Halford & Brough in the Morning - It's Time To Turn The Page On This Canucks Era

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason preview tonight's Canucks matchup at Ottawa with radio commentator Brendan Batchelor (1:09), plus the boys debate what the trade returns might look like for a bunch of 'Nucks veterans (27:00). 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.

Bachelor, Bachelor, Bachelor, Life from Rogers Arena, Collin' Canucks Games. It is Brendan Bachelor, Bachelor, Bachelor. 703 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Score a debt freedom hat trick. One, no more interest, two much lower payments and three.

Financial peace of mind. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We are in our two of the program. Brandon Bachelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks is going to join us in just the moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 is Brad to by Jason Homanock 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.

Visit them online at Jason. Dom Mortgage. We are coming live from the Kintech Studio, Make 2026, your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech custom orthotics. To the phone lines we go. Brendan Batchler, Play-by-Play voice to the Vancouver Canucks. joins us now on the Halford-enbuff Show on SportsNet 650. What up, Batch.

Good morning. How's it going, guys? We're well. Thanks for taking the time to do this. As always, we appreciate it. The results are all starting to seem a little too familiar right now. It's a seventh consecutive loss for the Vancouver Canucks last night. 6-3 in Montreal. I guess if we can say one thing, it was a better process,

and at the very least, not as embarrassing, is that 5-0 loss to Toronto on Saturday. Yeah, you know, they hung around in that. game and found a way to, you know, be in a tied hockey game through 40 minutes. And then I think, you know, Montreal sort of separated themselves right away to start the third period. And, you know, that has been one of the biggest issues with the Canucks this year is they'll have good stretches in games. But, you know, searching for a 60-minute effort is a continued challenge. And, you know, on Randeep and I on our podcast in the booth, we were asked by a listener this week what we thought

the best 60-minute performance of the season was. And, you know, it was hard to go back through the schedule and find too many of them. I think I picked the Islanders game just before Christmas where Sherwood had a hat-trick. And, you know, that was probably their best stretch of the year of those games right after the Queen Hughes trade when they went on that winning run. But, you know, with a team that is flawed, you're going to have issues in games if you can't string together 60-minute efforts. and I think that's what we saw is, you know, they found a way to hang around for two periods

in spite of maybe being outplayed, and then it caught up to them in the first five minutes or so of the third period, and that was that. The habs are pretty fun to watch, eh? Yeah, they really are, especially with some of the young talent they have. You know, Demi Dov is a tremendous player, and you just love what Nick Suzuki brings and Cole Caulfield. You know, his goal scoring ability, although he didn't score last night, is great. and, you know, their young defenseman too,

Lane Hudson and Noah Dobson, so they've done a really good job of building a very exciting group there. And you can tell just by, you know, the way the building reacted when they would score those quick goals in the game yesterday, like when Kerry scored his two goals in 20 seconds, or when they put those three goals together early in the third period. You know, Bell Center is one of the best places to watch hockey in the league, if not the best, anyway.

But when they've got a young, exciting team that's, winning games, it's on another level. And so I'm sure hockey fans in Montreal are really enjoying themselves right now. I don't know if you watch the Adam Foot scrum after the game, but man, he was sure upset about the fourth goal, the winning goal, it turned out to be at the right of the beginning of the third period where Jake DeBrusk apparently over-back-checked. what do you think about the way the Canucks are playing just as a unit? Because to me, last night's game kind of reminded me of Bruce Boudreau hockey where it was fun to watch, but I wasn't exactly sure what the Canucks were doing tactically and defensively.

Yeah, and the word that comes to mind is playing connected. and you'll hear coaches talk about, you know, we need to be more connected as a five-man unit. And I can't remember which game it was. It might have been the Boston game where I interviewed assistant coach Kevin Dean before the game. And he talked about how connected they were with their team game. And then you watch them play and you're like, oh, right, absolutely they are. Like the way they break out through the neutral zone, the way guys are in the spots they're supposed to be all the time consistently. you know, it allows you to be better than the sum of your parts,

potentially if you have a team that really buys in to the way you need to play and can do everything that needs to be done at both ends of the ice consistently. Well, that hasn't happened much for the Canucks this season. And, you know, I'm sure we could get into the reasons why or speculate on, on, you know, what it might be, whether it's the personnel aren't perfect. And I think, you know, with the injuries, we haven't really got a chance to see what a fully healthy Canucks group would have looked like for any sort of extended stretch. So there's a factor there.

