Halford & Brough in the Morning - Landon Ferraro Talks Canucks + What We Learned

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

In hour three, Jason and guest host Jamie Dodd look ahead to tonight's Canucks home matchup versus the Blues with analyst Landon Ferraro (1:18), 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.

Welcome back to Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650. I'm Jamie Dott filling in for Halford. Halford and Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour of the show is brought to you by Campbell & Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit 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. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec, that's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec, that's what you're waiting for. 650-650, that's the Dunbar Lumber text line. We'll do what we learned coming up at 8.30, so send your submissions in now. Hashtag WWL, what you learned in the last 24

hours in sports. And also, as a reminder, 8.15, call in 604-280-0650 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to see Creed in August at Rogers Arena. That's 8.15. Caller 5 wins the tickets. But it's Canucks game day. They're taking on the Blues at Rogers Arena.

Joining us to talk about that, Canucks analyst, former NHL player, he is Landon Ferraro. Landon, what's going on, man? Not too much. Just getting the morning moving over here yeah well thanks for joining us and uh so we asked your dad a little bit about this earlier about why the Canucks might be struggling at home as opposed to on the road and he didn't necessarily know he said I don't really can't think of a reason why that would be the case so here's your chance to one-up your dad why do you think the Canucks have been struggling at home compared to the road so far this season well I mean you know when it's the

first couple games or there's a little bit of a early stretch of it I would say you know the team's generally just trying to do too much at home you know it's exciting when it's your own own fans and they own your own environment and it makes you kind of feel a little more bold with the puck. But, you know, as this has gone on and they've talked about it so much, like, I don't think that's the case anymore. But, I mean, I would love to one-up my dad here, but it's got to the point that, like, I don't really have a reason for it either. Like, by this point, I feel like, you know, I've been on some teams that have struggled,

you know, at home or on the road, and you just kind of have those meetings, and you say, okay, let's just, you know, play a really simple first period, just every play goes north, we just keep attacking that way, and then we'll just kind of work and do it. But they haven't been able to do that, and, you know, they had a decent amount of turnovers early last game, and it just keeps seeming to compound a bit. And, you know, Rick Tocca has been asked about this a few times, and one of the things he's mentioned is, you know, I might have to start thinking about even, like, how we do our game day skates and should we do them more often because they're often optional for the team, right?

Or should we cut them out altogether? I mean, from a player's perspective, like, how much does that, the, what you're doing at the game day skate, you know, how intense it is, all of those things, how much does that actually impact you? I would say quite a bit, actually, like simply by a coach adding like one extra drill in morning skate takes it from, you it from 15 minutes to 20. Or it just adds a little bit. And when you start changing a guy's game day just a little bit, whether it's they do the PK and power play meetings in the morning after morning skate, and you move them to before the game,

just changing those meetings, trying to get guys a little uncomfortable, but not to the point where it's a distraction, but to where they're starting to think about that a little bit more and you almost just start to focus on everything leading up to the game instead of the game itself, if that makes any sense. Is energy or a lack thereof of energy before a game, is it noticeable and is it kind of contagious? I would say it's noticeable most of the time, like, but at the, you know, sometimes you can be in the dressing room and you're like, everyone is

up and it seems like this is going to be a great night and then you step on the ice and it's flat and then there's other times that it's a little more quiet in there and you're sitting in your stall like man i hope we're awake right now and you get out there and just everyone was quietly kind of focused together so it has a bit of a different feel but what ends up happening at this point is generally there's more talk in the room. Like guys are trying to talk themselves and everyone else in that, hey, this is the night we turn it. And you kind of get rah-rah a bit that way, which is good. But it can also be you're telling yourself a lot of false things,

that you're not quite being honest of you know are we actually ready are we focused or do we know that you know the first five minutes is really kind of the most important to us in the sense of like we need to win that opening draw and get it right into their end right away and just start showing that you know like this is going to be a different game for us when you're coming in here like We're coming at you from the very drop. What should happen when you find yourself in a game and it's 10 minutes into it and you realize, oh boy, we don't have our legs tonight? Do you have to find your legs or do you have to recognize

that we might have to play a little bit differently? You definitely need to find your legs a bit because there's always a little bit more you can get out of them get out of them as the game's going on um but i would also say that i think that's the biggest part of becoming you know a real pro and you know there's a lot of veterans in that room that you know have proven to be doing to do this but you know on the nights that your legs aren't there like that's where you need to be smarter about when you go attack, like, you can't chase everything, but at the same time, like, you need to, you know, you just need to work smarter than

