Halford & Brough in the Morning - Nick Kypreos On The Rick Tocchet Situation

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the NHL coaching carousel and where Rick Tocchet might end up landing (3:00), and if the next Canucks coach will be able to help EP40 regain his form, plus they get more Tocchet news as well as a look-ahead at tonight's playoff action with Sportsnet NHL analyst Nick Kypreos (28:21). 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.

Music 702! Ah, Thrashthursday! Forgot all about it. Halford Ruff, Sportsnet 650. Halford Ruff the morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates. BC's first entrusted choice for dead help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit them online at sans-trusteeve.com. This song's called Rotten Flesh. Really? Yeah, it was either that or the other song was called All Night Face Pound.

Come on. Come on. Really? That was the title. We almost played it. All Night Face Pound. Yeah, that'd be a great band name. We're All Night Face Pound.

I can't even make all the jokes we want to make. No. Trying to stay on the air. First we got Halfer going to a fluffing class. All Night Face Pound. All night face pound. I learned a lot. Well he was high for most of what he said so. It's true.

I learned a lot. We are in hour two of the program by the way. Hopefully we'll make it to hour three. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hamanuk at Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason.Mortgage. Jason must be thrilled. You know, you get what you get when you sign up for this show.

Yeah. There's no telling what direction we're going to go in. There's a warning for sure. They sign up. They get it. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you and Step. Okay. I want to get into a couple other stories from last night in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NHL at large.

I do want to talk about the Winnipeg Jets taking a three, two lead in their series against the St. Louis blues, courtesy of a five, three win on Wednesday night. The teams play game six on Friday and St. Louis, but a lot happened last night. So the Connor Hellebuck story was kind of, okay, he won the game. He was in that for a 5-3 win. Wasn't great. Three goals on 19 shots, but he was good enough. He wasn't the story. The story was a massive, massive hit that Braden Shen laid on Mark Shieffley midway through this game. Now where it gets a little sticky is that

after the hit which Shen received a minor penalty for. That was late that was that was roughing the passer. We'll get into that. Okay. After the hit in which Shen was penalized for, Sheffley returned to the game and kept playing. It wasn't after until another hit by Radik Foxa that he left for good. This is where things kinda get, well, sticky and interesting and drama-filled because it led to a war of words between the Blues head coach, Jim Montgomery,

and the Jets head coach, Scott Arneal. We're gonna play the audio. This is first Montgomery explaining what he felt happened and what transpired. And then Arneal firing back at Montgomery. It's about a minute's worth of audio. Here we go. Yes, it was about the Shen hit.

And let's make it clear. 55 got hurt from the Faxa hit. He played six minutes after the Shen hit. He didn't come back after he got rocked by Faxa hit he played six minutes after the Shen hit he didn't come back after he got rocked by Faxa Long discussion with the referee before the second. What were your thoughts on the Shen hit? Well, I didn't know Monty you got his medical degree. I'm trying to say how our player got hurt He's way off base should not make that comment There's some things that have been going on in this series

and that was a repeat of what we've seen before. A player leaving his feet and then hitting a player in a very unprotected spot like hitting them in the sense almost blindsiding them. Not happy how the call was made. Two minute minor. Not even looking at it Not happy how the call was made. Two minute minor. Not even looking at it is what I was upset about. And it is something that we have talked to the league about for five games. It's too bad that this series only has potentially

two games left in it because- It's been a great series. It's big boy hockey. You know when they, you hear that phrase thrown around a lot, big boy hockey. It's like what exactly does it mean? I say watch the first five games of the St. Louis Winnipeg series.

But it's not slow plodding big boy hockey. It's just, that's what I'm saying. Everything that it entails. Big guys, big hits, and it's not slow, like the hits are coming at pace with speed, but there's just an element of physicality where both teams can bring it because we saw glimpses of it in Montreal, Washington, but it was primarily Washington bringing the big boy.

Yes. This one, they're just trading blows. And I think if you want to have some Canucks talk here, I've been talking about this for a while. If the Canucks are going to remake their forward group, bring in some guys that can throw their weight around. Yeah. The Canucks might've been chewed up and spit out

if they were in this series. Cause it is very physical, very physical. Well, losing Miller out of that top six takes away a lot of that. And I realized Miller wasn't a perfect player. Like I understand that, but he did bring that element of physicality that frankly, who else in the top six brings?

