Halford & Brough in the Morning - Signing Season Has Begun

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

In hour one, Mike & Jason discuss the start of NHL free agency with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman (5:00), they look at the weekend in sports (17:00), plus they look elsewhere around the league with Sportsnet's David Amber (27:00).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

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Not just any Monday. It's Canada Day1 on a Monday. Not just any Monday. It's Canada Day. Happy Canada Day. Not just any Canada Day. It's Free Agency Day as well. Welcome to the Halpern and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Jason, good morning to you. Good morning and happy Canada Day.

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Okay, we've got to run through things real quick because we're going to have a loaded action-packed show. And the guest list is going to begin in four minutes. Elliot Friedman, Sportsnet NHL insider, is going to join us. First question for Elliot is going to be who's left for the Vancouver Canucks to sign? Anyone? Anyone? Every minute that goes by, it seems like another big name is off the board.

So we will wait and see. Remember when I said that I bet the Jake Gensel thing gets figured out before July 1st? You were right. Because it did get figured out. Just not in the way that many Canucks fans wanted it to be figured out. Sam Reinhardt, off the board now.

That also got figured out. I think that actually did get figured out on July 1st, so it sounds like it happened this morning so uh we'll get to all that with elliot friedman at 605 so he's going to join us in just three minutes time as we run through everything you might have missed from overnight and then we will try and run through everything that happened over the weekend as well leading back to friday's first round of the nhl draft and the second round day two was very busy at the nhl draft 6 30 david amber David Amber, Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host,

is going to join us for his final hit of the season. We'll talk to him about his experiences at the draft on Friday, everything that happened over the weekend, and then everything he expects to happen today as he is working free agency day July 1st. Like, for example, the Tampa Bay Lightning just announced that they have signed forward Jake Gensel to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $9 million. Just announced.

There you go. And Reinhardt pulling in eight and a half. They get that good Florida tax, too, right? And the weather. And the weather. And, you know, Stanley Cups, good teams. That helps. 7 o'clock, Luke Fox from Sportsnet is going to join us.

Luke was also in Vegas for the draft and for the awards show and has been writing a bunch on all the moves that happened at the draft. Bunch of trades, bunch of guys agreeing to stay put where they were. So we'll talk to Luke about all that, Sportsnet, NHL writer. 8 o'clock, Kevin Woodley, NHL.com and InGoal magazine. So we got a big show ahead. It's going to be a little different than we normally do things with all due respect to my beloved Canadian men's national team and England national team. We probably won't talk a lot of footy today.

In fact, there's a decent chance we won't talk any, we will probably just be doing everything that happened, constantly resetting what's going on with the Vancouver connects, what they need and what's out there. And then go back and look at some of the big deals of the day and then things that happened over the weekend. So that's the plan for today.

8 o'clock, Kevin Woodley. 7 o'clock, Luke Fox. 6.30, David Amber. And then in one minute's time, Elliot Friedman. That's what's happening on the program today. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No.

What happened? I missed all the action because I was busy. We know how busy last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? What happened? What Happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training.

Visit them online at bccsa.ca. So as we mentioned, Jake Gensel is off the board. It's official, but he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning after his rights were traded there from the Carolina Hurricanes. A-Dog, do we have Elliot? We have Elliot on the line, so let's welcome Elliot to the show. Elliot, good morning. How are you? Good. How are you guys doing? We're doing pretty well. Maybe a little bit worried because Jake Gensel is off the board. Sam Reinhart's off the board. Who is left for the Canucks to sign? I can't believe, I'm not used to Vancouver worrying about anything.

No, no, no. We're usually pretty, pretty easy. Usually such a collective. Um, well look like, what do you got? Like about,

uh, uh, 15 million. Um, so I was talking briefly to Jim Rutherford and, uh, the other day in, in,

uh, Vegas at the sphere on Saturday. And on Saturday and he had a little smile like he's they've definitely got some targets the one thing he said to me was they may not spend all of it they may decide to keep some to allow them some flexibility or other things that they might be wanting to do down the road. But I think that one of the things, one of the guys I'm wondering about, since the start of the playoffs, I've wondered about Jake Dabrowski in Seattle. And I don't know that that's going to happen. So that's one guy I'm kind of wondering about if he's on the Canucks radar.