Obviously, as you allude to, Adam Foote is a first year head coach. So I'm sure he's had to figure some things out on the fly as well. But ultimately, when you think of a connected hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks do not look like a connected hockey team right now. And it limits their ability to have success in games. You know, even I think the game against the Maple Leafs is a perfect example. and the goal that jumps to mind for me is the Max Domi goal where yeah the Canucks maybe don't manage the puck

as well as they would have liked in the neutral zone but then there's a quick pass Troy Stetcher pounces on a loose puck he knows where to snap it to he knows where his teammates going to be and there's Max Domi with a clean chance in on net as a result so you know teams that are playing well that have confidence that understand what they're trying to execute and are all on the same page can look like that and it hasn't looked like that

for vast swathes of the season for the Canucks this year. What do you think about the evolution of the young defenseman on the Canucks? Bouillon was a healthy scratch last night. DPD has been sent

back to the H.L. for a little time and Vielander you know he's still I guess I mean I'll let you answer the question but I think he's still pretty raw. Yeah, what I think is important to remember is that development isn't always linear. So you get these young guys in

and you're going to let them play in the lineup. And in Z. Boolean's case, you're playing him for the most part 20 minutes a night. And there is the temptation to go, man, this guy is the next number one defenseman on this team. And because of who he was traded for, there's a temptation to go, I wonder if he could be as impactful as Quinn Hughes.

But he's still 20 years old. And in William's case in particular, he's coming out of college. So this is his first year understanding the rigors of the NHL schedule and all the travel. And especially with the compressed schedule this season because of the Olympics, the back-to-backs and the three and fours and all of these things that, you know, professionals that have been in the league for a long time understand how to handle. But maybe you're still learning how to do that. as a young defenseman.

Then you add in the fact that, you know, you're traded from the organization that you thought you were going to play for, and you have to move across the continent and figure out your life off the ice and all of those things. And then you've still got to try and play at a high level as someone who's 20 years old. So, you know, using Booiam as the example there, you know, I think his game probably has trended away

from how good he looked when he first arrived in the last little bit here. but for a young defenseman to have a reset, I think is probably not a bad thing. And if he got a chance to watch from the press box and see things up high last night and then potentially goes back into the lineup tonight, you know, it would be interesting to see whether he can, you know,

implement some things in his game that I'm sure they're talking to him about or whether that reset helps refresh him and he can get back to being a more impactful player for this team. But I think with all these young defensemen, patience is going to be key, and I know that's sometimes hard, especially in Vancouver, where we love our young players and we want to see them get more opportunity and more minutes and on the power play and all of these sorts of things. But for some of these guys, it's going to take time to get to where they want to go, and that's okay. That's part of the process when you're

a team that's at the bottom of the standing. Well, I don't think many fans have an issue with the mistakes from the young players. You know, all three of the young different. defenseman, I think, made a mistake in the Leafs game. And, you know, that's fine. And so is correcting their mistakes, whether that's having them take a seat in the press box for a game or sending them back to the HL to work on some things. That's fine. The frustration I'm feeling from the fans and myself is with some of the veteran players

and the ones that they've got signed to some big contracts. Let's start with Brock Bassett. I thought he was, I thought he was going to get one in garbage time last night, but he didn't. And it's now been a long time without a goal. And an even longer time, which is one goal. What are you seeing from him? And what are the Kinnock's going to do with him? Yeah, well, I think he's been around it a little bit more of late, as you allude to.

I thought he had a couple of good looks to score last night. So, you know, I'm getting back to a point with Besser where I say if he's getting the chances, one is going to go in eventually. Now, for a long time, he wasn't getting the chances, and that was concerning. And I think maybe the concerning thing for me is he looks a step off the pace to me right now. And I don't know if that's necessarily skating ability, although he's never been a burner. But too often, a puck will be played to where you would like him to be, and he's just not quite there yet. And so whether that's, you know, anticipation, or not playing on his toes or not playing with confidence,

or maybe not being the most fleet of foot, or all of those things combined, you know, if you're not in the right spot as a goal scorer, when you need to be there, then it's going to be hard to score goals. And I think that's what we've seen now, 20 straight games for Besser without a goal.

So essentially a quarter of a season now that he has gone without scoring, it's by far the longest goal drought of his career. And he's clearly going through it. And, you know, in terms of where things go, from here. You know, I know it's popular in Vancouver to say, you know, take all these veterans and trade them and get them out of here and move on.

