Halford & Brough in the Morning - Not Baddysh For Raddysh

Episode Date: June 19, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason do some Ask Us Anythings and talk some more World Cup action (3:00), plus the boys discuss the latest hockey news with Sportsnet NHL writer Luke Fox (23:26), including a big sign-and-trade from Tampa to the Leafs for defenceman Darren Raddysh.  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.

703 on a Friday. It's Fiesta Friday. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt if you are? Sands and Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visiting today at Sands-Trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program.

Hour two is brought to by Jason Hominoch at jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason. mortgage. We're coming to you live from the Kintech Studios. Step Strong with Orthotics and footwear from Kintech and guests on Sportsnet 650. Call in on the ABLE Auctions hotline email sales at ABLEA auctions.ca to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. Hey, one to watch. Brought to by Limitless AV. Vancouver's most trusted audio visual integration

experts. No shortage of games to watch today, but I am most intrigued by the first on the late. It's a noon kickoff our time. USA. USA taking on Australia. And that's got a lot of really interesting back story. Seattle, right? Yeah, a lot of interesting back story to it. No police. Also, a lot of American

pundits, including one in particular, were slagging the Aussies when the group stage was announced. They were saying, like, this is a group that the U.S. should be able to win. Australia isn't that strong of a team. And then, of course, Australia came out and won that opener. against Turkey rather surprisingly.

Australia and the soccer ruse have really used this as a rally and cry that no one respected us because if you'll recall, Turkey also was kind of disrespectful to Australia prior to that match and Australia came out and punched him in the mouth and won 2-0. So one to watch today, even though I'm kind of like in the corner of the soccer ruse here, our boy Sebastian Burhalter, Vancouver Whitecap playing for the U.S. I think it's going to be a fantastic match and you're right. It's down at Lumenfield in Seattle and Washington. So that kicks off at noon.

That's your one to watch. Brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts, specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at LimitlessAV.ca. Okay, let's do some Ask Us Anything. We'll dive into the Tunbar Lumber text inbox. Jordan in Vancouver, Ask Us Anything, as a North American sports fan, has there ever been a more exciting year in sports?

World Cup, great NBA finals, great Stanley Cup finals, incredible World Series, and as a Westcoaster, the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, and the White Caps going to the final. Do we count the World Series as this year, though? No. Did he mention the Olympics? But not it. Yeah, as a North American sports fan, I mean, we had Canada versus the United States in both the men's and the women's.

It wasn't great for Canada, but it's been, I mean, so Americans seem to enjoy it. They had a great time with them. They're in North America. They were giving away congressional medals for it. Look. That were disrespected by Winnipeg. And Toronto, fairly. Okay.

We knew going into this year, like our show likes to look ahead at a lot of stuff, right? And we knew going into 2026 that there was some big, like, landmark things on the horizon. Yeah. Which kind of made this year a layup. So when the text. saying, like, is this the year? It is, but it's kind of almost coming to fruition. Like, I expected the return of best on best at the Olympics in the NHL to be amazing.

And it was. The tournament was great. Yeah. Right? I expected hosting a World Cup to what we're seeing right now where the, clearly the FOMO is kicked in for a lot of people. Oh, yeah. I think a lot of the people that were down on the outrageous pricing and the cost that it was going to be to the city.

And maybe it was like, well, we only have seven games of Vancouver. That's been washed away. Yeah, it was like, I sold my car because I want to see Canada. Switzerland. Right. I don't have a house anymore. I know, but I am going to the Swiss match, right? Like, that's the vibe that you're getting locally.

So I would say... By the way, we're at Duick, and they'll give you a good, good train-in price. For your house or car. Yeah, no, probably more your car. But regardless, I think the text is on to something there and that it's actually lived up to the billing, which is tough to do, because sometimes we have a tendency to over-hype things. But I think it's more than lived up.

Like, I mean, did you see the Knicks winning the NBA finals, you know, that sort of thing? Okay, I'll expand on this a little bit further. do have to say that, I mean, we talked with us on the show already, but the NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals, the NBA final didn't necessarily peter out, although it only went five games. I think it fell short of the full drama that without we were going to get. They packed a lot into those five games. Yeah. Historic comebacks, the game three at the garden with Trump there and everything. That was huge.