Like Debrusk in theory brings it, but he didn't really bring it. And I think a lot of these guys, like, because we know his dad was Louis Debrusk, he was like, oh, he's got to be tough. It's just kind of the same with like Max Domi and Tide Omi. Yeah oh, he's got to be tough. It's kind of the same with Max Domi and Ty Domi. Yeah, but they're not the same player. But they're not the same player.

And they came up in a different generation. And I think de Bress has the potential to be more physical. And I think he would even admit that. But that's not him. That's not him. He's a guy with great hands who can score around the net. He's got pretty good, uh, straightaway speed. Um, and he probably should score a little

bit more off the rush. But if you're going to ask him to carry the physical load for your team. No. In the top six, that's not fair to him. That's not, that's not who he is. And it just, it just goes to show you how challenging the off

season is going to be for the Canucks because, you know, you could go out there and be like, okay, we're going to replace Besser's goal scoring with some winger and Suter will try and bring in a new center and like, hope Petty bounces back, but that's only like, it's not, it's not just stats, right? You just don't bring these guys back and like, here's the goal only like, it's not, it's not just stats, right? You just don't bring these guys back.

They're like, here's the goal scoring here. Here's the goal scoring here. Hope Pedersen bounces back and boom, here you go. Then you've got to make sure that you've built it the right way. Like, I don't think Leckar Mackie is going to, you know, if you have him in the top six, I don't think he's going to be responsible for big boy hockey. Yeah, right. It feels like we're back in that because we are back in that spot of, you know, okay,

well let's make the playoffs. Like that's step one. But then you make the playoffs and you go, okay, what else do we need? Do you know what I mean? It's just, it's a lot of things they got to get done. It's not just replacing the players, it's making sure you got the right mix to be successful in the playoffs. So maybe that's a step that's like way off, I don't know.

To me right now, they're a directionless, rudderless team. And that's because, I mean, primarily, their head coach just said, sayonara. Like, I'll see you, thanks, but no thanks. I'll see you later. So that is, that's really got to be the first thing that you do is you have to get some finality and clarity there before you start going to pick players. It's the old, you know, if you're going to get the chef and the groceries, like, you know, you got

to make sure that one's in place before the other. And for me, it's, if the coach is the chef in the analogy, you need to have him in place. I don't think- And he's got to have input on the roster. Yeah. Especially after what you went through last time where you put so much impetus on Tocket being the builder of all things, not just strategy, not just tactics, but the culture.

Like there was a lot of ways that Tocket was like the most important figure of the regime because they made him such a priority to get and made him such a priority to try and keep around. By the way, do you want to get into the talk and stuff here? Donnie and Dolly yesterday had Steve Mountain, who's, I forgot, coaches have agents. I just always assumed it was players, but coaches get them too. They don't negotiate their own deals. I think he's Foote's agent too.

Yeah. And he's also a Philly guy. I didn't realize this until hearing him on the show yesterday. How weird do you think, is? He has connections in Philly? Well, I'm going to play that clip in a minute. Okay. So, uh, the Coles notes version of the hit with Donnie and Dolly, uh, he did say that Vancouver's offer, uh, was very lucrative. That the Vancouver Canucks quote unquote stepped up, made the decision hard, added, you cannot say that the Canucks did not extend themselves both financially and in terms of term. Now he just kind of, when he was pressed more about why talk it left, he tried to phrase

it as it was the end of life cycle. Like the contract was coming to an end that time. And that chapter of Rick's life is the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. All of it lined up that it was coming to an end, that time and that chapter of Rick's life as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, all of it lined up that it was coming to an end. Like he had been there for two and a half years on the job, he had achieved some things and now it was just time. It sort of left something to be desired because when you say that you make it sound like everyone understood that but the Canucks sure didn't because they were like we're gonna give you lots of term and lots of money don't let this thing die.

But it seemed like the circle of life was ready to be complete. And so I was like, okay, that's agent speak. I'm not really too worried about that. The thing I was interested in was the Philadelphia job because we've talked about it, like there's a real legitimate answer to the question. Why did Tocket leave? If the answer is, well, he wants to go coach in Philly. So I'm gonna play the audio.

