Halford & Brough in the Morning - Offer Sheets Are A Wonderful Thing When They Affect The Oilers

Episode Date: August 13, 2024

In hour two, guest hosts Jamie Dodd and Josh Elliott-Wolfe talk the latest hockey news with Sportsnet senior NHL writer Ryan Dixon (1:20), plus the boys chat Mariners with Seattle Sports M's Pre & Post-Game host Mike Lefko (25:22). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Welcome back to Halford and Brough. It's Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Josh Elliott, Wolf filling in for Halford and Brough. This week, Halford and Brough. It's Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Josh Elliott-Wolf filling in for Halford & Brough. This week, Halford & Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour of Halford & Brough is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste.

Primetime Craft Beer is full flavor without compromise at a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it's made. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec, that is what you're waiting for. And all of a sudden, what we've been waiting for, the NHL is awash with news.

The Leafs are making a change at captain. The Edmonton Oilers have been targeted by not one but two offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues. So lots going on with Canadian teams in the NHL all of a sudden. And joining us to talk about that from Sportsnet, he is Ryan Dixon. Ryan, thank you for doing this today. How are you? My pleasure.

I'm well. How are you guys? We're doing well. We're really, really excited about some actual hockey NHL content here on August 13th. You know, the Olympics were great. Now they're over. We didn't know what we were going to talk about. So the NHL is doing us a solid.

Let's start with the news this morning. The St. Louis Blues making use of the rarely seen double offer sheet targeting a pair of young players from edmonton from the edmonton oilers dylan holloway and philip broberg what's your kind of instant reaction to this news this morning well yeah it's like uh doug armstrong wanted to make up for the fact that we always complain about how no one ever dug this and said you know what the hell with it i'm not doing one i'm doing two here comes the double um it's interesting because i think we often talk about it in the context of going after big stars but you know it's a hefty price to pay if you're going to all you know if you're going to offer sheet someone for you know

what would come in at a whatever seven $7, $8 million deal annually, you do kind of wonder if the better way to flex it is something like this where you target two guys who are on the fringes of a really good roster, who are young, first-round pedigree, haven't, you know, fully found their place in on that team and oh by the way that team has gigantic cap cap and contract questions to address this summer and next summer with you know the best player in the world and maybe the you know whatever third or fourth best player in the world that's where you do wonder if you can wedge in there and do something and obviously the blues wonder if they can and

believe they can so i mean st louis is obviously the Blues wonder if they can and believe they can. So, I mean, St. Louis is, in the past couple of years, they've really become a team I look at and go, I just don't really know what they're doing. So I like this. I like that it provides a little direction. I like that it's kind of, you know, in a sense, picking a lane. Neither one of these players are necessarily, you know,

if St. Louis was to land, them, going to completely alter their fate. But I like the bets, that's for sure. It tells me a little bit that the Blues are, you know, they're obviously still trying to target guys who can help them now and believe they can grow with the Blues and that they're trying to climb back into the playoff picture. Because, like I said, they just felt like they were quickly slipping into that sort of no man's land for me and this is uh this is a clear strong move on on the part of that organization and you know now Edmonton who by and

large if you take the you know if you take the Leon Dreisaitl potential extension out of the equation that obviously hasn't happened yet. I mean, I think we've been talking about it in terms of adding players as a pretty successful off season for the Oilers, you know, not long after going to the final, going to the final game of the final and losing in game seven,

they had Jeff Skinner and they add Victor Arvidsson, two guys who in different ways and in bigger ways seem like very good bets for the Oilers in terms of what they paid. And now all of a sudden they've got to deal with this. So, I mean, is it going to break their back if they lose Broberg, if they lose Holloway? Like, you know, you could say not necessarily, but those are important guys for a team that obviously needs to supplement around the megastars and around the huge contract

that has to hand out so it's spicy it is for for you know i i don't know how many combined nhl games holloway and and bro we're gonna play probably less than 150 but um even considering that it is uh it's a it's an attention-grabbing move and like i, we usually don't see these RFA sheets. Well, look at that man, St. Louis, just not only one, but doubled down. And the interesting part of all of this is, is how Edmonton is going to navigate this and their cap, because you look at it and there are roots to maybe matching Dylan Holloway, but matching both of them kind of feels like it would be a difficult

task. And it's hard to see where you would remove from Edmonton's roster to to fit both of these guys in when you look at it is do you think that Edmonton is going to find a way to get both of these matched or could you see one or both of them walking to St. Louis I truthfully haven't really looked hard hard hard at the cap situation just yet but you're right when you think of the odds of being able to match both seem pretty tough like you know as you said I think maybe they can do it for Holloway but when you examine the back end I just don't know you know with with Bouchard now on the final year of, you know, basically a $4 million cap hit that's going to go through the roof next year.

