Halford & Brough in the Morning - Shane Bieber Day + NHL in Milan

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

In hour two, Jamie and Dan are joined by Nick Ashbourne to break down the Toronto Blue Jays’ lingering concerns as the season heats up and shares insights on Shane Bieber’s anticipated debut. We check in with Dave Pagnotta from Milano for NHL media tour with updates on Frank Nazar’s contract, the quiet offseason, and the status of unsigned talents like Rossi and McTavish.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Welcome back to Halfinbrough here on a Fysterner up here on a Fiesta Friday on the show. Jamie Dodd Dan Riccio here with you for another couple. of hours. Halford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit sands dash trustee.com. This hour is brought to you by jason. Dot mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason dot mortgage. We are broadcasting live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Send your ask us anything.

and you're what we learn submissions in 650, 650 to the Dunbar-Lumber text line. We'll announce the winner of the $100 gift card to AJ's pizza on East Broadway at 830. Make sure you include the pizza emoji if you want a chance to win that. Guests on SportsNet 650 call in on the hotline powered by PowerWest Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters most. Visit them at Powerwest.ca. Today they keep the lights on. Now joining us from SportsNet covering the J's. He is Nick Ashbourne.

Nick, thanks for doing this today. How are you? My pleasure. It's an exciting day in Blue Jays world. Yeah, it is. So, I mean, we'll start there. And the reason it's an exciting day is that their big deadline acquisition, Shane Bieber, making not just his Blue Jays debut, but his first start in the majors since the early parts of last season. So, I mean, let's start there. As I said, what are you anticipating from Shane Bieber? And, you know, not just in this start, but what does the roadmap for Shane Bieber and the Jays look like? between now and the beginning of the postseason. Yeah, I mean, I think it's important to be a little bit cautious with, you know, if he comes out and he has a rough start, not abandoning any hope that he's going to be an important player for the Blue Jays, you know, as you mentioned, this is his first start since early 2024. It's been more than a year.

This has been a long process for him to get back from Tommy John's surgery. So he might not be, you know, the most electric version of himself or the most, you know, confident. You'll probably have some nerves out there. I think there are a couple things you can watch for. You want to watch for the velocity because it's been pretty good in the minor leagues by his standards. You know, kind of averaging close to 93, which in today's game is not spectacular. But Beaver has been pretty effective in the past even closer to 91, 92. So sometimes guys come back from Tommy John and they do get a little bit of a boost. It looks like he

might have that. And he's just so good with his command. Like that's what's made him an elite pitcher over the course of his career and so it'll be interesting to see if he's hitting his spots throughout this game because that's something that sometimes pitchers also struggle with when they come back from such a long layoff, come back from his surgery, they don't quite feel like themselves and their

mechanics aren't there, they're not as able to hit their spot. So we'll see where Bieber is at with that. Yeah, I mean, it's been nearly 500 days since his last major league start. We know he pitched pretty well in AAA as you mentioned and, you know, you just, you look at this Jay's

rotation. I know what you wrote at Sportset.com. In a while they're getting pretty consistent outings from almost everybody in the rotation, they kind of lack that true ace, you know, the Garrett Crochet or the Tarik Scooball that Detroit has.

And I don't know if Bieber or any one of these guys can get to that level, but they kind of just need somebody to really level up as they get closer to the postseason it feels like. Yeah, and that was part of why it was a bit of an odd trade deadline for the Jays because they approached the market and they felt like they needed

a starter, but they didn't need more of the same. They didn't need sort of another guy who could give you reliable innings because they had a ton of these players who were performing at kind of like a number three starter level. Now, you know, since then, Kevin Gosman has been better and Max Scherzer has been better, but it's still, you know, it's relatively doubtful that they're going to have one player who is, as you mentioned, at that level, the top aces they'll potentially seeing the playoffs. Beaver is a candidate to be that guy. They took a swing with him because they thought the ceiling on this dude is that he's

one of the better pitchers in all of baseball and he can line up with anybody. Today we're not going to find out if he's at that level yet, but over the course of a couple weeks we'll get a sense of, is this guy actually going to be ready to be a difference maker so soon after Tom John's surgery where he feels like he's on a different tier than the rest of the Blue J starters. And that's a possibility. That's where, you know, he has that talent. He has that track record. But, you know, betting on that happening immediately after Tommy John's surgery is certainly a risky bet. So certainly the Jays will hope that Bieber is part of the solution to the

playoff rotation. How do you evaluate the other options to figure into the playoff rotation? Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because a few weeks ago, it felt really murky. And things are starting to separate a little bit because there's starting to be a little bit more difference between the performance of some of the guys in these rotations. So like Jose Burrios, for instance, he's really struggled sort of since the All-Star break since July. And if he keeps struggling like this, like he's going to rule himself out being a candidate, even though he's someone who has been, you know, such a consistent pitcher for the Blue Jays over the years,

like he's kind of working his way out of it. And then on the flip side, Kevin Gosman and Max Sturz, those are two guys who have an ERA under three since the All-Star break. You know, Scherzer in particular has been saying that the thumb issue that has been dogging him throughout the most of the season and kind of delayed his start with the Jays, even though he had that first initial outing, like delayed him really getting going. He said that, you know, he's managing that really well. He's not thinking about it as much and he's in a better place physically.