harder on those nights, but, and that's something you learn as you go along, but at the same time, like, you need a line that can kind of take over, not for the game, but for a shift or two and kind of right the ship again. When I was in Boston, I was lucky enough that Patrice Bergeron was on the team, and when our game wasn't quite working, like, Berge's line was the one that would go out and completely change, not even the momentum, but the attitude on the bench of, like, okay, look what he just did. Like, he just gave full effort, you know, laid a good hit

or, you know, a couple good sticks in the D zone, like he's dialed in. Now it's my turn going over the boards. Like, I have to build off of that. Like, you can't wait around for someone else to do it, but you need someone to grab hold and kind of set the standard really. So one of the things we'll all be watching for with tonight's game, Landon, is whether or not Thatcher Demko makes his first start of the

season. Of course, he's been the backup for Lankanen the last couple of games. And, you know, with the information we have now, it seems pretty likely that he'll start, but who knows? We'll, we'll get some clarity when Rick Dockcket speaks to the media later from from the perspective of the rest of the team you know on the one hand look you're getting your elite goalie back potentially and that's incredible it's also a goalie who hasn't played a game since april for you right since the playoffs since game one of the playoffs and you know i know i think if you ask the players on record they'll say like look it doesn't matter who's in net you got to go out you got to take care of business anyways but what do you think like how do you think other players would react to pretty unique circumstances

here where you're finally getting thatcher demko back but you're also not really sure where his game's been because you haven't seen him in a long time yeah i think and honestly like i think this is something that really could be the turning point for the canucks is um you know not just at home but you know really setting kind of the new the new tone for the season moving forward from here is you know you have a vesna quality goalie coming back into the lineup that obviously has been out for a long time and is going to need to work himself back in. But the amount of games that Demko won for the Canucks last year and in the past in his career here,

this is something where the guys, I'm sure they've talked about it too, not as a whole group, but as they're just talking about the team and things are going on, whether it's at lunch or having a coffee or whatever, is we need to make sure that we're ready to start this game tonight because he's going to need a bit of help to just get into it. I feel like Demko's going to be ready, and obviously they've made sure that you know he was probably okay a few weeks ago to jump into a game but they're like you know we need to really make sure that you get your reps and everything is you know as good as it possibly can be for the situation um but i think

it's something again that the guys know that he's been out for a long time and we need to support him as much as we can and and what i think that where that could be good is you know on the defensive side of the puck like making sure everyone's coming back and stopping in positions not circling when they get into extended zone time in the d zone not kind of wandering like really staying on your toes and making sure you know where your man is and like all of those things like that can be something that can really help help them kind of get dialed back in here as they help uh demko get moving yeah and as you said i mean just finally getting a vesna caliber goalie back and there's been so many weird things and weird bits of adversity for the canucks this

season obviously with thatcher demko and then then Besser leaving the lineup, Miller, Hronik now. And if Demko does get back either tonight or soon after that on this homestand, we've heard reports that JT Miller could rejoin the team as soon as tomorrow at practice. We'll see if that plays out. But I wonder, even if those guys aren't immediately the peak versions of themselves, how much of a lift does it give the guys in the room just to feel like, okay, we've gone through all the absences.

Now we're starting to get the reinforcements back finally. And it's some pretty key players on top of that. I mean, it's absolutely massive, right? Like, and even if it takes them, you know, a little bit to get fully back up and working, like just seeing when you're sitting in the dressing room and you look around, and, you know, like, the call-ups have done an awesome job for the Canucks. Like, without them stepping in and doing as well as they have, like, the record wouldn't be where it is. So, like, you definitely can't discredit them or anything like that.

But when you're sitting in the room and you look around and you see what your team is supposed to be sitting in there, it's just a massive boost. You can finally, like you're tying your skates and you look up and you see JT Miller back in the room, you see Demko, you see everyone where they should be. Everything just feels right again. And you feel like you can really put your best foot forward because now we have what we're designed to be playing with

like it's just it's a mental thing that it shouldn't matter as much as it does but when you have your kind of safety nets back and everyone has one on their line of you know kind of the person that drives it like that's a massive boost for team morale and and just getting moving on what the team should be when rick talk had praised the tampa bay lightning's top players for getting it done on sunday um is that fairly clearly a shot across the bow at the likes of elias petterson, Jake DeBrusque, and Brock Besser? I mean, I would say it a little bit, but honestly, I think that's more on the defensive side. And I don't even mean the defense.

I mean as a whole, as a team. The last game was tough. It was a lot of, you know, it's two power play goals. The amount that pucks were going through the seam, especially on the power play, but even at five on five, like there was just way too much east-west movement with those skilled players of Kucherov and Point standing on either side of those flanks.