And knowing there's a huge raise, they hope, coming for Dreisaitl next year. I mean, he's got to be in line to be adding, I mean, $5 million to his cap hit how much is bouchard gonna add from four but i mean they're gonna be adding a huge amount so even with the cap going up in the next couple years my guess is one of these guys probably broberg winds up on the blues yeah and broberg you know this deal if if they matched it he would all of a sudden be the third highest paid guy on their blue line behind Darnell Nurse and Matias Eklund, who are also left shot guys. So, I mean, all of a sudden you're committing so much money down the left side of your blue line. And I do think you're right that the most challenging part of this from Edmonton's perspective, it might not be making everything work this year, right? I think if they were really motivated, they could probably find a way to keep everyone together and stay loaded up for another shot at the Stanley Cup for this season. But when you look at what they're going to have to do to pay Leon Dreisaitl, to pay Evan Bouchard next season,

you've still got Darnell Nurse and Ekholm and Evander Kane on the salary cap sheet for next season. It just becomes really, really difficult to see a way for them to keep both guys considering what they're going to have to get done next summer. Yeah, exactly. I mean, we all knew coming into the summer the biggest question would be could they hammer out an extension for Dreisaitl? Because you know that is probably a two-for-one as well

because if Dreisaitl's putting his name on an eight-year extension you know that means he's talked to mcdavid and this is something they have sketched out together and you have to believe it's a strong strong indication that mcdavid would follow suit maybe at a different number but would follow suit uh next summer but yeah i mean when you look at what a bargain dry saddle has been at at 8.5 or whatever it is in that neighborhood, I mean, considering he's probably now going to come in at 13.5, 14 if this gets done, you know, that's a huge spike from there. And, again, with Bouchard probably looking to add about 4 or 5 to his AAV.

Again, that's right, starting 2025, 26, we just added about $10 million in cap hit right there to keep those two vital guys, and you kind of have to do it because of who they are. But there's going to be a squeeze, and the Oilers are used to feeling the squeeze, but just when they figured out a formula to get enough around the edges to go all the way to the Stanley Cup final, two guys who they probably did pencil in as players

who were going to be able to supplement the core for a while. Now that's looking way more tenuous. You kind of mentioned it, but the Blues are a weird team. I kind of just don't know what direction they're heading, and they kind of feel like they're just stuck in the middle. And I don't really know if this, even if they they get both broberg and holloway i don't know if that changes where they are at can you see them like even being a playoff team this year like when you look at the central i can't see them being better than the stars or avalanche

jets and then you can throw the predators in there who got better too like it's a it's a big uphill battle to make the playoffs in the Western Conference this year, and what do you think about the Blues and their chances to fit within that picture? Yeah, I definitely think they'd be up against it to crack that top eight. I mean, again, as you know, De central. Is Nashville a true cup contender? I don't know, but certainly they're a team that you would expect to get back into the playoffs after still making it last year before going out and getting Sam Coase and Marcia Schell.

We'll see how those moves look three, four years down the road, but for now, it looks pretty good. I mean, you just have to play the game of who's coming out, right? This time of year you look at teams and you say, Oh, I like what they've done. And you just kind of, it's almost a figure of speech to be like, I think they're going to make the playoffs. Well, let's remember only eight still make it. That's the rules.

Only eight make it. And when I look at the, the eight that make it, that made it last year in the Western conference, the only two that I look at and think, all right, if they didn't make it, you know, I wouldn't necessarily be surprised. I mean, Winnipeg's had a tough year. Let's be real. They lost the second-line center in Monaghan.

That really helped. And I think there's a room for a step back there. Now, granted, they got 110 points last year. So even a small step back maybe puts you at that 99-100 point range. But Winnipeg is one of the eight teams I look at and think, you know, I can see them battling it out. And the other one's LA because, you know, I just don't know exactly what that organization has been. Well, I guess I do know what they've been doing. They've been trying to go all in, but it just hasn't been working. They haven't found the goaltending yet,

and I'm not convinced they found it with Kemper. The Dubois move obviously didn't work. They were able to cover their tracks a bit, but still, I mean, this is a team that needed to get better, and I don't think it has. So maybe, especially if Kemper can't be the guy, L.A. flips out. So, you know, at most you're looking at two spots to climb into could st louis get in there i mean they were within spitting distance last year but the minnesota wild are probably going to be better heck utah is probably going to be heard from and could be

pushing into that i mean i could see them making a 20 point jump just on vibes alone now that you know that situation is settled they have some good players there and they were in a playoff spot basically until the all-star break when it just kind of, you know, the reality of the situation, I think just hit everyone in the bottom fell out. So, you know, again, I will say, I think St. Louis was, you know, in that danger of not really picking a lane and, and, you know, not actively trying to rebuild, which lane and, and, you know, not actively trying to,

to rebuild, which I will say that, you know, it's tough to take a team that does have, that is fairly competitive and does have good young players like Cairo and Thompson say, Oh, we're going to tear it down.