And so, like, those two, Scherzer and Gosman, they feel like unless something changes significantly, like they're going to be there, Bieber's going to be there, and then if you get to a longer series, now you're thinking about a fourth guy. I mean, that's a good problem to have. The Jays haven't been going deep enough

into a series to work, worry about a fourth guy in recent seasons, but they're going to have a lot of options. You know, Burrios maybe not. Bassett, it will be a credible option. And then Eric Lauer is an interesting guy because he's just been so effective all season long,

even though, you know, he signed on a minor league contract and it's been such a good surprise. Like there'd be a case for him to have that spot. particularly if they face a team that is less good against left-handed pitching. And so he brings out other element by being a Southbaugh, and he's just been undeniably effective all season long. Scherzer's been really fun to watch, you know,

with the way that he's started to look like his old self, even if, you know, it's more of a aged out to Max Scherzer version that we are getting. How much of what we're seeing is, you know, Scherzer finally finding his game, and is there still question marks? what he's been able to provide even during this hot streak. I mean, yeah, there's certainly positives that you can draw. Like his velocity, for instance, it's better than it was last season. It's kind of back to where it was a couple years ago.

It's not that far off from kind of prime Max Scher territory, maybe sort of a tick or so. And he's been really effective with that. You know, he's commanded it really well. He's gotten great results with it. So I think that's the biggest positive in terms of where his stuff is. The rest of those stuff is maybe, you know, as he's mentioned, This is an aged version of Max Scherzer. His 40th birthday is in the rearview mirror.

So you don't want to be too critical, but the rest of the stuff is just not quite at the same level. And one thing that's happening with him is that he's just giving up almost exclusively fly balls. And sometimes that's a good way to limit hits because fly balls find gloves, but also it's definitely a way to give up home runs. And I think that's the big concern with Scher down the stretch and into the playoffs, so it feels like he doesn't really have the capacity right now to limit, of the home run ball. And so there tends to be at least kind of one untimely ball that goes

over the wall per start. And if that happens at the wrong moment in the playoffs, it can sort of totally change the complexion of a game. And, you know, kind of sink your team if you're facing another starter on the other side who is holding you down. Of course, the other thing about a pitching staff that gets so magnified in the postseason is your bullpen and especially the guys in those high leverage roles in the bullpen, right? And how many you have that you could really trust in big spots in a game with runners on base and, you know, in dangerous situations. How do you think the Blue Jays bullpen stacks up and will be used and can be used effectively in the postseason? I mean, this is a moment where they definitely feel a little

bit shakier than they have at other times during the season. You know, Jeff Hoffman at the back end of the bullpen, the big offseason acquisition, he's had a very odd year. Like he started off great. His May was an absolute train wreck, and then he stumbled a bit, but generally speaking, I think people are starting to gain confidence with him. He's looked really good in recent outings. But then on the flip side, the guys they've

broadened in around the deadline, Sir Anthony Dominguez and Louis Varland, I don't think either of those players have really hit the ground running with the Jays. And that's a little bit of a cause for concern because I think those are two players they'll be looking to in big spots, and those are the guys who get close to throwing 100.

They bring that new element to Toronto, but, you know, having great stuff and having great results can be two different things. And so far, they've been a little bit shakier. And you still have guys who've succeeded for you for the, you know, most of the year, like Jarel Rodriguez and Brendan Little. But, you know, it's a little bit of an unproven group. There's not a ton of big names. There is really good stuff in this bullpen. I think the issue that they face is that a lot of the guys who have the best stuff are also a little bit wild at times.

And so there are moments where this bullpen can start issuing too many walks and things can get ugly in a hurry. But I think this is more of like an ugly moment right now to talk about the bullpen than a cause for a massive concern or crisis. Because for most of the year this has been a good group and they added legitimate talent to it at the deadline. We saw Tray Savage get eight strikeouts in Buffalo yesterday. I've always kind of wondered could Savage be an option in the bullpen down the stretch here? like we saw, you know, the name that immediately comes to mind from way back when is David Price, you know, going into the Ray's bullpen as a rookie when they were making a play for the World Series. I guess that was old back in 2008.

But could you see Traeus Savage being used in that kind of a role for the Jays? It's certainly possible. I mean, that's a blueprint, as you mentioned. Historically, it's happened before where a young pitcher is working his way through the minor leagues as a starter. But you feel like his stuff could play up in the bullpen and give you, an extra element. And that, you know, certainly Pausal, let's your savage. Like, he's moved so quickly through the minor leagues this season. He started at A ball. He's a AAA now.