Like you can't have stuff go through the guts of the ice. those skilled players of Kucherov and Point standing on either side of those flanks, like, you can't have stuff go through the guts of the ice in the D zone. But not only that, but you definitely can't have it go back again. Like, the amount that there is a seam back through another seam, like, guys need to be, again, like, on their toes and in lanes and understanding that the matter of literally moving one foot to your left can make the biggest difference and keep you in a game. Like, that's where I think it really hurt and what Talkit is really talking about as well.

Like, yeah, he needs his big guys to go, but, like, they need to be able to shut down other teams' best lines. Like, if you shut down Kucherov's line in the Tampa game, you've got a pretty good chance to win. The other obviously big absence in addition to JT Miller and Fetcher Demko right now is Philip Roenick, who's going to be out for eight weeks. And we all know what Quinn Hughes is capable of pretty much no matter who's playing alongside him.

But we also know that Philip Roenick has helped take Quinn Hughes' game and his effectiveness to another level. And in Roenick's absence, you know, it's going to be a lot more minutes for the rest of the blue line, especially guys like Tyler Myers and Carson Soucy. And, you know, Roenick is pretty clearly the second best puck mover on the blue line for the team when he's in there. So what does the rest of the group, the rest of the blue line, need to do in his absence to be able to move the puck effectively for the Canucks? I think it's almost got to a default. And I noticed it last year as well of, like, as soon as pucks get into the D zone

and there's a chance to make a play or get it out, it's reverting to instantly off the glass at outward or that high flip and you chase it down in the neutral zone. Guys have a bit more time than they think right now on the back end. And I think that they could be a little more aggressive in, like they cause a turnover, their puck's there, like, getting it, get your feet moving right away. Don't just instantly get your hips turned around it and throw it off the glass.

Like, I think you could take a step and try and make, like, a direct pass more often. And it's amazing how just making one extra little pass in your D zone to exit with possession instead of flipping it, like how much time that adds onto your time of possession through a game. And, you know, it's, it was, you know, simple as it is, like the more you have the puck on your tape, then the other team, like you've got a pretty good chance to win. So just trying to have a little more support.

Get down a little, like if you're the center, get down a little bit lower and be that five-foot option. So if there isn't a longer stretch, they can lay it off to you and now you're skating up with it. It doesn't have to be kind of slammed out in a bit of a panic almost more times than not. One of the really positive stories for the Canucks, especially with all these absences,

he's had to step up and play a bigger role, is Pugh Suter, who already has 11 goals. His career high is 15, so he's on pace to smash that. He's played at wing at times, but he's moved back to center with JT Miller out of the lineup. Has he done enough that, look when even when everyone is healthy he should be considered a part of this team's top six going forward for the rest of the season I mean from his play should he yes um but from the amount of versatility that he's you know shown

that he's able to move back and forth and still play his game and bring something to it. It's funny how some guys just get tabbed as that Swiss Army knife and any hole that pops up on your team, there seems to be the one to fill it. It makes it tough. Coaches end up loving you because you can play anywhere and still function, but it does make it tough for yourself. You know, being a really good team guy that can move around and always says yes when asked, you know, before you know it, like, you kind of bounce around a bit.

And, like, I've always been impressed when guys like Suter can bounce around and still produce. Like, I don't think people realize how hard it is to keep moving from wing to center, wing to center. Your responsibilities obviously shift, but you're seeing the game from a completely different lens, really. When you're in the middle, you're coming down low and slow. You get that puck, you're coming up the ice. Everything's in front of you. As a winger,

you're generally started closer to the boards. You're looking behind you, getting that puck. Now everything, if you're the right winger, everything is to your left. There's no more room on the right. It is a different look, but he's done a very good job at bouncing

back and forth. Landon, really appreciate the time as always. Enjoy the game tonight. All right. Have a good one, guys. That is Landon Ferraro, Canucks analyst, regular contributor here on Sportsnet 650. A couple of pieces of news to deal with here quickly.

One, very important, the winner of our Creed tickets. Shout out to Macaulay from North Van. He's going to see Creed on August 16th, 2025, when they come to Vancouver Rogers Arena, part of the Summer of 99 tour. We'll be giving away tickets to that show for the rest of the week. Or you guys will. I'm not going to be here, but you will be giving away tickets for the rest of the week to that show as well.

