Halford & Brough in the Morning - Ray Ferraro On Blocking Out The Noise

Episode Date: October 22, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with NHL analyst Ray Ferraro about how NHL players block out the criticism as it pertains to Elias Pettersson, they speak with The Athletic Chicago's Mark Lazerus (25:36), as the Blackhawks get set to host the Canucks tonight in the Windy City, they hear from Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster (39:55) on why their first playoff game this season is not being played locally, plus the boys discuss the Caps' future in Vancouver (44:00).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Ferraro, Ferraro, let's chat with Ray Ferraro. It's time for Ferraro, let's talk to Ray Ferraro. Ferraro winds up with a shot, score! Ray Ferraro, breakaways onside, scores! Three-bound score! Ray Ferraro! Ferraro, Ferraro, it's time for Ray Ferraro! Ferraro, Ferraro It's time for

Ray Ferraro Let's chat with Ferraro It's time for Ray Ferraro 7 o'clock on a Tuesday. I'm fired up. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Ferraro has lost all meaning.

Yeah. I would not be surprised if when we go to the phone, he is not on it. We'll see in a minute. I got to attend to some business first. That's pretty good, though. It's kind of an 80s vibe. Those were Ray's best years. You put in a lot of goal calls.

Honestly, there is an evolution of the guest jingle here. There was a lot to pick from with Ray. He's got like 500 of them. Yeah, like there's a lot there. I like it. I appreciate the dogs. Andy, you're the musical songbird of our generation. This is great. Let's do the business before we get to Ray.

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I'm not even going to look at the in-basket. We're just going to go straight to Ray Ferraro. He joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Ray. How are you? Who is responsible for that? Not me. Not me. I didn't know he was doing it. Everybody's running like rats now on the ship.

No! A lot of people like the jingle, though, Ray. So, I don't know. You might be stuck with it. I got to be honest. I like the goal calls. It's kind of nice to remember. Yeah.

You know, I'm like, obviously, you don't dig too deep. You know, there's a lot of games where you didn't hear much of that. So I like that. So I'm a fan. Ray, so I texted you last night and said, I want to talk about Elias Pettersson and what Elliot Friedman had to say. And in a nutshell, Elliot Friedman, based on some of his reporting, thinks that Elias Pettersson has to block out the noise and get over

some of the criticism that he's going to face in the Vancouver market because it's not going away and there are techniques to block it out and I thought what a great question to ask Ray would be how would you deal with playing in the social media era because I have seen you on Twitter before and you are not afraid to snap back at people well I like to think that I've gotten better at it like not as much but I think that that's really kind of instructive to if this stuff bothers Pedersen that it's easy to say just don't read it but just think of how often you pick up your phone and read something and if you a player doesn't need anyone he certainly doesn't need the media or the fans telling them whether they play good or play poorly they know know. Honestly, guys, it's one of my, one of the things I miss the most about playing

was the instant evaluation I had every night. Like, I didn't need anybody to tell me whether I had a good or a bad night. I walked off the ice, and as I was getting changed, I knew, right? So he knows whether he's playing well or not. But sometimes it's pretty easy to dig into your phone and start reading social media stuff.

I mean, like, I've had to learn, like, when I broadcast, that I just can't look at it. Because nobody writes in to say, oh, gee, that's a great point you made, when I broadcast that I just can't look at it because nobody, nobody writes in to say, Oh gee, that's a great point you made. Or that was a, a really, uh, really good thought it, if they don't agree with your opinion, they call you an idiot. If a, uh, you know, that, and that would be the kindest stuff I get, but for a player, like, nobody's writing in to say, hey, I know you tried

hard tonight. They're like, you sucked tonight. You were terrible. You missed this shot. You blew that path. You should have had that coverage, whatever it is. And so the, or you could get 15 good things said about you. And one guy says that you suck, and that sticks to you. And so the obvious way is to not look at it, but it would have been really hard not to look at it. Like, if it bothers them, I get why it does, but the solution is just don't care. Don't look. Who cares, good or bad? Because none of it helps you.

I just wonder, too, if looking for the good stuff can be part of the problem, too, because you almost get reliant on the praise. It's like, I mean, the social media companies know what they're doing when they have a like button. So people are trying to make comments on social media that people will like or retweet because it also feels good to have someone say nice things about you. So in a way, you almost have to, yes, you have to ignore the good, or sorry, the bad, but also don't be chasing the good um that's my point jay said yeah don't look like yeah it would there's a number of players that i've read about that say they just delete their social media during the season and when you think of it, like I'm on X because I like the information that I get from around the league.