He hasn't been at any single level more than eight times before getting a call up to the next level. Like, he's just continually progressed, continually getting better, moving up prospect lists. The reality is he's got to show it at AAA. Like, this is, you know, this is the level below the major leagues. And so if you, if you're going to believe that this guy can get out major league hitters, especially in the playoffs or in high-leveled situations, that he better be getting out AAA hitters.

So he did have a promising outing his most recent timeout, but I think that Jays are going to need to see him not just sort of do well at AAA, but really dominate there before they're willing to believe that he's someone who can move the needle at the end of the day. We're talking Blue Jays with Nick Ashmoren of Sportsnet here on Halford & Brough's Sportsnet 650. So we've talked about the pitching staff, and of course I think the other big concern on the mind of Jay's fans, and you wrote about this at sportsnet.ca, Nick, is the offense and specifically the fact that, you know, you look at it and by a lot of the advanced metrics, they're close to the top of the league, runs per game, they're top 10, but the difference is they do it without the power numbers that a lot of the other best offenses do.

And, you know, I think you just look at the series against the pirates this week, and I know Vladdy missed the last couple of games, but when those, when all that contact isn't falling in for hits, it can start to look a little ugly for the J's. How much of a concern should that be, that lack of power element in their lineup? And we talked to the rotation and how I think that there is real cause for concern that this is not a group of the necessary lines up of the best. I think on the flip side of that, the worries about the team's power, to me, are a little bit overblown. And that's for a couple of reasons. I think some of their best power hitters have been on the shelf for large parts of the year. Like Dalton Varsho, we haven't seen that much of him. and he's been extraordinary at providing a power threat.

Anthony Santander is a bit of a mystery box at this point. We don't know if he's going to come back, to be honest, but there's still some runway for that. And if he does, like this is a guy who hit 40 home runs plus home runs last season, one of the better home run hitters in the league over the last few years. So he's someone who could kind of change that a little bit. You know, Addison Barger obviously has emerged as a strong power hitter over the course of the season.

You know, at the beginning of the year in April, you know, he wasn't really part of the lineup. Like, their April was absolutely miserable in that respect. The first month of the season, they hit the second-fused home runs in all of baseball. And sort of since then, they've been raid in the mix. Not like Yankees. The Yankees aren't a bit of a different level with home runs. But they've been one of the better home-run hitting teams in the league this season

because of this sort of balanced attack, you know, like Springer, Bichette, Guerrero, Varsha. All of these are legitimate barger. These are all guys who can hit a fair amount of home runs, even if none of them are individually hitting 50, 4. you. So, yeah, I don't see the J's as an elite power team, but I also don't see a lack of power as some kind of fatal flaw that's going to drag them down. Vladdy, just before this little hamstring tightness thing got him in Pittsburgh, was and has been one of the best hitters in baseball since the All-Star break. We were waiting for that

breakout to happen, and it finally came. It just feels like Vladdy's more of a second-half player, I guess, usually, than he is a first-half player. But what, what started to change for Vladi. Was it just, you know, some of those fly balls are finally starting to get out of the park? Is it that simple with Vladdy, given how good his batted ball data really is?

I mean, there's an element of that. He's definitely done a better job of elevating the ball as well. And that's always a thing with him because we know he smashes the baseball. He's one of the best guys in the league when it comes to literally

hitting the ball as hard as possible. But with him, he's got a flatter swing. And so there are, he goes to sort of peaks in valleys where sometimes the ball is just on the ground, an uncomfortable amount, or sort of low liners. And so he's definitely done a better job of elevating the ball. I think he's also gotten a little bit more selectively aggressive. Like it did feel like early in the season, he was a bit passive. He wasn't doing a lot of first pitch swinging. You know, he's, he's continued to take walks at a strong rate, sort of regardless of where he is in the season. but his walk rate is down very slightly since that time.

So it's just a little bit more aggressiveness, a little bit more elevation. And it just doesn't take much for him to be one of the very best hitters in the game because he's simply one of the most talented offensive guys there is. There's just not many people on this earth who can hit the ball as hard as he can, but also don't really strike out and also have a good sense of the strike zone and are able to draw walks. Like he's got this skill set where a lot of different people,

above one of those things or one of those things counterbalances against the other. Like they have the power, but it causes strikeouts or they avoid strikeouts, but it diminishes their power. And there's just no tradeoffs with him. He can really do it all. So once he gets locked in, and that's where he was before his handstring issue,

again, he was one of the most dangerous guys in baseball, which is what the Blue Jays need. Nick, before we let you go, you know, we've talked to line up concerns and pitching concerns. And one area you wrote about, which I thought was really interesting, and doesn't necessarily leap to the top of mind for Jay's fans when they're thinking about, you know, potential problem areas for team is the fielding and the defense.

And I think we all just say, oh, yeah, you know, Varsho in center field and Jimenez is back at second base. This is an elite defensive team. And it could still certainly play out that way. But are there maybe some kind of under the hood reasons to be a little concerned about the defense? For sure. You, you know, you mentioned those two absolutely elite defensive players. And that does a lot for you. And I throw out Hondo Kirk in there as well.

