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

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason tell us what they learned (3:00), plus they talk the latest Canucks news with Sportsnet's Dan Murphy (27:26). 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.

8.01 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and 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 three of the program. I am about to go on a massive rant. Hour three of this program is Brad Spackett. Don't change the goalposts when you do. I'm not changing any goalposts. Don't move the goalposts when you do. I'm not moving any goalposts. Are we getting the rare Mount Halford?

No, because you don't erupt when you're right. You don't. What? You can be content. Say that again. You can simmer. Keep going. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound.

Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Pound.com today. When do you erupt? Soon. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. So we're talking about the Canucks quarter century team that was announced yesterday. And a couple of people texted in,

I apologize that I don't have your name at the ready, dear texter. He said he was outraged, livid that Todd Bertuzzi wasn't on the team. And I said, there's no way that Todd Bertuzzi should be on a quarter century team. The premise of which was that Todd Bertuzzi, first off, didn't do enough, didn't play enough, didn't

contribute enough over the last 25 years of Canucks hockey to be eligible for it. That was the foundation, the bedrock of my argument. Which was wrong. Cause he played five full seasons. Okay. Tell me what really, okay. You're talking about

Elias Pedersen's great accomplishments. What were Todd Bertuzzi's great accomplishments? Well, he was considered the most elite power forward in the game in 2002-03. Okay, so he had one year where he was a really good power forward and he scored 40 goals. What else did he do? How great were his playoff accomplishments? Not very good. Remember when they made it to all the way to round two of the playoffs that year? All the way to second round. How many goals did Tupper Teezy have in that playoff? Two.

How many games did he play again? 14. What a power forward. I'm sorry, but like, Wave you're going to have a list of- Don't you think he'd be on, if they were to do a third team and a fourth team, he'd be on one of those teams? I'm serious. Which means- You're going to have a plaque. You're going to have a plaque. I made the fourth all century team.

You're acting like he shouldn't even be- Quarter century team. He shouldn't even be not even in the conversation, but close to the conversation. I would like to, you know what? Close to the conversation. Let's do a thought exercise. Let's run through the forwards that I would put ahead of Todd Bertuzzi on the team that didn't make

the first or the second. You're gonna be like Mason Raymond. Yes. Yannick Hanson. Alex Burroughs. No, Alex Burroughs is absolutely there. I got time for him. Well, who else is there?

I got time for May Ray. I haven't done that part of the exercise the X's Yannick Hansen's time as an analyst count towards his No, he is a good analyst Anyway, I don't look well on a sec. Hold on a sec. I'll bring up some I'll bring up some I'm just I'm just getting my filters. Yep going here. Okay We can do it on the air. What the heck? Yeah, okay, so in terms of goals scored, you got at the top, and I'm just doing this since 2001. 2001. Yes. 2001. I'm like, I have trouble. Ah, 2001. I remember where I was. I have trouble with the aught years. Right away. The aughts were not kind to me. Right away, I would trouble. Ah, 2001, I remember where I was. I have trouble with the aught years.

Right away. The aughts were not kind to me. Right away, I would say I'd put Burroughs. I'd put Besser there too. Okay, so you know Horvat would be another guy. Sure, former captain. And then so. Another good power forward.

Mo, would you put Mo over Bertuzzi? How many games did he play? Like we're running out of guys here. We haven't brought up Mason Raymond yet. Well, you're really going to put Mason Raymond over like, see, he's going to be on a third or a fourth team. Do you know what a century is? Have El Bure.

Do you understand how the time continuum works? Seriously, okay, here are the top 12 forwards in terms of goals, it's the easiest way to rank them. Let's do it. Of the last quarter century. Daniel Sedin, Marcus Sedin, Henrik Sedin, all on the team. Marcus Naslund. Sorry, Daniel Sedin.

Oh, the third Sedin brother. Marcus Sedin. He was big in 2001. Daniel Sedin, Marcus Naslund, Henrik Sedin. Oh, the third Sedin brother. Marcus Sedin. He was big in 2001. Daniel Sedin, Marcus Nazlin, Henrik Sedin. Yep, they're on there. Horvat, Besser Burrows, none of those guys are on the list. They should be on it. Kessler, Pedersen, Miller. They're on it.

They're on it. Bertuzzi, Morrison, Yannick Hansen. And then you're into Mason Raymond and Matt Cook. Linden is there, but he wasn't the, Lyndon was a nineties guy. Yeah. He wasn't a 2K guy. I mean, we're getting into Sven Berchi territory.

So like you have to admit that Todd Bertuzzi at least deserves a spot in the conversation. Of the third team. a spot in the conversation. Of the third team. Hey, this is the listener's fault. You wanted us to talk about something that's not a Leah's Peddersen. Fine.

We'll talk about the snubs for the third team from the quarter century. We've done it. Okay. We should do some what we learned. So let's get this back on track, shall we? Do you want to, do you have one that you wanted to do? Yeah, but I, I unfortunately need, I need some of your help.