The other big piece of news, Rick Dollywall tweeting, would not be surprised if Demko makes his debut tonight i'm guessing he didn't just wake up and decide to tweet that for no reason very non-committal that's a very a very educated guess on my part that that probably comes from somewhere for rick dollywell so we said it earlier it would be odd if he doesn't rick dollywell very much suggesting that Thatcher Demko could make the start tonight. What's your favorite insidery language? So this is the way I would have tweeted out. My sense is that Demko will start tonight. I like when it's like...

The sense is that. Signs are pointing to Thatcher Demko making his debut tonight for the Canucks. Freed is a master at that. The best of this was uh was uh well adrian wojnarowski no longer an insider but because the nba got mad at him and espn got mad at him for spoiling the nba draft every year because he'd be like four picks ahead and be like oklahoma's taking this guy and then he can't deal anymore so it was like the sense in oklahoma city is they'd be very happy if this player was still there at 14 it's like okay watch he's set to couch it and like vague like they're

honing in on this guy and they're each does the i wonder if a lot as well i wonder if we might see i love that yeah but the insider why do you wonder I was like, why? We know you talk to people. Yeah, yeah. Can't you just say I'm hearing? I don't know. Just I'm hearing. Yeah, I get that too. Yeah.

Or just Demko starting tonight. Someone told me that. Someone told me. I picked up the phone and someone said, Thatcher Demko is going to start tonight. So that's the latest from Rick Dollywell. Do we want to do some what we learned here before we go to break? Some of our own what we learned? Yeah, I can start us off here.

What I learned, Wayne Gretzky and Gary Bettman could be logging some serious air miles as Alex Ovechkin gets closer to Gretzky's goal record. This was part of the Board of Governors meetings that are ongoing, or at least happened yesterday for the NHL. Frank Cervalli of the board of governors meetings uh that are ongoing or at least happened yesterday for the nhl frank saravali at the daily face-off has the report so they're obviously like this is a big deal and they're the nhl is going to milk this chase for all it is worth right they've dubbed it the great chase they've got all this branding and production to go around with it. And part of it is Wayne Gretzky and Gary Bettman are going to travel with the Capitals as soon as Alex Ovechkin is within five goals of breaking the record.

Well, that's Gretzky's fault because when he went 39 goals in 50... He had to get the five goals. He had five goals. So he's like, well, it could happen. What if he scores an Ovech trick? You guys remember that commercial? What's that? It was an old commercial. Nine goals in a game. Was it nine or six?

I think it was nine. I think it was like a hat trick of hat tricks was the Ovech trick. And they're like, well, he scores in bunches, so we don't want to be... Okay, but if he's five away and he scores a hat trick, we'll then go to the next... where the next game is. Like five goals could easily, even if he's not slumping,

that could easily take, like, 13 games. You know what I mean? That could be, like... Maybe Gretzky just wants to trip. It's like, this should be fun. Did you see Chris Johnson tweet Wayne Gretzky on Alex Vetchin's pursuit of his all-time NHL goals record? He's human.

He'll get nervous at the end. Yeah. Yeah. So Gretzky's putting the pressure on him. Wait, you'll get nervous, buddy. No, no, Gretzky's starting to get upset. He's just racking up the assist. He's starting to get upset.

He's like, I can't believe this guy's going to actually do it. When is that even going to happen? In Vancouver. No, no, I hope so. Is it? Can it? I haven't done the math, and I guess it depends when he gets back. Yeah.

I don't know if it can still happen this year. Isn't it more likely to be next season? Probably into next season. He'd have to go on a tear. I guess he'd have to go on a crazy tear. They're on the road a lot at the end of the season. They should make one of those buddy road movies with Gretzky and Batman. And also they're going to, even if it's on the road, it's going to be like they completely

shut down play of the game. It stops. Big ceremony. Why? Of course. Of course. Yeah. So, you know, just everyone get ready for that.

And also they're talking about like you guys remember. Well, I don't know if you remember a lot of you're probably too young, but you remember when McGuire and Sammy Sosa were chasing the home run record. Yes, they got close. Like every you could be watching the Jays game. If one of those guys is on the plate, they're cutting away. I don't know what the equivalent of that is. Like if they're on a power play, I guess, or something.

But they're talking about all of that to try to make this as big a deal. Bond's home run chase, I remember doing that. Yeah, as possible as it possibly can be. Give us a moo cow there. All right, well, get your What We Learned into the Dunbar Lumber text line 650-650. We've got one final segment to go in the Halford and Brough show. We'll read them on the other side. I've got a What We Learned as well.

Again, if you're just joining us, it sounds like Thatcher Demko is going to make his season debut for the Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena against the St. Louis Blues. So all of a sudden, it's going to be a real interesting game to watch between the Canucks and the Blues tonight.