Someone provides a ton of defensive value. So you've kind of got that down the middle aspect where he feel good about it. But when, you know, the reputation of the team is that this is an elite fielding team. And some of the numbers over the last couple of months have not reflected that. They've been fairly below average. And a lot of that has lived with, you know, Boba Chet, who we know is a below average defensive shortstop. It's lived with Barger as well, even though he's got that big arm. I think he can be a bit clunky in the third.

field, and we're seeing that show up in the numbers. And so you've got that, you know, that foundation down the middle is really, really good, but there's no, you know, other than I'll give Ernie Clement some credit when he's at third base. Like Ernie Clement is obviously a very, very good fielder, especially at that spot. But generally speaking, you know, you're throwing out bow. Like, Barger needs to be in the lineup. You know, George Springer could end up playing a little bit more outfield later on,

especially if Anthony Santander is going to return. Or maybe it's Santander, and the third. field, and we know he's not great out there. So it feels like they've got a couple of really, really good players, and then outside of that, most of the guys are, you know, they're average if that. So the reputation of like, this is an elite defensive team and some of the year-long numbers are really, really good, but I do think it's worth questioning if they're quite at the level of their reputation, and that could affect, you know, when you're thinking of a playoff

starters and things like that, like I do think they need to put pitchers out there that miss bats because they can't just rely on this group of fielders to clean up all the issues. Nick really appreciate the time. Great piece up at Sportsnet.com. The people can go check out now. Thank you for doing this. No problem. Happy to join you. That is Nick Ashbourne from Sportsnet and yeah, has the piece up right now. What are the biggest

remaining questions for the Blue Jays and we ran through them there? But yeah, it's fair to say that despite their record and despite where they sit in the AL East right now, you can pretty easily foresee some of these issues coming back to bite them in the postseason. It's tough because you're always going to look at some of the downsides, especially in baseball, some of the analytical numbers. And this team is built on pitching in defense, right? And scratching out some of those runs as we talked about yesterday,

we saw the defense take an ugly turn a little bit in Pittsburgh. And if they don't defend well, they're not going to have success in the playoffs. You need those fundamentals. It's been the reason they've had success over the Yankees this year. That's imperative to this team's success is that they field the ball well. And it's been one of the better parts, one of the cleaner parts of the Blue Jays game all year. So I'd hate to see that sort of dissipate down the stretch. Yeah, when you're relying on that kind of small ball philosophy on offense, you have to take care.

You have to cross your, gosh your teas and dot your eyes in the field and make sure you're executing. No, can't beat yourself for sure. Got to make sure you're executing the fundamentals. 6.50, 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. It is an Ask Us Anything Friday here on the show. We got time for maybe one or two quick ones here. Dave Pignota is going to join us next from the fourth

period, live from Italy. Anyways, Mike, the urologist from Brockville, Texas, and ask us anything, is a smoothie a standalone brunch product or merely supplementary? And he says, I figure Lena is probably the expert in this area. Of course, Lena co-host of Canucks brunch here on the station. Now I assume what Mike means is like when he says this is a smoothie a standalone

brunch product. I would say no. No. Because if you're if you're meeting someone for brunch and all you orders a smoothie. That's weird. It's pretty hardy. I don't know. Smoothies can you can load a lot of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. But like I get it. You're making yourself breakfast. You're running out the door. Okay. A smoothie. But as brunch, no. You need something heartier than just a smoothie for brunch. I think if I invited my friend to brunch and she ordered a smoothie, it would deeply upset me. I would agree on that. Deeply. If you're having a smoothie for brunch, it's because you're like on the go, you maybe don't want to stop and have a meal per se. And you're using the smoothie as a bit of a meal replacement. Exactly. You know, you're stopping a booster juice or

juice truck or wherever it might be. You're getting one of those 600 calorie smoothies that'll keep you satiated for the next few hours. But you're not going to a brunch restaurant and ordering just a smoothie. It does kind of remind me of like Banya and Seinfeld ordering the soup at the restaurant. It's like it's not really a full meal. Yeah. It's just the soup.

It's a big salad. What's the difference between a smoothie and a Caesar? Not much. Well, alcohol. But it's like the same vibe. It's the same vibe. Clams, that's right. Got to have clams in there.

I don't know what I would agree that it's the same vibe, believe it? Okay, so would it, okay, no, I'm trying to decipher this in my head. So if you invited someone out for lunch and all they ordered was a Caesar, would you be as upset as if you invited someone... Like a Caesar salad? No, just a Caesar drink. Or inviting someone to brunch. I'd be concerned for them. If we're like, hey, let's have lunch and all they got was an alcoholic drink. I'd be like, are you okay?