Okay, let's go. On this. Let's go. Jonathan David scored another goal in Champions League and it was another goal against a, what they call a global club. Not a boy. So Jonathan David scored yesterday against Liverpool. Now Lille, who got a red card in this game,

eventually lost to Liverpool. Yeah, like the 60th minute. They had to play the final 30 minutes down, man. Yeah. I think David scored when they were down a man. Liverpool's undefeated in the Champions League. But Jonathan David, Canadian international, has scored Champions League. Um, but Jonathan David, Canadian international has scored Champions League goals this season

against Liverpool, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus. Yes, that's correct. Very well done. Do you think his goal against Liverpool gives it a little more cache because it was against an English club and there have been all sorts of rumors that Jonathan David might play in England. Yeah. I mean, I know Liverpool, but then again, like almost every major English club has been

tied to Jonathan David at one point over the last three years. I still think the one against Real was the marquee one because Lille were, I mean, Lille have been decided underdogs in all these matches, but scoring yesterday, actually, and you are correct, the red card was in the 59th minute, David scored in the 62nd minute. Right. It is funny when you watch how this has unfolded

over the last few years, because there are so many different metrics that have David's goal scoring rate among, like we're talking the elite of the elite, like the best goal scorers in Europe, maybe outside of Erling Haaland who's at a rate that no one can match, but in that notch below, you're talking about one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe, not in France, not of North American born strikers, like He is among the elite of the elite. And it feels like he has been on the verge of being transferred out of Lille for like a quarter century. Well, it sounds like Alfonso Davies might just stay at Bayern now.

Yeah. Sounds like they're coming closer for your deal. Yeah. So what do you think happened there? Well, one of it is if you want to talk about media and how invasive, and at times toxic media can be here, wait till you get a load of the transfer market in Europe. There is an entire industry built on transfer rumors. And you can start at the top with like for beats,

for beats to a rano and go all the way down. It's tough, those poor players have to deal with a lot and the Canucks have to deal with J-Pat. Yeah, right? Just constantly asking, he's like, what about that transfer? Anyway, go on. Anyway, so part of it is, you know, you get

someone who says like, I could say, I could see Real being interested in his services. And then it's like, report Real potentially interested in Davies. And then it's like, will there be a bidding war between them and United? And then it's report United is interested in his services. And then it's like, will there be a bidding war between them and United? And then it's report United is interested in the services. So that's part of it.

I think the other part of it is, I do wonder if David or sorry, did Alfonso Davies and the agent had that sort of, I keep at this second day in a row, I've used the come to Jesus moment, the come to Jesus moment where maybe playing for Byron just is the best option for him. Because he has blossomed and matured into, at times,

one of the best left backs in the world. And then at other times, a guy that has been accused of being overrated. Yeah. Well, that was the question I was going to ask you actually. Yeah. Because his athleticism is off the charts, right? His athleticism at times is unparalleled.

Do they use soccer IQ? Does he have a high soccer IQ? His athleticism is off the charts, right? His athleticism at times is unparalleled. Do they use soccer IQ? Does he have a high soccer IQ? It's not that. It's the, people don't, it's when you're playing for a team like that, it's very hard to keep your spot all the time, unless you are playing at an incredibly high level,

consistently and repeatedly. So you can't have highs and lows. And at times Davies has been a highs and lows guy. There's not a hard cap over there where you're like, we're stuck with this guy. It's just cutthroat for minutes and squad rotation. And the important, especially for a giant club like Bayern, like you just don't lose, right?

Like losing is considered paramount to like, we're gonna die. Like you lose one match, two matches in a row, God forbid. Managers get sacked, There's a crisis, right? So, uh, with Davies, it can be at times where the highs get really high, but the lows can be low. He can make defensive errors. He can be a little bit too rambunctious and

ambitious in going forward. And you know, sometimes the goal of the left back is to defend, right? At the same time. Is there any comparison to Trent Alexander Arnold or are they completely different types of players? I mean, you? At the same time. Is there any comparison to Trent Alexander Arnold or are they completely different types of players? I mean, you can make the complaints against

both of them. Trent's are obviously a lot more loud. Yeah. And in part of it is because he plays in England and not in Germany. Like, I mean, we get the, I mean, just because of, by the way, the fact that the league is broadcast and, you know, criticized

in English, right? And we, and you see a lot more of it. Um, I think there's some validity to it though. Like they're both outside backs. They're both very pacey. And they probably create debate among the fan groups. Maybe there are some people that are like super high on this guy and other guys that are like,

ah, I don't know about him. Anyway, uh, that's your soccer talk, what we learned, Andrew and Victoria, you're very welcome. Right on schedule. To give this moocow for Andrew. So we kind of went over the hall of fame stuff. I know you've got it in the notes. We talked about it earlier in case you missed it.

The big news out of baseball yesterday was obviously the hall of fame announcement. So Ichiro, who let's be honest, should have been a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame. We're saying it, he was. So one vote. This was one writer not withstanding. One vote shy of being a unanimous selection.

Nope, he was unanimous. Okay. I wanna say C.C. Sabathia I wasn't totally surprised by. He's like, you know, like he had a pretty great career and pretty dominant starting pitcher. The counting stats were all there. Did not see Billy Wagner getting into the hall of fame yesterday. There's been a lot of love for closers in recent years.