A local writer will write an article. I can zoom into that article. I can pick up a few more little tidbits that I can use because they're on the ground in that city. So otherwise, there's no real reason for me to read it like they're like what's the point am i are you am i reading it for information there's probably other places to go to get more reliable information or less of a sewer to wade into than that so if you're looking for if you're on there chasing the good as you put it it doesn't help you anyway but it really doesn't it's the coach doesn't come in and say hey you got 1800 likes yesterday on on your game. It's all immediate and it's all internal

and it's only to do with the little bubble around your world. That's it. Who cares if a fan loves your game or hates your game? Because it doesn't help you. It really doesn't. The other thing that Fre was talking about was, some of this is market-specific too, right? And he was talking about Canadian markets and Vancouver specifically,

that you're going to be subjected to more opinions, good, bad, and otherwise, in certain markets than you are elsewhere. And that's what happens when you sign up for it. And he likened it to a risk-reward thing, right? Like the reward is high if you win, especially in the Canadian market and it can be risky too because when you're not winning, things can get pretty tough. Do you distinctly remember that

and I know the media landscape has changed, but from your playing days where it was one market would be dramatically different than the other. I mean, all due respect to the Atlanta market, but I can't imagine the knives were out with the media in Atlanta when you were playing for the Thrashers, for example. No, I

mean, as you were talking through that, I mean, right away I thought about the difference of playing for the Rangers as opposed to playing really anywhere else that I played. Like, we were, we would get off the bus in a city and there'd be people there waiting

for Messier or Leach or Richter, you know, to get their autographs. And, you know, as you're walking by, the fans are waiting. They're like, hey, you guys are going to win the cup this year. It was October. And I was like, man, nobody was ever asking that anywhere else I played. Like the expectation and the hope in a big market, the number of people covering the team, the volume of information that's babbled about you and your team is wild compared to some other places.

And the risk-reward that he's talking about, I don't think there's a risk to it. The reward is greater there than it'll ever be. Can you imagine if the Canucks win the Stanley Cup? Yeah. Can you imagine it forever? If the Leafs ever win a Stanley Cup, could you imagine? It's not that places that win,

they don't hold players in high esteem. But in Vancouver or Toronto, or the Rangers, like, look at that 94 team. Hell, it's been 30 years since they won. We still celebrate the 94 team in Vancouver. They didn't even win. Correct. And they came second. But it's like it would be another level, a completely other level to win in those cities. The reward is almost endless.

Ray, of the players that you played with or just knew, who was best at blocking out the noise and the follow-up question would be do those players really just not care about what people think or are they just better at hiding it well again there was so very little of that right like it was just in the newspapers yeah and on the radio and that was it so the people like twitter basically is you know the all the other people that you would never have come into contact with bitching about you at the at the bar or wherever they're watching the game and they have a forum to get it into the public space where you would see it because i'm sure when i was you know playing in hartford there were guys that went to a game and said man ferraro sucked

tonight well yeah but that's fine i didn't hear it what difference does it make now you read it and so you're it would be a big difference yeah but there are some guys that, like, I would say, you know, you'd have to ask them, but, like, I think, like, the very best players, they have an ability to bubble themselves around the biggest moments. And they just, and nothing gets in. Like, there's just nothing. And I think it's part of a skill set. I think you could work at it.

I know that if I were playing today, I would have to work at it. And really, there's a great phrase, I love it, because I think it's so apt for a lot of things, is that you can get caught punching the wind. And you think you're making headway, but you're just punching the wind. It's going to keep blowing.

And it is really pretty destructive, I think, for a player to spend time trying to find something positive or to search out what are people saying about me. I see no benefit to it, but I see why it would be really difficult to just ignore it. I remember asking Jonathan Taves before a big game, I think it was a cup final game, what do you think about before a big game?

And he said, hopefully nothing. So I always thought that was a good takeaway. Moving on to the Vancouver Canucks, I know you've done a few of their games and you've watched them. We were talking earlier about the power play and how it is still failing the eye test. It does have three goals in five games, so that's not a complete disaster.

But what are you seeing from the Canucks power play that needs to improve, if anything? Well, it's funny. I just finished taping our podcast. We were talking about the Canucks power play that needs to improve if anything well it's funny I just finished taping our podcast we were talking about the Leafs power play because Greg Berube's not very happy with it and I compared the Toronto power play the Edmonton power play in the Vancouver power play and to me they're all very similar in their struggle right now is there are times it looks fine where you know guys are exchanging positions and they're skating from left to right and then they you know they flip flop sides and they but the puck never gets to the net all three of them are the same and

as much as you'd like to move uh and and create maybe coverage problems for the penalty killers, if you never shoot the puck, basically what happens is they start to get a little more central and a little more stable. They don't move. Even though you're moving, you're just skating around them. But the net's still in the same place. And until the puck goes to the net, still in the same place and until the puck goes to the net you shoot it you get a rebound now they challenge for the rebound you don't you get

it before them now you move it really quickly now you've got somebody out of position so when i watch the canucks power play and again i'll compare it to the oilers who are i think they're one for 16 or something or other in Toronto. They all have really great players on it and the puck doesn't move fast enough. And so right now it's like, it's kind of lethargic. The penalty killers, they can move with the players. Like if you picture Hughes going from right to left and Miller's going down to the goal line and Pedersen's coming up over top, penalty killers don't go anywhere. While you're skating 30 feet, they're not going anywhere.