But also it was hard to see a path to them, you know, rising up and being, you know, the team we saw three, four years ago and, and obviously winning the cup in 19 that was a true contender again i don't think these guys are true true you know going to change the course of uh your your your franchise but it gives you some indication that you know what they're after is young guys who aren't going to help three four years from

now these are guys they think can help right now. And, you know, I will say when you look at the Blues goaltending combination, I do think, you know, Hoffer is a guy who I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking about in December, January. Oh, this guy's, you know, really taking a leap. Oh, by the way,

maybe let's put this guy's name in for the Four Nations Cup for Chief Canada, because we know that gotending competition is wide open. He's at that age and has shown enough that I wouldn't be shocked if he kind of asserted himself as a guy who can be a real 1-1-A. And obviously Binnington's a veteran there who's been up and down but was pretty good last year. So they have a bit of a foundation there. But still, I think, yeah, i could see them getting a wild card spot

but i think it's still an uphill battle there's definitely six seven teams right off the hop that you still have ahead of them in the west we're talking nhl of sports nets ryan dixon here on half an abrupt sports net 650 and uh ryan the other big news before this morning's offer sheet news and drama from st louis and edmonton course, was that reports out there the Leafs are going to make a change. John Tavares no longer will be captain. Austin Matthews will take over wearing the C for the Leafs. Press conference scheduled to announce that tomorrow. In your opinion, why do you think the Leafs have decided to make this move at this time?

I mean, I think it was was if not a long time coming certainly there was chatter right out of the you know right out of the chute in the offseason that this was something that could come i mean it's easy to look at this and say they're phasing out tavarez because he has one year left on his deal and can become a ufa at that point and obviously isn't a player he once was you know toronto obviously has two huge homegrown or or you know um hometown boys i guess somewhat air quotes in terms of marner and tavarez who have been fantastic players who are at different points in their careers and who can in theory theory, leave town for nothing next summer. And there's been a lot of chatter around both,

specifically Marner. Just keeping the focus on Tavares here, I will be curious to see how things go down the road because he's become a real good example of the conversation you have around Tavares as an $11 million player is way different than you would have if he's someone who's coming in at a cap figure of say half of that. He's still a very good player.

He clearly desperately wants to stay in Toronto and win in Toronto. He is, you know, I think by all rights or all reports, you know, quite willing to graciously step aside and, you know, help sow the seed on the player. Everyone knows is the epicenter of what Toronto does. I'll just be watching close to see if things do go pretty well for Chavarra this year on the ice. You know, the Leafs have had this stream of guys come in at the end of their career in

the last little while and play for quite under-market value deals, or certainly for money they could have gotten way more of somewhere else. They wanted to play for the Leafs. They grew up in Ontario or in and around Toronto, and they wanted to try and win here. Well, Tavares is quickly becoming some version of that as he hits his mid-30s. He's not going to be Mark Giordano playing on the minimum or Jason Spezza playing on the minimum or close to it, but he's probably a guy who you could look at and say, you know, I think he's 34 right now. Like, if Joe Pavelski, who, Lord knows, wasn't much of a blazer out there, could still be an effective player with his vision and touch and goal scoring

ability and and and playmaking until basically he was 40 like I still think John Devarus could be a really good hockey player for two three maybe four more seasons so will this be the first step in what just kind of redefines his relationship with the Leafs and you know whether it's in season or even next summer like put it this way whereas I feel like we're sort of inching towards a world where it's quite conceivable that Mitch Marner could leave for nothing next year I still kind of wonder if Tavares he might become a UFA but might wind up becoming a guy who sticks around and is here for the first you know portion of Matthews being the captain. So I know, again, the early reports seem to be that Tavares is fully on board.

I believe he's going to be at the press conference tomorrow where they sort of do the ceremonial handoff. But it'll be really interesting to see what his future holds in Toronto and, again, how his relationship to the organization will kind of evolve from the huge free agent, big ticket guy that they brought home, who they then gave the seed to, to lead a younger group. And now as he moves through his 30s, what can he become if in fact there is a way to extend this relationship with the team he very clearly wants to spend the rest of his career with.

From the outside looking in, it felt like there was a lot of pressure on the Leafs to kind of make this big fundamental change and make a big trade, whether it was Mitch Marner or trying to move someone to just shake up what was happening with the Leafs. Did they make enough change over the offseason for you to have a different perception of what they're going to be this season? I don't think you can... I mean, it's certainly not a night and day. The blue line's better.

There's no two ways about it. And that's been, you know, an Achilles heel. And the goaltending is just a complete X factor because when Walt plays, he's really good. And he's right at the age where you'd expect the goalie to hit 24, 25. I mean, when he's in there, they're a tough team to beat, but he's had trouble staying in there. The Marner move, you know, if they were going to do it,

everyone knew they had to do it last summer, and they just couldn't get there. And, you know, they had a GM change last year, so maybe that wasn't the time to do it everyone knew they had to do it last summer and they just couldn't get there and you know they had a gm change last year so maybe that wasn't the time to do it but once it flipped to july 1 and he had no trade protection and now knew that he was 12 months away from being able to go wherever he wanted to should it come to that there just really wasn't going to be a deal to make. So, I mean, if you take out, you know, if you remove from the equation that there probably never really was, at least this summer, a chance to make that Marner move, unless you were willing to go scorched earth and just make it as absolutely