And I'm not sure where that came from, but. So statistics. Mariano Rivera was unanimous. 425 out of 425. Well shocker, a Yankee is unanimous. Oh yeah, he wasn't very good. Hey Derek Jeter didn't get it. Each year it was better.

Okay. Each year it was better. Billy Wagner had 400 career saves. I didn't realize that, that's like a very rare fighter. There's only eight closers in the history that had 400 saves. So I guess on merit and statistically speaking, he's kind of gotta be in there. If you're one of the top 10 closers of the history that had 400 saves. So I guess on merit and statistically speaking, he's kind of got to be in there.

If you're one of the top 10 closers of all time in the history of baseball. Well, they put Rolly Fingers in a couple of years back and it was like a late edition because he was a closer, but he was before the time when closers were, you know, what closers are today. But yeah, it was still a bit surprising. Billy Wagner's not exactly a name

when you talk to casual baseball fans. They really know all that well. Well, that was the a bit surprising. Billy Wagner's not exactly a name when you talk to casual baseball fans. They really know all that well. Well, that was it. That was the thing is you mentioned Billy Wagner and like I, buddy of mine had a hard time remembering, like who would he have identified with his, like if he's, I thought he was, I thought he was a soap opera star. No, that's a different Wagner Wagner and Billy, quite frankly. Um, cause he met some Astros, right?

And then people were having that debate, like, who does he go in as? Anyway, Andrew Jones, I guess, was the other one that people thought was going to get in. Yeah. And he fell short. More known for his defensive play. He was a good offensive player as well, but wizard in the field. And yeah, kind of surprising he didn't get in. Okay. So Moe Coward.

Never heard of Jack Wagner? Jack Wagner. Yeah. He would play at that celebrity golf tournament, Tahoe, all the time. He was a good golfer. I thought you were talking about Billy Miller, who was on General Hospital. No, no, no. I'm talking about Jack Wagner, who was on General Hospital. I thought you were talking about Bill Miller, the former Boston Red Sox.

Also on General Hospital. Okay, moocall all that. Adog, are these references up to date enough for you? Hey dog yelled at me the other day. He was like a dog yelled at me the other day He's like, can you make a reference from this century? What was the data reference you made? I made a reference to Arthur Anderson the former accounting firm and a dog definitely thought it was a guy, right? He was like, who is that? Was like Artie Anderson.

All right. I didn't get the reference either. So I'm with Adog on that one. Okay. Okay. Where they, they, do you don't remember that they were directly involved with the Enron scandal? Arthur Anderson was the chief accounting. Yeah. Yeah. Behind Enron. Before my time of, they didn't do a very good job. I know that of. They didn't do a very good job. I know that. For a while they did a very good job. I know the name Enron. Yeah, there you go.

That's about it. Okay, let's fire up the dot matrix. Print out some humanoid submissions for what we learned. Humanoid submissions, what we learned as always brought to you by AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Tomorrow night is a Vancouver hockey night, which means you can celebrate every goal at AJ's Pizza with $6 pints of Pilsner. Again, only during Vancouver hockey game nights.

Visit them at 325 East Broadway. AJ's Pizza, the best pizza place in the world, except for their location in Florida. That is also one of the best pizza places in the world. Winter gardens. Winter gardens. My favorite gardens. I love it. Scott, with what we learned, the only thing more thin skin than arena nacho cheese is

Oilers fans. It's pretty funny, but Aaron in the whack, I like this one too. What we learned, Oilers fans react to situations just like we Canucks fans do. Insert Spider-Man meme. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.

And you know, the greatest thing about the Canucks now having a rivalry with the Oilers, it's like the two most insane fan bases in the league. Edmonton showed me something yesterday. They did, they showed me. They showed me something yesterday. Yeah. They really stepped.

That's what we've been looking for from you guys. They stepped their game up. You know, you know, what's funny Calgary by far The Most easygoing fan base. Yeah, I know it's true. He's got a point. They're just there's There's nothing like they're so chill. Yeah Okay, sure winner lose. We're having a good time. We're getting drunk. They're like, we gonna win tonight?

It's whatever, man, it's fine. Yeah, I hope the boys have a good game tonight. They got a real West Coast vibe to them, actually. Yeah. I've noticed that. It was the cowboy cavalier attitude. Do you think it's partly like, we can always come up with the crazy media in Edmonton

and the crazy media in Vancouver? Is there a crazy media guy in Calgary? I'm not ready to put this at the feet of the media. I feel like we blame the media a lot, right? And in this instance, I've never been able to fully articulate it, why it is, but I definitely know that it exists in Calgary. Yeah. I know that everyone is just sort of like, when they're good, they're like, all right, let's enjoy the good times. Johnny good vibes over here.

And then when they're bad, they're like, it's okay, it'll turn around. Yeah. Like it's going to be all right. Dustin Wolf, keeping us in games. I will say like this year is great for Flames fans, right? They had zero expectations going in. I'm sure there's a small cross section of the fan base

that wants them to tank and wants them to bottom out so they can go get a good player. But I think the majority, and I'm sure there's a small cross section of the fan base that wants them to tank and wants them to bottom out so they can go get a good player. But I think the majority, and I'm speaking on behalf of a fan base that I don't really know, and quite frankly, don't really care about, but I think there's a, probably a large swath of flames fans that respect the hard work that this team has put in this year.

