Halford & Brough in the Morning - Ray's Keys To A Successful Canucks Season

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason look around the Canucks & the NHL with analyst Ray Ferraro (1:16), plus they're joined by BC Lions DB TJ Lee (25:39) ahead of Saturday's game at the Riders. 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.

701 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for,

sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, definitely don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Just kidding. Let him do it. Visit him at Jason.Mortgage.

Somebody is not there. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Visit him at jason.mortgage. Somebody is not there. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, Orfite, what are you waiting for? Kintec. Our next guest is about to embark on something that's never been done in NHL broadcasting history.

So, Richard Deitch from The Athletic reached out to the NHL's communication department. They could not recall a national announcer doing two games in one day during the regular season. Well, no one would be that crazy. That's about to change. Ray Ferraro is going to do it.

He joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Ray. How are you? Good. That's a little dramatic, don't you think, in the history of the history of the history? I mean, you're the guy. Yeah. We're not the ones making history. Yeah.

They had to find somebody to do it, I guess. I'm not even allowed on an airplane, so good on you for being able to do this. That's another story. Yeah. Okay, so walk us through how this is going to work. You're going to be in Seattle. I'm assuming you're in Seattle already,

so you're going to be in Seattle, call the game, hop in a car, hop on a jet. It'd be funny if you started in Utah. It wasn't the best planning, but we'll make it work. So then you're going to go to Utah. So you're calling two games in the span of a few hours. How nervous are you that this thing is going to get pulled off? The two games part, not at all. I've done this before, but in the same city for like world

juniors and uh world world hockey championships actually i did three games uh in a day a couple of times by the third game like you know you're you're putting number 12 from the first game in the third game you got guys on like it's just um doesn't matter he's from Slovakia nobody cares yeah I feel like I don't know the tall guy over there that's all I got for you but the two games aren't bad right and and for the most part like the lineups are all familiar just guys are in different places like the first couple weeks of any season are a little bit of a scramble because you know guys pop up in a place that you're not used to seeing them uh they're wearing a number that you're not used to

seeing so there's there's all that sort of like getting into the season stuff uh the travel part of um logistically i'm a little weak um so i just actually text our coordinator and said okay so like after the game i do what like that like that's how much i really involve myself in it and it's basically what you said like when the horn goes and there better not be overtime or else this is going to really be tight i might beat dan biles off the seattle bench And like I'm telling you, I got to get going. So I get to get to the car, to the plane. And I guess it's like 10 minutes to the airport here. And then 10 minutes from the airport in Salt Lake to the arena or 15 minutes.

And I should get there at the start of warmup. And I sure hope so. I've never been in the building. I don't know where I'm going. um yeah and then and then the game starts i will exhale i guess when i when the game starts in utah and i'm standing there what do you think the atmosphere is going to be like in utah so i think it'll be great and the reason reason I think this is Bob was shoes and who I'll be doing the game with has done a bunch of NBA games in there. And he's, he said the,

the roof there is kind of like a, this, this isn't exactly what it is, but it's kind of like a, a 10, a metal. And so the sound, like the old shark tank just bounces all over the place.

He said, it's deafening when the jazz were playing, he said it was deafening. And so I don't expect that tonight. It's the first game. You know how that goes. Nobody knows the players. You don't even know your own players yet. But they're excited to have it.

I think they'll, like any team, they got a chance to be really great because they've got money behind it. The one thing we've seen in modern sports is if owners don't have the resources, and hell, that's why the team's in Utah, is because the owner had no resources. So you don't have a chance then.

And I think in pretty short order, this will be a pretty well-run franchise. I've said this to a few guests already, but isn't it kind of ironic that when the Coyotes left Winnipeg to go to Phoenix, they played in an arena that was made for basketball. So there were some issues with the arena. They had to pull back some seats, and there were some obstructed views. I'm sure you played in America West.

Yeah, I did. Yeah, and now after everything they went through in Phoenix, they kind of moved the team to Utah, although they won't say it that way. But the team did get moved to Utah, and now they're in a basketball-specific arena with some obstructed views. I've heard that the arena can be renovated, unlike old America West, but I don't know. It is kind of funny.

Well, it is ironic for sure. Not it can be, it will be. That's part of the deal. This whole scenario was all part of the the 2032 olympics as well um and the owner who owns the jazz um they have a i think they've got two summers or maybe it's three to you know like i'm not a construction guy but they're going to get the front end of that building off and turn it into a multi-purpose arena, which is all those seats you're talking about that are obstructed view.