uncomfortable for the player as possible. And I think you can seriously question whether that would have been the right approach. Like, do you truly believe this is a, like, we have to get a divorce at all costs from this player at the risk of, like, poisoning our room and alienating other players on the team? Or do you say we are where we are and all the leverage lands with the player and his agent who's, you know, as sports net elliot friedman was saying uh all along you know this is a guy in ferris who typically guides his players to the open market i mean i i just don't think there ever really was a strong strong possibility no matter how many

fake trades i came up with that burner was going to be in a real trade. So, I mean, I think the Leafs are a better team. They're certainly no sure thing. They're certainly not a tier one contender, but there's still a roster I look at and go, well, would I be shocked if this team made the conference final or the final? I mean, if the goaltending is there, if Wall can stay healthy, yeah, I absolutely think they can with a little bit more, you know, experience and grit on the back end.

I mean, again, is the Tanev deal one you look at and go, wow, that's, you know, that's great value. Not necessarily, but it's a good cap hit. And, you know, what kind of player Tanev is going to be four years from now has been a huge concern for a team that has not been able to get any playoff success of note for now pushing upwards of 10 years they desperately need it this year next year they need it now and and you know that Tana signing was consistent with that and you know it helps there's no question he's going to

help what they have back there so I mean again I don't see them as a tier one contender i don't know how anyone could say that given you know their the precedent that exists for them not being able to come through when it matters but there's still a lot of talent there i also look at the atlantic and you know the panthers have been to the final two straight years like would you be shocked if they took a little step back tampa bay i mean mean, actually, I kind of like what Tampa's done and think you could make a case for them to bounce back. But, you know, there's obviously not what they once were. I mean, Boston just finds a way to chug along.

But, you know, the Leafs have never won this division. I do wonder if maybe this is the year that at least they could win the regular season and get home ice for whatever that's worth and maybe a little bit of positive momentum that way. But listen, everyone who is calling for bloody murder after they lost again in the first round, clearly that bloodlust wasn't satisfied. And you could say, you know, this is window dressing to distract from that or what have you.

There was no – I really don't think there was a world where they were going to be able to move Tavares or Mitch Marner so they did what they could do on the back end and they're taking a gamble in goal and, you know, inherent to that, it might work. It might blow up in their face. Like, we really don't know. But if it plays out in the crease the way they hope,

I think they're going to be a very, very competitive team that come playoff time should have a chance to do some damage. But, you know, thus far, we have not seen it from this team. And I don't blame anyone for saying, I'll believe it when I see it. Ryan, I really appreciate the time today. You know, when we booked you, we were thinking, oh, I'm going to look ahead to the Four Nations.

And then all of a sudden there's this torrid of NHL news. So glad we had you on. Thanks for doing this. All right. Anytime. That is Ryan Dixon from Sportsnet covering the NHL. Get ready for the ultimate sports fan trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st.

Experience games at the big house, Comerica Park and Ford Field. Contact Neil Shark at neilc at uniglobecarefree.ca for details. We'll, we'll switch gears a little bit in the next segment. Mike Lefkoe from Seattle Sports Radio does the pre- and post-game coverage for the Mariners. He'll join the show. Mariners were off last night, but they're on a winning streak right now,

still very much in a dogfight with the Houston Astros for the AL West division. We'll talk to Mike about that. Have the vibes changed in Seattle? How about how are the new guys fitting in? Lots to get into with Mike Lefkoe on the Seattle Mariners. We'll do that. We'll continue to break down the hockey news coming up here on Halford & brough sportsnet 650 jamie dodd josh elliott wolf filling in

halvard and brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour of Halford & Brough is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime Craft Beer is full flavor without compromise at a liquor store near you. Or visit the brewery to see how it's made 650 650 is the dumbar lumber text line the bridge street dumbar lumber in ladner has

moved to progress way in tilbury's industrial park more room more product more awesome details at dumbar lumber.com once again i don't know if this is a big band yeah it's a it's a good song feels more like a fiesta Thursday situation than anything. I can count you. The instruments that are listed on here. But big band is not just about the number of instruments. It's a genre and a style. I have big band in the category, and I have seven instruments laid out for me.

I'm so happy this is your last Tuesday. You've ruined this. Oh, all right. I'm just kidding. I'll miss you so much. All right. Lots more ruined this. Oh, all right. I'm just kidding. I'll miss you so much. All right. Lots more to come. You can send your What We Learn submissions,

and we'll read them at 830 again, 650-650 to the Dunbar Lumber text line. But we'll talk a little baseball here. The Seattle Mariners, they didn't play last night, but they are on a four-game win streak as they are neck and neck with the Houston Astros in the AL West. And joining us now to talk more about that, he does the pre- and post-game coverage for the Mariners on Seattle Sports Radio. He is Mike Lefkoe.