You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the postgame show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. 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. It's what we learn time. On the show. It sure is. Welcome back to Half and Abrupt Sportsnet 650.

Brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit Campbell-Pound.com today. 650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. Dunbar Lumber, Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and reno warriors for over 50 years.

Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dumbarlumber.com. Still a chance to send your What We Learned submissions in hashtag WWL, what you learned in the last 24 hours in sports. We'll read them in just a couple of minutes here. First, we've got some other of our what we learned to get into. Jason? I'm going to start, yeah. So remember when Bill Belichick left the Patriots and a lot of people wondered

what his next job would be. There was all the speculation oh, maybe he wants to go to New York and I'll try and turn around the Jets. You know, long time divisional foe or divisional fodder, actually, for the New England Patriots.

The NFL was discussed. And then he actually, I don't know what his exact role was with the Washington Huskies in college football, but his son was a coach for the Huskies. And I think he was an advisor for the Huskies most recently. And people thought, oh, maybe college football would be up. He'd be up for that. But I don't think anyone expected Bill Belichick

to possibly become the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. And if you don't follow college sports, yeah, it's a basketball school. It ain't a football school. They have not been a particularly good football team for a long, long time. I mean, the Duke and North Carolina, they're both known as basketball schools. We all know that. But apparently, he is seriously considering becoming the next head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. And I think his dad might have been an assistant coach

with UNC like a long time ago, obviously. So maybe he feels some sort of connection to that. But it was interesting because he was asked what kind of program he would run, just a hypothetical. And he said, if I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL. It would be a professional program, training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, and techniques that would transfer to the NFL. And I just wonder if Bill Belichick sees a school like North Carolina and maybe a nice place to live like North Carolina and thinks, what if I could just turn these guys into a powerhouse. Like Deion Sanders has taken the Colorado program

and say what you will about Deion Sanders and his methods, but he has put them back on the map. They used to be a good program. I remember back in the 90s, they were a good program, but they seriously fell off. And he's not going to win a national title with Colorado there, Deion, but he's put them back on the map. And I wonder if Belichick sees a program like North Carolina

and just sees like, if I was there, and with the transfer portal now, I bet, and if my pitch was, this is a place where you're going to learn from the greatest head coach in NFL history, arguably, about how to play in the NFL, if I could turn this program into a powerhouse. Don't you think that would be kind of compelling? As opposed to being like, I'll go to Alabama or I'll go to Georgia or whatever, you know, like one of these big, big programs.

I don't see it. I think it's going to be NFL or bust for Belichick. The difference between Deion Sanders and Belichick is Deion is perfect for the modern college football landscape because what you need to do is you need to one appeal to 18 to 22 year olds, right?

And a great way to do that is be brash, be loud, be charismatic, be great at getting publicity for your school, right? You like this gold chain? Yeah, it could be yours. Seriously. That's literally a part of the pitch for Deion Sanders. Look at this cowboy hat. Don't you think that's cool?

But that's part of it. That's why Oregon always has the crazy gaudy uniforms because prospects are like, that's cool. I want to wear those. It helps them get recruits. I just can't imagine Bill Belichick going all out trying to recruit these high schoolers and now guys in the transfer

portal as well. The way guys like Deion Sanders are doing. The way go down the list of coaches who have lived in that world who have familiarity with talking to these players. And then you factor in the fact, as you said, that it's not a traditional powerhouse school.

Does Bill Belichick really want to be going 7-5 with North Carolina and playing in the Gasparilla Bowl? But with the transfer portal, you can turn around a program a lot faster than you used to be able to. If you used to be able to turn around a program and be like, all right, well, it starts with our freshman class. You know, like we got to recruit a better freshman class. But then it takes time. And then sometimes, you know, if you're a high-profile recruit, you're like, well, look, I would love to play for you.

But I want to go, you know, I'm a freshman. I'm not going to make for you, but I want to go – I'm a freshman. I'm not going to make a huge – I want to go to a winning program. That's what I want to do, and that's why it's often – it had been very tough to turn around a program. Now it feels easier. I also don't know how much the – like this is going to be a finishing school for the NFL. Obviously, there are some guys who really desire that,

but I think there are a lot of guys who know, like, I'm probably not going to the NFL, right? My best bet is get playing time, maybe get an NIL deal at a rich school, right? You know what I mean? Because I'm probably not going to the NFL. I think a lot of them have the dreams of the NFL. Sure, but also development and winning

aren't the same thing. You know what I mean? And I think the best college football coaches understand that, that, yes, it helps you recruit if you're preparing guys for the next level and you're showing them a pathway to the NFL. But like, ultimately, their future is none of your business. You know what I mean? Like, they're there to help you win games for the three or four years. And, OK, it's great if you're working on them and helping them improve as players. But like, sometimes you have to sacrifice their development to win so i get what he's saying

i get why he's laying it out i just it just seems like a bad fit it seems like a much better fit to stay in the nfl before before we move out of this i want to read a couple texts belichick may not wear a gold chain but he's gonna wear wear all of his Super Bowl rings. Yeah, that would probably be appealing. And then a few people texting in. A lot of jokes about Belichick appealing to 20-year-olds. Yeah, doesn't he have a 24-year-old girlfriend? Is that where his girlfriend goes? Is it the University of North Carolina?