Well, game four was incredible. The Stanley Cup final really petered out. Yeah. And it's crazy because after the first four games, we were talking about being an all-timer. It was amazing. The theater was great. but it really kind of martered in the big games it martyed big time in the big games um okay um calling at twasson ask us anything where does yesterday's canada win rank for you in terms of all-time Vancouver hosted sporting events all

man it's farhand brought this up yesterday there was some pushback it's it's it's it's got to be up there but i mean for me personally sid scoring the golden goal was bigger than yesterday yeah it is I mean, and this is coming from a soccer forward individual. One, championship game, right? Gold medal game. Two, the theater, sometimes when I look back on 2010, I'm still amazed that the storybook ending actually got written and came out fantastic for Vancouver

because it doesn't often happen that way here, right? Right. Having the gold medal and Sid's going in overtime and the golden goal and then an hour later, you're like, and now the closing ceremonies, right? We're shutting down the Olympics. So I think it's always going to be hard to match that. Yeah, and here's the thing about yesterday's game.

It was very chaotic. You know? Like it was a great result and it was historic for Canada, but it was very, very chaotic. And the injury cast a pall on it too, right? You and I had a bit of a fight yesterday over Tex. And I don't know if I... Classic halberro.

If I won the argument, but it started with this question. how the hell did Qatar get a point off Switzerland? And then I told you, I just looked at their qualifying path to this World Cup, and they were not good. And I was like, this is a bad, bad team. And I don't even think their FIFA ranking is accurate

because they should be almost the lowest team in this tournament. Like, so I think there's more quality on New Zealand, frankly, than Qatar. And again, like, they actually had kind of a hilarious qualifying. Like, they had, they went up against, like, North Korea. They lost to Kyrgyzstan. They weren't very good. And it all actually leads to a question of, does Asia have too many teams in the World Cup? because that is the conference or whatever you call it that most people seem to think is overly represented

and maybe generous. And then you look at UEFA and I know UEFA gets a ton of countries, but, you know, when Qatar is in the World Cup and we see their quality yesterday and I realize they drew Switzerland, okay, I realize it. but when Italy and Denmark aren't in the World Cup, it's kind of like, really? Like, there are obviously teams in Asia that deserve to be there. South Korea, Japan, Australia, Iran.

And then after that, you're like, ooh. Okay, which part do you want me to answer first? The Qatar part? Wherever you want to go. Okay, so I actually aired in that text with you. It wasn't the Asian qualifying that they did really well. It was the Asian Cup where they did really well, where they won it, and they beat Iran, and they beat Jordan,

and they beat Uzbekistan along the way. I got that mixed up, so that was on me. That was my bad. They are a weak team. There's no other way to look at it. And I think the Swiss draw was a proud moment for them, and I think they battled exceptionally hard, and they used the elements to their favor.

But they were completely overwhelmed yesterday, which you would say shouldn't happen at this level, but it already has. Curisal was widely, widely overmatched and overwhelmed in their opening against Germany. Like it was very one-sided, even though they scored. You're going to get this at a 48-team World Cup. If you're going to have representation so you could try, this may be like really Pollyanna and naïve of me,

but if you are going to try and get some of these countries, smaller nations developing football markets and countries to elevate and to be competitive, you need to have them in these competitions. It's not unlike what they talk about, with the world juniors when you've got like yeah um whatever i guess austria gets pumped from time to time denmark all the other ones the minnows of the they're like you need to get them there to participate

so they understand what it looks like and you make those qualifying roads matter right for example um new zealand's in this tournament and it was always impossible for them to get out because oceania is such a small um federation and they usually get a half spot it was tough for them to get in now they go and it's like When you do something like Cape Verde did, or you do something like Congo did, and you get this unexpected result on that stage, it does a lot for your organization, for your country, for your program. The flip side of it is what happens yesterday. Like, I was reading the AP report from the Qatari side of things, and they are, like, it's beyond disappointment, right? They're probably embarrassed.

The keeper was crying on the pitch after the match, and their players were beside themselves, and the manager was a shell of himself. afterwards because it's embarrassing to get Schelack that badly. So it's a given to take. As for that zone, Asia having too many qualifiers, I think it's a fair argument to make. You know, again, if you want to try and grow the game in places where there hasn't been a lot of historical representation, you have to do this? Like the tournament doesn't have to be perfectly balanced. No.