They just kind of glide along with you. But if you zip the puck around a couple times and get a shot and it gets through, now there's a rebound and you have a puck battle, you have one extra player. You're never open until you get the puck. So if they have two guys, you need three. Get yourself to the puck, get it, move it, shoot it, and then you can start moving the play that you'd like to get, which is maybe set up a one-timer or something where Hughes is moving around.

But at the beginning, guys, it just looks like they're just skating around the outside of the penalty killers. And I'll say it a third time, it's exactly the same as what I see in Edmonton and Toronto. It's very good players that just haven't found the urgency yet to shoot and retrieve, which the best power plays all do. Yeah, that's an interesting thought because the loose pucks create, like you have to, if you shoot the puck, the other team has to move out of the position if the loose puck goes somewhere because they've got to go compete for the puck.

But then you've got to win those battles and you've got to win them quickly because then you've definitely forced those guys out of position. What the well you know what's funny let me get let me give you one let me give you one example is detroit had one of the best power plays around like in the when they were winning the stanley cups and who was the key who was the key oh they were you know they had nick ledstrom gee that was pretty key but they you know they had eiserman but thomas holmstrom was like a bucket of bolts in front of the net, right? Like he was always falling down. He was losing his stick.

But what Thomas Holmstrom did was when there was a loose puck, he retrieved it. He held the battle, you know, like kept the puck in the battle until he could get support. Then they would start moving the puck around and they would just wear those penalty killers out and that i think that is as much as the guys think they're open they're just not until you get the puck clean i was guilty of it too i'd be like hey look do you not see me there? And the guy had his face pressed up against the glass. And he's like, no, I don't.

I need help to get the puck. It's really a fine line. I got a knee in my back, Ray. Do you want to help out a little bit? Yeah, but I'm open. Can you not get it to me? Can you not see? Ray, tell us a little bit about the Chicago Blackhawks

and the changes they made in the offseason. Well, they took a look at last year's team, which were basically a bunch of 20-year-olds, and they saw how they got their lunch handed to them night after night after night. And they said, we got to get older. And so they went out and spent a lot of money. In some cases, I think they overspent, but nonetheless, they had the cap room. They got older. They got stronger. They got more predictable.

They won't get pushed out of games as easily as they did last year, and it gives their younger guys a chance to be a little bit better protected, a little bit better insulated. So I think they're a better, harder team to play against. I mean, I think they had 59 points last year or something. It's not like they're going to get 90. But I think basically what they're doing is they're buying time for their younger players to grow. It is the big night for the NHL, all 32 teams in action, 16 games.

You're doing Caps Flyers tonight, correct? Yeah. So I did get a text from our producer, you know, here's the schedule. And I just found out the game's at 6 o'clock. I thought it was at 7. I would have been late. You've got to go to the rink like now. Yeah, they're like, yes, Ray, really, it's 6 o'clock.

Like, I miss these things. These details escape me. But, you know, it's 6 o'clock. I miss these things. These details escape me. But, you know, it's kind of neat. Tonight we'll be here in Philly. Matt Vamichkov's playing his sixth game in his career, and he is talking about what an honor and a thrill it'll be to play against Ovechkin. He's playing in his 1100th game or something or other

and it's pretty cool when you we think of it as we know it a young Canadian kid gets to meet Sidney Crosby like Conor Bedard played his first shift last year against Crosby how cool was that? Well it's the same

for Meech Goff tonight so it'll be kind of fun to watch. Very cool. Ray, thanks for doing this as always. Enjoy the game tonight. Have a good call. We'll do this again next week. Yeah.

You betcha, you guys. Take care. Thanks for the song. Can't wait for next week. See you, Ray. Ray Ferraro here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Ray's going to text me in two minutes and be like, get rid of that song.

I never want to hear that again. Get rid of those dogs. Get rid of those dogs. I never want to hear that again. Get rid of those dogs. Get rid of those dogs. Take them out back. Yeah. That is an interesting thought by Ray about the power play and how sometimes you just got to shoot the puck for the sake of shooting the puck to create loose pucks, but then you got to go win the battles. And Rick Tockett, you hear that from Rick Tockett.

