Halford & Brough in the Morning - Kevin Woodley Talks Canucks + What We Learned

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

In hour three, Mike & Jason set up tonight's Canucks home tilt tonight versus the Colorado Avalanche with NHL.com & In Goal Magazine's Kevin Woodley (1:32), plus the boys tell us what they learned (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.

802 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Pacific Honda,

North Vancouver's premier destination for Honda vehicle sales and service. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for,

sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in Hour 3 of the program. Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Engel Magazine is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers.

Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. 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, Orfi, what are you waiting for? Kintec. Before we get to Kev, we do need to address the fact that neither Bruff nor I are mathematicians by trade. It appears as though we are off a bit with the poll question.

Yeah, it's 58% to 42%. I said 52% and everyone was all over me. Because 58 plus 52. That's 110. Which we give every day.'s true that's what you're that's why you're off that's why yeah yeah exactly to the phone lines we go here's the guy that gives 110 every day kevin woodley and i've seen him on the ice all right kevin woodley nhl.com and goal magazine here on the halford and brush on sportsown Sportsnet 650. What up, Kev? I was told there would be no

mass, and as for Mr. Ballack there, you're right, he has seen me on the ice, which is more than I can say for him over the last two years. Wow. Shots have been fired. By the way, didn't Woodley light it up at the most recent charity

event? Yeah, in between his stints at the bench hurling and getting back into the crease. He sounds like a guy that gives it his all. I like that. That's post-concussion syndrome when I'm hurling. Oh, okay, it might also be post-concussion syndrome. My bad. Kev, let's just start with,

we'll get into the goaltending in a bit, but what do you make of the current state of the Canucks, that performance Saturday against Boston, and now they're going to have to deal with some rumors for each throwing out the idea of a trade with Buffalo Elias Pettersson for Dylan Cousins and Bowen Byram and everyone is in Vancouver is you know googling Dylan Cousins highlight reel and just seeing what seeing what's going on with him what do you make of the current state of the team well I mean unsettled would probably be the most generous term and obviously when stuff like that happens it's funny eh like I saw some players yesterday I wasn't I didn't go to practice yesterday because frankly with one game left

in a six-game homestand, I've had enough of that place. So I wasn't at practice yesterday. I had other things that had to be done, but I saw some of the audio and some of the videos coming out of the interviews and sort of the idea that the reaction to Saturday night was just more of a Canadian media market kind of thing. And I'll give you that taking Saturday night and turning it into trade

stuff that may be more of a Canadian thing but I don't think the reaction to the effort and the complete lack of it on Saturday night was about a Canadian market I think that was I think that was anytime your coach is questioning the emotional investment of four or five players and being as openly critical and frustrated, admitting the coaching staff has frustrations with guys not executing the game plan they're given against specific opponents. Like that's, that's not us, right? Like that's not a media market overreaction. That's, that's just the reality of a team that looks good one night and then looks nothing like that the next night and i think you know just to sort

of stay on that side of things performance side of things as opposed to the trade rumors that come after such inconsistent performances and with all the talk about how much of that is related to the vibes in the locker room um you know it's what they did last year was predicated a lot on work ethic and commitment to being on the same page. And there's been no consistency in either of those things this year. And that's fine. Like it's hard to play as hard as they did last year for an entire 82 game season. But what we were told last year is that this was the start of new standards of, you know, this team having a new identity, um,

and, and sort of being able to live up to those standards on a, on a more regular basis, that this was going to be part of the culture. And we just haven't seen nearly enough consistency out of this group from an effort and execution standpoint to make you believe that that culture has stuck. There's still work to do. And I think they, you know, we hear it, the frustration from coaches and management,

it sounds like they agree as well. And so that's where, you know, I think a lot of the pushback comes from fans um in terms of the home record and i think the source of a lot of it like just everything they did last year was predicated on an identity that they have not yet been able to rediscover and it starts in my mind and frankly statistically as well it starts in their own end and quite often there's issues personnel wise in terms of getting the puck out of their own end absolutely but a lot of it starts with commitment and work ethic defensively and how that feeds

everything else in their game and it's just not there on a night-to-night basis and it shows up most when they're at home what did you make ofckett's assertion that there were plays to be made in the Boston game and the plays just weren't made? And Tockett even himself seemed to be flummoxed as to why that was. Was it an ability thing? Were they nervous? Because Tockett's system has taken on quite a bit of criticism Were they nervous? You know, because the – Tuckett's system has taken on quite a bit of criticism as the season has progressed.