Are you going through it, man? I'm just going to get a virgin Caesar. Yeah. That would be bizarre Well, I don't know If you invite somebody out for lunch or brunch And rather than drinks I think if you're inviting somebody out for drinks

And they only get drinks Then yeah, that's drinks Then you're just getting drinks Yeah But if you invite someone else for lunch And all they order is a beverage Yeah that I've never even contemplated So what does a smoothie be kind of considered the same

Yeah that's what I'm saying I think it would be inappropriate as well Yeah You're sitting there awkwardly eating Like I'm digging in my burger They've got an iced tea I'm like what are you doing What's happening here?

let alone a Caesar that would be amazing what a power move I've ordered three eggs hash browns two sausages and bacon on top

yeah I'll just I'll have a smoothie I'm sorry what you don't want to be the only you don't want to be the only person eating at the table all right send those ask us anything's in

as mentioned Dave Pinoa from the fourth period he is in Milan for the NHL European media day. And this is a pretty cool one as they're collaborating, doing an activation with the Syria players. No, no Canuck was among the, uh, the Syria players. All right. Uh, we'll talk to Dave Pinota, uh, about that next on some of the news around the NHL as well here on Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650.

Welcome back to Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650. It's Jamie Dodd and Dan Riccio on a theesta Friday. Also, and ask us anything Friday. Halford and Brough brought to you by Sands and Associates, learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. visit sands dash trustee.com. This hour of the show is brought to you by jason dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

That's jason dot mortgage. We are live from the Kintech studio. 650, 650 is the Dunbar Lumber Text Line. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors. For over 50 years, visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online. at Dunbarlumber.com. Keep sending your ask-us-anything questions in. We will announce the winner of the $100 gift card to AJ's pizza for the best submission at 830. Don't forget to include that pizza emoji to be eligible. Joining us now on the hotline powered by Power West Industries

live from Italy for the NHL and NHLPA Media Day in Milan. He is from the fourth period. Dave Pignota. Dave, thank you for doing this, man. How are you? I'm great. I'm exhausted, to be honest. Well, look, it's a tough, it's a tough gig going to Milan for this, but someone's got to do it. That's right. That's right. And I was up to the task, up to the challenge. We got all, there are 26 players here across the league, including Philippeal, with the Canucks. Very nice. And we rolled through all 26.

for the last, I don't know, whatever 7 a.m. is over here. So it's just over, just over four, it's about 4.30 local time in the afternoon here. And it's, it's been a day. It's been a day. So, so Aperitivo will be very nice in a little bit. And in like four minutes after we wrap. And don't wait on our account. Yeah, nice little, nice little apparel spritz to start the night. It is kind of crazy, like this whole idea of, you know, Milan being the place of the European media tour, obviously Milan is where the Olympics are going to be.

You mentioned Philippeel there for the Vancouver Canucks, but I'm more interested. Have they done the activation with the Italian SETI yet? Have you seen William Neelander try to do keep-ups alongside Christian Pulisic or anything like that? No, that's tomorrow. Okay. Yeah, that's going tomorrow. I'm going to the game. I didn't realize it was the start of the season.

It's the first game of the city of season. But a bunch of guys are going over. Some guys are checking out practice. Some guys are going to inters practice, intermelon, as well, and then checking out the field and everything. But I think there's in and around a dozen NHL players that are going to be checking out the stadium, checking out practice, and going to be at the game tomorrow,

including Willie Nealander, Rasmus Sandin, a bunch of other guys. So this got to be like probably, of all the situations to be able to talk to hockey players, I would imagine like this is maybe the most optimal. They're still in their summer vibes situation. They're in Italy, so they're not in the grind of a season. It's not January in Columbus or something like that. And they're on a four-game losing streak, you know, like the, the weighing of the season isn't there.

So how open have guys been and what's been the vibe generally? Yeah, very open, very loose. There's no on ice either here. Yeah. So it's strictly like the North America players tour, that takes place in a few weeks. That's going to be in Vegas in early September before camps get going. And there's on ice stuff.

There's a lot more crazy activation spanned over three days. that'll be a lot more intense than what's happening here. But here everyone's been loose and pretty open about, you know, their off-season, how their teams have done, the excitement that they have going into the season, what their off-season regimen has been like. We had the opportunity to chat with Nico Mikola and Anton Lundell of the Fort the Panthers going back to back.

They've been open about, you know, what they've gone through. and then wanting to keep it going. Sebastian Ajo chatting with us about Carolina's offseason and the additions that they've made with Keandre Miller and Nick Eelers and some of the other changes that they've made to that club and the excitement that he has. Yeah, so guys have been pretty open about things, pretty honest, for the most part. And then, of course, some Olympic talk, the Swedes and the Finns

definitely would love the opportunity to beat the other. and they did not shy away from explaining that and outlining that to us here. You mentioned Philippiol, the Canucks representative there, and, you know, he's in a pretty interesting spot this season. He's going to have the opportunity to take the number two center job and run with it, at least as the roster stands right now for the Canucks. What stood out in your chat with Philippeal?

