Halford & Brough in the Morning - No Quinn Hughes At The 4 Nations

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason look ahead to the 4 Nations Faceoff (3:00), plus the boys hear from the listeners about a variety of topics (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Before the game even started, there was on back and forth, so I was just enjoying the moment and getting fired up from it. Stronger than a bear, faster than a buck, the biggest thing to hit Canada because the maple leaves suck. 7.03 on a Monday. Happy Monday 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 now in hour two of the program. Uninterrupted Halford and Brough this entire hour. Hour two of the program, Uninterrupted Haliford and Bruff, this entire hour. Our tour of this show is brought to you by Jason Hominuk 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. Do the exact opposite of all those things. Do that by visiting him on the internet at jason.mortgage.

We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Okay, the NHL is now officially on break. They're on hiatus. They won't be back. Players aren't expected, aren't supposed to return to practice if they're not participating in the Four Nations face off until February the 18th. So for a lot of guys, they get an eight day vacation. Some of them will be on their way to Montreal where the four nations face off tournament kicks off on Wednesday.

So this is a really interesting experiment for a lot of different people, the NHL and NHLPA obviously who are putting this thing on for the players that haven't been an international best on best. And if you want to call it that since 2016, when they had the World Cup of hockey, which, you know, didn't really scratch the itch for a lot of people. It was a little too contrived, a little too made up.

Couple teams, they just kind of dreamed up out of thin air. This is the closest thing that we've had to some semblance of an Olympic participation. And of course we're going to get that next year. So, a lot of storylines going into this one. I will start by saying, yes, I know it's crazy to imagine, but I did make a mistake earlier when I said that- What?

I know. I said that every team had suffered a significant injury except maybe the Swedes, forgetting, forgetting that Jacob Markström was removed from the equation weeks ago. Maybe that's why I forgot about it, happened so long ago. So Markstrom won't be there for the Swedes, Patrangelo won't be there for Canada. He's been replaced by Drew Doughty, they made that announcement over the weekend. The Thins won't have Miro Heiskanen, he got hurt from that hit

from Mark Stone a couple of weeks ago, so he's out. And of course, the Americans won't have Quinn Hughes. He was ruled out over the weekend. The Vancouver Canucks announced that he will not be participating in the Four Nations faceoff. So what's Sid's status? Sid traveled to Montreal to skate with the team. He did not play in the Penguins final game prior to the break. It was actually the first time he had missed a game since 2022.

Yeah. The situation with him and Quinn Hughes is totally different because the Penguins stink. Yeah. You know, and I think Sid feels an obligation almost to do his best to be there because for a lot of the younger players, you know, this is, this is what they've dreamed of playing with Sidney Crosby.

You know, if you're, if you're Connor McDavid, um, you know, it's like, yeah, I finally get to suit up for Canada and Sidney Crosby can, you know, show me the way. Um, and Sid probably feels an obligation to just Canada to, you know, be the leader that he is. And again, like teach these young guys what it's like to play for Canada at the big stage.

Yeah. This is a, when you talk about it being an appetizer for the Olympics, I think a lot of the general managers involved with the four teams in this tournament are doing this with like, we got, it's all table setting for the Olympics. That's not to say that this tournament won't be fun.

I think it has the potential once it's underway, you know, those ones where it's like, no one gets excited until it's underway and then everyone kind of gets into it. It's actually kind of like the Olympics. Sometimes when they start, we're like, I'm not going to pay much attention to the Olympics. And then three days in you're watching, I think

it's going to be good on at four o'clock in the morning. I was not into the last World Cup at all, and I stuck to it. Like nothing got me into it. And I know, like, it's just, I think, people like different stuff, right? I like that feeling of,

oh my God, Canada better not lose this, right? And now the good thing is that, I mean, I love that feeling, but I like the feeling when they actually this, right? And now the good thing is that, I mean I love that feeling, but I like the feeling when they actually win, right? I like an emotional investment in the game. That's what I watch sports for. Other people loved watching the Young Guns team, because they're like, this is fun hockey.

I like fun hockey. See, ADOG, we're different in what we like. I like the Young Guns. Those are fun. Yeah, yeah. Like, and you, we're different in what we like. I like the young guns. Those ones. The young guns? And, you know, like, I'm a better sports fan than you, but I respect your opinion. I respect your opinion for liking... I don't watch sports for fun.

I respect your opinion for liking, like, fun, non-serious stuff, right? That sounds like respect. But I want, but I want emotional stakes. And what I'll be curious to see is, are we going to feel the emotional stakes when Canada plays the Americans? Because remember they,

cause they're not opening against the Americans. So that's the, that's the thing is this tournament opens up on Wednesday, Canada plays Sweden. Now I do think that putting all of the early games in Montreal is a smart move. I think that the fans there are going to be glued. I think that the Bell Center is, there's only a handful of places you can put this term and kind of be confident that it's going to go off and it's going to have the appropriate amount of energy and juice in the building.