You know, people complaining about the dump and chase and the dump it out. But based on what he was saying after the game and what he was saying Sunday after practice, like, he wants them to make more plays. They're just not doing it. Well, and I think, you know, there are times in the past couple of years where he's talked about that offensively, like that there are things they can do

to execute on the offensive end to score more goals than they did. I think we heard that a little bit in the playoffs last year, like there are plays there. I think for the most part this year those problems have started getting out of their own end and I think that's you know again not putting words in his mouth but I do believe that's where most I don't say all but most of that was directed on Saturday night and then the follow-up right like making plays to get out of your own end as opposed to just dumping it out and there were times you know and I'd have to go look back at all the exits on Saturday night

to see how much of this was defensemen not making plays and how much of this what was happening earlier in the season, which is guys weren't always where they were supposed to be and giving them the outlets and giving them the options. And as more opponents sort of get longer looks now for over a year, how this system works, are they taking away those lanes? Or, as it was early in the season, are guys just not where they're supposed to be? And that was a big problem early in the year, the gaps between the defensemen trying to break out and how far the forwards were up, not giving them outlets to make –

I mean, Tyler Myers looked so good last year because everything in front of him, and he'll tell tell you this was more predictable and simple to digest. And when, where you expect those guys to be based on that predictability and where they're supposed to be, isn't there. That's when you get uncertainty and indecision and flip it up off the glass and off the boards. And so haven't fine tooth combed Saturday night to tell you which was which,

but I think most of the execution he's talking about is getting out of their own end. And I think it's fair, you know, and some people made this, you know, assertion before the season started. But it's fair to question how much of this on the back end is personnel. Right. Like this isn't, you know, that's where puck moving on the back end was a question that people talked about in the summer. Do they have enough? And the answer so far is probably not. What do you make of that trade proposal

that Freach threw out there? Can I YouTube Dylan Cousin highlights? I knew this was coming last night, so I did it myself. I'm like, eh. I don't know. You know me. I always say I don't like to blow smoke. When we talk about goaltending, I do the research.

I look at the numbers. I'm blessed to have access to ClearSight. I watch video. I haven't watched a whole lot of dylan cousin video uh i think we know a little more about bowen byram would he help this back end yeah absolutely um but where where that fits in and at the end of the day what do they say about trades you when you're giving up the best the team that gets the best player and it wins um i find it really hard to not see elias patterson as the best player and it wins, I find it really hard to not see Elias Patterson

as the best player in that trade. Okay, well, let's talk about... I have fairly significant margin. Let's talk about... I can't talk about Petey anymore. So let's talk about Thatcher Demko. What have you seen from his first two starts? Because he's probably going to get the start tonight

against Colorado, if only because Kevin Lankanen is out with the flu. Yeah, and I don't know if that would have been the initial plan. I think there probably would have been a bit of a rotation going here. And so I liked his first start for the most part. I really didn't love, you know, amidst all the conversations about everything he means to this team and how hard he's worked to get back, I really didn't love that effort defensively.

I mean, two on O's, it was like watching Tuesday night barely get eight ranks, breakaways all over the place. And it wasn't quite more the same against Boston. You know, like they got outshot badly in the first period. And I saw some stuff where like, oh, a natural set trick has the high danger chances like at 11-0. And it was more like 3-0 in terms of actual high danger chances. But I thought he had to be, even with two goals going in in the first,

you know, both on cross ice passes, so much for the goalies only having to play one half of the net. You know, I thought he looked fine and he kept them in and he made a number of big saves. It was kind of early in the second when he goes wandering out. And as he said himself yesterday, uncharacteristically, to beat a play up near the blue line, up around the top of the circle, to chip a puck out and put himself in a pretty compromised position in terms of contact and going down awkwardly.

And he gets back up and everything's fine. And that's probably a nice little checkmark for him that, you know, like the body's holding up, no problem. But that felt chasey, like that felt uncharacteristically aggressive. And from that point on in the game, maybe it's just a coincidence, but I thought there was a little uncharacteristic chase in his positioning.

His positional consistency is one of the things that hasn't been there. In these first couple of starts, there's times where he's been uncharacteristically outside the blue ice. I can't remember the last time, and it's David Pasternak, so grain of salt given the level of skill, but to see him sort of get caught and overcommitted on the short side of the post there, and Pasternak told us post-game that he was shooting until he saw where Demko was on the ice, and that's when he decided to go for the wraparound. So if Demko's read was Pasternak

shooting this, I'm taking extra ice, his read was right, but he made it in a way that allowed Pasternak to change his mind and didn't allow him to get to that post. So that was a little uncharacteristic. The fourth goal, that initial shot's going well wide. And again, a little bit of chase, like reaching and extending for a shot

that's not even going to be on net. And it goes off Brandstrom's ass and goes between your legs and hey that's a tough break a tough bounce that happens but that's a play that i think when he's at peak of his powers he's not overextending to chase a puck that's going well wider than that so kind of opens himself up in that this is all to be expected um if if that seems hyper critical for a guy who's two starts into being off for you know seven months it's not meant to be because with it there has been a lot of excellent saves like you see a lot of patient you know guys coming down into good shooting areas he's not retreating he He's holding his ground. He's making really patient glove and blocker saves. Obviously, the dynamic stuff on the 2-0 double slot line,

those go in over 60% of the time. You see the athleticism, the ability to get a leg out and extend and make a save. It's all still there. And the other stuff, which I think for the most part is just read-based and timing-based, that'll come with more reps. We're speaking to Kevin Woodley from NHL.com

and Ingle Magazine here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. On the other side of the ice, Kev, tonight the Colorado Avalanche, they have a new goalie, Mackenzie Blackwood, got his first start as an Avalanche on Saturday. I don't know how much you saw of it, but he stopped 38 of 40 shots and a 5-2 win over the Predators.