And that even though not much was expected of them, they're currently holding a playoff spot. I bet that's fairly accurate. Uh, what we Juan from Comox, what an epic day of footy yesterday, great game between Ben Fica and Barca. That one was crazy. And Jonathan David scored against his future team in Liverpool. Yeah, five-four Champions League game with lead changes. Barca fell behind four- one, and then rallied. And then. Well, Andrew in Victoria was texting in and going like, guys, what

do you think about Benfica? When are we going to talk about Barca Benfica? Andrew, the answer is right now. Barca was down, I want to say four, one, is it three, one or four, one. And then a unbelievable comeback capped off by, ah, he was once a member of Leeds United, now no longer, Ruffinia. Well, there's a pretty good comeback in the NHL last night too.

Yeah, I know. San Jose sharks were up five to one on the Nashville predators. The Preds come back and win that game seven to five. It's probably a bunch of people in Nashville. They're like, could that be the moment? Well, that's our fourth win in a row. First four.

Oh, they are actually are stringing together wins. I'm not joking. They, remember Wyszynski came on the program a couple of weeks ago and when he was talking about the playoff percentage odds, and he's like, for some reason, Nashville's aren't as low as they would be considering how low they are in the standings. And he's like, I'm not sure why.

And I'm like, well, I guess they could turn around. They did that thing last year where they went on that crazy run. Yeah, they've won six of their last eight. Yeah, they've won four in a row. That was the first four goal comeback last night in Nashville Predators franchise history. They were down five one.

The flip side of that and shout out to, I think it was Chetan and Suri got me on Twitter because I tweeted out about it. The San Jose Sharks are down bad right now. I follow some Sharks people, and when it was five one, they were like, mm, I'm still not sure about this lead. They are, and we lock it down.

They are an unholy mess right now. They are dead last in the NHL standings. They had a little bit of a run there in mid December, where they kind of won some games, and you know, Celebrini was producing. Celebrini looks awesome. The Preds aren't catching. Nevermind the Preds.

I'm gonna cast them. So Chaiten and Suri got me on Twitter. He's like, now's a good time to revisit your Macklin Celebrini is unhappy in San Jose. Let's get them out of there. I was like, yes, that's what we need to do. So the Sharks need to keep losing. One day, whenever it happens and Connor

Bredard and Macklin Celebrini become members of the Vancouver Canucks, I want like at the very least a small ceremonial plaque in my honor saying that I put it out there, that one of my hot takes finally came true. Are you going to work on Ken Johnson when he's on the show? Yeah, well, spoiler alert, that was what

Friday's hit was all about. It's like, so, Ken, free agency. I know it's a ways away. And all about. It's like, so Kent free agency. I know it's a ways away. And he, and he's like, so how's it going with the Canucks? Good. Pretty great. Yeah, pretty good. That's good.

That's pretty great. Good. Yeah. About to have a great year. As long as there's no more follow-up questions, that's great. Yeah. Watching you the tape. Brother, they're about to have a lot of cap space.

So you can get in on that action. Uh, just in case you were wondering were wondering, the standings for that final wild card spot in the West. We've called it before a two horse team between two horse race, two horse team, man, that'd be a good team. Two horse race. They have a serious disadvantage I think. Between the Flames and the Canucks, well, you got to welcome, I guess, the Blues to the race, although

they played more games. It's the Flames to the race, although they played more games. It's the flames with 51 points. The Canucks and blues have 50 points. The flames have a game in hand on the Canucks and three in hand on the blues. Yep.

So the flames are in, I guess, the driver's seat of this race for the final wild card spot, but I know there's still a lot of people that are like, yeah, I don't believe in them. But then you look at the other teams and you're like, do you believe in them? See, that's the key. That's the question you have to ask. It's like, well, I don't believe in Calgary. It's like, well. Do you believe in the Canucks, the Blues, Utah, Seattle? How strong is your belief system in the following teams, right? There's nothing there. I still kind of think having watched Utah a couple of times in the last couple of weeks,

that they might have the magic elixir because they're young and are hungry and they haven't tasted success for a while, but I'm projecting a lot on that group. Mano in Chilliwack, what we learned, I'm too apathetic to send in a witty or smart text without a potential prize. I get it. Yeah, that's fair. I get it.

A couple of people have asked about our lack of pricing. Hey dog, we did have a prize that we just give away, did we not? So we were, so we did nine inch nails take us today in case you haven't heard nine inch nails, the band are going gonna be touring this summer And they're gonna be coming through Vancouver. They're gonna hit Rogers arena on August the 10th

We thought ahead of tickets going on sale later this month. Why don't we give away some tickets and We did who is the winner? Mikella from kits Congrats She said she's a longtime listener never won anything before and very excited a longtime listener of the show Yeah, or nine-inch nail Oh, yeah, so I've never quite heard of the band or both are gonna meet tickets to you, but that's awesome Yeah, very excited, so we're gonna give away tickets today tomorrow on Friday, and then Monday Tuesday. We already give them away today Okay, we've given away tickets today. Thank you clarity

One more what we learned before we go to break. You could say the Halper and Bruff show is the perfect drug for her. The perfect drug. Ah, we know. That's my one Nine Inch Nails reference that I have. Thank you, Craig. You have a head like a hole. I want a new drug.