Mike, thanks very much for doing this today. How are you? Yeah, I am feeling pretty festive. I'm doing well, guys. It was quite a way to start a Tuesday morning. Yeah. I like it. Yeah, we were trying to keep the energy up, right,

trying to get us all excited here. And, you know, as I said, day off for the Mariners yesterday, but they are on that four-game win streak. And, you know, how much have the vibes changed? And, you know, I always think you have a great perspective on this because you're doing the postgame show, right? So you know what the fans are thinking, how the fans are feeling. How much have the vibes changed since that Mitch Hanegar walk-off double

in the bottom of the ninth last week that started this current walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth last week that really that started this current four-game winning streak for the Mariners? Yeah I don't know if you can really discuss a moment that might have seesawed the mood one way or another the complete 180 of well we're about to jump off the cliff here if the Mariners get swept by the Tigers then all of a sudden they just haven't found the consistency. You win a series against the Phillies, then you go out and you get swept home by the Tigers, except for that one moment there where Mitch Hanegar puts the ball in play.

Did he get helped out a little bit by the right fielder? Sure. The guy who hadn't played many games out there, I think it was just his sixth game out there in right, tried to make a hero play. It didn't work. And so from that moment, it is almost that spark where, and that's the tough thing.

You talk to a lot of guys in baseball about momentum, whether there is a definitive thing, whether momentum can exist from game to game or series to series, because some managers will tell you, no, it's next day's starting pitcher. There is no momentum. You could be playing well. you could have a guy who gets out there and shoves and there's no momentum but i don't think you can deny that that sparks something a little belief in kind of what the identity of the team had been over the past few seasons and winning one run games and winning close games they found their way into the playoffs in 2022 with some clutch play down

the stretch. So that definitely was the spark. And then, yes, you have to go and back it up the next night. It certainly helped the Mets were at the very end of a long four-city road trip. But the Mariners got that spark from Mitch Hanegar. And you want to talk about a good vibe in a clubhouse. I think there is something behind an underlying spark because of what Randy Rosarena has brought and because of what Victor Robles, now comfortable in more of an everyday role and now with a contract extension, has brought to the clubhouse because it is a day in, day out grind. You have guys with so much energy and so much personality, you can't help but get uplifted

if you're everyone else. So those two have been such a huge addition a rosarena just here for a few weeks robles you know it's been a while now he came at the start of june but really since julio got hurt and he's been in everyday role i think everyone us included are kind of seeing the personality of victor robles and it's been a wonderful thing to see yeah i wanted to ask about robles because it feels like everything I've seen about the Mariners lately, like he was doing the on-field interview the other day, like the hype, the Robles hype,

feels like it's kind of out of control in Seattle right now. Is it a vibes thing? What's he bringing to the team on the field as well? Yeah, I think it's more vibes than production-based. Now, his production has been fine. He did have kind of a poor slump before he broke out of it the past couple nights with a few hits. But really, when you go through a long season, there are so many things that can get you down. I'm a player or a fan.

You know, there are so many things that you go through a tough May or June, you realize there's still three-plus months left. You're just looking for something, for some spark, something to latch onto for a week or two weeks or even a month that can spur on a team. And for Robles, it's been that. It's been every plate appearance. He has a very demonstrative outgoing demeanor out there. He'll get hit or he'll get walked and he'll look at the pitcher jokingly,

almost outraged or, you you know mad that they wouldn't face him uh there was a moment in the angel series a couple weeks ago where he was thoroughly convinced he had been hit by a pitch the ball kind of grazed underneath his arm and he just started walking to first no one else thought he'd been hit by a pitch the umpire didn't say anything the mariners dugout didn't say anything but But he just starts walking and then stops and goes over to them and says, hey, hey, you know, challenge that. It didn't turn out to be right. He had to go and walk back to the plate.

But just something like that. And then now that we're seeing him out there every day in center field, he has a flair for some dramatic catches. And he has kind of paid homage to Julio Rodriguez's no-fly zone, so he'll make a good catch, and he'll flash that. The fans have gotten behind that, and I think the clubhouse sees that, and they rally around the guy. So you don't need a leadoff guy to be overly productive when it comes to run scoring or run producing. You have Cal Raleigh, who has picked that up. You have guys in the lineup behind him,

but if Rick DeRobles can be that disruptor or that chaotic burst of energy, which it seems like he has been, that goes a long way. Victor Robles has been there a little bit longer than some of the new acquisitions from the trade deadline. You mentioned Randy Orozarena,

Justin Turner, of course, coming over as well. How have the new players fit in and helped this lineup so far? Yeah, they've helped in a variety of ways. I think, you know, Justin Turner, Mariners are going to be very deliberate in how they use him because he is 39. You know, he's just with the Blue Jays.

He's been all over. But he has been invaluable as a clubhouse presence. Mitch Hanegar, in his first walk-off, in his walk-off walk against the Phillies on Saturday night he then told Shannon Dreher who's our main pre and post game host down there primarily doing the walk-off interviews that you know Turner has been a huge resource for him and just a guy that Mitch Hanegar modeled his swing after or everything growing up playing baseball he'd watch Justin Turner so to be able to pick his brain there are certain things that a guy who has just been everywhere, been in every single situation can help with.