Yeah, he's excited. He's excited about the opportunity to, I guess, gain more responsibility. uh with with the group um he we also chatted about you know adam foot uh taking over as as as head coach and his relationship with him he even said that even last season even though foot was you know looking over the deep erics he would go over to him and and chat with him to see how he's his game was progressing and everything so um he's excited about you know hitting camp uh out and running with with foot kind of leading the way uh with with this group but but uh yeah overall just it seems like he's pretty excited to, from the sounds like, harness the opportunity to solidify himself

at the two C slot with the group. And, you know, he came in with a pretty strong level of confidence here today in terms of talking about the season and the expectation that he and his teammates have in Vancouver. And, you know, when you've got a guy like, you know, Quinn Hughes on the back end kind of leading things out, he seems to be pretty excited and confident with the group and with their chances of pushing for a playoff spot. Yeah, it's interesting with Heedle because so much of the off-season conversation, at least from Kinnock's management, they didn't shy away from telling everybody they were still looking to upgrade at center.

And obviously it hasn't worked out. There's a lot of teams looking to upgrade at center. There's just not a ton of options out there. And it feels like, yeah, go ahead. No, sorry, not to cut you up, but the element of that, you know, these guys hear everything. They read everything, they listen to the media and stuff. So he's using that as a motivator, you know, for him to understand that, yeah, the team's all, it's a business. Everyone's going to look to try to improve.

The team's going to look to improve. But he's there now, and he's looking at that as motivation to give them a reason to go look elsewhere for, you know, upgrades in other areas of the club so that he can solidify that spot. Yeah, because he's never really had this opportunity in New York to be a second line setter and get those kinds of minutes. he was pretty excited when he first got to Vancouver and I'm sure that continues now but you know as far as the Canucks go it does just feel like even though they haven't been able to upgrade at center yet that that priority hasn't gone away from the the mindset of the front office it just feels like something that's going to carry into the season because you know there just hasn't been enough options out there with Marco Rossi and McTavish essentially

being kept on by their teams, even though they don't have contracts yet. It doesn't feel like Anaheim or Minnesota is moving off from either of those players. There's just, there hasn't been any options to upgrade at Center. And this is something that the Canucks, along with a lot of other teams, look at Upgraded Center, are just going to have to carry into the season and probably towards the trade deadline. Yeah, and there's been some chatter out here. Marco Rossi, even though he's not here, is locking in to, I think it's a three-year extension. know if they've announced that yet, or I think that that's the plan. They're just finalizing

something there on his basically a bridge-type deal for him after they had discussed long-term for a while. But, yeah, the options is certainly a little bit limited. And this is, you know, when camp gets going, teams start to have an idea as to, okay, this guy's improved this summer. This guy, you know, we have this option, that option available to us. And we don't necessarily have to amplify a search in the early going of the season to fill a particular voice. I think from the, from the Canucks perspective, at least, you know, talking to guys around the organization, talking to Heidel a few hours ago, you know, that they seem to be confident in the depth that they've got within the top level of the club.

So within the top six and within their top, you know, top four D pairings. and then, of course, with the goaltending, being what it is, with the guys locked in, there's a lot of comfort there in being able to compete with the group that they've got. Now, obviously, the management side of things, like every team, will continuously look to improve if the opportunities prop themselves up. But at least from an internal side of things, from the guys on the ice, they seem to be pretty, you know, again, confident as a key word. here in what they've

got and what they can bring to the table this season. We're chatting with Dave Pignota of the fourth period here on Halperin Brough Sportsnet 650 and of course you know we're always used to this period of the NHL calendar being pretty quiet through about the middle of July to this portion in August but we are

starting to see a little bit of movement. You mentioned the reports and the likelihood of a Marco Rossi deal getting done. Frank Nazar signs a big deal yesterday and you know with September right around the corner do you think we could get a little bit of, I don't want to say a flurry necessarily, but at least a little bit more action, a little bit more movement than we've seen as teams really start to get set for training

camp over the next few weeks. Yeah, I'm cautious because, again, camps are usually when, you know, teams want to wait, see what they've got and then make a decision halfway through. But we were told and had heard, and almost everybody on their dog was reporting this, that we were going to have an active summer. And we haven't. There was a lot of talk, and then everything kind of died off. And I'm very curious now with teams or players, I should say, going back to their team cities over the next few weeks here, a couple of weeks.

I wonder if that starts to push even the management side of things across the league, push their buttons in terms of wanting to make those types of moves that they didn't get to make in July and throughout August. You know, the word around draft and then going at the free agency, especially around free agency, July 1st and 2nd, was that, okay, we didn't, you know, Team A wasn't able to fill this void, they're going to look to go to the trade route. Team B didn't fill that void. They want to go to the trade route and so on and so on. And it kind of followed that pattern.