What do you know about Blackwood? I assume he's going to start tonight. We probably should have asked Arif about that earlier, but we didn't get a chance. We were too busy talking about Jared Bednar's hair. That's on me. We were rightfully distracted by that salad. It is a magnificent set of slow.

Disagree. Disagree. It looks awful. It looks awful, man. There's some guys that can have long hair. Jared Bednar is not one of them. It is distracting. No, Bruff, let me tell you.

It is causing their defensive... It actually ruined Georgia. And you'll see somebody who cannot have long hair. Anyway, McKenzie Blackwood. I might put it on social media. That's somebody who shouldn't have long hair. Jared Bed Mackenzie Blackwood. I might put it on social media. That's somebody who shouldn't have long hair. Jared Bednar pulls it off. Mackenzie Blackwood, go ahead. Mackenzie Blackwood

has long hair. He's also a really physically gifted goaltender who still has a ton of tools and might be a great fit here. Now, the interesting thing to me was the areas where Georgiev struggled in Colorado were low-danger goals. There was a number of sort of like sub, like microcategories of types of shots. At the end of the day, the environment in Colorado,

Georgiev got the worst of it when there were all those injuries, but it's leveled off. It's a top-10 defensive environment in the NHL right now for all the offense that they have they spent maybe it's just how much time they spend in the offensive end it is a top 10 defensive environment and so the problem that they ran into was just the bad goals that georgia was letting in like it was up near double digits low percentage goals interestingly in the underlying profile

blackwood has sometimes struggled with similar things. And you're going to find this hard to believe, but he actually had an easier environment in San Jose from an expected save percentage standpoint than Georgiev did in Colorado. And a big part of that was, for whatever reason, whether it's systems or teams just thinking it's going to be an easy night when they played the Sharks, a ton

of low dangers. In a time when teams in the league, and this was my column at NHL.com over the weekend, the unmasked column on Friday, about why save percentage is really decreasing in the NHL, a big part of it is that teams don't waste shots

from the perimeter anymore. And if they do, there's multiple layers of traffic. They're purposeful about it. It used to be a 3-to-1 ratio, low-danger shots to high-danger shots in the league. It's down to almost 2-to-1 this season. And what Blackwood was getting in San Jose was an uncharacteristically, easy for me to say, high degree of low-danger shots. And for a goalie, that can really help you feel into a game get into a

game get your touches get your rhythm feel good about your game it's not going to have that in colorado they don't give up much they possess the puck a ton and then when they do give it up you know it's it's more likely to be a high danger chance than what he was facing in san jose they don't they don't spend tons of time pinned in their own end. So it's a different environment. There'll be an adjustment period, but he's massive, like just massive. I've had multiple people that have played with him or coached him say he's built like an NFL linebacker. He has unbelievable athleticism, and I think he's really quiet at his game in San Jose. The potential for a good fit there is high. But again, it's how we adjust to sort of the mental challenge of fewer low danger chances. And again,

expectations, right? Because he hasn't had them in a while. I do think the people that say last time he had expectations, it was in New Jersey and it didn't go well. And so he can't handle it. I don't think that's fair because I've got a glimpse into some of the injuries that he was playing through when he was in New Jersey. And they're, if some of them are almost staggering, like he had what we call a Bauer bump on the heel that had to be surgically removed.

But at one point before having it removed, it's like a growth, like a bone growth caused by rubbing against the skates. At one point, they actually cut the heel off his skates, covered the back of the skate with black tape so nobody could tell, and he was basically playing with an open heel on the back of his skate. Like, that guy played through a ton in New Jersey,

so I'm not going to go on and on about how his numbers weren't good there, and that means he can't be a good goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche. I don't believe it's true. There's tons of upside, and if he can handle the a good goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche. I don't believe it's true. There's tons of upside. And if he can handle the mental side of it, it could be a really good fit for the Avs. Before we let you go, we were talking about this last week, and then I went to NHL.com just to check out your article.