And I'm sure that will be critical for the Mariners, not only since he's been here, but over this next month plus, when you're essentially in a playoff race, you are in a stretch where you're scoreboard watching every night because of what the Astros are doing. Every game takes on extra meaning. And then if you get to the playoffs, which is the expectation, a guy like Turner who has been there, who has gotten all the way to the very end, that's not something anyone on this Mariners roster has done, except now Victor Robles, but he's in a little bit of a different situation

because he's just been in one place. It kind of flamed out there. So a guy like Turner who has built up that veteran experience, I think anyone on the Mariners is and probably will be kind of wandering over to him, you know, picking his brain. His locker is in a very prominent spot in the clubhouse. Right when you walk in, it's right there on the right. So everyone will pass by it.

Guys are going to the training room. They're coming back in after hitting. Turner's locker is right there, right in front in the clubhouse you literally can't miss him i think that was pretty strategic uh by the mariners managerial staff to put him right there and have that have him be that veteran voice in the clubhouse the the deadline priority was obviously the offense but the thing that's gotten the mariners to where they are. The season has been the pitching. Are they still a team that's only going to go as far as this rotation takes them, despite what they added at the deadline? Yes, and I think that's the worry.

And that's been the concern around the Mariners all season, that there hasn't been enough offense. And it's certainly looked like that at times. The rotation has been fantastic. I don't think there are enough superlatives to describe the rotation, certainly looked like that at times. The rotation has been fantastic. I don't think there are enough superlatives to describe the rotation because they'll go out there and they'll throw six to seven innings every single start, and you just expect it. It's almost, well, okay, they went out there, put up another quality start.

They did it every game in this series against the Mets. They have 73 quality starts now, leads baseball, and it's spread across four of their pitchers. Brian Wu just missed some time, so he doesn't have the numbers that the other four do, but all four of their pitchers outside of Wu have loaded

up on quality starts. Logan Gilbert has 19. Luis Castillo is right behind him. He's thrown seven straight quality starts. Yes, the rotation, what I think this will all hinge on is the bullpen because their bullpen is a little more thin than the Mariners the past few years have gotten used to. And because they find themselves in close games every single time, it feels like, uh, it's just, it's just every appearance, say for this weekend, which was a nice change, but it feels like it's just it's just every appearance, say for this weekend, which was a nice change.

But it feels like every appearance is a high leverage situation. So that really taxes a bullpen. And I think the one thing that fans get hung up on because we see it a lot in our interactions is that Scott Service will mention, well, you know, the bullpen was a little light today. The bullpen was a little thin. And fans always wonder that. Well, how can it be thin? Why are they always down in the bullpen was a little light today the bullpen was a little thin and fans always wonder that well how can it be thin why do they why are they always down in the bullpen well because they're always coming in in high leverage situations so you don't have that nice break where this has been great you know we're talking at fantastic times today because not only have they had an off day and a four game win streak you really over the course of the last three games

didn't need your bullpen outside of one appearance by Munoz there to pitch day in and day out in high leverage situations. So that'll certainly be tested again. And that's what it comes down to. Can the offense do enough that you don't need those guys in the bullpen every single night? Because you guys know, I mean,

you could have terrific starting pitching every game. They're not going to go the distance. That's just not baseball anymore. So even if they turn in seven scoreless innings, you're still going to need your bullpen. And unfortunately, if it's two to nothing or one to nothing, well, the Mariners have been on the

wrong end of that a couple times here in the second half of the season. One of the other storylines for the Mariners right now, Julio Rodriguez made his return to the lineup in the most recent win. Now, it didn't go great for him. Went well for the team, right? The 12-1 win. He's 0-5 with five strikeouts. Still obviously a positive

to have him back out there in the lineup on the field. Such an interesting player this year, though, right? Like, he's established himself as a star, and then we all know his numbers, his power especially, well off what it had been in the first two seasons of his career. Now coming off this injury, I mean, what are you kind of looking to see from Julio Rodriguez for the rest of the way here and potentially leading into the playoffs?

Yeah, first he has to get his timing back. And it was obvious. I think everyone watching that saw his timing was not there. And that's understandable. Missed 17 games. Didn't have a rehab assignment. Certainly there was the blowback and the outcry from everyone here. Hey, well, maybe he needed a rehab assignment.

Okay, good luck telling Julio he's going to go on a rehab assignment and sit in Tacoma while the Mariners are on Sunday Night Baseball for the first time in 20 years. So did that play a factor? Yeah, absolutely. And that's what it is. Baseball is an entertainment business. The Mariners manager, Scott Service, has talked about that a few times.