But again, we didn't, there just wasn't any activity. We didn't, there have been no earth-shattering type of trades so far over the trade. course of the summer. So I would imagine that the conversations, once we pass Labor Day, we'll start to pick up. But whether that activity, whether those conversations lead to activity, I mean, we'll have to wait and see. But, you know, I'd love for there to be because it gives us a lot more to talk about and it adds more excitement going into the season. And especially since we didn't get anything over summer, I'd like to see something now. But historically, we haven't thing too much around camp time.

So we'll see. Fingers crossed. Yes, exactly. I mentioned the Frank Nazar deal yesterday with the Blackhawks, seven-year, 6.6 million A-AV extension. And only 21 years old, only 56 career games. And there's always going to be a little bit of surprise around the league and a little bit of sticker shock for a deal like that.

But do you get the sense that this is just kind of the new normal that teams, especially teams with the cap flexibility that the Blackhawks have, as a result of their rebuild and not having a lot of talent on their roster. Should this just be the expectation that if a team has a young player they really believe on, they're going to move to lock him up

as early in his career as they possibly can? Yeah, yeah, effectively. You know, if the team is confident enough, they believe enough in that player, as you suggested, then, yeah, they're going to want to take care of that housekeeping pretty early. We've seen a lot of teams, like Carolina's been doing this with a lot of their guys

to get them locked in into long, term deals. And, you know, you go, okay, well, you're paying a heck of a premium now, but in three, four seasons, the belief and the anticipation is that's going to be a bargain deal. And that's what a lot of teams are kind of following. Not every team is going that model, but a lot of different teams are definitely, you know, entering that type of, that type of trend, that type of mindset to get their guys locked in. We had Nazar's teammate, Lucas Reichael here earlier today. He's excited because first dinner of the season is going to be on Nazar, so

he's jacked up and ready to go. But even he talked about him. He's got a contract that's up at the end of this coming season. He talked about that security and getting some of these younger guys locked in as well. You know, even the players are noticing that trend being a thing right now. Yeah, and I mean, it's only 56 games that he's played in his

career and so to lock in that kind of money, It seems obvious. They've also got Connor Bedard, who's eligible for an extension. But I feel like for that elite player, it's a little bit of a, well, it's a very different conversation because if Connor Bardard were to lock into a team-friendly contract right now, he'd probably be leaving a lot of money on the table. So I don't think as much as Jack Hughes's contract is a huge team-friendly deal for the New Jersey Devils, I don't think Connor Bedard or any other first overall pick wants to be that next guy.

who signs a way to team-friendly contract. Well, especially with, especially with the way that the league is projected to increase revenues and increase cap. Like, obviously we know what the cap is this season. The projection for next season is we go up to 104 and then 113 and a half after that. But those are still projections. There's still a possibility that those figures exceed those numbers. when all of said and done, based on how HRR is happening and how that's being implemented. And what are we going to see in a couple of years when expansion reenters the equation?

The league is going to expand again. So we actually talked to Bill Daly earlier today, the deputy commissioner, about that possibility. Where are things on that timeframe? He said, well, there's no real time frame, but we know who's interested. And if somebody steps up and, you know, basically gives us what we want, we're willing to move forward. So with all of those different elements in place, you know, those premier top tier echelon players are going to look at this and go, well, okay,

I'm more comfortable with a four-year deal right now and revisiting that in a few years or a five-year deal and revisiting it later because me making, you know, 10 million, let's say this, at this point, in five years, that number may extrapolate over to like 16 for some cases. So both the teams know this, the agent slash player side know this.

So negotiations for those level or those caliber of players, like the Bedard, those conversations are definitely a little bit different than some of the other guys that are out there. Before we let you go, Pags, so you're in Milan, you know, I saw on Instagram, you're enjoying, you're enjoying some beverages outside the Duomo, which is the famous piazza there in Milan. Are you scouting other spots for ahead of the Olympics? What have you enjoyed about your time in Milan?

far. Being a southern Italian like myself, what is it like in drawing through the north? Yeah, first time here. This is the first time I've been north of Florence. Okay, okay. In Italy. So, taking it all in, I haven't, like, these next three days, I don't leave until Monday.

So the next two and a half days or what have you, are going to be kind of exploring around and seeing other places who has a better beverage that this place tastes better than that place. We've got to find that out. The Osobuco that's here, I haven't tried it yet but it's a big thing up here in Milan so that's going to be on the agenda

plus a few other a few other items but yeah definitely looking forward to exploring it a lot of the players are too a lot of the guys are roaming around they haven't been here before some nico he's here for example his family lives about two hours off the border in switzerland he said if he comes down here almost every summer sandine as well who's a little bit further but he's in sweden but he comes down every summer as well so these guys love it out here They're checking out the city. I'll be doing the same. And I don't know if I'll be here for Olympics,

still early on that one. But I do think this is going to be a hell of a tournament for a lot of the guys that are gearing up for that. Sounds like a blast, pigs. And thanks for doing this. And, yeah, as you said, the Olympics should be awesome there as well. Enjoy the rest of your time there, man. Thanks so much, boys.