So let's start with what has already happened. What was the story with Jake Gensel? Why didn't he sign in Carolina? Why did he end up in Tampa Bay? I think what happened was with Carolina, they made, I think what he made it pretty clear that he wanted eight times eight from Carolina and, you know, they haggled, they negotiated, that happens. And it just got to the point where, you know, it just got so close to July 1st that he kind of decided, let's test the market. I think in his idea, he felt that Carolina waited too long and the market shifted and Carolinas thought

they still had time. They let him know on Thursday they were willing to do it, but by that point in time, I think Gensel had kind of realized there were other things out there and he let his mind wander. At the end of the time, I think Gensel had kind of realized there were other things out there, and he let his mind wander. And at the end of the day, I think Carolina tried to save it, but they were unable to do so. He already kind of mentally decided he was going elsewhere.

What more do you know about where DeBrusque might end up? You know, like I said, from the beginning, I really thought Seattle was going to be the team. They're looking for offense. He's a Western Canadian guy. He's someone that they would seem to have interest in. I don't think he's going to go back to Boston, obviously. But, you know, someone said to me last night that they thought that my Jake DeBrusque, not Louis DeBrusque, my Jake DeBrusque prediction,

which he thought would be Seattle as well, might not come true. So that says to me there's either somewhere else or there is a continued pursuit, and I know he fits the profile of what the Canucks are looking for. So we'll see. How bad are the feelings right now between Steve Stamkos and his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning? They're not good. Yeah.

They're not good. He's disappointed. You know, I think the tough thing is, you know, Mike, is that if you look at their history, Julian Breezewell, he's not afraid to make tough decisions. And if you listen to his Zoom call yesterday, he made it very clear that every decision he makes

is within the prism of what's best for our team, what's best for our group. Well, if you take a look through the history, you know, Hedman now, this will be the second time Hedman got an extension a year out. Kucherov did, Point did, Vasilevsky did,

you know, guys like Brandon Hagel did. These are all, some of them are Hall of Famers and the rest of them are really good players. Sergachev did, but Stamkos never has. He had to wait within days last time and he didn't get it this time. And, you know, even though I think Stamkos is, you know, I think he's a phenomenal personos is you know i think he's a phenomenal

person to deal with i think he's a tremendous uh polite guy um even those guys are competitive and they run out of patience from time to time and this is one of those cases and like to me there's two guys today excuse me guys there's two guys today are the most fascinating because their, their previous places, they unraveled right at the end. And I think people are still trying to determine who exactly is in and what the price is going to be. And one is Stamkos and one is Marcia.

So, and I think it's going to be crazy around them today. Do you have any predictions on where they might end up? Keeping in mind that Vancouver, the whole idea has been sign someone to play with Elias Pettersson and that's why the Jake Gensel talk gets so much, you know, Stamkos, I know a lot of people would be excited about the Canucks potentially chasing him, but I think about the Canucks power, and he's kind of in JT Miller's spot there. So, listen, I don't want to get too into the weeds there. I don't even know if Stamkos to Vancouver is realistic.

But, you know, does anyone leap to mind when you think about a potential player to play with Elias Pettersson? Well, does DeBrus make any sense to you guys? Maybe. Maybe. I haven't really thought about it try to try to contain your excitement well i mean like you what do you have 19 goals last season like i know it's like it always seems to be up and down with him like you know i never know if he's happy in boston or not look the, the Stamkos challenge is going to be enormous.

Okay? First of all, I think Rutherford and Aldean, they ask on everything. Okay? Stamkos has Nashville, really wants them. Vegas, I think, really wants them. I think Troits, if they want to be in it, they're going to be in. This Carolina situation is very interesting to me. They've had a tough week, and they've got a lot of cap room and creativity.