They're going to go and they're going to change the pitch of those seats, which seems like a big deal to me, but anyway, they're going to redo that. And, and within, I think it's two summers or three, I'm not so sure on that. They'll they'll have a, an arena that fits both basketball and hockey, like many do. The problem with the old arena in America West was, I don't know if it couldn't be done or wouldn't be done. It was one of the two.

I'm assuming this is a pretty costly endeavor to take off the front corner of a building. And so there's work to do there but look they they tried to thread the needle in arizona for years um they didn't have the money it wasn't going to get done i'm telling you i told this story before uh the first time we went out to the glendale Arena, next door was this farmer's field, which has become the football stadium. And we're driving out there and it's like forever. And we're like, where the hell are we going? And there was a rusted old farm equipment in the corner of this field.

And that's where you turned left. So when you got to the rusty farm equipment, you knew you were at the rink. And none of us thought this could work. We're like, who's coming here? And that really became the story of the coyotes, was that whether they were going to be good or bad or whatever, like who's coming there? And eventually they finally got it out of there.

Let's talk a bit about the Vancouver Canucks and your expectations for the team this year. What are some of the, I guess, story arcs and narratives that you're going to be following with this team? The obvious one is Thatcher Demko and his health. Are there any other big ones when it comes to the Canucks? Yeah, for sure. I mean, Demko, of course, is going to be the headliner until he gets back, until he can play at the level that we're all accustomed to seeing him play. And as much as anybody can talk about Arthur Shelovs

and Kevin Lankin, and I think they'll do an adequate job. I really do. I think they'll be fine. But Thatcher Demko is in the top half dozen goalies in the league. You don't just find another goalie like that. Like that, you know, he's in rarefied air

when he's at the peak of his game. So that's something we'll all look at almost day by day, although we shouldn't look at it day by day because they already told us it's three to four weeks. It's kind of their initial timeline here. Pedersen's return to form, I think, is critical to any success they'll have. For two reasons. One, he's too important to player production-wise.

And two, he's got an $11 million cap hit. And so the production has to be there. And there's no skirting that. He's just a critically important piece to the team. I'm really curious to see. I think Jake DeBrusque is a 30- 30 goal guy. He's never been there before. I think he'll be a little more free here. As what happens with players when they're in a place for a long time, that organization will see more what they're not as opposed to what they are you come to a new

place they see what you are and not what you aren't and so he's got a chance here playing with petterson to to really have some some runway and he's going to be on a power play in a prominent spot there's chance for opportunity there that he wouldn't have gotten and you know i mean in in b, you know, for the first five years of his career, six years of his career, Patrice Bergeron was in the bumper. Like you weren't going there. Yeah.

You weren't going to play on the wing. He played it quite well. Yeah. And there was Brad Marchand. There was nowhere to go. Here he's going to get a chance. Now it's up to him. So I'm really curious about that.

And the other thing is I don't think you can underestimate the fact that uh patrick alveen was able to make the deal for tucker poolman to get get 80 of his money out of here and that keeps them out of lti and that i think we saw last year their aggressiveness to improve the team during the season, that will be enhanced with not being an LTI. So they had a terrific offseason, and tomorrow night when it hits the ice, then we'll see how it all translates. How big a decision do they have to make with Brock Besser? For some people, it might be just obvious,

like, yeah, you've got to resign this guy. But they do all of a sudden have a bunch of wingers signed uh past you know two or three years or even four years hoaglander is locked up for four years now they got guys like jonathan lecker amaki coming um and i have found it interesting as has halford that patrick alveen has been talking about Brock's consistency level and how he wants to see more consistency. And he actually said last year, Alveen thought that after Brock hit 30 goals, he let his foot off the gas. And when we first heard that, we were kind of like, is he joking?

Is this like dry humor or something like that? He ended up with 40 goals. It seems pretty consistent to me. But just wondering about your thoughts about Brock Besser heading into this season. So, well, like, like everybody, I, I guess was just really impressed with his season last year. You know, he was clearly

attempting to be a different player, a more complete player. And I think the results were, were quite obvious that he was in the way that talk used him in spots that you wouldn't have thought he would be out there in the past. One thing about Patrick that I know is he's relentless, that his relentless of and pursuit of success, his foot does not come off the gas. And so if there's a way to get 5% more, they're going to chase it. And if that means that's what they're hoping for from Besser,

then they're going to chase that. As far as re-signing him, the days are gone that as you get older, you just keep making more money. That was ending a little bit maybe 10 or 12 years ago it's certainly ending now and you now get paid when you're younger you get paid when you're in your the peak of your career and as you get older you start to get kind of cornered a little bit and the the two things that always come to play with an older player or you know are obviously aav and then term and so if if brock and his agent think that there's a six-year deal somewhere then he might have to chase that if he's looking for something less in term then maybe there's something to be done but you don't just take a 40-goal score or a 30-goal score for sure,

a 30-plus goal score, let me say it that way. You don't just take that and pitch it to the curb and say, oh, we'll just get another one of those. Because it doesn't happen. Like, Lechomacki might be a tremendous young prospect, and he might light up the American League's year. And then he's going to get to the NHL, and he's going to have to start all over again. And to expect that somebody like that would come in and just replace what Besser does is unrealistic.