But you also need to have value for the guys that you're going to move. And, you know, for the veteran players that are underperforming, unfortunately for the Vancouver fan base, all the GMs in the league will be watching them underperform, too. It's not like, you know, we're hidden out here in Vancouver and, you know, everywhere else in the league doesn't have access to see these games or understand how the team is performing. So, you know, to a certain extent, I understand the organization if they don't want to move off of some of these veterans right now, if they feel like the value might not be there for them.

Now, you know, maybe you're going to have to do that at some point anyway, and ultimately we'll see what happens before the trade deadline. But, you know, for Besser, I think they kind of need to help him through it and he needs to fight through it here because we know that given the right circumstances and put in the right situation, this guy is pretty much a guaranteed 25 goal score, and we've seen his ceiling top out at 40. So, you know, obviously he doesn't have J.T. Miller to play with anymore, and I know you guys have talked a lot about, like,

how much can you be expected to generate with David Camp or Max Sassone down the middle on your line? At the same time, you're compensated very well to produce goals, and Besser hasn't done enough of that this year. but I don't magically see another team flying in and giving you a really good offer for a guy that's really going through it right now with his confidence. So, you know, for Besser individually, I'd say he's got to battle through it and try to find his game back and try to get back to being a player

that could be impactful for this team and produce offense. And for the Canucks, I think they need to help him get through that battle because he's in the first year of a long-term deal. And, you know, I don't see an immediate solution coming for that in the immediate term anyway. Same question for Thatcher Dempco. What are the Canucks going to do with Thatcher Dempco? Yeah, well, it all depends on his health, right?

And that sort of has been the conversation around Thatcher Demko for a while now, and you really feel for him that he is unable to stay healthy. So you hope that they can, now that there aren't the expectations of winning in the second half of the season, like don't rush him back. don't force him into the lineup. Make sure, and, you know, Adam Foote even alluded to the potential possibility of him being shut down. You know, I think if there's any doubt at all, err on the side of caution, get this guy healthy,

get him an offseason healthy again, and really hope this time that he can come back and have an impact for you. But, you know, much like I said with Besser, like I don't see some team riding in and providing a tremendous offer for him, although you know, know with goaltending, you never know. There are teams out there that will be desperate enough for goaltending that they might be willing to take a chance on a guy like Thatcher Demko in spite of his injuries, hoping that he can get healthy.

And we know, and we've seen, you know, even this year, right at the start of the year, when he's healthy, he can be one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, but his health has been so inconsistent that, you know, you feel for him and you feel for the Knox because having him in the lineup on a nightly basis would make a big difference for this team. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for a while now. And, you know, luckily right now, because of where they're at, you know, you're not in the heat of a playoff race or you're not desperate for wins down the stretch. So I think that does provide them the luxury of making sure that he's 100% before you even consider putting him back in the crease.

We're speaking to Brendan Bachelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I know you kind of touched on this already in part and maybe even answered it a bit, but I did want to circle back. We just kind of mentioned the William Healthy Scratch as an aside earlier in the show. But I'm curious to get your thoughts about the decision to sit him down.

I know that they've made these decisions with some of the other young defensemen as well, but he is of a different caliber and class, quite frankly, given how he was acquired and everything. What did you think when you heard the news that William was going to be a healthy scratch? Yeah, I don't know. I wasn't

entirely surprised based on how he'd been playing lately. And, you know, if you look at the way things have trended, you know, he was on the top power play unit early and then had since been moved off it in favor of Veyloner. And, you know, in fact, I think Veyloner, who, you know, as Broff said, is pretty raw, but I think he's looked better on that top power play unit than Buehom did.

So, you know, there was an area where he wasn't playing in the same spot that he had been before. And, you know, for, a guy that came in so highly touted and had such a great start to his conduct's career, I think it had been a little quiet around him more of late. He made a bad mistake in the Leafs game.

He made a terrible clear up the wall that ended up in a goal. Yeah, and as you said, all the young defensemen have been making mistakes that have led to goals too, which, you know, as much as winning may not be the priority the rest of the way is still going to be frustrating for the head coach

for a team that is trying to scratch and claw and end an extended losing streak. Not that that should really matter. But, you know, as I said, because development's not linear, I think it's okay to sit these guys down in the press box every so often for a break and a chance to reset and to watch the game.