There's going to be a huge battle for him, and now there's going to be a big one for Marcia Soto. And the thing is, it's not that Vancouver is incapable of signing these guys, but as we all know, you're talking about guys, you know, Marchesil's been in a no-tax state for years. Stamkos has been in a no-tax state for years. There's other no-tax or low-tax states in on this. You know, if it comes down to money, you're going to have to make a huge offer.

Who's in on Marchessault right now? I think a ton of teams are. I think a lot of those teams I just mentioned that were in on Stamkos would be on Marchessault too. I have to think Montreal is going to try on Marchessault.

Utah is another team I kind of wonder for him. Plus, they're close to where he is now, right? So I would add those two teams as well. So, Elliot, I'm just reading your latest piece on Sportsnet.ca where you've got some predictions, and I've noticed that you've got Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zdorov going to the Boston Bruins. Yeah, I think that's possible.

I do. I do. We all knew about Lindholm, but the Zdorov news is a bit fresher, I would say, if that indeed happens. I think so. I heard Boston was taking a big run at them, and there was a lot of rumor last night

that Toronto had kind of given up their pursuit. So I could be proven to be wrong, but that's the team I'm looking at. Do you have any idea what Zdorov's contract is going to come in at? I would guess it's going to be around, like I think Tanev is going to be six times 4.5 in Toronto, and I think Zdorov is going to come in higher than that. So I think he's probably going to be around six times five-ish. Tyler Toffoli, you've got... This is an interesting prediction.

You've noted that a few sources think San Jose gets Tyler Toffoli to entice Macklin Celebrini, and you originally thought L.A. or the Rangers. So that's another guy that we've kind of kicked around as a potential to play with Elias Pettersson because they've done that in the past. Well, about a week ago, I think I'd mentioned on the pod that I thought Toffoli was one of Vancouver's targets. But I heard that they weren't going to be able to do or weren't interested in doing what L.A. and the Rangers were considering.

So I kind of, and you said I really liked the idea or really thought the idea was plausible, excuse me, guys, of Toffoli and Vancouver. But then I heard, like, other teams were ahead of them. And like I said, it was yesterday someone said to me, watch San Jose. They've got to convince Macklin Celebrini to turn pro. And one of the ways you're going to do that is putting someone with them

who can score and has some experience. And I think Toffoli is potentially one of those guys. We're speaking to Sportsnet NHL insider Elliot Friedman here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Day one of free agency already underway. Fried, we had a bunch of moves over the weekend. Obviously, Tampa Bay made some pretty big swings. I would throw Utah in that conversation as well.

Yes. What's a team that you're looking at right now? I'm thinking Carolina maybe, but is there another one that's very determined to get something done today and has the cap space, the draft capital, and everything else to make it happen? Well, I think Carolina's a good one because they're kind of like the jilted lover a little bit right so you know uh alfred i know you're like vancouver's biggest heartbreaker out there so like you know

you know what that's like um i think nashville is a team that's prepared to do a lot. I think Seattle is a team that's prepared to do a lot. I think there's a bunch. If you look at my list, I'm still waiting to see. Vegas, to me, you don't let Marcius walk without a plan. Are they going to make the big pitch to Stamkos, or have they got something else

up their sleeve? The Stamkos and Marcius thing something else up their sleeve? It's funny. The Stamkos and Marcheseau thing have so much in common because that's where the jilted ex-lover angle comes in. Because Marcheseau did everything, including very openly and publicly stating that he wanted to stay. But Vegas did what Vegas does, and it was, thanks for your time and thanks for your service,

but we've got our eyes on a shinier prize. So I'm kind of with you. It doesn't make any sense that they'd let him walk unless they've got something really big planned as well. It's just their way. It's their MO, right? And they plan a lot of things, but they'll take a big run at Samcoast.