You know, I want more shots, and then you got to go recover the pucks. And sometimes... Everything should be focused on Quinn Hughes. Sometimes the best goals or the easiest, not the easiest way to score, but the most effective way to score is off a broken play on the power play

where it's not super clean, like, you know, Miller to Petey for the one-timer, boom, it's in the back of the net. It's a broken play that you set it up, you get a shot, it bounces somewhere unexpected, the Canucks recover the puck and make a quick pass, and then the penalty killers are out of position. So you remember in the opener when JT Miller made that pass on the power play and Anthony Manta picked it off and went in and scored shorthand on the breakaway?

That was off a broken play. I think it was a block shot from Hughes at the point that went to Miller. Yeah. And what you're talking about right now is exactly, that should have probably been a shot on net. I didn't hate that. Except he passed it to Manta.

Right. He's trying to pass it to Quinn. That was the problem with it. But he was trying to pass it, period. In hindsight, probably. I said, oh, I didn't mind the unselfishness, trying to get it back to Hughes. But at that point, it kind of speaks to what Tocque is saying.

Don't overthink it. Shots on goal are good things because if it's on net. But you've got to go win the battles afterwards. Right. You do. And Ray talked about Thomas Holdstrom and how he would just win battles for loose pucks and 100% do the Canucks have that type of player that's going to win those

battles afterwards you know a lot of it's on the net front guy um I think you I think there's an I think you can find a guy I think there there's certain, like a handful of guys throughout history. Is that why Baines is in there maybe? Yeah. He was, I mean, he was. So if you missed it, yesterday Miller was not at practice. So we don't know exactly what the power play is going to look like tonight. We don't even know if Miller's going to play tonight. But Garland and Baines were on PP1 with Hughes,

Pedersen, and Besser still remaining there. Garland was on the flank, I think, setting up, which is where JT Miller normally would be. And Baines was the net front guy where Besser normally would be. And Besser was in the bumper spot, I think. So maybe the idea is that Baines can go dig out some loose pucks and make some plays.

I don't know. I don't know. Rick Taka didn't get asked about the power play in his media avail. But for me, this is one of these things that it's been, what, five games for the Canucks? And the power play, although it has scored three times, it's not disastrous.

I think there's a couple teams that haven't even scored on the power play, although it has scored three times, it's not disastrous. I think there's a couple teams that haven't even scored on the power play. So it hasn't been a complete disaster, but it can be much, much better. And a lot of the issues that we saw last season on the power play, and that's failure to get set up, failure to do much of anything when you are set up, they continue to haunt the Canucks a little bit. Yeah, and so tonight's opponent is going to be the Chicago Blackhawks. We have figured it out. It is a 5-15 puck drop, our time.

That is 7-15 local time in Chicago and 8-15 Eastern. The reason we're bringing this up is because if you're unaware, all 32 NHL teams are in action tonight. 16 games, all staggered starts. So as far as a buffet of hockey goes, it's great. The first game starts at 3 o'clock our time. That's the one Ray was just talking about, doing the Capitals and the Flyers.

The last one starts at 8 o'clock our time, and that's between the Kings and the Golden Knights. So there's a ton to get into, but right smack in the middle of this buffet is the canucks and the blackhawks and joining us on the other side of the break is mark lazarus from the athletic in chicago uh we'll talk to him about what the canucks are gonna face tonight year two of the connor bedard era uh we can get caught up with a former a couple former canucks in Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev. Mikheyev's run is a top-line winger for Chicago.

Didn't last very long. It's like 20 minutes maybe. I think that's as long as that took. And everything else that's going on with this team in year two of the Conor Bedard era. Mark Lazarus from The Athletic in Chicago is going to join us next on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Canucks talk with Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. We'll dive deep into

all that's happening with the Vancouver Canucks. Listen 12 to 2 p.m. on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. 7.31 on a Tuesday. It's a big band Tuesday here on the Alfred and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

Alfred and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. Mark Lazarus from The Athletic in Chicago is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two is brought to you by Jason.Mortgage. That's Jason Hominuk.

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 at Jason.Mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Canucks are playing the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center tonight. Our next guest, also from Chicago, Mark Lazarus from The Athletic here on the Halford & Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. Mark, how are you?

I'm good. How are you guys? We are well. We're very excited to see Conor Bernard and the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. I will readily admit, freely admit, I haven't paid a ton of attention to the Blackhawks this season. There's been a lot of other things going on. So we might be asking you some remedial questions. Just bear with us. But the first one,

I kind of positioned this season as last year was real bad for the Blackhawks. And there was a lot of young guys kind of learning on the job. And it seems like they made a correction there by bringing in a lot more veteran presences and then dropping a lot of those younger guys either down the lineup

or off the team entirely. Is that a fair assessment of last year and then this year of the conor bedard era in chicago yeah i think they realized that they weren't doing conor bedard any favors by surrounding him with you know let's face a lot of ahl level talent so they went out and they got guys that can play with him table terrifying it's been a great right winger for him he's over a point game so far this season uh they got tyler bertuzzi right now Tebow Terravine has been a great right winger for him. He's over a point game so far this season. They got Tyler Bertuzzi. Right now he's struggling a little bit. He's on the second line. Taylor Hall's back and healthy.