It really does. I mean, it is a World Cup. But here's the slippery slope now. You've gone from 32 to 48. At what point are you going to 64? And at what point do you really water down the group stage? Because I think it's coming. AA would be like, why don't we invite all the countries?

Right, and then maybe you could get Oman to play a qualifier play-in game on the Tuesday on True TV or something like that. But to go back to Collins' question about where does it rank in terms of all-time Vancouver hosted sporting events? Man, it's up there. Right? And if you were in the building yesterday, first of all, I'm extremely jealous, but congratulations that you got to be in the building. I'm happy for you. I'm not really, but I'm not happy for you. and feel free to rank it number one.

Like it's a ranking. When I went to that LAFC game, you know, I was like, that's one of the best events I've ever been to. And it mattered because I was in the building and I was experiencing it. So my buddy texted me, and this isn't something I normally get excited about, he texted me a video of the wave that ran around at BC Place. And I was like, that is the people. purest wave I've ever seen. Like, I might even engage in with that wave.

This is a wave you can get down with? Yeah. I was joking. I was like, man, that's like a 1985 lion's bombers wave at BC Place. Like, back in the day, Rick Dollywell was like, I was at that game when the wave run. I was like, that was every game at BC Place in the 80s. Like, it was awesome.

And I think where you rank these things often comes with your, personal experience. I wasn't in the building in 2010, but I remember I watched the game with my closest buddies, and we all went through it together, and then we all went downtown to celebrate afterwards. Of course, that's going to add to your experience

and where you rank. BC Place is on a bit of a run here. Well, I did want to talk about having a moment of appreciation for BC plays. Wow, from Jason Brough. Yeah, we run it down a lot. And it is probably not the answer for the white caps long term in this city.

But I'm glad we have a stadium like BC Place in the city. That place, if you think about it, over the last, what, three or four years has hosted some pretty big events. And these are events that we would not get. if we didn't have BC place because Vancouver is a it's a big city it's a it's a global city but if we didn't have BC place you know I don't think Taylor Swift would be coming right probably not probably not right and you know some of the big bands that have come through ACDC Elton John Coldplay Rolling Stones I'd Ed Shearing I think he set the BC place attendance record and then you have you know obviously the Grey Cup

and the messy game and the LAFC game. It's actually incredible how many sellouts we've had at BC Place, and we're going to have some more for soccer games. I mean, you know, it is on a good run. The stadium's on a good run, and I want to read this ask us anything because it's stadium related. Mano and Chilowac, do you think that the fan fest at the P&E will ramp up interest in building a soccer stadium there?

I actually like BC Place, but I was sitting at Freedom Mobile Arch yesterday. That's the amphitheater. I warmed up to the idea of having both plus the Coliseum on the P&E site. Okay, I have a lot of thoughts on the P&E, and I would love to see massive changes at the P&A. I think that is our best and maybe only chance in Vancouver to get a dedicated sports and entertainment site. I recognize the challenges. There are all sorts of red tape there.

And the transit out there isn't great. Not ideal. Although, just to jump in, they have done a nice job, and I know you can't do this with regularity, but they have done a nice job of rerouting a lot of transit routes for the fan fest. Everyone that I've talked to is takes in transit that has been fantastic. And they've got like a dedicated Uber site where it just comes in. That's not a full-time solution. No, no, it's not a full-time.

But like the Coliseum, you know, listen, it's the Golden Eyes arena for now. It's old, man. When you look at it from the outside, it's looking pretty rough. And I actually wonder if the Golden Eyes are going to be there super, super long-term. If they build that new arena in Surrey and it's like 7 or 8,000 seats, I could see. maybe that happening. I don't know, but I think that new arena if it gets built in Surrey

could cause some changes in the hockey landscape. But, you know, I just, I go out there and at the P&E and it's just, man, it's old. Little dated. And I'm a long time, Vancouver

right, I appreciate the history of it, but I also know what they could do with that piece of land if there was some significant investment and, you know, like, they're parking cars at the track right now. Yeah. At the fan fest?

I know. They are. They're like parking is, they're just like, they've put like plywood or whatever over the actual track and you're parking in the infield there. So like there's all this wasted land right there. You could have a better use for it. What are we doing here? Let's do something there.