And so there is a balancing act to all of this that I think you can be really good at it from a management standpoint. And that gives you the best chance to be lucky to hit the timing right. Because it's really hard. Is Brock in the peak years of his career or was that a one-off? I mean, I don't know. But you're committing millions of dollars and years to that theory. And so your coaches and your scouts and your management team, there'll be a lot of discussions about players of that prominence.

We're speaking to Ray Ferraro here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Ray, what about the task facing Rick Tockett this year as the head coach, the reigning Jack Adams winner? If you go back and you look at the history of Jack Adams winners, oftentimes the guy that wins it is the one that has the biggest single season turnaround from year to year in terms of points. And then after that, the job almost inherently

gets more difficult because, one, you're at the top of the coaching mountain. You're the best coach in the NHL. But two, you have to go and do it again, right? They don't want to see regression. In a lot of these cases, that's what ends up happening. Now, I think everyone can agree that Rick Tockett's done a really good job as a really good head coach. We had Mike Keenan on

the show yesterday. He was full of praise for his former players, now a head coach. But none of that takes away from the fact that it is difficult when you get to the heights that you do in the coaching world and winning coach of the year. It gets more difficult after that, and that's what Rick Tockett's faced with going into this season.

It does inevitably for everybody. I mean, when you're just starting and you're with a team that's in the middle or the lower third, nobody really puts much focus or much heat on a coach in that in that predicament right you just coach and you make the changes you want you change the systems that you want you try to get new players in and you're just kind of plotting along and then if you hit a season like the Canucks had last year you're 100% right the scrutiny comes from all sides um i i happen to think one of the best coaches in the league is jared bednar and in jared bednar's first year uh that's when patrick wall

walked out right before camp they said oh yeah jared guess what you're the coach and they had 59 points like they got they got their lunch handed to them. And he coached with a long leash because nobody really expected that much. Well, then you could see that he knew what he was doing and they were putting together a team. Then they win the Stanley Cup. Now, since then, they've had injury. They've had suspension.

They're at the top of the heap. Everybody looks at Colorado and says, oh, they're coming in here or we're going there. We better bring our A game. They're trying to make adjustments. They're trying to move personnel in. Once you get to the, you know, to the top where Bednar has been and, you know, where Toc would like to get to, of course it gets harder

because you're standing on the point. And everybody's trying to A to knock you off that point. You have to replicate all the good things that happened in the year that you just had. And the Canucks were really healthy. They had guys have career years. The same thing I'll tack on is Chris Knobloch in Edmonton. I think Edmonton's defense missed four games last year.

That's not happening again. There's going to be a different set of pressures on Knobloch and a different set of pressures on talk. And the coaching business, I always thought I would get into it. Man, I'm so glad i didn't because there is there is just no relief you ever you ever talk to a coach after a game and you're like hey coach great job you won four one yeah you see our power play we roll for four yeah like they never can take a breath and that's uh it's a hard way uh to go through but that's, that's the job.

So I'm totally with you. There is a lot of pressure to, I don't know if they can replicate the point total, but to, to be as a team, that is in the top of their top of their division, the top of their conference in those two or three or four teams that are right at the very top and, and give yourself a legitimate chance, there's a lot of pressure in there. I know we shouldn't read into anything that happens into the preseason, but I'm going to go out and read a little bit. The Oilers looked pretty loose in the preseason defensively.

Do you think that blue line, and I know they made some changes to their roster, do you think that blue line is going to hold up or do you think that's going to have to be addressed mid-season? Do you think there might be a bit of a, they didn't win the Stanley Cup, but they made it to the final. Do you think there might be a bit of a hangover there? What do you think about the Edmonton Oilers as it stands right now? I think there's zero chance that blue line will look the same in March as it does now.

None. Zero. They can't win a Stanley Cup with that collection. And I think they know that. But people aren't available that you might be interested in or that might be helpful to you in October that they might be in January or February. Cap, of course, plays an incredible part of it. I also think there is a view that we are good enough that we can mask over some of our deficiencies until we get later in the year. The preseason, I can't even imagine what it was like for those guys to play to game seven and lose, right?