You know, you're there to win. You're also there to entertain. And Julio was not going to be kept out of a situation like that. Now, he did still have to get cleared. So he was cleared by the training staff on Saturday, DH Sunday. If it's not a national stage, you know, I don't think he plays because there was the off day today. So you could have gotten him a little more time to feel better and maybe see if he can get back into the field. But now it's all right. Can he channel a little bit of what he had

before he got hurt? Because this hasn't been the season that really anyone expected. It's been highly disappointing to this point from what you expected out of Julio and from what he did at the end of last year in that one month where he went on a tear. It felt like he was starting to channel that coming out of the All-Star break with the extra base hit power. I think I came on with you guys right after he got hurt, maybe even the day after he got hurt, and he had had that stretch right before

the All-Star break, and then in the Astros series, where it was okay, well, the gap power is back, the doubles are there, the home runs are starting to pick up. Can he get back to that? And then because we've seen him to be a very streaky hitter to this point in his career, one little stretch is all it takes. So if he gets on another tear, if that's, you know, in a week or two weeks in that final month of the season, who knows what happens? Because the big thing for the Mariners last year, when they hit their September swoon, they had had the record-breaking month of August led by Julio. And then he kind of fell off and everyone on the Mariners fell off. And it felt like they exerted so much energy trying to get back to where they were at the end of August. They just ran out of gas.

So now if this delayed time off for Julio means, hey, his spurt happens in September. Fantastic. The problem tonight, guys, is he's facing Derek Schubel, who is probably going to win the AL Cy Young. So not quite the softest landing for Julio on a national stage on Sunday and then facing one of the best pitchers in baseball tonight. But we'll see because he has to get it in gear soon for this Mariners team if the lineup wants to have any semblance of consistency to help out this pitching staff.

And looking at the playoff race, for a while it's kind of felt like division or bust for the Mariners if they were going to make the postseason um and and they're still right there with the astros but all of a sudden you look at the wild card and it's it's a tight race they're two games back of the royals the red sox also two games back but the royals and twins occupying the final two wild card spots and they're playing against each other so some games to potentially be made up. Do you think that's like, what's the most realistic route to the playoffs for the Mariners? Yeah. You know,

what's funny is for most of this season, I was not even concerned with the wild card. It was a nice problem to have. I had no idea what was happening in the wild card. At one point, at one point, a few months ago, just out of curiosity before a post game,

I was like, Oh, I should probably look at the wildcard standings, see who the Mariners would play if they win the division. They're that third division winner because even back then, we knew this division was not going to get a top two seed. It had been the worst division in the American League for a while. And now, because the Astros won't lose, and because it is every single game,

your scoreboard watching the Astros or the division, now we do kind of pay attention to the wild card because it is definitively back in play with those teams you just mentioned. I still think the easiest path, because it's mano a mano, because you're just controlling yourself and what one other team does, is the division.

And unfortunately, it's out of your control that the Astros are going on a tear and now are about to play the White Sox so maybe the Mariners do fall behind a little bit but because it's just one team and because the Mariners have the season series over Houston to this point they still have one series left at the end of the year that again might determine what happens in the postseason as unfortunately that's what happened for the Mariners last year they got to the final stretch of September they had the Rangers for seven games they had the Astros for three didn't take advantage of that and they missed the playoffs because of it but you have a similar situation where that Astros series penultimate series of the, could probably decide the division if these teams play

remarkably close to what they've done so far. So I think the path to the playoffs is the division. And for the sake of the Mariners fans, who, they'll take a playoff appearance at any point because what this rotation can do can get you very far if you get there. But for a fan base that has deserved so much more and hasn't won the division since 2001, I do think there would be a small part that would be disappointing if they don't win the division. Now, it's fine if you make the playoffs as a wild card and then, like the Rangers, go on a run. I'm sure Rangers fans last year at the end of the regular season were pretty disappointed. They had the division lead for months and months and months and then fell out of it.

So when the season comes to an end, if they don't win the division, there'll be some disappointment. If they make the playoffs as a wild card, okay, you can reset and then focus on that pass. But yeah, right now, I think for the sake of Mariners fans and to get back to the playoffs, the easiest path is the division. Mike, there's nothing better than a division chase down the stretch in baseball when it's this close. So it should be a ton of fun. Enjoy, and I'm sure we'll talk again soon. Yeah, sounds good, guys.

I unfortunately watch more Astros baseball than I wanted to. We're watching over there. But, yeah, you're right. It has been captivating. It's going to be a terrific final month plus of the season. Thanks, Mike. All right, thank you, guys. That is Mike Lefkoe from Seattle

Sports Radio. It is the pre- and post-game coverage for the Mariners, and they get back on the field today trying to keep pace with the Houston Astros in the AL West. It is Alfred Brough, Sportsnet 650. We're going to talk to Aidan Eberhardt from the BC Lions coming up in about 10

minutes. Before we go to break, we can reset here on the big hockey news of the day. If you're just joining us, the St. Louis Blues signing not one, but two Edmonton Oilers RFAs to offer sheets this morning. Philip Broberg, two-year, $4.5 million deal. Dylan Holloway, two-year, $2.29 million deal. So that would work out. If Edmonton does not match, it would be a second-round pick in compensation for Broberg

and a third-round pick in compensation for Dylan Holloway. Edmonton has seven days now to match. Typically, the way this goes is the team that's receiving the offer sheets, that's targeted by them, makes the sending team sweat it out for the whole week, and we'll see a decision in seven days times although I'm sure there might be some leaks and whatnot before that right now we've had you know maybe an hour here to kind of

think it over on air what's your prediction both walk both stay one match one walks like what are you thinking I think you look at the cap structure I think Broberg goes to St. Louis I think Holloway stays in Edmonton. So that seems to be the conventional wisdom out there.