Okay, so a reminder, get your ask us anything's in. The best ask us anything today gets a $100 gift card to AJ's pizza on East Broadway. Dunbar lumber text line is $6.50, 6.50. Hashtag at AUA. and put a pizza emoji into your text. You'll be entered into the contest to win $100 to AJ's Pizza on these Broadway. Patrick and Langley with an Ask Us Anything. Would you have preferred a 2-0 win against 11 men or the 6-0 against 9?

Well, Patrick, the most obvious answer is the 6-0 because you needed the goal differential to move ahead of the Swiss in the standings. However, I get what you're saying. And I'm going to be honest, I kind of wish that that game had been played 11 v-11 for longer so that we could have got a better look at what Canada looked like, putting their mark on a match in which they didn't have the numerical advantage. Because the way Canada plays with the frenetic pace and the energy, it's tough to deal with when you're 11 v. 11.

It's impossible to deal with when you're 10 v. 11. 9. Forget about it. And we saw that. Like, you just don't touch the ball at that point. The Qataris must be like, when is this game over? And they were in the second half, right? Get me out of here.

I saw enough from the 25, 30 minutes where they were 11 v. 11, basically right up to the hydration break where I think, and, you know, Wheeler put it nicely. It's not the prettiest football, but it's frenetic and energetic and relentless. And a lot of teams internationally don't play that way, either because they don't have the athletes to do it or the fitness, or they're too scared to be that aggressive. Canada presents a very unique challenge in that regard, and I'm glad that they were able to show it in a small sample size against a fully manned Qatari squad. Like even when the Qatar was 11 v. 11, they weren't dealing well with what Canada was throwing at them. I just wish we could have seen it for a little bit longer, but I'm never going to take away from a six-in-the-win.

You'd take that every day of the week. Okay, I have a question for you. Yeah. Of the three hosts, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, where are the vibes the highest? Mexico's high right now. Because Mexico just clinched Group A, which means they beat South Korea last night. They will play their round of 32 match at Azteca. They won both matches.

They haven't conceded a goal. And I mentioned this on social media. But if they win that round of 32 match at Azteca, there's a very, very good chance that they would play England at Azteca in the round of 16, which would be, I mean, that would be the match of the tournament up to that point. So they would have to be in terms of hype and that sort of thing. Their vibes are very high right now. That was a battle yesterday against South Korea and won that.

Yeah, that was a chess match. The Koreans played keepaway for half the game. The Americans' vibes are maybe unexpectedly very, very high. Well, we're going to find out... After their first match, and now they've got Australia today. We're going to find out in four and a half hours where the vibes go for the Americans because this is a match that they're going to be favored in, and on paper should win.

Yeah. But the Australians have already done it once where they came into a match as the underdogs and played their style to perfection, which was, if you want to possess the ball, be our guest. Good luck getting past our towering centerbacks. You know, Harry Soutar was fantastic in that match for them. They had a terrific goaltending performance from Pat Beach. former Indianapolis Colts tight end now of Australian goalie. Anyway, Australia is built to kind of upset the apple cart with a favorite.

They've done it once. I wonder if they'll be able to do it again today. So the U.S. vibes, I'd say, are still TBD. They're high after beating Paraguay, but today they could be dropped a bit. Canada's are high right now. That was a big moment. Some people have said, like, don't take away from what happened yesterday when we're talking about it. It's hard not to look ahead, because, again, as Gareth Wheeler pointed out,

that's the nature of tournament football. You finish for the match and all of a sudden it's like What's on tap today? What's on tap tomorrow? That's just how it works. There's always something on the horizon. It's the best, isn't it? But we should bask in the glow of what Canada was able to accomplish yesterday, even with the Kone injury. Okay, before we go to break, we need to tell you about our friends at VGH Plus hometown heroes lottery. They need your support to help change lives and save lives.

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some hockey talk on Sportsnet 650. Luke Fox, NHL writer for Sportsnet is going to join us. Big trade by the Toronto Maple Leafs this morning. Lots of news going in and around the National Hockey League. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app.

731 on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Got debt? If you do, reach out to Sands and Associates during regular business hours, and they'll get back to you within 20 minutes. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee. We are an hour two of the program at the midway point of the show.