This is Steve Mountain, the agent for former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocket, discussing the Philadelphia Flyers job and what they have either heard or not heard about it. Philly is, I was born and raised here, so I've grown up with this franchise and I know all the folks down there and I've worked with many of the people in there it's a terrific

organization uh... they their intent to win and their competitiveness is really high uh... i can't speak for them i don't know what they're tied there so i've had zero conversations and rick has had zero conversations with the flyers are anyone from the flyers So we don't know the way we're thinking we we see the same speculation that you guys see in here and We are led to believe that Philly would have an interest but at this point

I can't project what they will or won't do We are led to believe that Philly has an interest is peak agent talk. Doesn't get any better than that. We are led to believe that Philly has an interest. Yeah. We haven't had any official talks yet. We're just being led to believe. I want to address something that Dwayne has texted in and I've, I've seen a few people bring this up. Okay.

Um, and you were, you, I think you responded to Dwayne, but Dwayne texts in and said, all the talk of talk at leaving yet no one is talking about how, um, he left after two years, as soon as things got tough. Well, first of all, Dwayne, a lot of people have brought that up. We ended the show on that pretty much yesterday with a text from a listener.

Brother, we have like nine Canucks branded shows. If there's some angle about the Rick Tauke situation, we have discussed it. There was a guarantee on that. Duane, continue on. It just feels like Tauke ran as soon as things got tough and it's not talked about as much. Fair enough.

It's not talked about as much. Fair enough. It's not talked about as much, but it got talked about. And the one thing that I would raise with you, Duane, is it's not as soon as things got tough. Because things got tough, not this past season, last season. off, not this past season, last season. We all need to acknowledge that this whole thing started earlier than this season. This whole thing started around the time Pedersen resigned.

Okay. The team was not the same. I know they won a round against Nashville and I know they took Edmonton to seven games, but the issues with the team really started cropping up after the all star break last season. And there were games, remember against Nashville where you're like, how are the, the connects

can't even get a shot on goal. I mean, I never heard the phrase fronting so much, right? Like as Drantz, like, ah, the Pritz are fronting the puck, you know? Do you remember how many times like the Canucks would pass it around and the Nationals end and they just, they just could not get a shot on goal. And Pedersen's play was problematic in the playoffs. How many people texted in and said, man, if Pedersen was Pedersen,

the Canucks would have beaten the Oilers. So those issues started then. And I guarantee the issues with Miller started then. And I guarantee you, like there's articles that were written and we passed them along and they're in the province and they're like, you know, talk comes on this station, I think it was with you and Dodd, I was on vacation and he said, you know,

Petey's got to have a big summer. He's got to have a huge summer. And then you come back, he has not had a huge summer and people can say, tendinitis, but the result is, Pedersen was not good, did not look good. And then, and Rutherford has alluded to this, that contributed to the JT Miller Pedersen rift. Like just imagine how it went down.

You know, we're going to bring a culture of players holding each other accountable. Okay. That's all well and good to hear. Everyone wanted to hear that. That's great. That's leadership. That's what teams do.

Held them accountable, maybe in a rather aggressive way and maybe in the wrong way. But then that thing blew up and yada, yada, yada, we arrive at this point. So to say as soon as things got tough, it's been over a year of things being tough. It's not like, wow, what happened this year? It's, you know, and if you're talking, you're like, I don't know. I mean, a year doesn't sound long in theory. It was only a year. Imagine if it's every day and you're going in there like, I don't know how much more I can do.

I just don't know. And then you get maybe some, you're like, oh, is Hugh's going to be back? I don't know if he's going to be back. And then you're thinking about signing up for four or five more years. That was the offer, right? They went to five years and you're like, oh, like, I don't even know if I can do a month more of this. I mean, we've talked about it just

from our angle as fans and as media. What if we come back next season and nothing much has changed and we're talking about the same things. Can you imagine you're the coach and you're still going to like, he just needs to move his feet, I guess. I mean, do you know how crazy that is? Right. Do you know how crazy that is? That you've got a coach saying that the highest paid player on the team needs to move his feet more.

Would you sign up for it? And I get the whole like, I get the whole like, yeah, but you got to keep going. And when I asked Rutherford or Rutherford and Alveen, but Rutherford was answering all the questions at the press conference, I was like, I was like, guys, it feels like you're having a tough time getting through to Pedersen.

And he said, well, that's the job of the coach. And then he went and like, talked about a bunch of other stuff, cause he didn't really want to answer the question. He's like, that's the job of the coach. Which brings me back to like, maybe when it comes to Pedersen, it's not the worst thing that talk it left.