And, you know, the other thing is after morning skate, they'll be out there longer with the assistant coaches working on extra things, trying to hone in areas of their game. So it can't actually be a big, benefit. And I know I saw a lot of this on Twitter yesterday when I tweeted out the lines that, you know, oh, boo him scratch, what are they doing? You know, foot doesn't know what he's doing. I'm not going to watch the game tonight because the one guy that, you know, they acquire the young guy that we want

to be watching isn't in the lineup. And I agree with that sentiment if he sits out for an extended stretch. But, you know, for all these young defensemen, they're going to go through ups and doubted their development. And I think it's important to preserve their confidence at times too. And, you know, maybe getting a chance to reset and sit with the coaches and look at the things you're doing well and look at the things that you need to improve upon can be a good thing for these guys. So I would be a little surprised if William isn't back in tonight.

And, you know, as I said, if he sits out for an extended stretch, then I might have more of an issue with it. But, you know, in a season where you're not expected to win games anyway and, and, you know, frankly, you probably don't want to win too many games to, you know, be careful with your young players' development and mindful about how you want to manage them. I think it's totally fine. And sometimes that means sitting out of the lineup and that's okay as long as it's not for weeks on end.

As I continue desperately to search for things that intrigue me about this hockey team, I will be very curious to see if the accountability factor continues to play a role for Adam Foote because, I mean, he showed it with some of the young guys and the organization has showed in a variety of ways, sitting as a healthy scratch being sent down to Abbotsford. Jake DeBrusk sat a game when he wasn't doing the things that the coach wanted him to do.

In terms of building an environment and a culture right now in what's been a lost season, I will be curious to see if the accountability factor continues to play a major role and maybe some other veteran players take a seat every now and again. Yeah, and you know, I

think we've seen that to a certain extent. You know, Evander Cain's been moved down the lineup of late. He was playing with Ratu and Hoaglander last night. So that's another veteran that maybe hasn't been healthy scratched like Jake DeBrask was, but, you know, has seen his role change. You know, we already talked about Besser. I think it'll be interesting to see if with him specifically anything changes in terms of deployment or, you know, whether he sits out a game at some point if he can't find his scoring touch.

But, yeah, you know, these are all interesting. things to watch for, you're right. In a season that hasn't gone the way that we would hope, you're looking for the young players to grow and develop and you don't make mistakes and learn from them. And hopefully, you know, some of the young defensemen that we've been seeing make mistakes of late start to round into form after the Olympic break or later in the season and they can get them some more ice time and have strong individual finishes to the year. And then for the veterans, if some of these guys are going to be around, you've got to get them, you know, back on side and back playing to a level that you need them to play at to, you know,

just be a more consistent role model at the NHL level. And, you know, I'm not entirely surprised at the dip in play from some of the veteran players. You know, you just imagine you're someone like Marcus Pedersen, who not even a calendar year ago was acquired in a high-profile trade and given a big extension to be a part of a team that at the time was planning to be a playoff team and planning to try and make some noise. And not even a calendar year later. Now you're in a full rebuild and you're skating with a bunch of 20-year-olds out there.

You know, I'm not, you know, individually looking at Marcus Pedersen and questioning, you know, his effort or his, you know, ability to show up on a nightly basis. But it has to be disappointing for a lot of these guys who thought they'd be in a very different spot than they are right now. And, you know, I don't think that they would be human if that didn't, impact their play to some degree. But that said, you're being compensated very well. You're playing in the NHL.

You've got to perform at a higher level than you have. And, you know, hopefully those guys can round into form here and at least put forth a better showing as leaders for some of these young guys down the stretch going forward. I am glad you brought that out. Like, never mind Petterson. Demko and Garland and Besser, they only signed their extension six months ago. It's an entirely different planet they're living on.

compared to where they were six months ago. Like so much has changed. So much has changed. Go ahead. Imagine that you, like, I don't know, imagine like as a working professional, you're head hunted to join some company that has a really exciting project that you want to work on. And so you join this company and you're excited about this project and maybe you're well compensated too. And then six months after you sign that contract, they go, well, actually our star employee that was critical to this project has left to go work somewhere else.

and we're changing our priorities as a company, so now we're going to be shoveling excrement, and you're going to be doing it with a bunch of 20-year-olds. But go out there and shovel excrement as best as you can and be a really good leader to these young kids we brought into the organization. That wouldn't be easy to do, but these guys have to find a way to do it nonetheless.

Excellent analogy, Batch, excellent hit as well. Enjoy the game tonight. A reminder if you want to hear Batch tonight, 4 o'clock, puck drop, Canucks, Senators from Ottawa. Thanks for doing this, bud. We appreciate it. Sounds good. Thanks. Thanks.