So on Wednesday, Canada plays Sweden. Thursday, the U S plays Finland. If you want to talk about appetizers of the appetizer, if this tournament is an appetizer, those are the appetizers for Saturday, which everyone is already hyping up to be super Saturday, doubleheader Saturday. On Saturday, you get Sweden, Finland in the first game. And then Saturday, five o'clock our time, eight o'clock Eastern, prime time, nationally televised,

Canada, US. And that's the big one. That's what they're- Well, the other big one for me is Sweden, USA. Right, but that's the- Have you seen BCLC is, they made, they made odds on whether or not Pedersen and Miller would fight really yeah

Yeah, those jackals. I love it. He's gonna be feeling all confident now. He is that game against the Leafs imagine if he just Drills Miller with a big check or vice versa So I was thinking about I think they're coming together level of sports happiness. I haven't felt in a very long time I think they're gonna come together in some sense. I don't think he's gonna early bray churla him I don't think they're gonna ignore each other a mother of all elbows. It's coming It's too bad the other game has to be so early so I while I while I appreciate away so for those that Didn't hear that you said the bray churla. It's going to happen. It's one of the worst hits of all time. I mean, I don't know how to say it.

Worse slash best. Yeah, like it was amazing from a Canucks perspective. Like he could have killed Churla with that elbow. And you have never seen it. You're listening right now. Pull over. Don't text and drive or YouTube and drive, but just Buray Churla. It's all you need to look at. So with this this dynamic, I know

Vancouverites and Canucks fans specifically are looking at it. It's Monday, by the way, Sweden, USA. They're gonna play. The tournament shifts to Boston for the final two-round Robin games and then the championship final. I know that we're all glued to it and I am, like everyone else, super intrigued to what that dynamic is gonna be like between Pedersen and Miller, because everything points to them finding each other at some point during that game and be like, all right, let's figure this thing out

in whatever way or fashion. I could see like a PD reverse hit. I could see Miller just doing a Miller, right? Like just finding him, heat seeking missile and taking him out. But I got a feeling that something's gonna happen. I think so too. Now that's, but that makes the tournament

even more intriguing because right now, and I'll dial it back though, that first game between Canada and the US, let's say the quiet part out loud here. All parties involved with this except the Swedish contingent and the Finnish contingent, the Finnish contingent, want the final on Thursday, a week Thursday, to be Canada-US. This whole tournament was kind of born and devised so that you have another installment of the Canada-US rivalry. I mean,

I know that it's a foreign nation, but this is meant as no disrespect to the large amount of Swedes and Finns that listen to this program. Can you imagine if it's a Sweden-Finland final? I think they can in their worst nightmares. It's like, that's the final. They want Canada, US in the final. I want it. I think everyone that is listening right now,

again, all apologies to our Scandinavian listeners, but there's probably a few people in Sweden who are like, I'd actually like to see Canada, US in the final. They hate each other, right? I get it. And I mean, here's the thing. Of the four teams going into this tournament, Finland is, I mean, no favors have been done to Finland

with the amount of injuries that they've suffered. They were obviously going to be considered the fourth strongest team going in and they've lost Heikinen, they've lost Hakampah. I think there's only one Finnish defenseman who's played in the NHL this year that isn't on the roster now. They've basically run through every guy that they could possibly get for this thing. But again, you talk about the Finns, what do they do? They show up to international competitions and they grind and they find a way to get results. So we'll see what happens there.

Josh and Calgary text in to the Dunbar Lumber text line and just a reminder, if you've got any questions or comments, now is the perfect time to text in because we got an open hour. 650 is the number Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to

serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. Josh and Calguitex and Brough, I remember you said a couple of months ago that you thought if Petey ever came back, it would be like flipping a switch, not a gradual improvement. Was the performance on Saturday against the Leafs good enough to be considered a potential switch flip. Yes, I think potentially it's good enough, especially after it came in his performance, uh, in San Jose, which I think was arguably the worst of his career. Right.

Considering, uh, how he played and also the situation that all eyes had been on him. considering how he played and also the situation that all eyes had been on him, you know, since the JT Miller trade, which wasn't that long ago. And like, you're waiting, you're waiting. And then he had honestly a dreadful performance. And I know, you know, we talked a lot about, keeping your feet moving on the power play and how he wasn't attacking space, how he wasn't,

you know, even threatening to shoot the puck. And we were kind of like, well, if you're not a shooter and you're not going to attack space, then what is the point of view on the power play? And there were a few people that were like, you don't move your feet on the power play. Oh yeah, go tell that to Rick Tocket. Because Rick Tocket relayed a story that he

brought Pederson into his office after the San Jose game and before the Toronto game. And he showed him, um, what he looked like on the power play and Petey said to him, Oh, is that what I look like? I, I gotta move my feet. Like who is that guy? Why isn't that guy moving his feet?