And then I looked at the save percentage leaders in the National Hockey League right now. Number one is Anthony Stollers in Toronto. Number five is joseph wall also in toronto are we prepared to live in a world where the toronto maple leafs have the best goaltending in the national hockey league i'm certainly prepared for it because one of my weekly hits in another market that goes year long we we sort of kill the dead time in august by ranking goalie tandems in each division and when i ranked the toronto maple leafs for this season as having the

best tandem in their division i got some of the most abusive hate i've ever had for the benign goalie guy like i was i was the stupidest man in the world and quite often that's true but it was pointed out to me in very explicit and detailed ways how stupid i was for saying that the toronto maple leafs would have the best goaltending tandem going into this season um so yes i am very prepared to live in that world i hope that anthony stoller's injury because that's the only question he's on ir now yeah that's the only question mark guys he has posted well above expected his numbers last year were way better than bob's on a per shot basis they were the best in the nhl similar the year before in anaheim elite numbers relative

to environment the only question is could he do it playing more because of the injury history and so let's hope for leafs fans and for my prognostication that the injury he sustained over the weekend or heading into the weekend is short-term because I think it's a perfect balance. They both have question marks about durability, but when you have two of them, they have a chance to have the best goaltending in the NHL.

And I would argue it was perhaps a little silly. They had a nice rotation going back and forth between them. Stolers makes 50-plus in the NHL. And I would argue it was perhaps a little silly. They had a nice rotation going back and forth between them. Stoller makes 50-plus against the Devils, and so they reward him by going back to him, and he doesn't make it through the game. There's a lesson there. One, the Canucks might want to heed when they get both goalies up and running

and playing well here in Vancouver. Kev, you're the best, buddy. Thanks for doing this today. As always, we really appreciate it. Enjoy the game tonight. Hopefully it's a good one. We'll do this again soon. Appreciate it, guys. Thank you. That's Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Ingold Magazine on Sportsnet 650,

a presentation of White Rock Hyundai. Visit the showroom on King George in White Rock or whiterockhyundai.com. The Leafs have two injury-prone goaltenders. Surely they can't both be injured at the same time, right? Never. That's never happened. And they can't both be injured at the same time, right? Never. That's never happened. And they've got Dennis Hildeby. Yes.

A very unproven goaltender. Is he Swedish? Yes, he is. Oh, okay. He's very, very tall. Yes, he's very tall. He doesn't have a very, like, typical Scandinavian name. No.

Dennis Hildeby does not sound. He's a menace, they say. All right. Okay. We need more What We Learns into the Dunbar Lumber text line. We'll start with ours

on the other side of the segment. Let's have a good What We Learn segment. A robust What We Learn segment. There's a lot to talk about.

The Canucks, we spent the whole hour talking about the latest on this team after their performance against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and some of the speculation that Elliott Friedman threw out there. And in case you missed it on 32

thoughts, Freed threw out the question, Elias Pettersson to Buffalo for Dylan Cousins and Bowen Byram. Who says no? Was he just 100% speculating or has Freed heard something and maybe he's turning into sounds like speculation but maybe something's out there we all know that the Sabres are a disaster right now they've lost 10 in a row they're probably looking to make some deals and the Canucks after Jim Rutherford went on

after hours yesterday and are on Saturday and said yeah we need to add a couple more players to this team in order to truly contend, we know that Jim Rutherford is motivated to make some deals. It's the Canucks versus the Avs tonight at Rogers Arena. Get your What We Learns in right now. Dunbar Lumber text line 650-650. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your

say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets weekdays 3-4 on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. Now for my favorite part of the show what'd i say talk to the audience oh god this is always dead it's what we learn time it's what we learn time

it's what we learn time on the show learn time. It's what we learn time. On the show. 832 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. Halford Brough, 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 that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in Hour 3 of the program. It is what we learn time. Hour 3 is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at

campbell-pound.com today. Mmm. Nice. It is a gift. It is a gift. I'll sell an A-Dog the whole time during that reading. He's going to nail it. Every time. He's going to a gift. It is a gift. I'll sound A-Dog the whole time during that radio. He's going to nail it. Every time.

He's going to nail it. Every time. Consistency is key in radio. We have very little of it. Okay. Let's do some What We Learn, shall we? I'm going to start because we've been talking a lot about this speculative, purely hypothetical trade scenario

that Elliott Friedman threw out involving the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks, right? I have a development from the Buffalo side of things. In that same podcast, that exact same 32 thoughts in which Freed floated Vancouver sending Elias Pettersson to Buffalo

for Dylan Cousins and Bowen Byram. He also had this nugget. The owner of the Buffalo Sabres, Terry Pagula, is apparently on his way to Montreal to meet with the team ahead of their game tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens. He just remembered he still owned the team. Damn, you guys still own that team? Yeah.