It seems to be the popular sentiment. Broberg is probably the more important player for the team next year. That's the tough part. And that's also why he's getting more of an offer sheet too, though. But when you look at it, it's just, man, the further the Oilers go, the more the Nurse contract is just so annoying for them. Because this is, in a perfect world at even salaries, you might even be like, well, you might want Broberg over Darnell Nurse.

And now you look at it, and he's probably the reason that you can't go out and keep Philip Broberg or do other moves to improve your back end. But so you still have to you have to play Darnell Nurse. You still have Matias Ekholm, obviously. So that left side, you mentioned it earlier, gets really, really crowded. And that's why it's hard to justify paying someone like Broberg the third most on your defensive unit when he's probably going to be on your third pair. I think the other element that's really interesting here with Broberg is he was a top 10 pick in 2019, right? The facility pod calls

and draft here in Vancouver. And they've been, while they've been in this competitive window, Edmonton, they have been very reluctant to trade him right to the point of him essentially being untradeable. If you then lose that player for a second round pick and look, Stan Bowman's new there. So he's not wearing that mistake necessarily. Right. But if you then lose that player for a second round pick while you have Conor McDavid and Leon Dreisaitl in their primes and you've over and over again refused to trade him, to trade Philip Broberg while he's been kind of the height of his prospect status for somebody who can help you now.

That's just a really, really tough pill to swallow. And again, I think you're right that if you just look at the value on the contracts offered to each player, you know, Broberg, you say, oh, he's just not worth that cap it yet. We're going to let him walk. But I think the Oilers are in a place as a team where they have to be more concerned with, well, who's going to help us on the ice more, right? And is it more difficult to replace a young puck moving defenseman with upside

or is it more difficult to replace, you know, a young speedy forward who can add some offensive punch? It's probably more difficult to replace the defenseman. That's why he's getting more money. So I do wonder if they're going to have to bite the bullet. You know, they're not going to. They can't move Darnell Nurse, right? You don't want to move Matias at home. I just don't

move Cody. Can you move Cody CC? I don't know. I guess, but you then you're really heavy on left shot defenseman to got some guys who get like Brett Kulak and play both sides. I think Broberg even can play the right side a little bit. He was out there with Bouchard or sorry Bouchard's right shot, but I do think Broberg can play both sides. I think Broberg even can play the right side a little bit. He was out there with Bouchard. Or, sorry, Bouchard's the right shot.

But I do think Broberg can play both sides a little bit. You're really heavy on left shots, though, then, if you do that. They're in a tough spot. It's kind of the only name that I look at on their team because you look at the forwards and it's like, well, you just brought in Jeff Skinner. You're not moving him. Matthias Janmark is too valuable at 1.45. Henrik, you just signed. Arvidsson, you just brought in Jeff Skinner. You're not moving him. Matthias Janmark is too valuable at 1.45. Adam Henrik, you just signed.

Arvidsson, you just signed. And then you get into the guys who you're definitely not moving, like Nugent Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evander Kane's just probably immovable. And also, you're not going to have to worry about it anyway with him on LTIR. At least to start the season. To start the season. And it's just like you don't have any options to move guys aside from maybe Cody Ceci. And this text comes in.

I think this is what it might come down to. He says, man, Broberg is their third best D-man. If they don't find a way to match, they're cooked. And I think that ultimately might trump the efficiency of the contract and the difficulty it might pose for them with Evan Bouchard next year and Leon Dreisaitl next year is just he's Philip Broberg is too important to our team or at least we were counting on him to be too important for our team there is no plan b so we might just have to bite the bullet and match I do think if they match Broberg it's hard for me to see them matching both I think if they match Broberg then Holloway is probably gone if they decide not to match Broberg then they

probably will match on Holloway. It feels like a one or the other situation. But, man, it's going to be very, very difficult for them to walk away from Philip Broberg right now. Get ready for the ultimate sports fan trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st. Experience games at the Big House, Comerica Park, and Ford Field. Contact Neil Chark at neilc at uniglobecarefree.ca for details. The Roar is back at BC Place for the BC Lions 70th season. Get your tickets now at bclions.com. The Lions, I'm sure, very excited to return home for their next game. They're on a three-game

losing streak, but we'll look ahead with Aiden Eberhardt, BC Lions wide receiver. He joins the show next here. Halford and Brough, Sportsnet 650.