He's not, he's not really doing anything. I gotta move my feet. Who is that guy? Why isn't that guy moving his feet? He's not really doing anything. And I'm sure Tauke, maybe it was quite like, is this the first time you're noticing this? Because you haven't been moving your feet for a while. Do you ever watch film? Yeah, right? So could it be a potential flip of the switch?

Yeah, I'm hoping. And I'm hoping hoping and I know Rick Tauke is hoping that Pederson goes to the Four Nations and starts having fun again and then he's all rejuvenated confidence wise to come back to the Canucks because again I am, you know, I've been wrong before but I'm looking at this guy and I'm like yeah there might be like a tiny bit physical, something physical there, but I think this is 99% confidence issue. And because we've seen it before, we saw it before. And I know, uh, back in the rock bottom in Carolina season, which was three

years ago, and he turned it around the flip, the switch game was Washington. I know he had a wrist injury then that people were making a lot of. Even Petey was like, yeah, my wrist bothered me a little bit, but that wasn't it. It was a confidence thing. I was stressed out. I was feeling the stress. And then he said, you know, like, I learned a few things about that season and I hope it never happens again.

Well, it did, you know, and it happened arguably in a much bigger way than it did three years ago. So hopefully we're going to see maybe even a, even bigger rebound, right? That's, that's what I'm hoping at least. I mean, look, I'm dropping an early look here. It's not that early, it's 20 after seven. I don't think that, um, we really need to look

for signs or moments or flashpoints when I think the most obvious one is staring us in the face. It's that the management group finally decided to end the rift and get rid of the elephant in the room and sever the relationship that had gone spoiled like months old milk between Pedersen and Miller.

I mean, it's the you hear the the quotes that are coming out of the locker room and you listen to talk it and you hear about fresh start, new energy and good vibes and positive feelings. And it's hard not to look at that and say, hmm, what's the big difference with this team from the first 40 games of the year to the last few that they've played? And it's there's a reason that the Canucks made this significant move in season. And there's a reason that Jim Rutherford conducted an interview, which hindsight being 20 to 20 was really just a warning to the entire fan base that we're going

to take a loss on this Miller trade. Yeah. Just to fix this. That's how bad it had gotten. Clearly, clearly. I mean, no one was even lying about it at the end. They weren't trying to come up with spin. I mean, that's where you knew,

that's how you knew how dire it was. They gave up trying to put a PR spin on it. They gave up trying to massage the message. It was like, this is untenable now. We have to do this. And you know, Rutherford in his version of go to the mountaintops and yell it out, went to the Globe and Mail and announced it naturally.

And he knew who's gonna make a trade then. I know there are a lot of people, I mean, I think, I hope a lot of people sent their apologies to Gary Mason because they were like, you're misleading us. They could still stay together. I was like, no, it's pretty obvious. They're done. You left out a quote, Gary.

Yeah, it was, that's how sour the relationship had gotten. Yeah, like so he did that interview, I'm sure, like I'm sure he knew the thing was gonna happen. Right, now some people are gonna say, well, it didn't flip the switch automatically. That game in San Jose happened after the Miller trade. I'm like, yeah, well, sometimes it doesn't just snap to the fingers and everything gets better.

The point is. He had to hit rock bottom in San Jose. But the point, rock bottom 2.0. Yeah. The bigger point is that this is now, like, it's a fundamentally different team, the Vancouver Canucks. Well, we got a text in here, unsigned text, gents, lots of news out of New York that Noah

Dobson is available should the Canucks have interest. Would you offer up Willander for him? I don't think the Canucks, you know, there's only so much cap space to go around and put it this way. If I had full confidence in Elias Pedersen, I might consider a move like that.

But if I don't have full confidence in Elias Pedersen, the number one objective for the Canucks has to be down the middle. Yeah. You know, like I don't think, like I know what Heidel has been good so far with the Canucks, but he's a wild card too. His health status for sure, but also his ability. Like I think he's probably on a good team.

He's a three C. And then what do you have down the middle? Even if Pedersen returns to form, then you're still looking for a two C, right? Yep. That, that for me, it's gone now from where I'm actually quite comfortable with the Canucks defense, which is crazy thing to say. Talk about it.

I mean, on the right side, we haven't even seen Victor Mancini yet. Plus you've got Will Ender coming. And by the way, uh, Mark Friedman was traded to Nashville and that was like, um, it was a minor blip in the news. Happy trails, Mark Friedman. But, you know, they basically just gave them away. They got futures back and I couldn't help but think like, that's probably just like, we got to

get rid of a contract. You know, you only allowed so many contracts and we're hoping to sign Tom Willander soon when his college season is over. Yeah, Freeman had nowhere to play. So he'll be with the organization. So the Dobson thing is tough because obviously anytime that there's a top four defenseman

available, you should probably be interested because it's so hard to find them. But at the same time, if you've got Hughes, Marcus Pedersen and Philip Hronik and Meier signed for a couple more years and DPD coming and Tom Willander coming and Victor Mancini like he could be, from all the things that I've read from the New York guys and told by the New York guys, there's upside in that. Amazingly, a right shot defenseman who's pretty good and not too old might not actually be the number one priority for the Canucks right now.