Thanks. Thank you, thanks. Brendan Batchel. Playb the voice of the Vancouver Connects here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Would that be a job, though, like shoveling excrement? Yes, it's a job. In what capacity in, like a barn or something? Yeah, a zoo.

A zoo, yeah, barn. We were just talking about the worst jobs we've ever had at the break with Greg, and he was remembering his days at the hot dog factory. Sounds like a joke, but what? It was legit. What was the issue that you had? What would happen sometimes? The conveyor belt would...

Well, it's a big line, right? So they go through the smoker, and they get all the seasoning, and they're on these big lines. Of course, yeah. And sometimes the packaging lines down below would freeze up or slow down, or if something would happen, they'd have to stop the line. And the line would continue. So one person's job was to get the weaners off the line, and you've got to carry them over your head and then dump them on a table while you wait for them to start the line again.

You've got to put them on the wiener hangers. We've got to put them on the peeler. Right. Got to peel them. Greg was the head weener remover. You, what is your relationship with hot dogs now? Yeah, that's good question. I don't isolate them, honestly.

I'll eat Canadian hot dogs because I've seen how they're made and I've seen the levels of standards in the facilities that we use. Sure. Some American hot dogs, maybe I'd probably steer clear from. I trust your analysis of hot dogs more than perhaps anybody on the planet. It's not healthy for you, but it's no different than eating like a chicken nugget. Right. Sure.

But it hasn't turned you off of a good dog. No. Did it at all? Was there, were there a few years where you're like, I, I, no. You was a hot dog taste tester for a while. No, you get tired of it, right? You work at a candy factory. I'm sure you get tired of you.

One for you? One for me. I don't think Aed dog would. I think of A dog. Yeah, I wouldn't last three days. I think about it. Probably not. Yeah, I wouldn't last very long in a hot dog factory. Hey dog, you're the closest I know to an umpalupa. Kind of orange, too.

All right, we got an open segment on the other side. I'll throw this out to the listeners, because Batchieie's, Batch mentioned it. And when it comes to trading veteran players, are you concerned about the return? Like, I'm not talking about, you know, retaining salary or offering sweeteners, but are you concerned about asset management? Because a few people have texted in or one person texting and it said like, it was Tony. Okay. At this point, I would probably take a second round pick for Dempco.

And I'm like, at this point, I might just be willing to get off the contract entirely and just be like, it is no longer on the books. Yeah. That's your Dempco. And I kind of feel the same way about some other guys as well. I mean, the Canucks nearly lost Brock Bessor for nothing. What if they were to just get that opportunity again? Let me know. Text in to the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650.

650. You're listening to the Halford Ambrough show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central on SportsNet 650. From exclusive interviews to insider scoops and post-game breakdowns, we've got it all. Tune in weekdays 4 to 6 p.m. on radio and on demand through your favorite podcast app. Five on a Tuesday. Happy on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody.

Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Only a licensed insolvency trustee can cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. To learn more, visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We're in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Hour two is brought to by Jason Hominoch at jason. 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. Dow Mortgage. So I threw out a question to the listeners when it comes to potentially trading some of these veteran players, especially the ones that they've got signed to long-term contracts. And I asked, are you worried about the return? Are you worried about getting value back in these trades? and the consensus from the listeners is no, not worried.

Jordan and Van Texan. I'm not concerned too much about the return on their veteran players at this point. It's just time to take a best offer and move on. JP, I think management shouldn't be worried about any return. Just trade as many players as you can and try and get any draft picks or younger players' teams are willing to give. Have a meeting with the veteran players ask who is willing to waive,

there are no move clause. Trade as soon as you can and start moving forward with this rebuild slash retool. Goes for everyone. Pedy, Demko, Besser, etc. Mike texts in. I think it's more important to get some trades done rather than maximizing asset value. Getting players off the books and more importantly turning the page on this era and giving more ice time to younger players would be a breath of fresh air than he adds. God after that first goal last night. I'd give up anything to never watch a Vander Cain in a Canucks jersey ever again. Kane scored at least last night. He did.

But yeah, he had a few games where he was, it looked like he was skating pretty well. That's over now. Three putt, Shane, I'd be fine with Brock, Demko, and Pedersen being traded for a bag of pucks. Also, this team needs to better recognize and evaluate talent and most importantly, character. It goes on. I know you just gave the okay, but I think it's fairly clear that fans want to move on. And I think there's two risks,

two big risks in trying to maximize return. Number one, things get worse. And then not only are you wondering if you can get anything back for these players, you know for sure you can't get anything back for these players. number two is this whole culture thing and whether or not these players are useful to have in a room that carries a lot of baggage. So here's where I'm at. And we have.