And lose, get nothing, and then turn around a few short months later and play a preseason game with half the guys in your own lineup you don't know. So I'm not concerned with it. I mean, it was not a sharp performance in the preseason, but I don't really think that particularly matters. I do think they didn't get a good preseason out of Jeff Skinner. I think that's a little bit of a concern for them because they were hoping that he and Ardvidsson could flank Dreisaitl.

And it looks like they're going to start with Skinner with Henrik on a third line. That's not really what their plan was. And then on the blue line, whether it, Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott and Josh Brown was on waivers and Troy Stetcher. And, you know, like they're trying to plug some holes there and try to like just trying to hold the ship steady a little bit, I think, till they get deeper in the air. Okay, Ray, you hold the ship steady today because you got a big travel day and just make sure you focus on the travel details because we know sometimes when you travel,

things don't always go smoothly, but you kind of have to throw a perfect game today. Well, I don't know if you saw the Saturday Night Live skit with Nate Borgazzi when he was in Washington in the middle of the boat. I'm one of the other four guys in the boat. I'm just sitting there, and I'm hoping the general gets me where I'm going.

Well, best of luck with everything. It's a very cool endeavor. I hope it goes well. And a reminder, that's not all for Ray, because Wednesday night, you're going to be calling the Canucks opener with Shorty and Murph and all the crew here at Sportsnet. So enjoy the next little bit, Ray. Yeah, I get to do three openers in 30 hours.

So I'm really, actually, I'm really excited. It'll be awesome. Sounds good. We're looking forward to it, too. Thanks, Ray. Enjoy tonight. Talk to you later. Thanks, guys.

Ray Ferraro, well-traveled NHL analyst here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. But enough about Ray. We got some breaking news. We do. Sportsnet 650 Breaking News. We have our first NFL coaching firing of the season. Farewell to New York Jets head coach Robert Sala. He's out after a 2-3 start to the season

that included a very disappointing loss over the weekend to the Minnesota Vikings in London at Tottenham Stadium. They left him in England. They did. Just stay here. Go see the clock. Go ride the Ferris wheel. He's out. I got a feeling that this might have something to do

with his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Who's to say? Does he ever clash with his coach? Never. Famously never clashes with his head coach. For those that are wondering who the replacement is going to be, as of right now, there's an interim coach. And you might remember the name, Jeff Ulbrich. Yeah, the same guy that played nine years as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers.

He was the team's defensive coordinator. He will now be the interim head coach. I wonder, I really wonder if they pick up the phone and they say, Hey, Bill Belichick. Yeah. You want to come back to the Jets? He's like, not with the Rodgers. Are you kidding me?

He's done. He's cooked. You seeing him? He's old and he's hurt. So off a terrible injury. And now he's hurt again. And shout out to Mike McCarthy and Doug Peterson for not being the first coach fired this season. I thought it was going to be one of you.

Yeah, they were listening to the show. Actually, they heard the breaking news. They're like, oh, God. Doug Peterson was like, I knew it. I'm gone. I knew it. I shouldn't listen to Vancouver Sports Talk Radio now. But anyway, you're safe now, Doug.

You're safe for now. Anyway, so there's your breaking news. We've got to go to break. When we come back, we've got a lot more to get to on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. T.J. Lee, linebacker for the BC Lions, is going to join us at 7.30 ahead of their game on the weekend against the Rough Riders. And then at 8 o'clock, Brendan Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks. He's going to join us ahead of tomorrow's opener against Calgary. You're listening to 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. 731 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford 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. TJ Lee from the BC Lions is going to join us in just a moment here. Big defensive touchdown last weekend for TJ. He'll be joining us on the program right after I tell you about Jason Hominuck at jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, don't let Jason shop around to find the best mortgage for you.

I'm just kidding. Let him do it. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Joining us now on the program, two- time CFL all-star TJ Lee. Now on the Halford and breath show on sports net six 50 morning, TJ. How are you?

Hey, I'm great. I'm great. Just driving into the facility. I guess I timed the interview up perfectly. So now I'm sitting in the car before going in. Take interview. Thank you for taking the time to do this today.

We really appreciate it. First congrats on the win against the Stampeders last weekend, and congrats on the touchdown. Very well done. You and Matthew Betts carrying the offensive load for the team. How did it feel to get the win and to score a major in that game? Oh, the goal. The goal is to win the game, you know,

and to be a part of the success is great. And a form of a touchdown is even better In the form of a touchdown, it's even better. So, hey, on to the next now. A new week. Was it definitely a lateral? You can tell the truth now. Was it definitely a lateral? I mean, it had to have been.