Do you think he's at all... People in their 20s love me. What are you guys talking about? Look at her. She loves me. She's in her 20s. All right. Give us a moo cow there. Thank goodness for that moo cow. Are you getting uncomfortable?

Yes. It's true love, Laddie. No comment. No further comment on the matter. You guys were discussing. I think a lot of the players would be like, dude, Belichick is awesome. This guy rules.

I don't know. Do your junior hockey thing or whatever. No, no. You guys were talking about reporters' passive language earlier, and I had to actually look up the wording of this John Marozzi report. He's the king of it, by the way, of this passive language. So the rumor... Unless he's reporting the show he was talking about on a plane to's reporting the show. If you look at his tweets, they were still

the language he used. This is what he said about Anthony Santander yesterday. I tend to think Anthony Santander will stay in the American League East. There's layers to that. He doesn't just think. He tends to think that a player will stay in a certain

division. Keeping his office open. Do the insiders he tends to think that a player will stay in a certain division. Yeah. Like just keeping his office open. Do the insiders, did they never take that writing class where you're not supposed to write passively? Yeah. You're supposed to like be direct and forceful.

Yeah. And use fewer words. I tend to think this. I mean, I'm guilty of that all the time. I'm like, I feel like. He's trying to safeguard himself, right? If this doesn't

happen, he goes to the National League West. Oh, I said I tend to think. Well, I tended to think. I mean, I just only tended. I mean, I definitely think. So you're never wrong if you use passive language. Shams is the worst for that. Yeah. Because like Woj was like a reporter and a columnist so he had a lot of practice writing right before

he switched into being an insider. Like same thing with with you know like like Bob McKenzie or like you go down like they've all they all kind of cut their teeth on that Shams just like became an insider he was like Woj's lieutenant and learned from him he never like learned how to write and some of the some of the torture he puts the English language through is really, truly remarkable. And yeah, Morosi tending to think that he's going to stay in the AL East. Anyway, my actual what we learned was a father-son connection in the Mackenzie Blackwood trade. The Avs, they picked up Mackenzie Blackwood. We saw the trade that they made yesterday and they lost Kovalenko, Nikolai Kovalenko.

He is the son of Andrei Kovalenko. 29 years and three days after his dad was traded by the Avalanche in the Patrick Waugh trade. Oh, was that a big trade? He gets traded in the Mackenzie Blackwood trade. So that means Mackenzie Blackwood is Patrick Waugh, essentially is what this comes down to. Right. But two number one goalie trades,

like how many trades have the Avs made like that in their entire existence? And the father and the son are both included in those deals. I thought that was pretty cool. It feels like a bit of a stretch to me. Really? You're stretching, laddie. You're stretching so much.

You're like 12 feet tall right now. You're stretching so much. Both father and son were traded by the Avs. I thought that was pretty cool. Is Mackenzie Blackwood, how good is he? He's good. He's good? He's been peppered in San Jose the last couple years.

He's the first goalie to ever have a first career game with the team be 50 plus saves and the last career game with the team be 50 plus saves. Just to give you an idea of what he's going to do. He's going to get to Colorado and sleep for three days. I was like, I'm so tired. Can't play. So many shots. So many shots. So many shots.

All right, give us a moocow on that. Stretchy what we learned. There you go. All right, let's print out the listener submissions. What we learned brought to you by AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Celebrate every goal at AJ's Pizza. Get $6 pints of Pilsner during Vancouver hockey game nights only at AJ's Pizza. I'll dive into the inbox here.

Justin and East Van, what we learned, Bart Simpson and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated Homer and the Dallas Cowboys last night on Simpson's Fun Day Football. Bart threw a clutch pass to Lisa late in the fourth quarter to seal the win. 27-20. Toward the end zone. Touch diddly down and this is i mean this is not the first version of this that the nfl or the nhl has done right trying these like cartoon i think

they did a spongebob they've been like nickelodeon ones yeah which i don't even know what that is but the nhl people apparently know people apparently know what it is so I'm so old that I actually find the technology incredible. That they can recreate the plays. Like in real time? Yeah, in real time. Right? It's just like, it amazes me. I'm constantly blown away by this stuff.