I get what you're saying. I would push back just because you can never have too many good defensemen. And if a guy like Dobson becomes available, you would just be like, it doesn't matter how many good guys you have, get more. That theory and philosophy is out there. I do understand what you're saying though, that in one of the more improbable in-season turnarounds, the Canucks blue line went from being one of the worst in the NHL to, hey, I don't mind this so much. And if you look at it now.

If you've got two legit top four guys behind the Norris trophy winner, there's a lot of teams that are like, I'm jealous of that. Which is why I keep bringing up this point. There's not a lot of teams that are like, I'm jealous of that. Which is why I keep bringing up this point. There's not a lot of teams that undergo this dramatic makeover in the middle of a season. If you were to put it this way, if you were to take the Canucks from the first 30 games of the season and say, that's who you're playing in the first round of the playoffs, you'd be pretty happy with it. You're like, I think we can expose this blue line. I think that we can wear them down

and there's not enough depth behind Hughes, whatever. And then now all of a sudden you're looking at it. It's like, it's a trickier proposition. Are they as deep at forward? Like, hell no, they're not. But there are more well-rounded team now, I would argue, than before where they were so incredibly top heavy

and just they had, you know, if one injury was suffered on defense, it got grim in a hurry. That's how quickly things can change. They become a different team. I mean, look at the three game winning streak that they go into the four nations face off with. They allowed two goals over the three games. You know, what's funny is that it's gone from, if

you think about forwards, defensemen, goalie, the defense might actually be the least of their concerns. Forwards, I think they need to think about what they've got at center, but I also think the least of their concerns. Forwards, I think they need to think about what they've got at center. But I also think the mix of the top six, like I think it was Graham and Victoria and said, I know he's hurt, but I think Barzell makes more sense than Dobson.

I like Barzell, but I think the Canucks are already way too light in their top six. Right. And also Brock Besser might not be back. Oh yeah, Brock Besser in his contract situation. Like I think these next two weeks, if we don't hear that there are talks with Brock Besser's side, she's doesn't sound good for Brock Besser.

And they're obviously leaning on him to take a very team friendly deal. You like it here so much? All right. We'll sign for way less than market value. So that's the forwards that you got concerned about. I like the bottom six for the most part. Yep.

I think they're, you know, Pugh Suter is a pending UFA too. That's another thing. Maybe they're 2C right now. Got to keep him around. Well, I don't know. Well, I don't know. But then goaltending, what a wild card that is. Thatcher Demko's future and Kevin Lankinen, he is not signed. He's a pending UFA. So it's funny, I'm almost back-burnering the defense right now, which is crazy because it was easily from, on paper was the worst thing about the Canucks heading into the season.

Yeah, and by the way, we are going to speak to Kevin Woodley at eight o'clock this morning, nhl.com, In-Gua magazine, and we'll get whatever information we can on what's going on with that, Tridemko, obviously leaving the game on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an injury early too, right, made six saves in the first period, exited, Kevin Lanken came in, made 21 saves, got the win, and Lankenen's been forced into that particular role coming in in emergency

during a game a couple of times now this season. So it's something to monitor moving forward. We'll talk to Woodley at eight o'clock about that coming up on the other side of the break though. Uh, we've got another open segment. Yeah. All Halbrow here. Uh, we can continue talking about the four nations term.

If you have any questions about this thing, by the way, send them our way. We'll do our best to answer everything that we can. Dunbar Lumber Text Line is 650-650. Anything you wanna know about the Four Nations face-off, rosters, I think I got a pretty good handle on it now that I realized that Jacob Markstrom is injured, so we can go down that road.

Also, anything else you wanna talk about over the last 72 hours in sports, because it was a very busy sports weekend, text them in, Dunbar Lumber Text Line is 650-650. If you want to send in a what we learned, hashtag it WWL and we'll do those at 830. And finally, before we go to break, I need to tell you about Denny's. Yeah, Denny's. True North Taste Awaits with Denny's 100% Canadian beef burgers made with,

Hey guys, new shredded iceberg lettuce, all on a brioche bun and all the classic ingredients you love, visit Denny's for more. You're listening to the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays

from 12 to two on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 7.32 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford and Brough of 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 now in Hour 2 of the program. Hour 2, brought to you by Jason Homonuk from 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. We don't need the oohing, just do the read, Michael. I'm oohing the song.

I know, we don't need that. Sure we do. That's a good song. I love music. Like the halftime shows at the Super Bowl, I love them all. I feel like there's Samuel L. Jackson. He was at the halftime show yesterday. The real Uncle Sam. Yeah. Serena's a pretty good dancer. Serena is a good dancer. Yeah.