That is Dave Pignota from the fourth period. Man, oh my God, I just got so hungry. Osabuco might be my favorite dish on the planet. Really? Oh, it's so good. It's pretty good. It's really good. You know, like, as a southern Italian, it might be blasphemous to my parents to say that I enjoy the northern cuisine as much as I do. It is quite different, but I do love.

I've been to Milan once, and the food is, it's incredible. Milan, way better than Rome. Really? If you're planning out an Italy trip, especially in the summer, because Rome, I would love to go to Rome during the winter or like the fall or spring, when it's not, swelteringly hot. And it's just like every tourist imaginable all with their cameras, taking pictures of the Coliseum. But, you know, hockey seasons doesn't really allow for that for us, us folk. But a hundred million times better, Milan, than my... times better than my experience in Rome.

Now tell us how you feel about Inter Milan. A bunch of snakes. They are the absolute worst professional sports club in the history of the world. Wow. All right. We're learning a lot about reach this week. I dislike, you know, this is going to sound terrible, but like my wife will be looking at jewelry of like, I don't know, these like snake bracelets are in vogue. And, or like a snake watch.

And I'm like, it looks like a snake. You can't, you can't, you can't have this. We, we can't be wearing snake, snake stuff around the house. So is that like, blasphemous to our, you know, uh, I was going to say, that's Juventus's main rival? Yes. I didn't know that. I always think of, the two Milan.

Yeah, okay. But, but AC you're okay with. A.C. more so than, than, then inter, because. Uh, enter have been the ones that, uh, anyway, I don't want to, I don't want to get into it. Fair enough. to get into it the whole like cheating scandal that youventus is known for it was all orchestrated by inter milan and their owner okay fair enough fair enough settled down we got one more hour i'm sorry i asked all right it's uh it's an ask us anything friday i'll read we're gonna

chat with brendan d in the next segment about a little NFL stuff from the score i'll read this one though we can maybe get thinking about it do some research in the break as well derrick and yarrow texts in uh ask us anything slash what we learned i learned i learned if the Chicago Bulls are retiring Derek Rose's number. I appreciate he was on his hometown team. He was an immense talent. But when you factor in the injuries, zero championships, and the fact that he only played seven seasons there,

it seems like a stretch to be retired next to Jordan, Pippen. And he also includes Bob Love, who says, I admit, I didn't know and had to Google. Who do you consider the biggest stretch by a team for a Jersey retirement? I will say on Derek Rose, he won an MVP there. Yeah, he was like, I feel like, one of the most electrifying players in the NBA. for a time. You win an MVP, and then again, it was injuries, as he said, I get it. I don't think

it's that much of a stretch. Now, obviously, when you have the championship history that the Bulls do, and you've got the greatest player of all time, you've got Scotty Pippen, I get it. But you still, you're an MVP. It doesn't feel like that much of a stretch. On the flip side, it would be like saying, why did the Canucks retire Pavel Burris number? Yes, 100%. Right. He played seven seasons with the Canucks. Exactly. Was one of the most electrifying players in the league during his time. A much more acrimonious departure than Rose did with the Bulls, so I don't have a problem. It's very similar, but, you know, nobody in Vancouver would doubt Burray being retired because of what an incredible player he was. Honestly, I looked this up and like I was, I was probably going to go with some other names, hockey names, but this takes the cake.

did you know that the Oklahoma City Thunder retired Nick Collison's number four I think I did know that that's a tough one he averaged 5.9 points per game in his career that's wild

I mean he played for Seattle as well so he was a long time member of the organization 910 games in his NBA career all with the same team team, but this is like ultimate like blue collar fan favorite kind of like fringe roster guy being retired

because you've got nothing better to do for your team. That's a wild one. I did not I had forgotten. How do you think they feel now after they have an NBA title? Probably not great. They've had good players. They're like, Durant, Westbrook. You think they're like, do you think we have to like retire? Can we have to retire? Do we have to retire everybody's

jersey number now from the title winning team? Well, this is the thing that comes up and I did a little Googling here and just people saying like what's the worst one and one of them from the NBA and this is going way back but a guy for the Celtics a guy named Jim Laskadoff who played in the 50s and the 60s averaged uh averaged six points a game for his career shot 43 or 34 percent from the field so you know a real efficient score not a notable player but he was on the teams of bill russell that won the championship review so he's a seven time NBA champ so they're like oh I guess we got to retire this guy so he's like you

average six points a game. You don't have to retire everyone from a championship team. Yeah. Anyway, I've got, I've got some other thoughts on this about some of the weakest retired numbers. There's some really strange ones. There are some very bizarre ones. In the NHL, there's some real good ones. So we can talk about that. Send your thoughts in on that as well. As I mentioned, we're going to chat NFL with Brendan Deeg in the next segment and then we'll dive back into the inbox for some ask us anythings and some what we learns. It is Halford and Brough here. Sportsnet 650.