Huey Lewis reference. Austin and Langley, what we learned. Thursday will be a statement game for the Canucks and Edmonton. That's pretty good. Yeah, man, statement game. Can you imagine the Canucks go Edmonton. That's pretty. Yeah man, statement game. Can you imagine the Canucks going in there, have a great effort. Great effort.

Like this is the team we've been looking for. Who do they play next? Is it Washington on Saturday? And then they lose six nothing to the Caps. Yeah. Okay. But see, we can't even go with the good game on, bad game off ratio anymore because last time out,

they dropped two really terrible losses in a row to Winnipeg and Los Angeles, then followed that up. It's getting to the point now where we can't even predict when the really good games and really bad games are gonna happen. I guess that's all a part of being an inconsistent hockey club. Okay, speaking of said hockey club, three reads, eh boys?

All right, let's do this. The trifecta. Yeah, okay. First, I need to tell you about Hard J Jan Pro. From warehouses to washrooms and everywhere in between, Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected. For a free quote, visit them online at janpro.ca. Yod and pro.

I thought we weren't gonna do that. for a free quote, visit them online at JanPro.ca. Yacht Pro. I thought we weren't gonna do that. What other ones? I don't even know what other ones I have. Oh my God. Clayton House. Clayton Public House. Clayton Public House. Oh, the host of our big football party this year.

So Sunday, February the 9th, we are no longer giving away tickets, so don't call in and don't write in. But you can still get reservations for the big football party on Sunday, February the 9th hosted by Sportsnet 650. Visit them online at the ClaytonPub.com Clayton Public House. Good food, good people, good times.

And then there's one from our, the company that we work for. Our parent company. Rogers Xfinity TV. You are a professional. Get through these, please. I don't have it in front of me. I'm just doing these off the top of my head. You know how hard this is to do? You were challenging Bruv to do this earlier. Let's see if I can remember it. Discovery TV, all your latest

Discovery TV programming is now available on Rogers Xfinity TV on Channel 410. 410. I'll have to double check that at the end. Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets. Weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. 8.32 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. For those of you out there that rely on me and me alone to tell you the latest channel line up for Rogers Xfinity TV, I did you dirty prior to break. I said the Discovery Channel was 410. That is wrong. Maybe you shouldn't have tried to do the ad read off the top of your head. It's 411, Greg. Lesson learned? 411. You led the listeners astray. It was a learning lesson, like Crockett would say.

Not to be confused with one of the greatest bands of all time, 311. 411. Discovery Channel has moved. All the latest seasons of your Discovery favorites are available on channel 411. That's 411 on Rogers Xfinity TV. You are listening to the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Breff in the morning, 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 three of the program. This is normally when we do what we learn, but we're going to talk to Dan Murphy in just a second here instead. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers.

Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the Internet at Campbell-pound.com today. To the phone lines we go. Murph, Dan Murphy joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What up Murph? Good morning gentlemen. How are things today?

Uh, can't complain. We've done that for the first two and a half hours of the show, so we can stop doing it now. Instead we get to talk to you, which is great. Before we start. You can complain. Yeah, you can start to go. But you know what?

I'm going to allow Murph to carry on what he started yesterday. Not about the Vancouver Canucks, but about the Edmonton Oilers and really not necessarily about the team itself, but everything surrounding the team. How is Canada going to line up without McDavid at Four Nations? Explain, Murph. Let us know. I mean, are we taking crazy pills here? How do we get here? I don't know.

I, I, I, I'll say this. I think if there's, if you're speaking legitimate beasts that, you know, gripes and airings of grievances that, you know, are factual, you know, here are the three I would give them. One, should he draw more penalties? Absolutely. There's no question.

I mean, but it's true the refs can't call everything because it's going to be a constant power play. And my good friend Chris Prong used to say, if you do 20 infractions a game, they can only probably call you for two. So you know, just keep doing it as much as you can until they tell you cross the line. So I think there's a gripe about that. Secondly, was it a penalty? Of course it was. I mean, Garland admitted, I was holding him down for like 12 seconds,

but no penalty was called and that happens. And even if a penalty had been called, are they going to whistle them both and blow it down and send McDavid to the box too? Probably not. So they wouldn't have had that whistle and the man of edge. And third, okay. I'll listen to the argument that it should have been two games. Sure.

Maybe it should have been two games instead of three. I think that's all legitimate. Even considering he got away with concussing a guy, the game previous or two games. Correct. Yeah. It's been a while. So that I'm going to give him that.

That's no problem. But all of the other stuff that's come out with this and especially the, he should scale back his league responsibilities and talking to the media and participating in the four nations cup. You know who's the most embarrassed about that talk? McDavid. Yes. You think he's the most embarrassed about that talk? McDavid. Yes.