I know because obviously what was happening wasn't working. But that doesn't, that doesn't clear up the big problem here. Like it, it doesn't because the big problem is that they made it abundantly clear that Tocket was their guy and they wanted Tocket and Tocket was the only coach that they wanted for this team. And they rolled out the financial red carpet for him and he still said no. To me, this story is actually less about Rick Tauke and even less about Elias Pedersen and now it's almost exclusively on

what's left and by that I mean probably like the the job in front of management right now because one thing that they're going to have to try and reconcile is if you knew Tauke was your guy and you were 100% committed to him throughout this process and your faith in him never wavered, why didn't you sign him the first opportunity you could last summer? Why after he took home that Jack Adams trophy, didn't you celebrate the ceremony in the pomp and circumstance with a new lucrative contract? Why would you let this season even play out? It's such a good question. Why?

You allowed this season to unfold the way that it did. You don't have a crystal ball and you don't know how it's going to go. But from the moment that they hired Rick Tauke to the moment that he turned them down on Monday, one thing was uniform and consistent across the board. Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alveen desperately wanted Rick Tauke to be the head coach of the hockey team. That never changed. That never for one second wavered.

And if that's the case, you've got to ask yourself, why'd you wait? If you loved him that much, why didn't you show him you loved him last summer? So Ozzy Goose texts in, you're so wrong, bruv, every job is tough. That Philly team sucks. They're not going to end the playoffs for years.

Talk it, quit, quit defending him. There were some swears. Swears from Ozzy Goose. I appreciate your passion and I agree. I mean, you could say there's, quit defending him. There were some swears and there's Aussie goose. I appreciate your passion and I agree. I mean, you could say there's an element of him quitting. I mean, he didn't, he didn't stick around and fight. I don't blame Talkit. He didn't stick around and fight.

You can say, but like, okay, you say what you're saying. I'll collect my thoughts. I don't blame Talkit at all for making the decision that he made. If it wasn't contractually obligated to stay any longer. His contract was done on June 30th. If he didn't want to coach here, then he shouldn't coach here. If that's quitting, then call him a quitter. Yeah, yeah.

That's kind of where I'm at. If that's what you define as quitting, then he's a quitter. But he looked at the future and said, I don't want to do this anymore. I think about this every day at the work. No, I'm like, I- No, you keep doing this. To me- Get sweared at by Ozzy Goose.

Right. To me, like, if talking had stayed and took the money and said, well, it is a lot of money and it is a lot of term, and there's only 32 of these jobs. All right, let's do it. You're going to approach that with some trepidation as well, because you're always going to be wanting in the back of your mind how all in truly all in is

this guy, because if he's got reservation, he doesn't believe in the team. And if he's got reservations about the guys that he's coaching and who's gonna be around How long is this gonna last how long before you have to talk about? Oh, we're moving on right? I Understand why people feel like jilted and scorned and all that makes total sense Anytime someone leaves after the success that he had especially in that, you know, which was a great year and a great run And especially when he has the slogans about embrace the hard and meet pressure with pressure, right? He's, he's got to own that.

Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't put so much stock in those Ted talks type slogans. I don't know. That's just me. But when you look at the decision that he made, I think that, you know, Rick Tucker was just a guy that was here and decided not to be anymore. The organization remains. The shot callers remain. And whatever is left to fix, that's the big thing. It still remains. That's the real focus here. If Tuckett takes a job in Philadelphia or New York

or wherever else, like, I'm going to be dead honest. Like, I'm not really going to care. or New York or whoever else, I'm gonna be dead honest, I'm not really gonna care. I'm not. Like, he was a good coach when he was here and I liked him and I thought that he would be good for a couple more years, but there's a lot more to this story that remains in Vancouver that is far more important than if Rick Tauke

surfaces as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in a week or whatever. By the way, what's the statute of limitations? We talk it, where he has to pretend like he's mourning the breakup. A week. A week. What's it, a week?

You gotta move on in life, right? Several more hours. Rutherford himself said you gotta move on. How long can you, when you break up with your significant other, can you resurface on a dating app? What's the, you youths out there, you tell me. One month before.

on a dating app. What's the, you youths out there, you tell me. One month before. And that's, and that's why you break up. He's like, I already miss coaching the Philadelphia Flyers. You mean the Van Cooke and Hux. Right, right. Yeah, yeah.