They've boasted the bottom six with guys like Pat Maroon, Craig Smith. They've added to the back end with TJ Brody and Alec Martinez. The idea was to make it, you know, to give Conor Bernard more help so that he can kind of become the player he needs to be. But also, a lot of those AHL guys can spend a year in the AHL.

Kevin Korchinski was too young for the AHL last year. Now he can spend time down there. Frank Nazar can get some overseas. They want these guys to be, you know, a little over-ripened before they come up to the NHL. And a lot of these veterans kind of like bridge that gap between now and then. How has it looked in the first six games? You know, they've been very competitive in all six games. They've all come down to the wire.

They're 2-3-1, which is nothing to write home about, but it's kind of best case scenario if they're watchable and competitive, but still kind of setting themselves up for another high draft pick, right? That's kind of Kyle Davidson's dream scenario here. But they've been a lot better. You know, it's been odd to watch a Blackhawks team that has some semblance of structure because it's been a few years since we've had that. But you bring in a bunch of veterans who know how to play the game,

and all of a sudden the team looks a lot more competent. It's funny how that works. What is the challenge for Conor Bedard to follow up his rookie season? Well, he needs to take that next step, right? He needs to be a 30 or 40 goal guy and take that next step towards superstardom. Now, look, nobody's expecting him to take that leap that Sidney Crosby and Conor McDavid did in their second year. They were like 120 points.

They both won the Hart Trophy. I think that's asking a bit much, especially given the team he's on. But you need to see Conor Bedard take over a little bit more. He was almost a point-to-game last year. You'd like to see him in that 80-90 point range this year if possible. He's only got one goal through six games, but he's got a bunch of assists. He's playing very well.

You can tell he's a lot more kind of like he's more comfortable with the puck on his stick in the NHL. He realizes that he has maybe more time than he thought he did last year. He's making plays. He's kind of getting a little fancy out there. He's taking some more Spinnerana-type shots. And that's what you want to see out of him.

That's the number one most important thing of this year for the Blackhawks is that Conor Bedard takes that next step towards superstardom because none of this matters if he doesn't do that. Is there still the same excitement about Conor Bedard as there was last season? I mean, I don't expect the hype to match what we saw early last season. It was off the charts, the hype. But is there still that same, like, this is the guy that's going to lead us back

to the promised land feeling in Chicago? I think there is. Like, you're right. The hype is down a lot, so the excitement. You know, there's not people, like, waiting in line to get into practices just to see Conor Bedard like there was last year.

The novelty has worn off a little bit, but the excitement and the belief in him is still there. The problem is the Blackhawks are having, like a lot of teams are,

they're not on TV right now for most people because they're not, they have a new channel. They're doing this over-the-air thing. They're not on Comcast. They're not on all the

major cable providers so like three quarters of Blackhawks fans are having trouble watching the Blackhawks which really dampers the enthusiasm a little bit right now so that's the most dominant story in Chicago right now is that nobody can see the Hawks I was just reading that actually Laz and Scott at The Athletic

you both wrote about it and I was just getting caught up. Can you explain exactly? It's Chicago Sports Network and Comcast. Is that the issue here? Well, Comcast is the biggest provider by far. And Comcast really isn't that interested in regional sports

networks anymore. Nobody is. YouTube TV doesn't want them. Hulu Live doesn't want them. So, you know, the Blackhawks are trying to convince people to go out and buy literal rabbit ears. I had to go to Walmart and buy rabbit ears in the year 2024 so I could watch the Blackhawks. It's unbelievable that this is what it's come to. There's a lot of teams in the States that are going through this right now because nobody wants to carry these RSNs anymore. So it's a big problem.

Like, eventually the Blackhawks will release an app and you'll be able to watch them that way. It'll probably cost like 20 bucks a month or something. But until they get on Comcast, they don't want to release the app because they lose a lot of leverage. Comcast is such an important provider for them that if they release the app, Comcast is going to be like, well, screw you guys. We don't want you now.

So they're really hoping to get on Comcast before they release the app, but they're a total stalemate right now because Comcast wants to put them on their most expensive tier and the Blackhawks want to stay on the middle tier so that more fans can see them. The fact is, nobody can see them right now. So it's a huge problem.

This seems insane to me. This must be taking fans back to the era of Dollar Bill Wurtz when you wouldn't have the games on TV because you wanted fans in the building. Every story I write, even if it's not about the TV, all the comments mention Dollar Bill Wurtz.