Do you think he likes that? No, because people are thinking that he's saying it. Right? They're like, I was telling, sorry to cut you off, but I was saying like, I had a response to Ryan Rashad's tweet about this and people were like, yeah, that just goes to show how big a baby McDavid is.

And I'm like, no, no, he's saying the opposite. Like McDavid is not going to do any of this. So people are kind of ascribing the opinions of these people in Edmonton to McDavid. And while McDavid might be frustrated with not getting calls and frustrated with the suspension, he's not going to, he's not going on a hunger strike. He's not going to, he's not going on a hunger strike.

He's not going to, he's not going to leave his Canadian teammates. Yeah. Through this procedure, is he at trial? He's already finished that he's getting three games. I mean, that's just the way it is. And, um, you know, I, like, I think Rashad

is very measured. Like I'm, I'm not putting this one on Rashad. He's reporting the facts. Um, but you know, the statement too, like measured. Like I'm not putting this one on Rashad. He's reporting the facts. But you know, the statement too, like we're supporting him through this, this, you know, whatever proceeding. Where's the support for Evan Bouchard who actually got a stick in the face? That's a good point. You know, like, honestly, was it was it Garland that high sticked McDavid at the other way

around? So I don't know, man, maybe this has been boiling to the surface in that market and they just can't stand it anymore and they're looking at the penalties drawn for 60 this year, which are way down instead of like over the last eight years, he's plus 51 over the next closest guy. And I think if, you know, I think we watched the twins for more than a decade in this market, people were frustrated, they didn't get more calls, especially in the playoffs. That's the way it goes. And to make this, you know, the good part about this is that this is only in Edmonton. I think everybody else around the country is like, come on, is this what we're still

talking about, even in the States? So I just think it's been a little bit too much, some of the hot air surrounding it. It was a crash at the face, he got three games. Was it one game too many? Yeah, let's move on. Okay. Well, let's move on. Although the Canucks are going to play the Oilers, Toronis, so we'll get to revisit all of this.

We're still going to talk about it a lot leading up to it. Yeah. Of course. But there was that game last night and we do need to talk about that. Your thoughts on the Canucks three, two loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night at Rogers Arena. Oh, I'm going to go back a little bit here because it's just the inconsistency, which Rick Tuckett

talks about all the time is the frustrating part. And if you go back, let's just start at the last road trip. They played pretty well in Montreal, but below a lead and lose on an overtime power play goal. You can live with that, I guess. You're frustrated, you give up a two goal lead, but okay, you play a good game in Washington,

outplayed them for the last two periods, you lose in overtime. All right, you're frustrated again, you didn't get the extra point. Then you lay an egg in Carolina, like absolutely no push, no chances, not generating anything. And then you go to Toronto thinking, oh my God, what's going to happen here?

And you have a pretty spirited game and you beat the Leafs. And then after that, you say, well, maybe we can salvage something out of this road trip and actually finish above 500 and get trounced in the first period and it's over. So you never know what to think. And then you come home, of course, you get killed by LA, you beat Edmonton, who's on a roll, and then you kind of just go away against the 30th place team in the league in the third period. So it's no wonder it's frustrating for Rick Tauke because I think it's in there.

The problem is last year it was in there on a consistent basis. And this year it's been less than 50% of the time they've been able to do this. Now they're still in the race, but anybody that watches these games, it's just not the same feeling as last year. There's not that lock it down. Did you guys feel like when they went into the third period last night where the one goal lead, the game was over? No, no. Of course not. I don't think any game is over with the Canucks. No, no. In fact, when they go up three nothing against Edmonton, you're like, well, I wish

this was in the third period, not in the first. Right? Cause there's two periods left, but everything can come back. So. But, but that being said, that performance in the third period against Edmonton defensively was very impressive.

Yep. And again, yeah, 15 shots given up the whole game and what, 20 against Toronto the Saturday prior. So when there's, it seems like when they have to manufacture some emotion, they can't do it when there's actual emotion it's in there. And I don't know the answer, but clearly it's, you know, it's going to be a tough slog here. This final, you know, basically half of the season, if they're going to try to want to make the playoffs. And the problem being is that, you know, what does

management do because of they just squeak into the playoffs and play problem being is that, you know, what does management do because if they just squeak into the playoffs and play Edmonton the first round, are you confident they can win a seven game series or go past that? Probably not. So there's going to have to be some hard decisions to come. And I'm not talking about the Miller one because

I think that one's already been made. Uh, Thatcher Demko, let's talk a bit about him. Um, it was always going to be a challenge for him to come back mid season, dealing with the new reality that he has to deal with this injury. And, you know, it's hard to come back for any player midway through the season. I can only imagine it's tougher for a goalie. It sounds like the Canucks want to get him some

run of games. Is that the right way to do it? imagine it's tougher for a goalie. It sounds like the Canucks want to get him some run of games. Is that the right call at this point? I think so. I mean, I think first off, you kind of have to go with the guys who you believe have the highest ceiling and I think, you know, we still believe

Demko's ceiling is higher than Lankanen's, of course. I mean, he was up for a Vezna last year. Um, and I think you also have to see like, what are we going to do here this off season, right? Are we going to extend this guy? Uh, we're going to take him in the next season, kind of on the final year prove me contract, like how, what, what will the relationship be like that? I think you need to get some answers here about, you know, obviously durability

and what level of play he can get to because, you know, I think everybody knows when this guy is playing well, he's one of the top five goals in the league, but you know, durability's been, I'm sure he hates to hear it, but I mean, it's the fact of the matter. He hasn't been able to stay healthy. And even with this weird injury that he's come back from, admirably, I don't know if he still deals with pain with this injury or if it still bothers him making movements. But I think absolutely the right call is to give him the bulk of games right now.