Oh, right. I swear to God, I sold them. He's like, I want to go to Montreal anyway. I will join up with the hockey squadron. This comes at a major, major inflection moment for this organization. In case you are unaware, because we've been hyper-focused

on the Vancouver side of things here, Buffalo is mired in a 10-game losing streak. Now, you would say, well, they're 10-game losing streak by NHL standards. If you go to overtime or shootout, you still get a point. They've only

done that three times. Seven of the 10 losses have been in regulation. They call it the loser point for a reason. They've only done that three times. Seven of the 10 losses have been in regulation. They call it the loser point for a reason. They had a 3-1 lead in Toronto that disappeared in like three minutes. They lost 5-3. So Lindy Ruff after the Toronto game said, I'm at a loss for words. Don't even know what to make of this.

Lindy Ruff's seen a lot in the NHL. He played in the NHL for a long time. He. He played in the NHL for a long time. He's coached in the NHL for a long time. Yet it's this current crop of Buffalo Sabres that have left him speechless. Now, the owner, who should be off celebrating a huge win for his Buffalo Bills in Detroit over the weekend. 48-42, by the way. That was a score agami. First time ever by the way. That was a score of Gami. First time ever in NFL history.

That was a fun game. I was actually thinking I'd be okay with this as the Super Bowl. I'd be totally fine with that. It'd be incredible. The Super Bowl's in New Orleans. Can you imagine Lions versus the Bills? How crazy New Orleans would be. The pastiest New Orleans has ever been.

Everyone would be so hungover for the game. It's a little more quiet than I thought. Hangovers and sunburns. That's all it would be. Just people would be. Number one, it would be awesome because we both know that those are two of the most tortured fan bases in the league. But also, it would be a hell of a game. Yep.

It would be so much fun. What a great advertisement on Sunday. Yeah. Anyway, Terry Pegula, and I don't know what the meeting is going to entail. It's not very often that the owner goes out of his way to meet a floundering team on the road. So you would assume that it's something big.

He's not going to check in and just be like, how are your hotels? I hate all of you. You make my life a living hell. So we'll see. that it's something big, he's not going to check in and just be like, how are your hotels? I hate all of you. Yeah. You make my life a living hell. So we'll see, but hey. I'm glad I'm rich enough

to ignore you. Yeah. I will now leave. So here's the thing. Keep an eye on Buffalo. Obviously, you're going to keep an eye on the Vancouver Canucks.

The winds of change may be blowing and blowing Terrapugula into Montreal. And this might be nothing, by the way. I'm just going to preempt something. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is going to speak to the media. This is an unplanned availability for Tom Fitzgerald.

And I guess we'll try and update the listeners on what he said. Sounds like it's just more of a State of the Union address. Oh, okay. You think they planned that, right? He's taking a victory lap. He's taking a victory lap. Well, the team's doing well, right? So he's meeting with the media because he feels good.

All right. That's boring. I know. I thought it was going to be juicy. Markstrom has been indicted for murder. That's what I want to hear. Okay, give us a moot count on this. He's just out there.

He's like, we're playing well, eh? Yeah, I've been reading some of the quotes to come out of it, and literally he's just like, hey, how's everyone doing today? That's where the devils are at right now, right? You know, they say a lot of people aren't accountable to the media. Well, here I am. Talking to me about our great record. I'm not kidding.

Here's a quote, Fitzgerald. I love where we're at. He just called a press conference to brag. He literally did. We're all sitting on eggshells here waiting for the quotes and it's like, ah, things are great. It's like Lisa's speech at the Gemini Springfield parade. He's great.

Things are great. Feeling pretty good. Okay. We mook out that already. So, Laddie's up. I got a quick one. It was Tristan Jari. He made some waves over the weekend. I saw this. I'm going to play the clip. I'll let you be the judge,

but there was a goal scored on Saturday night. Pretty innocuous goal. I looked at the clip. Drake Batherson sets up on his blocker side post, just kind of goes to the front of the net like a good forward does. The puck gets funneled to the glove side of Jari and gets sent through the top of the crease, goes off Batherson and in. There was no contact the crease, goes off Bathurston and in.

There was no contact with the goaltender. There was no interference. But Jari had this to say in the postgame. I don't know how you take that out of the game, but I don't think you should be allowed to stand there and just let the guy shoot off you. I think it's almost impossible to stop. He gets positioned on our player, and he just parks himself at the back post,

and their guy just shoots it off him. It's a tough play, and I think it's not part of hockey. It's not part of hockey. So I watched the clip of Jari speaking before I saw the goal, and I assumed it was something highly illegal. And then I watched the goal, and I was like was something highly illegal. And then I watched the goal and I was like, oh, he's upset that hockey happened. Well, I've had to carry a lot of water for Jari this season

because Penguins fans are all over him. This clip made the rounds in the Penguins sphere because they already don't like Jari and he's making excuses for these goals. And you're right. Pick your battles, Tristan. This is a goal that you see every single game essentially like it's a guy goes to the front and then it ricochets off the guy and

goes in like what would your rationale be they're like we're calling that goal off and then they're like why it's like oh the guy was just i mean he was just standing there the goalie was frustrated we got to call it off like you're not allowed to stand there. And I think he was pushing. Also, he's being aggressive. When you say, I think it's not a part of hockey. All due respect. To bust that line out. The game's been around a lot longer than Tristan Jari.