I saw him kind of change the trajectory of his throw. And the whole game, every time I showed blitz, there was a little bubble action happening. So, I mean, I didn't know the difference. I just let my instincts be my guide and let the officials make the call. Well, it was a great play, and how did it feel as one of the leaders of the defense, the team, but also the defense, knowing that you guys went out there and put some points on the board

and helped out the offense a little bit, which Nathan Rourke has admitted isn't quite there? Yeah, I mean, it feels great. Ultimately, it shows the guys the power of manifestation. We had a meeting before the game at the defense, and we talked about the most important player of the game not being the quarterback it being all of us you know and if we go out there and do our individual jobs but also make plays you know for the team then you know we'd be the defense we

want to be. So how can you build on this game because the season has been odd in that there have been some there was an encouraging start and then there was the long losing streak and then it felt like you guys had turned it around with the big win in victoria and then you go to montreal and you beat the alouettes but then there was another step back um how can you find that consistency in effort and consistency in results going forward? Because you got a big game coming up against the Rough Riders. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, we believe we first we come into work and we believe in the work that we put in and we've been putting in since camp. And that's the most important thing is the self-belief and the hard work that you do to be consistent down the stretch. You know, we understand that the other team, you know, they work too, you know, and they're professional as well. So, you know, the margin of winning a victory is very small. But ultimately, it's about the team that turns it around.

So believing that everything we've been through, the wins and the losses, has prepared us for this tail end of the season. So we believe that, and we've come to prepare like we do. It takes that foolish belief. Only one team wins. Speaking of putting in the work, how much work did it take

to come back from the torn Achilles? Not just to come back from it, period, but how quickly you were able to come back and be effective again? It was a challenge. And when people say torn Achilles, I say two torn Achilles. Right. Because, you know, it was all a matter of telling myself my previous success stories,

you know, to go through a tough time and also the mental strength that it took. And, you know, really the mindset that it took to get through all of it. It's been a long journey and I give thanks to my wife, my physical therapy team and my, also my sports psychologist and my children. You know, when you got to wake up every morning, you know, and, you know, my kids look up to me, you know, and you want to be the leader that they look up to, you know, you can't really be down. So, um, this, that second Achilles tear was a tribute to that. Yeah. I mean, I can't, I tore mine. I'm much older and much, much worse shape than you are, but, uh, I couldn't, I couldn't

imagine coming back from it, coming back from two of them guess what you haven't yeah i haven't i'm just like well that's that now uh but but um in a weird way did tearing it the first time and recovering from it almost make it i don't want to say easier but like you understood what you needed to do and that there was light at the end of the tunnel because you had gone through it previously yeah i knew it would be a lot of mental milestones that I had to clear. Right. That was tough the first time. So the second time, it was easier to trust the healing process

but also trust the progression. So that was the difference between the first and the second time. The first time, I was young, and I was with my girlfriend at the time, which is my wife now, and it was just us two, you know. I was really like mourning through it, but I was also just young and youthful enough to kind of snap it back around. The second time was just built on like love and, you know, positivity and, you know, also knowing the mental milestones that I had to cross

to get through it. So, I mean, both two different journeys, but I understood the assignment. What kind of conversations did you have with your sports psychologist? Oh, well, there was a lot, really. I don't know where to start with this one. I'm just understanding that basically all my success through my career as we start there and how I came back from the first one and understanding that what was the main emphasis of this one? Just the average mindset, understanding that I'm not average,

understanding how I've filtered myself from everybody else in life through my experiences, and just building off that, really. It gets way bigger. I got a little docuseries coming out about my recovery, so it was nice to have cameras follow me around and all that stuff. So basically it'll all come out, but there's just so much. I'm talking to my sports psychologist now about things.

So it's, you know, about this part that I'm in right now. And that's all I'm thinking about right now, honestly. Pivoting a little bit, although staying on the health front here, what went into the decision to wear the Guardian cap this year? Yeah, we had a bye week. And, I mean, that's when you really, you know, self-reflect

and on your season and self-assess. And the Guardian cap came up. We've been practicing. We had to practice with it like once a week when we had padded practices or something during the season. And I noticed it was increasingly coming back. And also, you know, I have kids. And being able to talk with my wife about it

and my physical therapist about it, they concluded that it would be a good idea. And I was like, you know, I mean, I'm not really – I noticed all the players disdain for it, you know. And I was like, well, why not try it out? If I don't like it, I could put it away. But then once I started getting, like, discouraged by other folks telling me, oh, that's big and that's that, it really just lit my fire to want to wear it just to prove to myself that nothing can stop me