100%. Yeah. So is there a way, do you see this, do you see a solution coming anytime soon? It's going to drag on for a little bit longer because they're really adamant about getting on Comcast before releasing the app. At some point, they're going to have to cave and just release the app, and that'll alleviate a lot of this issue. It's still not ideal

because everybody wants to be able to watch their team on their TV providers. You don't have to open a separate app in order to be able to watch a game, but right now, it's a complete debacle and it's not even really the Blackhawks' fault. You know, the NBC Sports Chicago got out of the business, so they had to start their own network. And it's difficult right now

at the RSN market. The United States is terrible, and a lot of teams are doing this kind of over-the-air, direct-to-consumer thing. Some are having more success than others. We're speaking to Mark Lazarus from The Athletic in Chicago here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Back to the on-ice product, the guy behind the bench, Luke Richardson.

It's a pretty tall task being tasked with the Conor Bedard era and being the guy to navigate the ship. I know he's made some pretty bold moves already this season. I believe Philip Kershep is going to be a healthy scratch tonight. That was their second-line center and their second-leading scorer last year. How would you grade the job that Richardson has done, first year on the job and then a very small sample size this year, and how has the sort of fan reaction been to Luke Richardson?

Well, I mean, you can throw the first two years out the window because they were tanking, right? I mean, if management doesn't give you any ingredients, how are you supposed to cook, right? So this is the first year where there's any real pressure on him because now he's got an NHL team. This is not a Stanley Cup contender, but this is, you have NHL-quality players now on this team.

So now we need to see a team with a system, with a structure, with some kind of consistency to it. And so I think you're seeing Luke kind of, you know, try to establish some rules here. And Philip Khrushchev had a really kind of crappy game the other night. And Luke is clearly trying to set an example by benching a guy who he's come to rely on, a guy who's been here for five years, who was Conor Bedard's right wing last year, who, like you said, 54 points last year. He had a nice season. Instead of benching a new guy like a Tyler Bertuzzi who's struggling, he's benching Kurashev. It feels like he's trying to send a message. I don't think,

it doesn't really smack of desperation. We're not there yet by any stretch, but he's trying to lay down the law a little early here because I think he does realize that this is the first year where he's really being evaluated on his coaching. His first two years were all about the vibes, right? And he did an excellent job of keeping the vibes and keeping morale high despite the fact that the Hawks were having all-time losing seasons. But now it's about actually on-ice coaching. I think he's trying

to kind of assert himself early here. How are the vibes with Lucas Reichel, who of course was their first-round pick, 17th overall in 2020? It's tough because obviously Luke Richardson doesn't trust him. He scratched him a lot last year and had him on the fourth line a lot last year.

He's a very fast, very skilled player, but he's wildly inconsistent. We've all seen the type. He's only 21, 22 years old. The thing is, he's just like Khrushchev and just like some of these other guys.

He's a Stan Bowman draft pick. He's not a Kyle Davidson guy. So it's more of an uphill climb, I think, for those players to prove themselves because the current management doesn't really have any skin in the game with Lucas Reichel. He's a really good player. He's shown he can do it. But last year was just infuriating if you're a Blackhawks fan. So it's tough because if he's on the fourth line with Pat Maroon and Craig Smith,

what's he going to be able to do? So you need to put him in a top six role to see what he can do, but he hasn't really played well in a top six role. So, you know, finding out what you have in Lucas Reichelt, another important part of this season. I personally think you have to just give him a top six role and give him a long, long leash. Let him play for a month, good or bad, and see what you finally have in him. But Richardson is obviously very hesitant to do that.

How has Taylor Hall looked in his return? Because I imagine he might be a trade deadline ship that the Blackhawks could play. He's looked pretty good. It's tough for him because he's playing with Kurashev and Bertucci right now, who have not been looking all that good. But, you know, on the power play hall looks good. When he gets a chance with other players, he's got to hop in his step again. He's moving well, you know, after the knee surgery last year. I agree with you.

I think he could be a very interesting trade ship at the deadline if the Hawks choose to do that. But he's been playing pretty well this year. Last year, he only got in 10 games and he was injured for almost all of them. So we haven't really had a chance to see Taylor Hall at his best. Laz, it's been great catching up with you. I hope you're doing well and we'll talk again soon. Yeah, I'll see you next month, boys.

See you, buddy. Thanks, Laz. That's Mark Lazarus from The Athletic in Chicago here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. One of the best voices of any beat writer in the NHL. Great voice. Great writer. They got a good team there between him and Scott Powers.