Because if you do intend to go on a run, if you can get him hot, that's your best chance. You mentioned what Rick Tauken had to say after the game yesterday. What did you think about what Demko had to say after the game yesterday? Because he was self-critical, I guess is one way of putting it, but it was pretty introspective into what's gone on so far and why he said, quite frankly, that he hasn't been good enough this season. Well, I mean, he's a bright guy, right?

I mean, I don't think he's, I don't think he enjoys coming out and talking to us in the media on a consistent basis. But I do think that when he does go out and speak, he's pretty honest with things. You know, it gets tiresome to have to, you know, explain how every goal went in. But I think he knows that when he's on his best, that probably they win that game last night. And he knows this market well enough to know that the fans know that too. So, you know, I think Thatcher is a super bright guy. I think he probably analyzes everything, maybe over analyzes, but I mean, I wouldn't expect

less than honesty after a game like that. And he even, I go back to that article he had with Ian McIntyre, how it just, he says it just, it feels heavy, right? It feels heavy this year, uh, with everything that's gone on. And you know, it's, it's two days ago, what did, uh, Rick Toggett say in his 40 years, this is probably the most trying season he's ever seen. And even Brock Besser saying like, you know, it's, there's a lot of noise and sometimes that seeps into the room and he thinks

sometimes it affects their play and how could it not? So, um, it has been, you know, and you guys covered this team as long as I have, but it has been a season for the ages in terms of storylines and soap operas and roller coaster. That's for sure. Well, you said this, was gonna ask this but you set it up perfectly what chemistry Murph and I have this incredible. You've been doing this for a long time you've been the ringside reporter for a long time you've been around this team for a long time can you ever really remember a season quite like this one? Well no but I mean this is

the recent survival too I mean I've covered two criminal trials because of hockey games. That's true. We can say that, right? So there has been more pressing things and more difficult things to cover than the team that's struggling. But in terms of a team that went from winning a division and going to seven games in the second round against the eventual cup finalist

that went to seven games of the cup final. I don't ever remember having a season covering one of success and where you think they've turned the corner and then the next year you wonder just how you got to where you are. How did we get here? I think that's fair to say that this one in terms, if you put it in those terms, it's been as strange as anyone so far. I think part of it has to do with the fact that it's so inexplicable.

When I get out, this is why I turn down media requests from other markets. Because they want to ask- Also because you're asleep during the day. There's two reasons why I turned it down. No, like they'll add, they want to know what's going on. It kind of feels like lame when you go on, you're like, I don't really know. I got crazy isn't it? Yeah, you got any ideas, you know fan 590 in Toronto

I don't I and it's part of it is a legitimate honest answer because we really don't know what's going on and Part of is like I've got a lot of theories and ideas and reasons But there's not that one sort of smoking gun as to why they've gone from being, you gotta remember last year was one of the best seasons in the 50 plus years of Canucks hockey franchise history, 50 plus wins, a hundred plus points, one game away from the Western Conference final. It was as good as it got in this vibe. The vibes were high and then it's just feels like everything's done a 180. Yeah, because if you said, okay, that was, if you just told someone,

this is how the season ended. Um, you know, uh, obviously they're disappointed, but after everything, the regular season success, the playoff one around, uh, had a chance to go to the conference final, then they signed, uh, Jake DeBrusque, who has been, you know, value so far, I think he's a little cold right now, but then they got Lankanen who's provided like, you know, league average starting gold tenors are above as a number one. And you got Kiefer Sherwood at this price, and he's giving you this, you'd be like, Oh, my God, like they must be, they must be at top of the division again. And nope, you know, at

the below Calgary. So yeah, it's a, and I don't think a lot of people know the extent of what's going on. So that's why I never really want to guess. I mean, obviously there's something there and obviously something has, I mean, it's obviously more dire than anybody thought it might get to because otherwise, you know, these two guys, Miller and Pedersen both signed long-term extensions and Pedersen signing it knowing that JT was already signed. And yet here we are seemingly thinking one of them has to go because they can't coexist. So I don't know if we'll ever really get the full answer, but I think that the question

like how the hell do we get here is a fair one. And until we really know the full extent of everything, I don't think any of us will be able to explain it. I know there's a risk of ascribing too much to the limited interactions you have with somebody, but you're one of the guys that's around Rick Tocque in a lot. Can you compare his demeanor to last season?

Yeah. I mean, I think there's times when he's a little more short post game. And I think part of that has to do with frustration with a team. And also I know he really doesn't like to feed, you know, stories where he doesn't feel like there's a story. Like I know I'm pretty sure he gets tired when, you know, if Pederson has a good game, what do you think of Pederson?