So DK and Squamish texts in and he texts in, if Pederson comes back next season and it hasn't changed, does he start to come close to Messier status, got Miller traded, made talk at leave, possibly the reason Hughes leaves? Whatever you think about those allegations from DK and Squamish, aren't we all just hoping, aren't we all just hoping that Petey goes, hey, I really want to put the work in. I want to show everyone how wrong I was. I want to show Rick Tocket that he shouldn't have left this team

because this team still has a future as long as I'm the number one center. I want to show those idiots specifically Jason Brough on the Halford and Brough show and Don Taylor on Donnie and Dolly, that I am a good player, I am a great player, I am a franchise center and I'm gonna put the work in it and I'm gonna show those guys. See, this is what the organization has been doing. They've been trying to get Pedersen to say, I'm as pissed off as everyone else and I'm gonna put the work in. Now, imagine you're the coach of the team

or the management of the team and that's the angle that you're taking. I'm gonna, we want this guy to get mad. We want him to get angry. We want him to get motivated. We want to get him motivated. And then he doesn't. And then you're still at the end of the season going, you got to move your feet, man. Got to move your feet.

You practice habits have got to change. You got to go above and beyond. You got to work obsessively on this game and it's just not getting through. I know. Like I really hope Pedersen is taking notice of all this and somehow finding a way to motivate himself.

And maybe it's not through that because maybe that's just not how he's wired. Maybe he's wired just like he loves the game and he wants to play it at the highest level possible. So get motivated through that. But just get motivated some way, man. And come back and, and I, I, I, I want it to, people are like, bruh, if you want him to fill.

No, I do not. I do not want him to fill my opinion. Doesn't matter. I'll be happy to have people come back next season and be like, C. Brough, I believed in them. You didn't. And look at it now.

Great. That's awesome. That means I have a good team to follow and that's great content. That's great content. You know, think about the great comebacks in sports. It's always like, I heard the haters. I heard the critics and I came back and won anyway. I was never big, the biggest Tiger Woods fan until like I was the biggest

Tiger fan when he won that masters, that last master. I was like, you know, man, I thought you were done. I thought it was over for you. And then he came back and won. How can you not cheer for that? Let's have a story like that for Pedersen next season, but he's gotta want it. It is time now for One to Watch,

brought to you by Delaney's OK Tire. We're actually gonna start with two to watch tonight, Marner and Matthews. Mitch Marner and Austin Matthews. So the Leafs have now lost two consecutive series clinching games in this series against Ottawas have now lost two consecutive series clinching games in this series against Ottawa, which lowers their record in series clinching

contests to wait for it. One in 13 since 2018. That's right. One win in 13 closeout, 14 closeout games. What's more, Matthews and Marner have combined for just four goals and 10 assists in those 14 games. Now I said it's two to watch. The one to watch tonight, let's be real,

it's the captain, it's Austin Matthews. He's had a decent series production wise, six points through five games, but those numbers come with a tiny little asterisk. He only has one goal over the course of the series. It's a far cry from the production that he's put up previously. He was on the ice for all four goals,

you know my love of plus minus, minus four in that four nothing loss in game five to the Senators. The Leafs are going to look not to choke. The Sens are going to look to keep the thing rolling. Austin Matthews is your one to watch tonight. It's time to put on your Toyo tires, whether you drive a car, light truck, or van. Toyo tires are designed to perform in all kinds of conditions. Visit Delaney's OK Tire in Langley in Aldergrove. OK Tire, service, repair, and tires. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show

on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets. Weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. podcast. This is All Night Bass Pound.

This is All Night Bass Pound. This is it. This is it. It's sound like a bass pound. OK. The scratch is so loud. Sorry, say that again. This song. Yes.

Is titled. Yes. All Night Face Pound. Right. This is the classic. The song you alluded to earlier in the program. This is it. All Night Face Pound.

Yeah. I mean, I could not play it for you now that we mentioned it earlier. I mean, it kind of sounds like that, right? A little bit. The face is getting pounded. Yeah. All night.

Yeah. This bit is getting pounded. Oh, you've got more. What? I was going to say, this bit is getting pounded. It is 7.35 on a Thursday. You are listening to the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates.

Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program with the midway point of the show here. Nick Kiprios from Real Kipper and Born Fan 590 is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Homonuck at jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around

to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go, Nick Kiprios joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Nick, how are you? Gentlemen, good morning, how are you? We're well, thanks for taking the time to do this.

We appreciate it. So in addition to being the cohost of the Real Kipper and Bourne show on Fan 590, you're also an accomplished author. You've got a piece in the star that was up yesterday, which includes Kipper's Corner, one of my favorite parts of the piece. And then the first note, it's like those,

you know, those little notebooks that you used to run. Yeah. Kipper's Corner, first note. I was gonna read this for everybody. Give me the piece. And then the first note, it's like those little, you know, those little notebooks. Yeah. Kipper's Corner first. I was going to read it. Give me the gossip. While the perception is Rick Tuckett's decision to leave the Vancouver Canucks wasn't just about money, many believe it was exactly that. The Canucks didn't reach a number that the Tuckett camp couldn't refuse. End of story. It's juicy, Kipper. Can you please elaborate on this for the listeners right now about the number and what the Canucks offered? Listen, I think Rick Tauket has found himself

in a position that he's never really found himself in a position before. He's coached in the National Hockey League either as a head coach or as an associate. And then every once in a while you're in a position of strength and he had one in Vancouver. And the negotiations I heard were fine. It was amicable on both sides, the eventual decision to part ways. But when it's all said and done, you know, most often than not, these situations come down to make me an offer I can't refuse. And that, I'm told, never happened.

It was reported, I think, Dollywell reported that they got to five by five, so $25 million. That wasn't his price or did the offer come too late? Uh, you know what, again, um, I don't know whether or not, uh, he felt, he feels like, uh, there's other opportunities, uh, to go, uh, and, and maybe get that offer. Uh, and then, you know, once you, once you're

comfortable with the money, then there's also other factors that come into play. So, you know, where is the offer with everything else around the job description, may have come into an account of his decision. And, you know, if he feels like that's a number that's achievable elsewhere, then it's a matter of, okay,

what do you wanna do here moving forward? So it'll be interesting to see not only Rick Tarkett guys, but Mike Sullivan. And part of what I wrote the other day was also that many close to the industry feel like Mike Sullivan can rewrite basically what Mike Babcock started many years ago in Toronto, and that is resetting a market for NHL head coaches. Now the feeling is that Sullivan might be in a position to get the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers in a bit of a bidding war. If that's the case,

I don't like Boston's chances to outbid the New York Rangers, but there's a sense that he's going to be the highest paid coach in NHL history if that's a top priority for him. So going back to Rick Tauket, if Mike Sullivan is up around, you know, wherever, you know, he thinks he can get seven, eight million dollars a year, how many outside of Vancouver would be willing to go five million for Rick Tauket? So a lot, lots of lots of things to think about. But Tauket didn't feel like he was in a position, I think, of feeling like he could turn down that offer and never come close to it again.

So we'll see where this thing goes moving forward for Rick Tocket and perhaps talks with Philadelphia or Boston or anywhere else he chooses to interview. Well, the Philly one is the one that interests me the most. Um, Elliott Friedman has said, um, he said it a week ago or a few days ago before Taka made the decision. He said, I think if Taka is going to be coaching anywhere next season,

it's Vancouver or Philly. Well, across Vancouver off the list that leaves Philly. I also just recall the response from Canucks management when Torts was fired. They seem to be especially sensitive about the speculation that Tocket was going to take the Philly job. What are you hearing out of Philly because they're an organization that in the past has not been

afraid to spend money. Uh, yes. Uh, Doug McLeain came on our show. I don't know, probably in the mid point of this, the regular season and, and, and thought or predicted or heard rumblings about talk it in Philadelphia next season. So that thing's been out there for quite a while

here. Um, it did end ugly for torts in Philadelphia and they need to make a splash here. It did end ugly for torts in Philadelphia and they need to make a splash here and while we know that a salary cap is limited teams in terms of where they could slot players, there's no salary cap for head coaches and they get the luxury of truly having a market value out there that isn't hindered, you know, with a maximum amount that you can spend on a coach. So that's out there. The Philly Flyers are in dire need of, you know, continuing whatever momentum they thought when they made the decision to go to Daniel Briere and keep Jones.