If we're going to criticize the organization for always taking shortcuts and trying to expedite everything and speeding up a process that demands patience and always trying to jump to the front of the line, if we're going to criticize him for that, then we shouldn't turn around and say, but that's exactly what you need to do with this stage of the process. I understand the knee-jerk reaction, the gut reaction, the visceral reaction to just getting rid of everybody. in a lot of ways I encourage it. Scorched earth.

Someone texted in with a big fire emoji. Scorched earth. I get it. I don't think they're saying do it this week, though. They're just saying do it before next season. Some people are saying do it this week. Some people are saying do it this season. And that's great.

That's great. I understand the idea behind it. And in some ways, I think there's a message that would be sent that comes along with get everyone out of here by the end of this season. But I think the most important thing is asset management. And for once, for once, this organization taking a more serious, dare I say, holistic approach to making sure that you maximize every single asset you have,

no matter how long it takes. There's significant risks, though, that the assets, that the assets depreciate even further. And sometimes, you know, if you're thinking about a stock port, portfolio, sometimes the best decision you can make is just sell and sell now. Sure, but sometimes it's not. And right now I would argue that stocks don't get older. Like they're not like, this stock is now into his 30s. Could you not make the argument that some of these stocks, i.e. the bestor stock, is as low as it could possibly be right now.

No. You think it could get lower? Yes. Easily. Easily. Do you think he's going to get faster? Like, and what are you? and what, well, just hold on.

There's one year or less of term at the end of the year that another team has to inherit. It's still a long contract. What are you nitpicking over either? Let's say you were given the option to get rid of his contract for free, essentially future considerations, which I'm not even sure you could do right now, but let's say you could.

Or your option is hold on and wait for a better return. What is the ceiling of return that you're going to? going to get. I have no idea. But the idea should be you get the best possible return. What's he going to do to the current product? They're going to stink for two or three years anyway. I understand that part of the logic. Like, do you risk bringing a player in to a not great work environment? Yes. But I look at asset management how bad it's been. I feel like that's been the one thing that's really killed this team. That it's not so much the culture in the room.

It's the process at the management level. Like I went back last night and looked at Montreal, because of course the Canucks were playing Montreal. And people often point to the collective body of work and how so many things that they did right that you forget the individual flashpoints that made it such an interesting rebuild. For example, what they did was Sean Monaghan.

Now, I don't think you could. actually replicate what they did with Monaghan because the cap's gone up and there aren't as many team faced with these onerous contracts that they need to get off the books. But they took Monahan on from Calgary and got a first round pick for taking on his contract, let him kind of rediscover his career in Montreal and then flipped them for a first. It's considered like one of the master class moves of their rebuild. And it took a little bit of time and a little bit of patience for it to extrapolate and play itself out, but it end up being a chef's kiss of a move for the organization. But here's the thing, it's one part of the chapter.

If that was in Vancouver, they would have been throwing a ticker tape bread. They're like, look at what we did. Look at what we did. We did the Monahan move, rebuild over. We got two first round picks out of that, right? And that's kind of where I'm at with this, is that it's such a collective attack that you need to put forth where you need so many good moves. So many good moves. That's why

after the Hughes trade I felt like a lot of people kicked their feet up a little prematurely. Like, well, look at what we did here. Netted a really nice return. Yeah. Great return. A dog loves Eve Buyam. After the, you were high on the Buyam train. You'd already

forgotten about Acuto Herose. Yeah. Now he's the new Herose. Well, hopefully not actually. I take that back. And I remember thinking at the time, I don't want to, you know, rain on the parade too much because William could be a very good defenseman in the National Hockey League. But I remember thinking there's going to be some growing pains along the way

because he's coming into a bad situation. And he's going to be full of them invigorate the start because he's the new guy on the scene and he wants to prove it to his team. But he still needs to learn how to be an NHL defenseman. We don't know what that's going to look like. And that goes for him. and it goes for, you know, Braden Coots,

you have no idea what Braden Coots is going to be at the NHL level. And at this point, I'd say you have no idea what, VLander and DPD, and go down the list of young guys that are still learning their trade exactly what they're going to be at the NHL level. I'm so,

I'm so curious to see, I guess, where the value ends up being if the Canucks end up, trading some of these guys. Like, I've actually said on the show multiple times, like, I think Besser is still a good player.