Who are you to have a referendum on what should be in the game or not? Jake Vertanen was like, you know what? It's not part of hockey. Going to the net. I agree. But if you're Jari, there are dozens of us. Going to the net. I agree. But if you're Jari, like... There are dozens of us. Dozens! You're trying to stay in the league. Focus on

what you can do to maybe, I don't know, stop those kind of chances in the future. The puck went through the top of your crease, Tristan. You don't think you could have stuck a stick out or maybe a leg out to block it from getting to the guy who's stationed at the back door? Now, counterpoint. That would make too much sense. This is great. I love hearing Laddie rip apart a goalie.

I hope goalie stations now after every goal gets scored against them, like the sick backhand or something. That's not part of hockey. I think ever since they brought in the coach's challenge, every goal that goes in, a goalie's first thought is like, I feel like I got pushed. Yeah, that's not part of hockey. They should start doing what baseball players do on the steal attempts

where they put the headset on, the fake headset. Every goal that goes in, I'm putting the fake headset on. You got to review it. You got to review it. Okay, that was a good one, Laddie. Good job, Laddie. You would have given a moo cow. Okay, let's print out some submissions into the Dunbar Lumber text line 650.

650, it's a spicy Dunbar Lumber text line today. Humanoid Edition, What We Learned, brought to you as always by AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Every day is happy hour at AJ's from 2.30 to 5.30 and all day on Sunday. Go there today, eat pizza, drink beer. Tell them Halborough sent you AJ's Pizza on 325 East Broadway or online at ajs.pizza. Quick one to start it off. Unsigned What We Learned.

Apparently, Forbort was the key and not JT Miller. Yeah. JT Miller and Derek Forbort was the key and not JT Miller. Yeah. JT Miller and Derek Forbort return against the Florida Panthers. Big win. Forbort gets the flu out of the lineup Saturday against the Bruins. JT Miller still in there. Horrible loss.

Yeah. Forbort's the glue. He's the glue, man. He's the new Teddy Bluger. Okay. This isn't what we learned, but I wanted to read it. Adam in the Ridge. he's the new Teddy Bluger okay this isn't what we learned but I wanted to read it Adam in the Ridge let's talk this out Pedersen contract negotiations going nowhere trade rumor with Carolina gets floated

out PD signs now the team is muddling along PD not performing up to expectations and a Buffalo hypothetical trade gets floated. A last-ditch effort to light a fire? This one is funny because right now, the biggest threat you could make to a player is, we're going to trade you to Buffalo.

I mean, there's validity to that. Petey wakes up. He's like, I don't have tendonitis anymore. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm great. I'm great.

Goes up and hugs JT Miller. Just super jovial around the room. Hey, guys, how's it going? It's a great day to play hockey. What's the top five or I suppose bottom five? Like we're trading you two as a threat, right? It would be Columbus. It would be Buffalo.

And then Buffalo. Buffalo probably number three. Remember when Jonathan Quick got traded to Columbus? Winnipeg and then Buffalo. Jonathan Quick was just like, I'm not. I'm not going to Columbus. Oh. He's like, I'm just, I'm not going there.

Remember Columbus did the video? They're like, thanks for the memories. Do you remember Jeff Carter got traded there and then just like stared vacantly into the abyss for a year before they finally traded to LA it was a year I think it was like 30 games they're like his attitude isn't changing he's still angry about being here he keeps trying to score on us yeah we gotta get this guy out of here oh man that amazing. I remember when he got traded, I think he must have been on a trip somewhere with a lot of sun

because he had a huge tan. And he was wearing very clearly a Columbus Blue Jackets polo that had been taken out of the bag moments before he got there. He's 40 pounds overweight. He's like, I'm very excited that I get to cut short my Mexican vacation to come to Ohio. I'm going to score so many old goals tonight. What we learned from Rich, Brad Marchand must highlight the trip to Vancouver on his calendar every year. And the Vancouver crowd plays right into his hands every time.