I thought he was good. If he has a bad game, then he's calling him out because he said, I didn't think he was that good. And it's like, Oh, the coach calls if Pederson has a good game, what do you think of Pederson? I thought he was good. If he has a bad game, then he's calling him out because he said, I didn't think he was that good. And it's like, oh, the coach calls out Pederson. So I think sometimes he's a little bit guarded now with the answers he gives because he doesn't want to feed some story that's not really a story.

It's just him being honest about a player's performance and he's not calling them out. He's answering a question that was given to him, right? Like calling him out is like, I can't believe that this guy is, I played this way and we need more from him without, you know, without prompting. So I think that's part of it.

And obviously the job he's had to do this year is probably way more difficult than last year. Think of all the outside stuff he's had to deal with. And with the noise and the injuries and the absences and just the bizarre nature of the whole thing from you guys have commented, I'm sure there's basically from Dakota Joshua's cancer diagnosis on up till right now. It hasn't stopped.

And when you're the coach that has to deal with that and try to prepare for game after game and try to figure out why your team is underperforming and try to, you know, incorporate players in that are, you know, American hockey league players. Uh, this has probably been a very trying season to try to be a coach, uh, for Rick Toggin. I, there's no question. Do you think the management group has been able

to get an accurate diagnosis on what's happened with this group? Or do you think even for them just, you know, constantly around the team and they have access to all the players and coaches. If they want to ask a question, they can ask a question. Do you think it might still be tough to get a handle on what they've got here? Well, I believe that it's tough to have a handle because they really haven't had until recently the healthy lineup. I do believe that's true.

And Patrick Albion says it's tough to evaluate when you haven't had your guys together for and says it's tough to evaluate when you haven't had your guys together for, you know, more than two games, really, your whole, your whole team. But I'm sure that, you know, if we're hearing reports that, you know, JT Miller was just about to be held out of the game because a trade was near, well, then I think that probably this management group has evaluated some things. They're ready to make some move. They do have some answers or they think they need to create some different answers. So, um, you know, obviously LVM was not going to speak

specifically about players or potential trades. Uh, but I think when all the insiders have kind of the same information, uh, there's no question of that, that probably there was something very close to happening on Saturday and who knows why it fell apart, but obviously this management group we know, they don't sit on their hands. They pull the trigger when they think that something has to be done or if there's been a mistake made like Daniel Strong, they do not sit back and say, well, let's just wait a little bit longer. The question is now, how much longer do you wait here to kind of, you know,

I guess so called punt on the season and worry about next year in the future instead of trying to push your chips in this year just to have a slight chance going all in. Murph, this was great, dude. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the game tomorrow night. And then the we got two really good games on tap. You got the Weathers coming up and then we, Saturday night, Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Enjoy them both, it should be a lot of fun.

Okay boys, have a great day and we'll chat with you soon. Yeah, thanks bud, appreciate it. That's Dan Murphy, Canucks host here on the Health and the Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. You're just on automatic, aren't you? It should be a lot of fun. Yeah, why not? Tomorrow's game actually should be.

A lot of fun. Interesting. Look. I still want, I love that idea. I love that idea by the listener that Connor Garland should skate out in one of those neck braces. That would be pretty great. Just take warmup.

Just take warmup with the neck brace on. Do it. And then the clerk should release a statement about it. Yeah, we should have one of- And afterwards his personal injury lawyer should be beside him answering questions. They should have. To the Edmonton media.

All those personal injury lawyer commercials that we air, there should be one with Garner Garland. It's like, were you injured in an on ice assault? In a vicious on ice assault. Were you leg wrestled by the greatest player in the modern era? He's got deep pockets. He does, he makes a lot of money. I would have said,

now that's not, I'm not on autopilot. I would have said, if I had told Murph prior to the Buffalo game, have fun tonight, it should be a good one. You could have argued that, Halford, you're on autopilot because no one was looking forward to the Buffalo game. Let's be honest. We were talking ourselves into that one big time. I haven't been to the press box this year, but I'm thinking of going on Saturday just because. Oh, me too.

You know what guys, quick bit of advice, stay away from the food. Right. I don't know if, I don't have many more times I'm going to get to see Ovi live. Right. That's, I mean, that's a big game. I just love watching him just standing there,

waiting for the puck on the power play. He moved. You know what? I've watched a few other games this year. He moves around a little bit more. I'm just joking. But only a little bit more. Just a little bit.

Last year, he was pretty stationary. This year, he's. This is my spot. This is Ovi's spot. Yeah, instead of going to one circle, sometimes he goes to the other circle, too. Hey, guys, go get the puck. Yeah.

Maybe they should throw some nachos down right where he shoots. He would definitely get distracted by that. Right, yeah. He's just like, ooh, nachos. Yeah, no, OK. We got to get out of here for today. It's been a fun show. We've had a lot of laughs.

Thank you all for listening. And truly, thank you all for contributing. We got a ton of text today, and it is very warming to know that you guys are listening along and contributing throughout the full three hours of the Haliford and Brough Show. But for now, we gotta say goodbye.

Signing off, I have been Mike Haliford, he's been Jason Brough, he's been Adog, and he's been Laddie. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.