And let's face it, Rick Tocque, it's a natural follow-up with what he's been able to do over the last few years and make believers that he's not only just a legit NHL coach, but one that can relate with players today. Nobody has to go any further than listening to Quinn Hughes talk about Rick Tocket in terms of what he means to a player today.

So I think, my guess is if I was a betting man, I'd have Rick Tocket and the Philadelphia Flyers together next season. Um, sometimes I forget I'm getting old and that our listeners won't remember things like the 80s. But what do you remember about, what do you remember about Tocket in Philadelphia? Did you ever drop the gloves with Tocket?

Because you would have been coming into the league right around the time that he was kind of right in his prime. Like he had seasons, it's incredible. He had a season where he had 45 goals and 183 penalty minutes. Like where did he find the time to score all these goals when he was in the penalty

box the whole time? Well, he's basically a Toronto kid, right? Scarborough, I was a North York kid. So Rick, when my, my first year where I barely played in the, uh, in, in the OHL junior a he was just finishing in Sault Ste. Marie and he had already had that reputation of being a really really tough hockey player and then of course the following season he made the Philadelphia Flyers alongside with Derek Smith and Peter Zesl, the late Peter Zesl, rest his soul. And he just

fired out of the gate that he's just going to be this hard-nosed player. So I went to training camp for the first time as a Philadelphia Flyer. I signed as his free agent and that was the year that Rick Tocket was there too. So we've trained together in Toronto. We've known each other for a long time. And he was a guy that every once in a while I would kind of lean on a little bit in Philadelphia, just to get a feel for, you know, you know, what to expect. But he never wavered off of that his coaching is exactly the same style that he played with. Without dating himself,

he's able to understand how the game's changed, it's progressed, and it is an 80s, as you had mentioned, but I think he's done a terrific job of turning himself into a real legitimate coach in today's era. And there is enough old school with them. They can drag in what makes successful hockey clubs from any era, any generation, and still

have a feel for what players go through today. How frustrating knowing him and knowing what makes him tick. Do you think this past season was with the Canucks when you've got two players in Miller and Pedersen that can't get along to the point where they have to trade one of them and the guy that's left, you're sitting there and just like, you got to move your feet and you got to

practice harder. You got to get stronger. Like, I know you've kind of reported that this was like, it starts with money, but I don't know, I know you wrote end of story. I just feel like that's not the end of the story. There's other stuff there. No, no, no, no. You know, you know, again, this is only pertaining to how much more do you have to give

me to put up with the BS, right? So that's, that's where this is money. I can't refuse. So that's, that's the gist of where that comes from basically, right? Um, and that stuff is heavy on him. And at times I'm sure he grew very tiresome of it. But that's extra pay, right?

If you want me to stay and continue to deal with that in this market, then again, you're going to have to maybe overcompensate me and I don't think Vancouver was in a position to want to do that. But it's, it's, it's not really out of the ordinary as well from from teams, you know, in any generation that you're gonna have guys that personalities clash. Rick Tarkett spent a lot of time in Philadelphia where the Snyder family was heavily involved as well in decisions on what happened, what doesn't happen, who gets traded, who doesn't.

And I'm sure there was a level of that as well from him to Patrick to Jimmy Rutherford, you know, eventually to the Aquilini family. You know, so there's a ton for him to manage and go through. And, you know, I think once you're in a position to renegotiate a contract, then you pick your pros and cons. And, you know, at the end of the day, he, he chose to move on. And for whatever reason, bottom line money, bottom line, not money. There's a lot of factors that went into his decision. Where you're speaking to Nick Kiprios here on the Haliford and Bref show on

sports net six 50 and Nick, of course, the host of the real Kipper and born Sean fan five 90 in Toronto, uh, big game for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, to put it mildly. So the number that's making the rounds right now is that in 14 series clinching opportunity games for the Leafs, they are now 1 in 13 in those games since 2018, which is a pretty wild number. It is kind of remarkable that they've won a grand total. I think it's 7% of those games. And when you talk about that number, oftentimes people point to two individuals in particular, and it's Austin Matthews, the captain and Mitch Marner.

Have you and Bourne been able to like hypothesize or come up with any theories about why this is? Because it's a number that's so egregiously bad. You have to wonder what it is about these serious clinching games where these guys in this team just can't get it done. Yeah, we're over like 13 and trying to figure out this hockey club. So, all right. Yeah, they get another crack at slaying the dragon for sure.