because everybody does this little thing. Oh, it's heavy. It's really not all that heavy. If it's protective, then, I mean, that's an added advantage. And honestly, I play more reckless with it because I know the patterns there. So, I mean, I'm the type of person to make everything work for me and not against me. So making this work for me is just, you know,

testament to the character and the person I am. And in football, I don't want to get lost up. I don't want to get caught up in not changing, you know. Every year I've been able to reinvent and change myself, and I think that's what kept me around. So two years down the road when the guardian caps are mandatory and everybody's got to wear it, I'll just be one step ahead of everybody. Literally and figuratively.

I think that's a style now, too. I've seen those big hats out there, right? Yeah. What are those called? Yeah, those are the hats, too. Yeah, you're ahead of the curve, TJ. So, stylishly, don't let people make fun of you. It's the new style.

Oh, it doesn't matter now, all because I'm not afraid to be the first to do something. I was the first to score a touchdown in the Guardian cap. So, no. There you go. Okay, well, now the bar's been set. You've got to score one again this weekend against Saskatchewan. So, with that, we'll let you go. And just get more and more important.

Yeah, enjoy practice today. Enjoy the game on the weekend. Best of luck. Keep the good times going and keep the winning going. And thanks again, TJ, for doing this. We really appreciate it. I appreciate you having me. Go Lions.

TJ Lee from the BC Lions here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I didn't even put those two things together. First guy to score a touchdown in the Guardian cap. How about that? Do you think those big hats made it more acceptable? Remember big hats? Are they still there? I thought you were going to get some for the show.

Big hat. Look, it's a big hat. Do they come with padding too inside the big hat? I don't know what's inside the big hat. Imagine doing an entire show wearing the big hats and not mentioning it. That would be hilarious. I don't know if they're around anymore though. They had their, I remember like

Cal Lowry wore one. Bryan Robinson wore one. They were kind of around there for a bit. But then, I don't know, maybe it just never caught on like we thought it was going to, the big hats. Okay, so if you got any texts or comments, text them in like right now into the Dunbar Lumber text line. Right now!

650-650 because Rick Tockett has been added to the lineup and this is going to affect what we learns. We're going to talk to Batch in about 20 minutes. Then we'll try and do some what we learns. We're going to talk to Batch in about 20 minutes. Then we'll try and do some what we learns, but then Rick Talk is going to join us in the last segment of the show for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Then maybe we can do some what we learns again. I got this text from Maury the Mill Manager. Okay. And he asks, is it just me or has there been very little

talked about Heinen? I've heard more about the third and fourth string goalies. Is that just indicative of the type of player he is? No big waves? Yeah, it is a good point that if we consider JT Miller's line, the top line of the Canucks,

we haven't had a lot of conversation about the new addition to the top line of the Canucks. We haven't had a lot of conversation about the new addition to the top line along with Brock Besser and JT Miller. They were a package deal last year. They spent the entire season together, had a lot of success. And then they bring in Heinen and we're kind of like,

yeah, he should fit there. And I think a lot of it is the type of player that he is. He's not, I mean, I think compared to Daniel Sprong, for example, playing with Petey and DeBrusque, he's kind of a boom bust guy. He's like, oh, this guy could be off that line real quick, or I don't know, maybe he's going to be one of the greatest bargains in NHL history if they have chemistry.

But Heinen, I think, is just a steady type player, defensively responsible, has speed, not too flashy. But maybe we should talk a little bit more about him considering all the other options the Canucks have on the wings. I do think part of this lack of conversation has to do with the way that the Canucks addressed training camp in the preseason I'm I actually went down this thought exercise a little while ago aside from the Demko situation which I'm going to be honest wasn't really a training camp story because

all the it was a summer story it was a summer story this was a very uneventful preseason for the Vancouver Canucks. Not a lot happened. Not a lot of guys played. There were no major injuries. There was no major drama. There was no major drama. There were some good stories, like Atu Ratu was a good story. But even that was a young prospect cracking the bottom six.

It's not grabbing headlines across the league that Atu Ratu is going to be slotting in as a three or four C like it's a story, but, and nobody really went off, you know, Baines had a couple of goals and that was good, but JT Miller barely participated in it. I,

the, the real one that when, when Garland got nicked up near the end and talk it, I'm paraphrasing, but he said like Garland could play, but why that was, that was preseason. That was preseason.

