I have a new phone number every time and just tweet it out. Post it online. Ask him about that. I got the tags. It's like, hello, this is Rick Dollywall. I have a new phone number.

I expect to see that every month moving forward. The best part is he gave the new number from the new number, which obviously you could already see. Yep. Yeah, it was wonderful. Classic Rick. Moj, thanks for this, buddy. Adios, muchachos.

See you later. Bob, the Moj Marjanovic here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. You got to ask us anything from Kyle the Bus Driver. Okay. For a team that has one of the deepest forward groups in the league, doesn't have an excess of cap space, and desperately needs more than just two good defensemen, do you think the DeBrusque signing was a mistake?

He hasn't contributed to the team so far. The quote-unquote PD needs a winger theory already hasn't worked out. So what's his purpose? Now that we've seen this lineup in action, feels like that money should be going to a defenseman. Yeah, I mean

this is the classic example of hindsight is 2020, but I think if the management group hadn't gone out there and got a winger to play with Pedersen, we'd all be screaming bloody murder. What kind of D-man would DeBrusque command on the open market? Why do you keep doing that? I'm curious.

Want to trade? Yeah, trade DeBrusque for someone. Stop trading everyone. Stop trading everyone. Play nine games. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way.que for someone. Stop trading everyone. Stop trading everyone. Play nine games. It doesn't work that way. Nine games. Go for it.

DeBrusque is probably one of the few people that is looking at the start from Elias Pettersson and being thankful for it because it's taken a lot of the heat off of him. If it wasn't for that, I think a lot of people would be even further irate. And don't get me wrong. People are irate already, but even further irate about DeBrusque. people are irate already but even further irate about uh de bros no goals in nine games just the four assists it feels as though um he spent a lot of time on the perimeter of the game if that makes sense yeah i mean i don't even know where he spent the time because i haven't really noticed him that much. I assumed his... He's hiding out there. Yeah, I assumed his attributes from Boston

were going to be more of the straight line, speed, front, go to the net, go to the front of the net stuff that we saw on occasion. Now, I did mentally prepare myself for this because having spoken with a number of people who covered him in Boston, they said,

be prepared for an incredibly streaky player. Yeah. Where he will go stretches where you're wondering, what is his purpose? That's why he had run-ins with coaches in Boston. And then when- Trying to get more out of them. But when the good streaks happen,

highly productive and really does seem to ride the waves of momentum. So when you sign a player like that, I don't think it's fair to either assume or expect he's going to change his game or change his approach or change anything you're signing a 28 year old player who's fairly well established into what he brings to the table and sat came on our show on monday and very astutely pointed out that if you're a 20 goal scorer in the NHL, let's say you score in 20 games, one goal per game,

that's 60 where you're not scoring. I would even take that a step further with DeBrusque because if you look at some of his game logs, his goals really come in bunches, right? Multi-goal games, maybe back-to-back or four and five or whatever. You're going to get stretches like this. I think the issue is that with some of the other forwards, and I think especially Sherwood, you see them making an impact off the score sheet in terms of physicality,

winning board battles, getting out on the forecheck, doing all the things that talk at once and likes and adding to that connectivity i've thought a lot about the connectivity thing by the way yeah and i think that what talk is really trying to emphasize is if you're not putting up goals and assists you need to add something to the greater good so if it's just bumping a guy and knocking him off kilter that's going to lead to a chain reaction of events that'll lead to us obtaining the puck, getting a shot on net, and getting a goal. A forecheck is a three-person effort.

One guy goes in, pressures them, and the second guy hopefully takes advantage of that pressure, and then the third guy is staying high to kind of top off everything. Right. I mean, you, if the first guy doesn't do his job,

then the other guys are like, Oh, we are stuck in no man's land here. Like I always bring it back to soccer. Cause the dynamics of what I understand in a midfield is you have like a defensive midfielder, a destroyer or a six. And his job is to win tackles,

break up opposition attacks. They call him a destroyer? That's awesome. Yeah. But their job is not- Bring that to hockey. Who's the destroyer? Who's the destroyer?

The answer is Vesely Podkolzin's fist destroyed someone's forehead last night. But they don't in turn obtain possession and then become the distributor there's other guys on the team that can do that when the logic that you would apply to the canucks for example is get in on the four check turn a puck over then you've done your job allow the other guys to build off that and there's the the connection you don't have to go win a puck retrieve the puck make the pass and score the goal and i think sometimes and to these guys credit it's they want to make things happen but you can't make everything happen you can make one thing

happen that's the whole do your job philosophy exactly you do one thing and you do it really well and you allow other guys to feed off that as opposed to trying to do everything and it comes to a good place i would say a guy like the brusque is probably wanting to do everything out there right uh coming up next on the halford and bruff show the destroyer of the english language rick dollywell on sportsnet 650