Luke Fox, Sportsnet, NHL writer is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Homanoch at jason. Dot 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 them online at jason. com. If the show sounds a little different than usual today,

it's because we're live on location at Duick on Marine Drive. Duick Auto Group's 100th anniversary sale is on now through Sunday. they are offering a $2,000 trade-in bonus on the all-new 2027 Bolt EV, which I am driving. You can come check them out. You can come check us out live on location 400 Southeast Marine Drive in Vancouver. We are live at Duick on Marine. Let's go now to the ABLE Auctions. Hotline, our next guest has mentioned, NHL writer from SportsNet.

Luke, joins us here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Luke. How are you? Doing pretty good. No rest. just got back from the Stanley Cup final, and the team I cover most closely, the Leafs have just been making moves,

trades, signings, hiring a coach, so it's a busy time here. Well, tell us about this Darren Radish sign-and-trade. You know, Radish had an incredible season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but can he keep it going with a new team? That's going to be the big question. and they paid a pretty penny eight times 8.5 for a guy that's really only had one standout year. I mean, Rattish's timing couldn't have been better.

So you look at his goal totals. Zero, one, six, six, 22, 70 points, more points than any impending free agent at the time of his sign and trade today. from Tampa to Toronto. And this is a major bet, but it signals to me that John Chaka isn't messing around here. He wants the Maple Leafs to jump right back in the playoffs. You know, we always thought that was the plan, that they weren't going to be content with a little reset for a year and try and, you know, get things in order and get some youth,

maybe sell off some pieces. They're going for it right away. And I think that speaks to the urgency of Austin Matthews only having two years left on his deal, wanting to take advantage of that as well as William Nealander's prime. So they're aggressive. There's risk in it for sure. This guy's already 30 years old. Like I said, he's only had one season that really pops off the staff sheet.

And how much of that is fueled by power play points, playing with Niki. Kutcheroff, but what he brings is a booming right shot from the point, which is something the Maple Leafs have been looking for for years and have never had. And their power play was crummy last year, guys. So this to me is Chaka saying our path back to the playoffs is to have an elite power play again. Radish is going to be part of that. I think bringing in Jim Hiller, the coach, is part of that.

So at least he is decisive. at least we know what they're playing is now. Well, I have to admit, even though I'm not bullish on the Leafs future, that I am intrigued about a power play that could feature Darren Radish now, Austin Matthews, and Gavin McKenna, who might struggle at five-on-five in the NHL, but if they do draft him, that guy has unbelievable vision and playmaking ability. 100%.

And then you add either John Tavares or Matthew Nye's net front. There's some buzz about them maybe poking around on the Nyes trade right now. But either one of those guys, like on paper, this power play should be phenomenal. And, you know, they had Nielander and Tavaris and Matthews on the power play last year. But Morgan Riley running the top guys, everyone know he was just going to distribute. Like he wasn't a threat. no point shot threat. He'd try to sift a few pucks in, but Radish can blast one in clean from back there. He's a real threat. So if the penalty killers are respecting the point, that's just

going to open up the flanks for Matthews and McKenna and Nylander. So it's going to be a really, really fascinating power play, but a better click. And yeah, one thing I would say in this market, the city was really down on this team. They finished 28th place. They limped to the finish. There was no life in the group. And winning the lottery, you know, changing the coach,

even though people are split on Hiller. And then now this trade, at least there's intrigue and excitement heading into the next season. It feels fresh, which is something that's been needed because it's been a lot of the same. Is there anyone on that Marley's team

that's going to figure into the future? Well, I mean, Ethan Cowan's down there now. I was at the Marley's game last night. There's a shot that Ben Danford could make a run at maybe a third-paring role, but if he needs a year in the pros, that would be just fine.

There's a veteran named Bo Greu who got called up with the Leafs, so if they need a fourth-line center, he could maybe factor in. But I think the big thing down there is the goalies. Right now, they have a tandem of Dennis Hilderby and Archer, Actia. He amoff, who's been absolutely stellar, arguably the best goalie of the whole HL playoffs,

undersized guy. But because Hildaby showed so well in his 20-game stint at the NHL level this past season, and Acki Almof has been the star of the playoffs down on the farm, that I think kind of encouraged Cheika to pull the trigger on the Joseph Wall Trade that sent him to Philly. For sure, I think the big thing down there is the goalies. They feel comfortable with their goalie depth, so they traded from a position of strength to address one of weakness,

and that is their blue line was quite old. It got a little younger now with Radish, even though he's 30, believe it or not. It got younger with a 30-year-old edition. It did, though. You're right. Amel Andre at 24 is five years younger than any other D-Man they have on the roster. That's how crazy it is. Yeah. So is Morgan Riley going to get shipped out?