We had to explain that to several people in attendance at the Super Bowl party yesterday. What all that meant? Serena Williams. Well, I don't understand what it meant either. That was a very, very subtle deep cut dig at Drake. Was it subtle? What all that meant? Serena Williams. Well, I don't understand what it meant either. That was a very, very subtle deep cut dig at Drake. Was it subtle? Well, considering most of the people at the party had no idea what was going on,

yeah, I'd say it was fairly subtle. But if you knew the shots being fired. That subtlety, Greg, is... I didn't think it was that subtle. I just wanted to say... Explain it to me. She used to be involved with Drake. Oh, God.

Yeah. There is a good picture floating around of early Serena Williams Drake romance where Drake was sitting in the stands. I can't, maybe it was the US Open, I'm not sure which one. But anyway. They must have not had a good breakup.

Well, considering she showed up to To dress like a minor? Yeah, right. Yeah. I can't remember if it was actually right when he was performing one of the most savage diss tracks of all time or right before. But anyway, yeah, that was it.

There was a lot of subtlety. The other subtlety part of it, Greg, is that they didn't really splash her. They didn't be like, and now joining us on stage, Serena. They just kind of, because everyone had to stop and say, wait a second, was that Serena Williams? They had the chain, they had the flags, they played the song, I don't know,

it seems subtle to me. You know what's funny about the Halftime Show, there's a lot of people complaining like, ah, it's just another mumble rapper. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't Kendrick Lamar considered like the old school, like a kind of an old school rapper He's an old soul. Yeah. Yeah. He's like I don't consider that

Mumble rapping no, I could I could understand everything. Yeah, clear as day. Yeah, very eloquent young man Yeah, you know, there's a there's a there's a scientific reason why Like older people don't always appreciate newer music right it's all it's about like your brain elasticity and when you're young recognition of things that you've heard before and are comfortable and familiar as opposed to new music that no I think it's when you're young your brain is very elastic and you're also very emotional. So you have these emotional connections to music. Right.

Classic Halford, like, hmm, I'm not thinking about this at all. I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it. Brain elasticity. Have you never thought of that before? Like, when you hear... Okay, you're old now, you're not as old as me, but you're old. When you hear music from your, like, high school or early 20s, it makes you feel

nostalgic, right? It invokes memories of parties. Yeah. Good times. Like there's music out there that I can be like, I remember where I was when I first heard this song and it's a feeling of nostalgia. And now when I listen to new music, I'm like, I'm late 40s, there's nothing, or you know, like. I know exactly what you're talking about.

You know what I mean? I know exactly what you're talking about. There's nothing fun in my life anymore. See, how could I have a connection with new music? One of the great ask us anythings is, would you rather see your favorite artist or band of all time play only exclusively new music or the greatest cover band of your favorite band of all time

play all the hits. Cover band. Right, and the answers are all. To be with it, but then they changed what it was. The answers are. Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you.

The answers on the Ask Us Anything are always split. Because some people are like, I'm just here for a good time. Like I just want to hear the songs that make me remember when I was young. And the ones that I equate with some of the best moments in my youth. And then other people are like, no, I love the artist.

I'll hear the new music, even though I have zero emotional attachment to it. This is completely random music to me. Other than the fact that my favorite artist is singing it, I have no connection to it whatsoever. But you and I both would pick the exact same thing. Cover band. Play the hits.

What would you pick, Adog? You're the musician of the group. I still like listening to new music. One of my favorite things is like the Spotify algorithm shoving something in my face of new music that I actually like. Cause sometimes, a lot of the times with new music, I like you guys, I bounce off it.

But every now and then a new artist will pop up that I have never heard of before. You're gonna get dominated by algorithms. What if it shoves something in your face that you don't like? The algorithms. What do you do then? You know, it's like, have you heard of Jordan Peterson?

It's YouTube's giving me a lot of this stuff. No, I'm referring specifically to music or the genres of music that I like to listen to. If I discover a new band, like a new heavier band that I've never heard of before, I'm like, oh, this is awesome. And I get really excited about it. And it's like, all right, I'm my favorite new band. You still have brain elasticity.

You've still got it. Well, every day is what we learn. Yeah, that's true, actually. Yeah, yeah. OK, so you're also still a teenager in a lot of ways. Yes, in a lot of ways. Four Nations Face Off gets underway on Wednesday. I did just wanna pass along a couple things.

One, the tournament will work under NHL rules except in a couple instances. Instead of a five minute three on three overtime in the round robin, we of a five minute three on three overtime in the round robin, we get a 10 minute three on three overtime in the round robin. So that's fun. Yeah, like the BCHL. Yeah, right.

And then the final, when it goes to that gold medal game, it's gonna follow Stanley Cup playoff rules. So full strength, five on five, 20 minutes sudden death overtime. So the only real wrinkle here is that in the round Robbins, I think they're just trying to avoid a shootout at all costs. So they're going to give them a 10 minute, three on three over time period as opposed to a five.