The Blackhawks are very well covered by The Athletic. But no one can watch the games, apparently. That's crazy, man. That's Whitecaps crazy. We should talk about the Whitecaps because Axel was on the station yesterday. And I think that is a good transition topic. I had a big sigh there. Not being able to – because it's just one of many frustrations, I think,

for Whitecaps fans, the way the games are televised on Apple TV. And just the – so I think about this white cap season and I think about how many times Axel Schuster must have just been you know like those fix auto commercials like he I do know the fix he must have been at that level so many times and I heard him on the station yesterday,

and he is once again expressing his frustration with the fact that the Whitecaps finished eighth in the conference, but cannot host the wildcard play-in game with Portland. They have to go to Portland, which finished ninth, because BC Place a year and a half ago booked the motocross. Yes, dirt bikes. Dirt bikes. And I realize that's probably a big deal in the

dirt bike community, but the Whitecaps are a tenant at BC Place. So if you think about the frustrations for Axel Schuster this season, and I realize that not a lot of people are feeling a ton of empathy for the Whitecaps and their leadership right now because they're frustrated with the team. But he's had this situation.

He's had a team going down the stretch that should not have finished in eighth, should have finished much higher in the table, and this should not have been an issue. And Axel communicated that. But Axel also had to come on the radio and explain the Messi, Lionel Messi debacle where you had a sold out BC place where people were paying big money to go see Messi and it even resulted in a class action lawsuit because Messi didn't show up. And the Whitecaps pocketed millions of dollars in revenue for a game that ultimately ended up being a complete dud Miami didn't bring any of its

global superstars including Messi and they still beat the white caps quite handily it was I'm trying to I was while you were speaking I'm like I wonder how many public apologies Axel Schuster has had to offer the public since taking over as Whitecaps CEO and sporting director. It's got to be at least five. And that's a lot. And that's a lot. And I think we should play the audio now. So I should have mentioned this yesterday, too, because we talked Whitecaps.

We've got Vanny on the show tomorrow ahead of that match in Portland against the Timbers to see who will face LAFC in the real playoffs. And I'm comfortable calling them the real playoffs. Wonder if this is the last time we're going to talk to Vanny.

Right. His job must be on the line right now. It has to be. Has to be. It has to be. You can't go 0-5-2 down the stretch and see your team plummet into a wild card game and be comfortable

in your job security you can't no anyway that's a side conversation because what i should have mentioned yesterday was that we have vanny on the show on wednesday and axel was going to be on the station with bick on the people's show monday afternoon i was remiss in doing that so to make up for it we will play some of the audio now. This is Bic on The People Show with Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster talking about this debacle that led to the eight-seeded Whitecaps playing away at ninth seeded Portland in the wildcard on Wednesday night. Yeah, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain that a little bit. But I want to start with, again, and that's not a reputation, I can tell everyone, everyone who is following the club,

everyone who is supporting the club, that I'm super frustrated about the situation. And I share the frustration of everyone. And it's a two-part story. As I said, in the first place, we shouldn't be in this situation. The home playoff that is the game that everyone wants to see

should be the game of the best eight in the next round. And we should already be there. So we first have to make up for that and then to get to the place that we have a home playoff against then again LAFC and we can celebrate that together at home. But of course, it's sport and things happen

and sometimes they get a little bit out of control. And I don't want to give everyone the feeling that we haven't prepared for it and haven't looked into everything the reality is as everyone knows it's not our building that would be too easy of an excuse but this event that is in BC Plays

next week was booked by BC Plays 18 months before. And at that time, there was no schedule, no MLS schedule. The people in New York, they were not even thinking about that schedule at that time. So when we got roughly 12 months ago to the schedule of this year, we saw immediately that we will not have this date available but you can imagine that starting into a season everyone says look let's fade first if you get close to this position

in the league that this will become an issue you might still avoid this in the right way since we got closer to to this date and also we noticed that we might end up in spot eight, we did everything that was possible. We spoke with every stakeholder. But the reality is that the league has made a long time ago a decision that the Western Conference play-in is on Wednesday, 7.30 local time in the market that qualifies eight. And they did that for many reasons. They have a lot of stakeholders that are involved in this, broadcast stations, broadcast spots. So that's Axel explaining what happened. Now, I think something to watch for going forward is how does the Whitecaps negotiations with BC Place go? Because I'm going to play another quick clip from Axel Schuster

and the Whitecaps lease is coming up. I think they've got it through the end of next season. That's correct. And so they are starting to talk right now. And here's Axel on that. I can only promise everyone, and that's the only thing I really can do, is that we are entering into a new negotiation period with BC Plays. This contract was done way, way, way before my time here.