I feel like this makes it more likely. Yeah. Because one of his main roles was running the power play. And now it's crystal clear that, you know, if the season were to start today, he'd be PP2. And PP2 plays about 25 seconds. So, you know, I think there's value on him. I don't think it's going to be like, a pure salary dump.

They have cap space so they could retain salary a little bit to make his, because he makes more than $7 million and he signed through 2030. And just talking to Morgan at the end of the season, before he never seemed to even be open to that conversation, so he has a full no move. He controls it, but he kind of left the window open a little bit. He sounded more like he would be amenable to attract.

aid. I look at a team like San Jose. They went and got Michael Castle ring, but outside of that, I think they have Orloff and no one else signed, and they have tons of the cap space. I wonder if there's a deal to be worked out there. For sure, those conversations are going to happen, but Riley has to sign off on it. We're speaking to Luke Fox, SportsNet NHL writer here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Luke, what are you hearing about Mike Babcock right now? Oh, boy, I'm hearing the Oilers, my be the most entertaining team on and off the ice next season. I mean, this is, this is wild to me that he's back in the league considering the reputation. And just judging by the NHL's release yesterday, I'm sure you guys read it.

This is saying how their investigation painted Babcock in a very, I forget the exact wording, but a very unfeversible. Least favorable light. Least favorable light. Yeah. Amazing phrasing. That was a weird statement. It is weird.

I can't remember. It's like, yeah, best statement I've read since the senators denying those rumors last season probably. But, yeah, what's fascinating to me about that whole situation is how involved Connor McDavid and some of the other leaders were in deciding that he was the guy. You know, they basically picked the coach. I think they were just screaming. We need a heart. ass and Babcock is that.

But I think he knows hockey, but it's just the personality side of it. And his press conferences with that Emmington Media, they could be electric. Do you think they're ultimately going to go through with it? Do you think that they're going to take these final statements from the NHL and NHLPA? I've got to say that one wasn't exactly favorable either. Do you think the Evan-Dillers are still going to push forward with this? Yes, I do. Yeah, yeah.

From what I heard, there could be a press conference as early as Tuesday. Yeah. I mean, this is a different situation, but this is a team that, you know, hired Sam Bowman after he had kind of been persona non grata with the league for a while. There is desperation in this move, extreme desperation. So Luke, let me get this straight. The Oilers need a coach or want a coach that's going to yell at them and push them. and the Leafs want a coach that's going to be nice to them and say kind things about them because their last... So the Oilers' last coach was too nice and the Leaf's last coach was too mean?

Have I got it right? I think you have it exactly right. That is coaching change 101. Yeah, I think you're right. It was funny. Like I was on the Zoom call with Hiller the other day and he was like, we want to make it fun to come to the rink.

again and we're going to play a style of play that we think the players are going to buy into into and, you know, we'll see how it goes. I mean, as long as they're winning, it's fine. It's when that, you know, if they get off to a five-game losing skid, then maybe the tone changes, right? But I do think there was a disconnect between how Craig Brubay wanted to play, which was very dump and chase, traffic in front of the net, you know, let's just, you know, meat and potatoes, let's tip some shots, let's get some screens. and, you know, they never came out and said it explicitly, but you could tell that, you know, guys like Matthews and Neelander,

which are the core of this group and what the whole thing's built around, they wanted to play a more fun style of play, more possession-based hockey. And it sounds like Hiller's open to that, and Hiller was an assistant coach for the Leafs for four years under Bobcock, from 15 to 19. And so he knows those guys, their power play was, was deadly during that era.