So there you go. Speaking of the Four Nations as well, we are airing a preview show Wednesday night. So two nights from now at six o'clock hour time. It's a Sportsnet radio network preview show for the Four Nations. All right. There you go.

I should also mention that the notable injuries, we already kind of ran through them. So like no Markström for Sweden, no Heiskenen for Finland, no Patrangelo for Canada, and no Quinn Hughes obviously for the Americans. I think of those four, I think obviously Quinn Hughes is the biggest loss and it'll be interesting to see how the Americans do without him. Jake Sanderson, Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators has been named as his replacement on the US roster.

Now, the tournament opens on Wednesday night. It is Canada against Sweden from the Bell Centre. So for those of you interested in watching whatever Elias Pedersen is going to do in his second game against the US, pump the brakes on that because the first game he gets a very good test against a loaded Canadian squad. And we get to see if this game against Toronto, which everyone was ready to say, PeeDee's back.

He's hit rock bottom and now he's back. I'm over stating that, but there was a good question to the Dunbar Lumbertex message in basket about if PeeDee's back or not and what we need to see from Pederson moving forward. Uh, how much sustained success do you need to see from Pederson from now until the end of the season to be definitively against trading him? So it's a great question because we have been,

look, let's just be honest. We've been keen to have Pedersen back on track. We're very invested in this thing going right. Need it. You know, you need it. If this team is currently constructed, it's gonna go anywhere. Your top line 1C, $11.6 million a year guy

needs to perform at an elite level. So we're very invested in it, to the point where maybe in instances past, we've looked too much or projected too much on he's back. He's ready to go as far as six state sustained success. I'll say he's got to perform over the last 20 summer was a 29 games left to the regular season and then into the

playoffs and it had, there can't be any more dips. There can't be any more disappearing acts and there can't be any nights where he's invisible because I feel to me anyway, it feels like this management group, um, is over that. Like I think they're over. Can you ever be confident that there won't be another dip?

It's a long contract that they find him. I don't think so. If this is indeed like the theory that we're going on right now is that Pedersen's confidence goes up and down more than the average superstar. Okay? Sure. So when his confidence is high, terrific player, elite player, one of the best in the league,

when his confidence is low, he's really not good. Like, and it's hard to watch. Do you know how many people texted that exact phrase to me? Like watching Pedersen play, like this is hard to watch. You know the player it actually reminded me of? Ben Simmons. Do you remember when Ben Simmons was struggling so badly with his shooting that he would have

like an easy layup and he'd kick it out? Uh, there was the one in the playoffs where he was right underneath the hoop and he just had to go, it was a put back and instead he went up and then tried to like, I think he tried to dish it to Embiid or something. Yeah, yeah. And Embiid had four guys on him.

He's like, just take the open layup. But he was, yeah, he was in his own head. He was terrified of shooting. I mean, that's kind of what I saw from Pedersen, albeit playing ice hockey and basketball. Yep, different sports. Simmons maybe a little bit taller. That's why you listen to this show.

Distinctions like that. So the latest news for Ben Simmons is that I guess he's getting bought out of his contract by Brooklyn and he's going to sign with the Clippers. Yeah. Right? Like it, so I think there's, look, we all want Pedersen to pull it together, but I still think that there would at least be a discussion after the season, before July 1st and go, is this

the guy that we truly want to make this massive commitment to? Because imagine the hall you could get if Pedersen plays really, really well for the rest of the season. I'm not saying the Canucks have to win the Stanley Cup or anything, but he looks good. Right? He's kind of like, he's there star forward again and he looks good.

I think you still have to at least have a discussion like, you know, this has happened now twice. Of course you at least have a discussion. Like, you know, this has happened now twice. Of course you have to have this discussion. In major ways. And again, we might even be getting ahead of ourselves here, guys. Like he's had rock bottom in San Jose and then he's had since then one good game.

But I don't think it's getting ahead of ourselves to say what is, you know, what needs to happen over the final 29 games of the regular season, because there is a definitive timeline on this. Like looking ahead, it's almost kind of straightforward for management, if you want to be honest. It's what is he going to show us over the final 30 games of the regular season and playoffs?

And then is that enough for us to say, okay, we're good or it's not enough and we got to move July 1 before the no trade clause kicks in. That, I mean, that is so straightforward. And look, this management group has made no bones about how they feel about Pedersen. Alveen and Rutherford have said it publicly. We have expectations.

The player has fallen short. We know what we can get out of them and he hasn't provided it. And here's the kicker. Both Alvin and Rutherford have said, we told him that it was going to be more difficult after he signed the contract. Yeah.

So like there, you know, sometimes everything is in plain view. Like we like to think it's more complicated than it is. I find, you know, sometimes everything is in plain view. Like we like to think it's more complicated than it is. I find, you know, people can argue and criticize about the job that Rutherford and Alveen have done, but I do appreciate how sort of direct they are in a lot of instances. Like if something's not going right, they change it. If they sign a deal that they know isn't going well, they move on from it.