So on the one hand, I can watch this game on my phone? What? What an age we live in. What a time to be alive. Yeah, right? Just constantly blown away by technology. I'm constantly. I tell the boy all the time,

I was like, you know, we used to have to listen to the games on the radio. Brough just look at his phone. Flanders, you got to catch that. He's like, uh-huh. You see that magic image box there? We didn't used to have that. You used to have to wait

for your favorite TV show to be on. We had something called Theater of the Mind. You could just ask the TV to play whatever you want to watch. The sprint to the bathroom so you're back in time before the end of the commercial break. You don't have to worry about that anymore. What about just being out and about and being like, I wonder if the Canucks are winning and then we're like, there's no way

to find out. There's no way to find out tomorrow. There's no way to find out. It's crazy, man. You see this device you're holding in your hand? You can ask it any question you want and it will give you the answer to it. At any time. We just had to use it. We'd ask our parents, and half the time they'd lie to us.

Yeah, they'd have no idea. They'd make it up. It's like, yeah, they're winning. They scored five goals today. Wow, that's awesome. Brandon in Vancouver, what we learned, what a disappointment it must be for the Sabres, the Sens, and the Red Wings. The Rangers and the Bruins have left such an opening for them,

and they aren't taking advantage. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. The Bruins were very vulnerable early in the season, and the Rangers, I mean, that story isn't written. I don't think the story's written for either of those teams, frankly. The Bruins and the Rangers, I wouldn't consider any of them safe, but you need a team to push, right?

You need a team to be dangerous. And Sens and the Sabres and the Red Wings, I go back and forth between which one is more disappointing. I tend to think overall the Sabres with how long the drought is and how many first overall picks are in there. But, you know, the Red Wings too, I think people expected so much of Steve Eisenman.

They expected him to be this genius that's going to turn around the team. And it just hasn't happened. There's nothing, there's nothing flashy about the Red Wings. There's nothing exciting. Like who would you, okay, who would you say is their best player? Either Dylan Larkin, I guess. I know some people

really like Mo Sider. Some people are not that big on him. It would either be Sider or Larkin. The point has been made. Right? The point has been made. The high-end talent. Perhaps it's justice because the red wings for so many years for decades both pre-salary cap and frankly post-salary cap had hall of fame players like the elite of the elite so maybe it's poetic justice that now they just can't find those

players like they can't you, who's our best player? Dylan Larkin. Well, that's a problem. Yeah. You know, that's a big problem. And the thing I find fascinating about those three teams is they really illustrate, like, there's a lot of different ways to be bad and be stuck in a rut in the NHL. You know, I think sometimes we tend to think about like whatever team has most recently

won the Stanley Cup, right? And it's like's like okay you got to follow the florida model or you look at you know buffalo and they've taken forever to turn things around or chicago now it's like see that's why you can't tank because it's impossible to get out of it and there's some truth to that but like detroit and ottawa didn't tank like all three of those teams have taken different routes to being stuck in this brutal rut and And I think it's just, it illustrates more than anything. It is really, really hard to go from being a bad team to a consistent playoff team in the

NHL. Like it's, and it's hard to take that next jump to from playoff team to Stanley cup contender, but whether you tanked, whether you, you know, tried to sign a bunch of veterans and got stuck in a bad salary

cap situation like no matter what situation your team is into there's no magic bullet for getting out of it they've all tried different things and they're all in almost identical spots in the standings and seemingly have like is this what you're three or four of nhl media you know at the beginning of the year we have your national guy on to like do a season preview. And it's like, all right, which of Ottawa, Detroit, or Buffalo is going to make the playoffs? Like, I feel like we've been asking that question for four years. What's the lesson though?

The lesson is it's really hard to win in the NHL. Like, is there a black and white lesson there? Because I'm tempted to say something like, you know, if I was to be like, okay, here's a hard statement. Yeah. You need elite players, and those elite players need to be your leaders. You know? Sounds good.