It is a mutual love- relationship i have to admit i laughed it was very funny that was like marshawn the thing about marshawn is he enjoys the antics yep right yep and his antics now have become more harmless than they were before. Like when he low-bridged Sammy Salah, I was legit angry. Right? Like that was a dangerous hit. And I don't even think the Bruins were impressed with him at that point. Like they did kind of, they were not happy with Marshawn for a time. But, you know, you need this in sports. You need a guy that's

going to engage with not only your fans, but the other fans because it makes the game more fun. That was the most entertaining thing about that game. Yep. And certainly the Canucks didn't bring any entertainment value. So good on Brad Marshawn for bringing some of his own. I got one here from Ryan, the VSB carpenter. Vancouver school board carpenter. Hashtag WWL what we learned. The Pop-Tarts Bowl has a trophy with a built-in

toaster. Yeah, that's made the rounds yesterday. Someone tagged you in this, Andy, because they thought it'd be right up your alley. So I went and looked. This kind of really crystallizes college football. This is about the 15th name change that this bowl has had. In 1990, it began as the Blockbuster Bowl. Everyone remembers Blockbuster.

Whatever happened to those guys? I love Blockbuster. People of our vintage, remember, you rent a movie. If you don't rewind it, you get fined 50 cents a day. I've still got Big Trouble in Little China at home. That's the late fees on that one. Back in business. After Blockbuster, it went to become the CarQuest Bowl.

Then it was the Micron PC Bowl. Then the Florida Tourism Bowl. Then the Mazda Bowl. Then the Champ Sports Bowl. The Russell Athletic Bowl. The Camping Bowl. Kellogg's for one year. Then the Kelanova Bowl.

And now, finally, the Pop-Tarts Bowl. What's Kelanova? I have no idea. Did I also pass along... Did you hear about Marshall, the Thundering Herd of Marshall? Yeah, yeah. Did you hear what happened there? We are Marshall.

Right. The more current version of Marshall? Yeah. Did you hear what happened there? We are Marshall. Right. Okay. The more current version of Marshall. They were supposed to play in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, one of my favorites, but they had to bow out because they don't have a team anymore. Oh, well, that's a good reason. They lost 25 players to the transfer portal and their head coach left.

It's like a beer league game. Can you beer league has anyone ever played on a beer league team that just ceased to exist everyone's like that you've done this for long enough right and everyone quits it's always the one guy who organizes it finally says like i'm not organizing this anymore so like i guess we're folding he's got like the key to the locker room, and he's the WhatsApp admin, and he has the uniforms, and he has the beer. He's the linchpin of the team. Once that guy's gone, you're Marshall. Tablesaw James, what we learned.

I feel like if the Canucks check Facebook Marketplace after Christmas, there will be some players available. Teams always get shiny new gifts for Christmas, and you can still get good condition, low mileage deals. Yes, this is obviously a reference to Jim Rutherford going on after hours and saying, you can't just pick up players at Costco, although that would be convenient. Get them in bulk. Yeah.

Three for the price of one. Did you know, and I looked this up because I saw this text earlier, that this is actually a thing, a dynamic on Facebook Marketplace in the days after christmas people are turning around and flipping their gifts or double gifts if you get the same thing twice yeah and well but apparently people have even gone past that it's like oh thank you very much for these trousers and then they turn around to sell them with tags on people need money yeah yeah you're like you could have just given me the money instead of making me take this

extra step so apparently if you hit up that's me the money instead of making me take this extra step. So apparently, if you hit up, that's like the new Boxing Day shopping, is go on Facebook Marketplace on the 26th, and people are listing their brand new Christmas gifts. That would require going on Facebook, though. You're not a Facebook guy? I'm not a Facebook guy. I go on there sometimes. Halfway gets all his news from Facebook. Yeah, I know.

Ah, that explains it. I have a lot of thoughts on drones. Can you believe this government? I have a lot of thoughts on drones. Can you believe this government? I have a lot of thoughts on drones. I love AI slop. It's your favorite thing. The ones over New Jersey? I got a lot of theories.

They're all from Facebook. Can we hear them? Okay. Let's hear them. We're waiting. Oh, I won't say them out loud. I bet Facebook is very lively right now in the Canadian politics division. It is.

Can confirm. Elaborate, Jason. There's a big breakup. Krisha Friedland resigned and the letter was spicy. I was really smart by her, by the way. She's like,

this government is going down and now I'm going to distance myself from this guy. That's savvy politicking. She returned to her home planet. I have to go now. Justin and East Van hashtag WWL what we learned

Nikita Tolopilo is the first goalie to record back-to-back shutouts in Abbotsford Canucks franchise history. The goaltending has come around in Abbotsford. One of the games was a 15 saver. So hold your horses there. But yes, very nice to see Tolopilo turn the corner a little bit.

See, we just finished talking to Kevin Woodley about shot volume. And you could make the argument that teams aren't wasting bad shots anymore. They could have been all 15 high-danger scoring chances. We'll go with that. Yeah, they were all 15 of them were just amazing high-danger shots. What's the long-term outlook on Tolopilo? Is he supposed to be like a thing? He was a bit of a shot in the dark.