They've made mistakes, no question. And I think that you could poke holes in a lot of the moves that they made and say, that was a mistake, that was a mistake. But they move on pretty quick. Yeah, Darren is not here anymore. Heinen's not here anymore. Kuzmenko, Mikheyev, go down the list.

There's a lot of them where they said, we tried it, it didn't work, we move on. How would that logic not apply to this? But it would be, it would be, okay, the difference would be seismic in, in like the, how it would change the group and the dynamic and the franchise. The difference in this scenario that we're discussing is that Petey would be on a high. Heinen was moved out when he wasn't doing anything

day or night, couldn't even get into the lineup. on a high. Heinen was moved out when he wasn't doing anything. Dernet couldn't even get into the lineup. Mikheyev was public enemy number one for his performance in the playoffs and inability to finish on Pettersson's line. Who's the other guy we talked about? Mikheyev, Kuzmanko, Heinen. Kuzmanko, right? Kuzmanko's game had fallen way off.

The scenario I'm talking about is that. If he PD. He scores two points a game over the final 30 games of the year. And then you're like, okay guys, let's have this discussion now because there are athletes out there that run on confidence more than others.

And when they get low, they get real low. And when they're high, they get real low. And when they're high, they're really good. Sure. But you never know when the lows are going to hit because in the back of those athletes minds, they're like, Oh God, what if it happens again? What if it happens again? And Petey, you know, I go back to what Petey

said after rock bottom in Carolina, rock bottom 1.0, which we're talking about, is that he's like, I learned some stuff about myself and hopefully that never happens again. I don't think it will, but it did and in a much bigger way. So here's why I think that the Miller trade and

the Rift might be like a bit of foretelling for what the future might have in store. I do, you know, one of the quotes that Rutherford had in a very revealing interview with Gary Mason was, you know, we thought it was fixed and we thought there were moments where it was fixed, but then we came to the realization that it wasn't. And I wonder if that same logic is going to apply with Patterson at the end of

the day, that, you know, he's a great player when he's on, and you know, but we've fallen victim to this before. That we thought he had figured it out, and we thought he had gotten over it, and we thought he had figured out a way to mitigate the Valley, so that it didn't have these huge fall-offs, where, you know, the production was down

to like a 60 point player or whatever. And I wonder if they're going to say, hey, at the end of the day, maybe not even a sustained amount of success, falling short of like winning a Stanley Cup is going to get done. The obvious, uh, I mean, the thing we need to clarify too is let's say Pedersen plays well for

the rest of the season, like really well, when he's back to old Petey and, uh, you head into the off season. I mean, you have to wonder, okay, what could they get for him? I mean, that's obviously going to play into the decision, you know, like that, that, you know, they wouldn't be, they wouldn't be selling,

selling low like they would have if they traded them instead of JT Miller. Yeah. If he, if he plays well and you go to literally the open market, cause he has no trade protection. And you're like, all right, let's hear the offers. I mean, it could be a very, very interesting return. I just, something else popped into my head too, is you also got to realize that this, the final

remaining 30 games of the year also are going to be the only time that Elias Pettersson's had an extended run in Vancouver without JT Miller there. Yeah. So that's another added wrinkle to the whole thing. I mean, it really is when, whenever the. We might be going to have ourselves, like

he had one good game. But whenever the book is written on this season, it might end up being one of the more fascinating ones in a rich and colorful and never boring history of the Vancouver Canucks because, um, we've, we've talked about the Miller trade and how seismic and how big it was in terms of altering the course of a team alongside some of the biggest, most profound trades in Canucks history.

The famous one with the St. Louis blues from the nineties. That's what this is on par with in terms of how you pivoted mid season and in an NHL where it doesn't happen all that often, very rarely do you get teams that dramatically alter their course like this. I think we're going to see some big trades over the next few years.

And the reason why, cap space. Well, it's, it's trending in that direction, which is great, right? There's going to actually be cap space and it's not just, oh, it's a one year bump. They gave the three year prediction where the cap's going to go up. Was it almost like 30 million or something?

Like $25 million? Like this is one of the reasons there haven't been big trades is like, yeah, NHL GMs are maybe a little on the conservative side, but it was like, it was very tough to make the math work. Everyone was working along the same. Like there, there wasn't a big discrepancy in spending from the top to the bottom.

Well, I hope that the, the two big, the blockbuster trades right now, the random trade and the JT Miller trade, the fact that those were able to be pulled off in season well ahead of the deadline and with, you know, that sort of nod to maybe change isn't such a bad thing, maybe with the increased cap and, you know, the direction we want to go as a league, maybe this is a sign for the future in a positive way. And you're right, The cap going up can only mean increased movement across the league.

Like I'm going to say it, the last couple of weeks in the NHL have been some of the most fascinating weeks we've had in a long time. Okay, you got to look back to when you've had this many trades of significance. Granted, two of them came from the same team. Do you think Carolina might flip Rantaman? Possibly.