So we'll see how it goes. There's some logic to it on paper, but you have to see it in practice. Hey, Luke, in the wake of Mitch Marner's comments about how social media really affected his mindset and his mental health in Toronto, do you think they're going to do things a little differently if indeed they do draft Gavin McKenna

And, you know, we were talking about this earlier in the week and just saying, like, I think NHL teams and pro sports teams have to do a lot more to prepare the players for what's coming for them on social media. Because there is no way, even if you're the best player in the world, to avoid what's coming for you on social media if you were playing in a big market. I think you're 100% right. And I think the NHL, it kind of crept up on them. and I mean I think you know even parents like for finding that in their own home like they think they have an idea you know how addicted to the phones and social media these these kids are but they don't maybe really understand just how drastically it affects them I don't know if you guys saw the the McKenna doc that yeah I did I've talked about it and his mom saying like I'm worried about his mental health and what really stuck out to me is when he said during that whole thing that he was going to

through after the fight he said I was glued to my phone for two days I'm like yeah you know is that what stood out for you that's exactly what stood out for me so I watched it and he mentioned at that time that seemed like the most significant time but he also mentioned the the online criticism when he got up to the slow start in Penn State and during the disappointing world juniors so there was like three instances in a whatever it was 60-minute documentary where you have the star of this upcoming draft and presumably the next big thing in Toronto

talking about how social media was getting in his head a little bit. So I'm sure that the people around him, whether it's his family or his agents, have talked to him, but I think it'll be really important for the Leafs or whatever team gets them to have that conversation with them. And you just hope that it doesn't affect the kid. And maybe he'll be better for the experience.

Maybe he's already learned that lesson, right? Exactly. Like maybe just having that already is kind of open his eyes because, yeah, it's too bad, right? And it's funny. Like I go into these dressing rooms post game and the number of players that are on their phone when you walk in and they haven't even taken their gear off yet and they're on their phone. It's wild. Yeah.

I do that too when I come in. I'm like check the scores or whatever. If I play hockey on Sunday, I'm like, oh, my God, who won the football games? But they're maybe not doing that. All right, Luke, always great to catch up with you, buddy. Enjoy what could be a pretty busy time. It already is for the Toronto Maple Leafs and hockey in Canada. Okay, have a good one, guys.

See you, pal. Okay, bye. Thanks, Luke. That's Luke Fox. NHL writer from Sportsnet here on the Helper de Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Let's do a few more Ask Usendet. Let's go. Okay, JT has one.

and he writes, one of the best parts of watching a European or South American team playing footy, is the crowd singing in unison to fire up their squad? J.T. has a question. What would be the best tragically hip song Canadians could sing at a match and the march to the match, and how can we make it happen? Okay, I'm not the biggest hip fan out there, but I would imagine blow it high dough. courage okay so you need something

okay this is also you have to tie in the chantability is that a word Bob Cajun yeah Pop Cajun it might be too slow I'm kidding you might be right with courage

courage has the chorus that you could really and it's a little bit more up tempo but this is tough what I know is like everyone yells Speedway or whatever yeah I'm the only one I know but also okay but when you're talking

about a rally and cry for a sports team Courage is great, right? Especially in light of what's gone on with Canada now that Ismaalconi has been hurt. I think that might have been the right answer right out of the shoot. That's pretty good. They don't really have a lot of like chantable songs. Just like poets maybe?

Yep, that's a word. I thought your microphone was cut today. It's not doesn't really make sense for the context, but it's channable. Yeah, that definitely doesn't make sense. But again, I think, you know what? Someone suggested into the inbox summer of 69. Sure, not a tragically hip song, but yeah. No, well, I realize that.

It's a Canadian. It is, it is, it is. I mean, I don't know how these things happen. They usually just happen so organically. Like, it's not like a plan, you know? You know what? The more I think about it, though, I think Lattie might have had the right answer. It's hard to come up with a definitive right answer with Ask Us and anything.

They're usually conversations around it, but I think you might have hit it right on the head. Just popped in my head. By the way, this would be so candid or too. was like, okay, now, we're going to have a song that we're going to sing. So everyone, quiet down, quiet down. Does everyone know the words, all right? We're going to go through this one time and we'll rehearse it and that'll be, that'll be like, and the English or the Scots are just like,

but they have decades and decades of practice and experience, right? But singing is something that they always do. Yep, that's true. Like, we're not, we're not drunken singers like the Europeans are. Look, in a lot of ways, Canada. That is part of their culture. In a lot of ways, Canadians are neophytes when it comes to global football, which they're learning.

A lot of people are still learning. Yeah. Like, part of me is funny, right at the beginning of the match, there was a let's go Canada chance. And I was like, that's cool, but, you know, like, that's so Canada. It's the best we've got right now. It's so on brand. You see all the guys in their hockey jerseys, which I get, right?