We could participate in it, but why? And I just wonder if Heinen who showed up and did all the things he was supposed to do just kind of became another Canuck in this. I mean, I don't want to say it's like a procession line, but everyone did what they were supposed to do. Right.

They showed up. They got some good exercise. They had fun. They went to Penticton, played some golf, ate at a couple restaurants, came back, played in the exhibition games. Nobody got hurt. Right. And you look across the league, that wasn't the case with a lot of them. Right.

Even the one preseason game that got somewhat spicy, the one against Seattle. Yeah. That got muted real quick, too. That didn't carry over to the rest of the preseason. Yeah. Taco was like, it's enough spice, only salt from now on. And just a little bit of it. That's it.

No more seasoning. But, yeah, I think as far as Heinen, he needs to perform, obviously, because there are other options there. Pew Suter, I'm sure, has his eye on that spot. Yep. So we'll see how it all um unfolds but you're right you're right um i think it was mori that sent that in there you're right we haven't spent much time talking about him he's a local guy too um i'll ask another

question not canucks related but very much nhl related and very much pertaining to tonight's action. Are you intrigued by Utah? And I don't just mean having a new team in a new city. Greg Wyshynski, who we had on the show in hour one, picked them to make the playoffs. Elliot Friedman from the 32 thoughts podcast. Am I intrigued by their team? No.

I don't think they're going to make the playoffs. I am not intrigued by this team. And I don't think that they're, I don't think that moving to Utah is this great elixir that's going to vault them into playoff contention, but a lot of people do think that. Yeah, I mean, and hopefully they are interesting enough to catch our attention.

We're tough to impress, though, right? Like, we've got a couple teams that we just pick on. Right. You know, like, eh, Seattle, they're boring. But they are boring. But even Dallas, who a lot of people are picking to win the Stanley Cup, we're kind of like, eh, can't really get into them. Yeah, it's just, I mean, you'll see Utah a handful of times this year,

obviously, Western Conference team. I want to see what happens to Colorado. That's a team I'm curious about. They were just, they were so, so good that year they won the Cup. And then a lot of things have gone against them. Whether it's injuries to Landis Gog, losing guys for salary cap reasons, the issues with Nachushkin. Their team was too good that year.

Their team was too good. It was too good. The hard cap looked at that team and went, mm-mm, not again. Nazem Khadri 2C, that's not going to happen anymore. At that time, I've said this a few times, I think he was the best 2C in hockey. He didn't even play some of the Stanley Cup Final games, too.

I know, because he kept getting suspended. Well, no, he was hurt. Yeah, but that team, that one year, and it's almost, I mean, it's great for the rest of the NHL because it gives other teams a chance to win. Terrible for Colorado. It almost feels like that team didn't get a long enough of a runway to stick together and to make things up because you remember like guys that were there were integral parts of that

team like cadre bowen byram like they're gone oh i just think it would be hard to find like who's gonna convince you to get interested in like oh clayton Clayton Keller's the new captain there in Utah. Like, okay. See, but that's what I'm saying. Okay. We're not. Good for him. But there's a lot of people.

I mean, there's a reason. Why are they picking them? I mean, they got Sergeyev. People are picking them because they think that they got out from under the Morello ownership and all the dysfunction and changing in a college bathroom before you go and play a game at Mullet Arena. Don't frown at me. I'm not frowning at you.

You're frowning. You can't see it because we're on the radio, but he's frowning at me. I haven't seen all these people picking them to make the playoffs. Greg Wyshynski picked them to make the playoffs. Elliott Friedman picked them to make the playoffs. And there's a reason that the NHL is doing this on opening night, seven o'clock primetime game,

Conor and Chicago Blackhawks going to Utah. Like there, I don't want to say they're throwing the roses, rose petals down so that they can walk the aisle or anything, but there is a little bit of a, there's a little bit of a coronation that they finally got rid of this eyesore that is Arizona. Yeah. And now they've got the shiny this eyesore that is Arizona. Yeah.

And now they've got the shiny new owner and the building's not great, obviously. Are they going to actually pick a name? Is that the plan? I would stick with Hockey Club. I think it's... Really? Yeah, I think it's so bad. You can't do that.

It's so bad. No, it's going to be Yetis. You know that. It is going to be... But they should be singular. I agree Yeti is better, but it sounds like it's going to be Yetis. What's the plural of Yeti? It's Yeti.

No, I think it's Yetis. No, I think it's because there's a very popular What's the plural of Yeti? It's Yeti. No, I think it's Yetis. No, I think it's because there's a very popular product. I have a lot of alcohol in my Yetis. Yeah, exactly. Well, there's a very popular product called Yeti, right? The cooler? Yes. Well, it's the Stanley Cup incident all over again.