It's not going great. And I don't know if he's going to stay there. Yeah. Well, he has to sign there or they have to flip him. Well, yeah. They have to get that done before the trade deadline. Back to Petey, I was just going to quickly say- Well, back to Petey, that's what so many people want to hear.

I think if he plays a string of really impressive games to end this year, not even including the playoffs, like playoffs whatever, like if the playoffs happen and he plays great there, awesome. But the remainder of the games, the 30 games, and he plays really, really well for those final 30 consistently, I think they keep him. You're ready to double down? You don't even care about the playoffs?

You ready to get hurting him? Well, on playoffs, well, yeah. And then, of course, if they make the playoffs and he's invisible, that obviously changes it. I'm just talking about the 30 games remaining, not thinking of playoffs. If he can consistently string together the kinds of games we saw in Toronto or

against Toronto rather, and add a bunch of goals to that and he plays really well for those final 30 or whatever it is, they keep him. But. I think you're probably right. But if he doesn't do that, then he's gone. So it's, it is that like black and white, I think. But would you not admit that even if he does

come back and play at a very high level, including in the playoffs, which he's done before, there's this notion out there that he's never played well in the playoffs. Not true. Um, would you admit that you'd still be like, Ooh, there's always that risk. Yeah. There's always that risk.

Sure. He not only goes through a slump, but like a bad slump. I know, but I think that they would, I think that they would, they would want to keep them only because I just don't think they would win that trade. Probably not. You know, that's the thing, is if they trade him, you're not going to be happy with the return. You're not going to get a player of his caliber back. You'd get lesser pieces. Some of them may be really good. But you would lose the trade. So that's why I think management would be like,

okay, if he's playing super well, let's bet on him because this trade isn't going to go well if we have to move him I generally agree. That's probably what would happen. So Okay, Ron and Maple Ridge just once for you, buddy wants us to talk about something other than something other than alias peterson Get the case of the Mondays loaded up I will set the stage for the final hour of the program 8 o'clock Kevin, Kevin Woodley, NHL.com and Ingole Magazine. Just for you, Ron and Maple Ridge, we're gonna talk. Thatcher Demko, the oft injured Thatcher Demko and what the future has in store. Not just for him, but for the Canucks' goaltending position.

Also, 8.15, we're gonna be giving away a pair of tickets to the Rugby Sevens every day this week. 8.15, caller number seven, how appropriate. The Rugby Sevens, caller number seven. How appropriate the rugby sevens caller number seven. You get it. Uh, phone number 604-280-0650. That number again, 604-280-0650 at 815 caller number seven. We'll win a pair of tickets to see the sevens at BC place later this week. And then finally, uh, we've got what we learned is coming up at eight 30 this

morning. Get yours in, hashtag them WWL. What did you learn over the last 72 hours in sports? Let us know. Dunbar Lumbertex line is 650-650. We'll be reading those at 8.30. So that's the remainder of the show. Real quick now, it's time for Case of the Mondays. Brought to you by-

Uh oh, sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays. Brought to you by Coors Light. Uh, we're going to pick, um, Dallas Mavericks fans who are already pretty upset with their team. There were, uh, protests around the recent trade that they made with, um, the Los Angeles Lakers. And the latest news is that Anthony Davis, the guy that got back in the train is hurt and he's expected to sit out multiple weeks

because of a left adductor strain. You know, they're spinning it as, you know, like, he's very confident that it's not a significant setback, but like, this is a guy that people were already worried about his health. And, uh, he said, uh, just the leg got a little tight, little spasm. Just came back and tried to get it loose and

everything, uh, and now he's going to be out for a couple of weeks. I feel horrible for Dallas Mavericks fans because they got the full AD experience in one weekend. Because he had a pretty good game, didn't he? He was phenomenal. Yeah.

31 points, 26 points, 31 minutes, 26 points, 16 rebounds. He was on fire to start the game. He was banging his chest and yelling out, I'm here. Like, let's go. Mavs fans were like, all right, maybe this trade is going to work out after all. Maybe we are going to contend for an NBA title this year. Nope, he's hurt and he's 31. Yeah, and that's AD, that's been AD. Talented guy, tons of talent, tons. And the ability to change games

because of his length and his ability to score and rebound. But also injury prone. And at 31 for a Mavericks team that wants to win now, missing multiple weeks with an inductor strain, not great. So that is the Case of the Mondays brought to you by Coors Light. Go to CoorsLight.ca forward slash Case of the Mondays to see the Coors Light Case of the Mondays limited edition Monday light packaging. You can scan

the QR code on your case to enter for a chance to win a trip for two to 2026's big game event in California. Now you must be 21 years of age or older, no purchase necessary. For full contest details, visit CoorsLightMondays.com forward slash win a trip. Mountain cold refreshment, CoorsLight, the chill choice. You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.