Like, some people are saying, like, he's cooked, he's done. I'm like, I don't think so. I think he's on a team that he doesn't, to put it in soccer, he doesn't get any service. No. Right? You look at how, you look at how the HABs pass the puck around. connects don't do that.

They don't have anyone. There's no zipping. And so, so I'm not saying that the connect should should go out and, um, you know, like, just like whatever you want them to you take them like you,

you ask for things. But I do think that they should do it sooner rather than later and not haggle too much on price. That's, that's all I'm saying because I think there is an added risk as these players approach the 30s where you're like all the sudden, you know,

like, because I don't think it's going to get better for Besser in Vancouver. Probably not. You might score a goal. Yeah, but who's he going to have chemistry with? Like, are you hoping that heat will comes back and maybe there's

some chemistry there? Are you hoping that some chemistry develops with Rossi? You know, they've tried putting Pedersen with Besser, it doesn't work. And those guys, by the way, are together a lot on a power play and hasn't worked much between them. That's all I'm saying. I do think that doing these things quickly as possible is important.

That's all I'm saying. And people saying you're being impatient, you know, my counterpoint is like you've actually been too patient with a lot of these guys. and you should have let Bessor go in the first place. Yeah. By the way, did you see some of the quotes from Jack Hughes last night about watching Quinn and how he's like, yeah, I never really watched Minnesota Wild Games, but it's fun to watch them now, seeing Quinn snap it around out there with some of these quality players that he's got to play with. I'm like, yeah.

You know, it's funny, he wasn't really known for snapping it around on the powerpoint. play when he was in Vancouver. Now he's got a guy like Matt Boldie who's going to rip that one-timer. And, you know, the power play, he looks like he's having fun. He's involving his teammates. And, you know, I think that just goes, I really want to know. I really want to know what some of the power play meetings have been like over the last couple of years because things were clearly dysfunctional between huge.

Peterson and JT. Yeah, clearly. You know, the other part of that quote that I thought was hilarious, by the way, it's on Mike Russo of the athletic. Fantastic, Minnesota Wild Beat Writer. It's on his timeline on Twitter if you want to check it out. Jack also says,

I've had a lot of fun tuning into Minnesota games, and I've never watched Minnesota play. I honestly, in my career, I don't think I've ever watched them. So now I'm tuned in and watching all their games, and it's fun to watch. And I was thinking about that. I'm like, yeah, if you're a young man

who's grown up watching hockey, I can't think of where Minnesota is on the tune-in list, but prior to them getting Quinn Hughes, probably pretty low. Yeah, probably pretty low. I know they had Caprizov and, as he said, Faves and holds.

Well, they've only had him for a few years. Yeah. When you were a kid, he was like, I'm going to tune in and watch Souter and Paris. Yeah. I can't wait to watch Joel Eric. and X.

Remember when the Canucks played them in the bubble? And we routinely referred to the Minnesota Wilde as a team that had four third lines. Ericson, X a good player, though. We probably underrated him. But no one's tuning in to watch him. No, no, no. And there is that element of like, that solid two-way play.

You know, it's great. Love to watch it. When Ryan Hartman was maybe one of their best forwards, like, you don't really tune in to watch that. And Hughes has brought that to Minnesota. I wonder how many of our listeners are actively watching. Minnesota Wild Games on the regular. I've done it a few times, but one day we'll get into this,

probably not now because we don't have a ton of time, but the divorce between the Canucks and Hughes to me has been awfully strange because it happened in such a hurry, and I do remember the functionality of the trade being on a Friday evening, and it just happened. And he was gone and just like, he was gone.

And then immediately joined, running a Minnesota team, which was kind of fun and interesting and dynamic to watch. And then the smoldering mess left behind, there was more, way more of a focus on that, understandably than where Hughes was going and what he was a focus on some of the guys that were coming in, too, right? There was some excitement over the return. Right. And I think that really sort of carried the day for about two weeks. Yeah.

And then that's faded. And now it's like, you know, you just don't think about the one that left really much anymore. I don't anyway. Still pay attention to the games because I think it's an interesting storyline and a narrative arc and I do want to see how he's doing going into the Olympics.

I help Team Canada blasts him through the wall during the Olympics. And then there's that. I really do. Yeah. I was like, hit him. Hit him.