And you just, you know, if you go from the percentages, eventually they got to hit one. I think that's really all that Maple Leaf fans have at this point is that we understand that they're good hockey players, if not great hockey players, and some of the most talented players that's ever put on a Toronto Maple Leaf jersey. But can you get it done at the most critical moment in a hockey season? And that's what people are waiting for yet again tonight. And if they can't do it tonight, they'll get another crack Saturday night. And then after that, essentially it will be over for this nucleus, this group, Marner's contracts up. I think one of the main reasons why he hasn't signed up until this point was always in the back of his mind that if it

doesn't go well and this town turns on me and the hockey club yet again, you know, what's the point of signing here even if they gave me $20M a year? Nobody will believe it, nobody will accept it, and it's time to move on off of the opportunity to try to win a Stanley Cup in Toronto. So that's basically where we're back is just another crack. A lot of people didn't want the core nucleus to stay together. Brendan Shanahan made the decision to keep them all together for one more try and reinforce the people around them. The teammates got bigger, they got a

little grittier, they got better defensively, they had better goal tending. So this was supposed to be their recipe for them to shine this time of year. And it was looking good for three games. But they're going to get another crack at it to close it out. And that's all truly fans can just sit there and cross their fingers and hope that tonight's one of those games where instead of one out of 13, it goes to, you know, two and two and 14. Um, Austin Matthews, how much, I mean, obviously he gets a lot of focus, but is there more

criticism for him or Marner, um, right now, because that giveaway he had that led to the shorthand Ottawa goal was, was pretty bad. And I know Matthews has come close to scoring. Like he's had chances, did he hit the post in overtime too? Like he hit the crossbar. So I mean, it all could be, it's a game of inches, right? It all could be very different. But you know, Marner gets a lot of talk because he's

depending on restrictive free agent, but Matthews has just one goal in five playoff games. Yeah, I no this is this is the season where it's it's more than probably at any point in his career or all of the past failures combined. He's really feeling the pressure right now and you know I mean we watch from from afar the relationship between the Canuck fans and Petey, and it's not at a feverish pitch right now, but another bad loss tonight or one where he's not heavily involved will just throw gasoline on the fire when it comes to Austin Matthews here.

For a large portion of his career here in Toronto, Leaf fans love to say he was the second best player on the planet, right behind Connor McDavid. There's times when we've watched him, he's hit levels where you go, yeah, he's right levels where you go, yeah, he's, he's right up there for sure. But that hasn't been the case pretty much all season long. And he came out of the gate, he was hurt. He had

gone away for some treatment, a lot of speculation that it was a back issue. No one really came out and confirmed that. But you know, right now people are wondering where where that 60 70 goal threat is right now because he does not look like a dominant player that he once was. Kipper, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Enjoy the game tonight. Should be a lot of fun. We'll do this again soon. You bet guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for coming out. That's Nick Kiprios, host of the Real Kipper and Bourne Show on Fan 590. And of course, the Toronto Star as well.

Okay, we are through two hours of the program. Final hour coming up. Thomas Drantz is going to join us on the other side for some more Canucks talk here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. After that, we will be doing what we learn, get yours in now. Dunbar Lumber, text message in basket is 650, 650. Let us know what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. We've tried to run the gamut today, talking about a variety of different sports.

We have yet to discuss the National Basketball Association story from last night in the Los Angeles Lakers. That was an ugly end for the Lakers. Get a rebound. Yeah, I know. Five games is all it took for the Lakers to be dispatched by the sixth seed of Minnesota

Timberwolves. I believe that's the first time that the Lakers have been bounced as a top three seed in the first round in franchise history. Which is no bueno. LeBron was asked about his future after the game. He was like, I don't know, I got to talk to people. Like, I don't, it doesn't sound like he's going to retire, but I don't

know how many years he's got left. Not a great night for LeBron, not a great night for Luka Dončić, so we can talk about that. Great night for Nico. Yeah, that was awesome. Did you see Kyrie there too? Sitting courtside? I did see Kyrie there, yeah.

That was interesting. That was an interesting wrinkle. He just wanted to support his friend, Luca Doncic. Right. Yeah. Okay, so we can get into that if you like. Anything else you wanna get into, Dunbar number text line is 650-650, hashtag it WWL, send it along,

we'll do that at 8.30, but coming up next, Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk. It's all right here on the Haliford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.