Yeah, but I'm going to say, I'm giving you the reason. Tell me about these Yetis that are famous. For people that don't know, that's why they're probably going to pluralize it. But that is a... Why don't they just get them on as a sponsor? Yeah, get them on board. Yeah, that's a good idea. Because that's an Austin-based company, Yeti.

And they are the shirt sponsors for the MLS team, Austin FC. So they're already involved in sports. So they're already involved, yeah. So it's a total no-brainer to get a patch on your jersey and then Yeti matches with Yeti. It's an absolute no-brainer. So Jordan in the Ridge texts in about Utah. Cooley and Gunther are studs.

Okay. I think everyone is missing what I'm... Let's see. It's not so much about... The team is the team from last year with a couple of additions. It's the same thing, right? Cooley was there.

Gunther was there. Josh Doan. Yeah, they added Sergachev, but it's the same thing. The understanding that a lot of people have is that magically all the issues that Arizona had are going to be fixed

now because they're in Utah. I have a hard time believing that because my argument would be the players are still the players, the team is still the team, the coach is still the coach. I don't think that there's this magical resolution because they're in Mormon. You need to some guys to emerge as

stars. How many times have we talked about this? I mean with the teams, who is going to be Seattle's superstar? Quinn Hughes, you know, that type of level player. JT Miller, Leahs Pettersson, like who are those

guys? It's the big question with Detroit. And they're hoping maybe someone like Lucas Raymond is that player or Moritz Seider. But until they do it, there's just still very good players. But it's hard to win

the Stanley Cup without... Frankly, it's hard to be a contender for the Stanley Cup with just a bunch of like good players and for people that bring up Vegas in their first year first of all that was such a crazy anomaly but there were players that emerged as like real real studs on that team I think about William Carlson I'm like but... But not a star. No, not a star. And then maybe they were... Maybe their strength was their

depth. They just had a lot of good players and maybe that's what they were hoping for with Seattle. But I think now, Vegas, you look at the team that won the Stanley Cup, they had legit stars. Yeah, and they were fundamentally different than the team that went to the Stanley Cup. Fundamentally stars. Yeah, and they were fundamentally different

than the team that went to the Stanley Cup. Fundamentally different. The team that went in 2017 was a lot of magic in a bottle. They had the Golden Misfits thing. I think a lot of people kept waiting for the bottom to drop out and never did. They went on a magical run. And then I remember that team had the most timely goal scoring

of any team in recent memory. They always found a way. They would score after the opposition scored on them. They would score big goals at key moments. It seemed like everything clicked. So that was a bit of an anomaly team. We're talking about 2018? 2018.

What did I say? 2017. Yeah. That was the year Fleury had essentially one of the best playoff first three rounds in NHL history next to Tim Thomas when they beat the Canucks. William Carlson, Jason Manchin scored four goals. But they weren't, I never considered them a product of their goaltending. They had a lot more going for them. But he did a lot more than people give him credit for.

Do you remember how badly they would dominate the Canucks? That was the team that came in waves. Owned them. Even dominate the Canucks. That was the team that came in waves. Owned them. Even in the preseason. Even in the preseason, I think they came in and smoked the Canucks at Rogers Arena. There will obviously be a surprise team. There is every year.

There's a big surprise team. There's a big disappointment team. Halford, his hot take is that it's going to be Vegas. I'm not feeling Toronto. I think I'm one of the only guys that has been like, I don't know if Toronto's like, everyone just seems to assume that they're going to get their 105 points or whatever and make the playoffs and then probably not do anything.

Matthews is going to score a lot of goals. I appreciate his contrarian views about their defense. I just don't like their blue line. Because everyone else is like, their blue line is so much better. Yeah, I'm like, oh, okay. That's the best part of the whole analysis. Their goaltending is slightly better, I think. That'll help.

Who's the Stolarz, right? Stolarz. He's been exceptional in the preseason. It's the wool Stolarz. Health is the only thing that really. Is that it? Health is the major sticking point for their goaltending this year. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the program.

Coming up on the other side, we dive headfirst back into the Canucks talk. Brendan Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks, is going to join us. We are now just a day away from the start of the Canucks regular season. It's finally here. We are excited. And then at 8.30, speaking of the Vancouver Canucks, head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Rick Tockett.

That's right. Talk, talk. Right here on Halford & Brough Show. We will talk to Rick Talkett at 8.30. There will be maybe one What We Learned, maybe none. Who knows? But we got Brendan Batchelor and Rick Talkett coming up in the final hour of the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet at 6.50.