He's weak when that happens. I saw him the playoffs. Just keep hammering away. It wasn't very good. You know what? Got played outplayed by Bouchard. Send guys in on the floor check. I always said it.

Send more guys. in on the forecheck. Okay. Real quick, before we go to break, we should mention that the NFL divisional round schedule is set. Not, of course,

after yesterday's thumping in Pittsburgh, in case you missed, the Houston, Texans took care of business, rather effectively yesterday in Pittsburgh, so they move on in advance now. I know everyone's got their particular teams that we hear at the Alfred & Brough show are big Seattle Seahawks fans.

Seattle Seahawks are going to get the prime time Saturday night slot. They're going to be going Saturday, 5 o'clock our time on Fox, hosting the San Francisco 49ers. So we get all three, or sorry, we get the two NFC West teams on Saturday night. The third, the L.A. Rams are going to get the night game on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Buffalo is going to go to Denver in the opening game on Saturday. And then the Sunday afternoon game, honestly, in my eyes,

probably the least interesting of the three is the Houston New England. England game, and that's going to be the Sunday 12 p.m. kickoff in the AFC. So do we get Tom Brady then? I guess. Yeah. I don't even know if they've assigned the broadcasters. They just assigned the networks last night. But I mean, Fox is Brady, right?

Yeah, you've got to assume that he's going to get the game. Yeah, yeah. So, uh, Broncos, one and a half point favorites over the bills, um, as the bills try and go on the road again and get a win. Seahawks 7 and a half point favorites now over the 49ers. The Patriots, three point favorites over the Texans. And then the Rams heading into Chicago as three and a half point favorites, all eyes on Matt Stafford's finger.

Yeah. And how that's going for him. So look, I'm going to spell this out for our listeners real quick. I desperately want Bill's Patriots in the AFC championship and Seahawks Rams. You're an idiot then. And the NFC champion. Because I want the Seahawks to go to the Super Bowl and not lose to the Rams. I want that rematch.

I think that is the road. That's the road. That's the road. That's the road. That's the road. You got to beat the best to be the champs. No. You got to go to the Rams.

I also don't think the Bears are going to be the Rams. Yeah, but who cares what you don't think? What do you want? I want the Bears coming to Seattle. I'm worried about the Niners. Like, this is, Kyle Shanhan is a good coach. I know it's a seven-in-a-point, Fred. spread, but like, why would you want the Rams?

Because it would be a great rematch. I think the Rams are a better team than the Seahawks. I don't. I think the Rams are weaker defensively, and I think that they were exposed a little bit in that game in Carolina. I think they turned the ball over a lot. It's a great offense. It's an amazing passing offense,

and Puccoa is an absolute handful to deal with. But Stafford's banged up. Devante Adams isn't at 100%. And that rematch would be amazing. That would be a star-studded, must-watch NFC championship. Okay. If the Seahawks beat the Niners and the Rams beat the Bears, and then the Rams come to Seattle and beat the Seahawks,

can I punch you in the nose? Sure. Right on stream. We can do it. We can do it. Yeah, we can do it. Okay. I'm here for the entertainment value, too.

You got to remember that. I'm here for all. I like some wins. I'm here for all of our listeners. Okay. Seattle and L.A. put together the best game. of the year, as far as I'm concerned, in the National Football League. I thought that was the game of the year.

And getting a rematch would be great. The trilogy game. And the Seahawks should not have won that game. But they did. I want you to go to Feed the Kids 5050.com. Kick off the new year by making a difference and getting your shot at a cash prize. Join the Feed the Kids 50-50 for your chance to win. When you buy a ticket, you're helping the Greater Vancouver Food Bank,

provide fresh healthy food to more than 16,000 people every week, including thousands of kids. Just a few days left before ticket sales closed. So go to Feed the Kids 5050.com. Okay, and before we go to break, I need to remind you that this segment of the show was brought to by the Doick Auto Group. Find out why nobody meets a Duick deal and why nobody has since 1926. Visit Duke GM on Marine Drive.

Visit them downtown. Visit them in Richmond and visit them on. online at the Duicotto Group.com. Two hours of the show in the books. Final hour is on the horizon. Alex Adams, Ottawa Senator's writer from SportsNed is going to join us ahead of tonight's game. The Canucks are in Ottawa.

Four o'clock puck drop. A reminder, pregame, postgame, and the actual game. You can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. It's been a very interesting last few days in the Canadian capital. We'll talk to Alex, what everything is going on with this turbulent senators team. That's coming up next. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet. 650.