You don't have a Canada soccer jersey and you want to support. I mean, it's, listen, we're all learning. We're all learning. We're experts at hockey. There are some people that are experts in Canada at soccer, but it is the minority. And listen, no matter what, that crowd yesterday at BC Place was spectacular,

whether that crowd was in England or Brazil or Mexico. That was a terrific crowd. It looked amazing on TV. Everyone dressed in red. It was awesome. Justin and East Van, has a very tantalizing Ask Us Anything in the wake of the

Darren Radish sign and trade. He says, AUA, what is Philip Horonix trade value in the wake of the Darren Radish sign and trade? So, here's the thing. A couple of people have pointed out

that the sticker shock on Radish because he's 30 and he got an eight-year deal at $8.5 million per, you're like, whoa. But if you look at a rising cap, I'm not saying it's a good contract, but it becomes less onerous. And all these contracts will, like, because was it Shane of Goldman we had on earlier in the week where she's like, take a look at the percentage of cap, not the actual cap figure. That's the way you should look at this, right?

So I'm thinking about it and I'm like, how much value does Roanick have right now with the number that he's at for the years that he's got left on it? Yeah. The fact that he's on the right side of 30. And he may be motivated to move if you can talk him into, look, there's greener pastures out there. There's something on the horizon. His value would be massive right now. And I mean, radish or no, I think it would be huge, but this is definitely put in a different strategy here.

Would you say it would be a smart decision to trade Philip Romano? Look, it is, obviously, and that's a very clever play. And we will do the smart decision in a second here. I've said this for forever, right? I don't think that the rat, and I'm not trying to like pat myself on the back, but I have said since the moment that you understood that the Canucks were going into a rebuild. It's like, Heronic makes no sense. Not even in this sort of naive, very glass-half-full world where you need veteran leadership.

Can I push back in an old man way just a little bit? Yeah, you can. I mean, you're an old man, and you love to push back. So I do think it's important that the Canucks find some half-decent veterans that can be paired with the young defensemen. Does it need to be Heronic, though? No. but it has to be half decent because you don't want those guys out there with vets that aren't very good.

There were a couple times when whoever got paired with P.O. Joseph, and it's kind of like, you know what, he's not stabilizing my game all that much, right? He's not helping. So right now, they're reliable veterans on defense, and I might be using the word reliable a little loosely with Marcus Pedersen, Doing a lot of heavy lifting there. You know, it's him and Hironica, and that's it. And I, like, you cannot just have those young guys out there with whoever.

Yep. I hear you. They need to learn, and they need to, they need to, they need someone to help them out there on the ice to chat with during a game because this is very important that they develop players the right way. Drans had a really interesting article with Richard Seeley. Yep, new assistant general manager. The new assistant general manager. And they were talking about how the draft, it's harder and harder to find those diamonds in the rough because, you know, everything is being used.

There's more eyeballs on these guys. There's, you know, there's video of every game from all over the world. There's no excuse to not have it watch these guys. You can use analytics. and the conclusion they both came to was that, okay, if the draft is becoming more efficient, maybe the key is player development. And some teams are going to do it better than others. The Canucks are going to have to be one of the best player development teams in the NHL

if they're going to get out of this rebuild and turn into a Stanley Cup contender. They not only have to draft well, they have to take the draft picks and put them in very good situations and help them grow. And doing that would be a smart decision. Well, I still think the smart decision is training Philipronix. I appreciate your soliloquy and your point. That is the smart decision brought to you by Crow. Your trusting accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years.

Crow, smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at Chromachai.com. We're heading into the final hour of the program. I will remind you that the Duick Auto Group is the official automotive sponsor of Halford in Brough. Find out why nobody meets a Duick deal and why nobody has since 19. 26. Visit Duke Jammer on Marine Drive, visit them downtown, visit them in Richmond and visit them online at the Duick Auto Group.com. By the way, everything that's going on today, I need to re-remind you

the B caller number 5 at 8 a.m. for a pair of tickets to the Outdoorsman and Conservation Festival. It's next weekend in Squamish, June 26 and 27th. In six minutes time, call 604-280-650. That number again, 604-280-6-50. Caller number five at 8 a.m. We'll get tickets. to the outdoorsman and conservation festival. You can visit them online at OCFest.com.ca. That's it for hour two. We're moving on to hour three. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show

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