Yeah. But then I think you also look at some of those teams and go, do they have enough depth? Yeah. Do they have the players below those elite players? But I really do think it starts there. And, you know, just the history in Vancouver you know you think about the leaders that the Sedins were they were also

elite players and I think you think about Quinn Hughes right now and how well he's playing but I think it's really important that he is a leader on the team as well. There are a lot of great players out there that aren't necessarily leaders. And some of them, you know, are off to the beat of their own drum. And that's fine. Like those players are still valuable on your team, but you do need that group that is driving the rest of the group. Yeah. And I think, I mean, if someone in Texas didn't look, Vancouver got out of it and we'll see

if they can be a consistent playoff team or take that next step. But they certainly have escaped the rut that these teams are in. Quinn Hughes deserves a lot of credit there. I think also the importance of nailing the coaching hire. Not that coaching is the first thing you think of that's gone wrong in Buffalo or Detroit or Ottawa, that matter. But we've seen how much a good coach, a great coaching hire can transform a team's prospects. And I think that's a big part of the equation there.

But maybe the hottest take isn't even that hot. It's like, you just need a lot of things to go your way. That's the thing. Right? Like you need the elite players and those elite players need to be leaders. Then you need the right coach, but you also need to get your free agent signings. You need a push from the AHL or, you know,

like you need your drafting to be good. It's just like, there's 32 teams. It's hard to win the Stanley Cup. Especially the leadership thing. You have no idea if 18 year old kid X is going to turn into a good leader or not when you're drafting him, right? Like you can, you know, we do it.

We interviewed him. We talked to him for 30 minutes at the draft combat it's like great that tells you nothing about how he's going to lead your team when he's 25 and you can do your best to you know put veterans around him and try to support him growing as a leader like ultimately that's a bit of a crapshoot some players change when they get to the nhl yeah absolutely change how much how much while in the nhl they get jaded they get jaded someL. Yeah, absolutely. You want to go change. How much while in the NHL? They get jaded. They get jaded some of them. They get jaded.

Especially if they're in a losing situation for a long time. They're like, eh, you know, like my priorities have changed. How much did all of us and all of the listeners change between the ages of 17 or 18

and 25 or 26? Like that's an extremely transformative time in your life. You're not the same person once you go through those years. So trying to predict like, oh, this guy is going to be a great great leader we know because we interviewed him twice before we drafted him it's like you don't know that you have absolutely no idea to your point about the

talk it higher does the the regime get enough credit for the amount of blowback they received to make that move when they did because there was no guarantee that they would get talk it if they waited which is why they sustained all that blowback i think so long yeah that was the problem that was the worst part well maybe he wasn't available before then he became available and they made their move i don't know that never made it worked out terrific the idea that like he had to give notice to turner or whatever it's like that's not how it works yeah you know what i mean it's just like you know i just maybe he wasn't open to the offer i'm going right now maybe he wasn't open to the possibility until a certain time maybe you don't know all the details i for me i've always

made a distinction between the way they fired boudreaux and the talk and hire those are two separate things the talk and hire has been a home run there was no like no problem making a coaching change even it was just the way it went down was so odd like even if that was the case, okay, have an interim coach. Right? And also, I think this regime has received plenty of credit. Like, a lot. Don't you? Well, look what they were compared to. Not a high bar.

Oh, wait, wait. Daniel and Campbell. But I do think they... I can't tell you how many texts have been sent in I trust this management group to figure it out. Yeah, people, generally speaking, really do like this management group to figure it out. Yeah, people generally speaking really do like this management group. Yeah. And there's a reason for that.

Cam in Burnaby South, what we learned, people make a big deal about Ian Clark not being the goalie coach anymore, but then give no credit to the new goalie coach, Marco Terranius, for Lankanen's good performance. Again, Cam, I'll push back on that. I think people have talked a lot about Terranius and Lankanen, but also wondering if Terranius is going to work well with Thatcher Demko,

which I think it's fair to wonder. Nobody's saying it's going to work out or it's not going to work out. We're just wondering about that new relationship. And frankly, the Demko-Ian Clark relationship might have run out anyway. Right? Sometimes when you've got personalities like that involved and, you know, it's kind of like a hard-charging, hard-working, like, you know, it's a demanding

relationship. Marco Tornoyas? Yeah. You came close for that, Rick. Maybe it's going to be a demanding relationship. Marco Tornoyas? Yeah. You came close there, Rick. Maybe it's going to be a welcome change. And he's going to work, and I'm talking about Thatcher Demko, really well with Marco Tornoyas. But it's something that's going to be monitored.

And we're going to get to see Thatcher Demko. In black pads. I tend to think that we're going to see Thatcher Demko. In black pads. I tend to think that we're going to see Thatcher Demko tonight. All signs are pointing towards. For the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks are going to have a game day skate, followed by a media availability this morning in a couple of hours. So we'll find out for sure real soon.

That's it for us today. Mike is back tomorrow. Thanks for listening to Alfred Abruuff. Your Sportsnet 650. It's just a massive boost. What a freaking boost.