And at a different time also, the landscape of soccer has changed since then. We have played way less games at that time. So I also don't want to throw somebody under the bus who has done the contract. The realities have changed. We are entering into a negotiation period with BC Place right now because our contract is up for renewal at the end of next season. And I can promise everyone that I will bring all of this up

and we will do everything and put in every effort to change the contract details and the contract language in a way that we are not getting in such a scenario again. So here's my take on that. In every negotiation,

you need to have leverage. leverage do the white caps have in the negotiations with bc place what are they going to say fine we'll go somewhere else no you won't you don't have a stadium that you can play in yep i know i mean maybe the ultimate threat would be well we're leaving town because the stadium doesn't work for us. I hope it doesn't get to that. I hope we don't lose the Whitecaps. I don't think it'll get to that. But, you know, BC Place is the only venue in Vancouver where the Whitecaps could play MLS

soccer. They wanted to build a stadium a long, long time ago, never happened for various reasons. And they're in BC Place right now, but it ain't working for them. You cannot say that BC Place is working for them. It is not the ideal soccer park. And we see all the soccer specific stadiums getting built around MLS. And the big concern that I have raised many, many times when it comes to the white caps in MLS is MLS is getting bigger and bigger and the teams are investing more and more money.

Franchise values are going up and the white caps, of course, have enjoyed the rise in their franchise value through really no effort of their own. It's just that franchise values are going up because soccer is becoming more and more popular in the United States and North America. The World Cup is coming. There's going to be more emphasis on MLS. There's a lot of investment being made in stadiums down south.

And my fear is that the Whitecaps are going to be getting left behind more and more. You, they, they, you know, they're already, they're already left behind. They're already way back in terms of, you know, even if they go into, um, Portland and get a win over Portland, they're going to be up against LAFC and the talent that LAFC has compared to the Whitecaps,

it's not comparable. You know, and it's a very, very tough situation that the Whitecaps are in. And I do believe that part of their big challenge is the fact that they do not control the stadium that they're in. And I just don't know how they are going to enter this negotiation with bc place with any semblance of leverage i wonder if they might call on the other

significant tenant at bc place the bc lions and say hey uh let's try and combine what little leverage the both of us have to try and put a push forward because the lions don't love their it almost has to be like public attention gets on pavco because pavco is a taxpayer-owned company you have hit the nail on the head and they my friend they might have to play the pr game if you don't care about soccer that's fine you don't care about the white caps that's fine if you don't care about the canadian football league and the bc lines that's fine. If you don't care about the white caps that's fine. If you don't care about the Canadian Football League and the BC Lions that's fine too. If you're looking for a reason to care understand that this is operated with

taxpayer money, your money and BC Place is a nightmare. It's a nightmare operation and a nightmare building. There's nothing good about it. A nightmare? It's a nightmare operation and a nightmare building? Yeah.

There's nothing good about it? It's not run well? The tenants aren't treated well? I guess you got motocross. So that's something. But it's not good. Yeah. Nothing about it is good.

The amenities aren't good. It's not nice to be in there on a summer day i remember bringing this up when they were doing the reno i was like this is crazy you can't even host so much money in there can't even host pre-season baseball it's not great and then people will talk themselves into it oh it's fantastic i'm like have you been to other stadiums tell me you haven't been to other stadiums i still don't understand how or if the roof works i've never gotten a really clear answer on that yeah it's very frustrating and so if you want to care about it stop looking at it from a sports lens i guess and start looking at it as how on earth did this happen how this this shouldn't be about axel explaining why it

happened it should be that it happened. That the situation actually existed. The relationship is actually that dysfunctional that the two primary people here, Pavko and the tenants, are in the type of relationship that would allow it to get to this point even. It's incredible. You're talking about a major professional sports league in North America where the owner of the building and the tenants, like the landlord and the tenant, it's like it would be going to small claims court over like 900 bucks for a new window.

Leaf Texan. Mike still seems upset about his tequila sodas yeah the lineup for tequila sodas too is just you know what endless no it's just endless no i will they've got it right the the the bar lineup right outside section 212 where i sit they've that's fine they fixed that congratulations to pavco you have managed your bar and tequila soda game top notch, top shelf. I cannot throw you under the bus for that. So Leaf, I will push back on that. Everything else, I stand by.

I saw Leaf running the other day. He came up and said hi. Really? Yeah. Same Leaf. I think so. Text her Leaf. Yeah, text her Leaf.

He turned around. He was like, bruh? I'm like, hey. Hey. Who are you? Do I know you? What's up? I still, because every now and again

especially when we're if i'm in a white cabs you're like 20 000 people there's someone will make eye contact and say like hey how's it going you're like do i know you yeah i always do that instinctively you're gonna say you're a listener because yeah there's a moment of panic where you just i know this person and i can't think of their name hello are you related to me yeah one guy came up to me at London Drugs and was straight up with it. He's like, you don't know me. He's like, don't try and go through. Perfect. I'm like, nice, thanks.

Is it Doug? He's like, no, you don't know me. I'm like, it's not Doug. I always have this awkward hey, man. Long time no see. Brendan Batchelor is going to join us. We'll talk about the Canucks game tonight in Chicago and how the Canucks might roll out there against the Blackhawks. Will JT Miller play or not?

And if he doesn't, or even if he does, how will the power play look? You're listening to the Alfred and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.