He's a big frame. He's huge. He's a huge guy. They just brought him to Abbotsford to see what he can do, and he had really good numbers in the Swedish league. That's the thing that kind of got him signed. So I had high hopes for him, and he was a little bit slow. The pace was a little quick for him in his first season,

but I think he's really come into his own the last little while here. Juan from Comox, what we learned. It's a question. When are NFL players going to learn about not dropping the ball at the end zone line, or more specifically, before the end zone line? It costs the Colts the game. Good for my Broncos. Streak might be over.

That was a crazy game. Did you see it? I heard there were some turnovers. Jonathan Taylor, I think it was a 41-yard touchdown run. And I watched the replay about five or six times. I'm still not convinced that he dropped it short of the goal line. Yeah. Because he's a veteran running back.

It's not like he's a rookie or anything. Yeah, but, you know, take a few feet after. Yeah. Just to be safe. That's what I'm saying. Just to be safe. Don't take the risk. Then Anthony Richardson just threw some, like, awful interceptions.

Bo Nix also was terrible yesterday. He had three picks? Yeah, he was not good, but the Broncos survived. So the killer for the Colts was they tried to run one of those ones where you throw a screen pass across the field behind the line of scrimmage, so the quarterback throws it to the wide receiver, and then wide receiver tries it, throws it back to Anthony Richardson, the quarterback, except it hung in the air too long so Broncos came in boom pick pick six ballgame Broncos are

going to the playoffs hey probably yeah they might yeah didn't expect that you know what first game of the season I will readily admit when I get I got the whole Broncos situation wrong I thought that Sean Payton was gonna just dance off into the sunset and be like, this is a mess. I hate this team. I hate my quarterback. And then when they got rid of Russ, I thought, I still don't know if Sean Payton's the guy, but he's done a really good job. That is a tough

division with the Chiefs there and everything, and it's tough to get into the playoffs after missing for so many years. They've been in there. I'm glad you could admit you were wrong. But I wish you'd admitted that I was right. You were right. Robert on the drive. That actually fuels me.

That'll keep me going for the rest of the day. That's good. What we learned. I learned that Halbro is learning that when you only give what we learned love to a select few listeners with mostly boring takes, the rest of the listeners stop bothering and you get slow what we learned days.

Okay, I'm going to try a new what we learned. Listen to this guy. I don't think he's ever sent one in before. What we learned from Basketball Phil. First time caller. Never taken one. It would have been so funny if you said my theorologist. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Justin and East Van. Basketball Phil, what we learned. The Canucks and the Seahawks games both sucked. The 30 for 30 on American tennis player Michael Chang, however, did not. Highly recommend people watch it. It was very well done. It is very well done. You saw it?

Yep. You see them all, don't you? I watch them all. Do you record them and then like as soon as they're on your PVR or DVR, whatever you call it, you're just like, like yeah a couple different streaming services have them like readily available the entire the entire michael chang so what was it give us give us the uh give us the elevator pitch for the michael chang documentary unfortunately this is not going to be a great elevator pitch because it like i remember watching michael chang when i was a kid and i remember being kind

of shocked at how good he was he was awesome and it was great tennis too it was like these rallies are for they're so long because tennis had gotten to the point where it eventually did get to the point where it was like first serve was in well that's the point for him right like michael tennis but he wasn't that way michael chang would play himself to the point of exhaustion that he would cramp up like crazy. He used to have to consume tons of bananas during that. He was a bit like a Labrador retriever that you would take to the park and just keep throwing the ball to.

You know how dogs will just bark forever if you let them bark? That was like Michael Chang in tennis. He just wouldn't stop. Keep going. Now, I've watched a few recently, different sports docs, because I've had some time on my hands. Really going. Now, I will... So I've watched a few recently, different sports docs, because I've had some time

on my hands. Really branching out, eh? Yeah, because you don't do anything during the middle of the day. I was like, I watch movies. Besides sports docs. Oh. Definitely watch the Boston Red Sox,

the three-parter on Netflix of the comeback. That was very good. You can skip over the Dude Perfect 30 for 30. That was, they didn't need to make that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Okay, so I've got one day left before I'm taking a long vacation. Well, two weeks. So, Tim in Vancouver, you only got one day left of my PD takes, and it's tomorrow. Canucks play tonight against Colorado. It's a big game. It's a big game after what happened on Saturday against the Boston Bruins.

But, you know, there's going to be a real lack of PD talk. Although I will come back if he gets traded. I will leave my vacation and come back if he gets traded. That is the best thing I've ever heard, by the way. If there's a trade. I am committed. I am committed. God, I hope he doesn't by the way. If there's a trade. I am committed. I am committed. God, I hope he doesn't

get traded. I think there's a roster for me. Vancouver is like, come on, I'm more against this trade now. Okay, we got to get

out of here for today, but we will be back tomorrow. Enjoy the game tonight, everybody. Signing off, I have been Mike Helford, he's been Jason Brough. He's been A-Dog,

and he's been Laddie. This has been the Helford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.