We'll see where it ends up. Another guy that I've heard's name, although a lot of teams would be interested because he's coming in on a free now, would be Jeff Skinner. What are you hearing around Skinner right now? I heard there were a lot of teams looking at him. The reason I picked Seattle for him is

that there's two general managers who've had him before there. Ron Francis and Jason Botterell, right? And Seattle is really looking for scoring. They think that's their biggest Achilles heel. So, like I said, I think there's a ton of teams out there for him, but Seattle was the team, I'm guessing. So, I know you kind of hinted at this previously,

but do you think there's a chance that the Canucks end up keeping some of their powder dry in terms of cap space? and they go into the season? I mean, they added Zdorov, they added Lindholm. Maybe they do something similar this season. Yeah, well, like I said, Jim specifically kind of hinted that not spending all of it was a possibility and it worked very well for them last year. So, yes, I do think that that is a possibility

for them jason i like and you know what it's a smart strategy you always should people like when you play in vancouver uh people get hurt your travel's tough you need that flexibility you never want to be in a situation where you're like, oh boy, we're really stuck here. So I could see him planning for that for sure. Is Toronto going to be the most aggressive team today? Jeez, I don't know. I mean, look, I think they've really tried. I think they've got a good shot at Oliver Ekman-Larsen on a three times four-ish kind of deal. But I hadn't had confirmation of that this morning,

and technically I shouldn't. I know they're looking hard at Anthony Stollers. He had a really good year in Florida. So, like, I think the teams that are going to be the most aggressive are going to be the ones that try to get Stamkos or Martinsson done quick. Toronto's also supposed to announce an extension for Joseph Wohl, who has one more year left on his contract. But yeah, I guess that makes them pretty aggressive.

Yeah. Brad Treliving's got a tough job ahead of him because he essentially has to fix the blue line, doesn't he? Yes, he does. He's really tried to get two defensemen. That was his goal. He's got Tanev. He tried on Zdorov. I think he tried on Matt Roy, who I think could end up in Washington. And he tried on Zdorov I think he tried on Matt Roy who I think could end up in

Washington uh and he tried on just about everybody it could be Tanev and OEL well Elliot I know you've got a busy day today so uh we really appreciate the hair dryer behind me was that what that was yeah just wants to put my hair down nice nice I it. I'll be curious to see what your hair looks like because, you know, it's unpredictable. It's unpredictable. You never know what you're going to get. It is. It's unpredictable. That is true.

All right, buddy. Enjoy your day, and thanks for joining us today. I appreciate it. All right, guys. All right. Thank you. Elliot Friedman getting his hair blown here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

I think that might be a first time I've heard that on a show. I thought that was a car accident. I didn't think that was a blow dryer. James from Richmond texts in to the Dunbar Lumber text line and just a reminder if you want to text in with any questions or comments, it is 650-650 Dunbar Lumber with three stores to serve you in

Ladner on Bridge Street, Dunbar Lumber Express at Ladner Center or a Budus in Vancouver online at DunbarLumber.com. James from Richmond texts in, Elliot mentioned that Rutherford had a smile on his face. I sure hope he has something up his sleeves because it's not looking good. If there is someone who can pull something off, it's Rutherford. Yeah, I think Elliot was a little disappointed in my reaction to Jake DeBrusque.

The thing with DeBrusque is I never know if he's doing well. He seems to be a bit streaky in Boston. Do you know what I mean? There have been times where you hear, oh, DeBrusque wants out of Boston. No, now he's happy, and you look at his goal scoring, and he's had some good years. Yeah, he had a 27-goal season.

He's had a couple 27-goal seasons in Boston, but most recently he's coming off a season where he had 40 points in 80 games, 19 goals in 80 games. He had a really good playoff for them. He was a very good player. But he doesn't immediately come to mind, to me personally, or at least I haven't thought about it. Maybe I'm off on this, but he doesn't come in as a guy that I'm like,

oh, yeah, a guy that he could make sense with PD, right? No, but I think I, I do wonder if those guys are now gone. Yeah, they might be. I mean,

I, if you were to look, I don't think Reinhardt was ever happening. Just so no, no, that was, that was, that was a pipe dream of anyone. He was always going to happen.

He was always going to go back. So the money's in on Reinhardt. It's eight years, 69 million, which is quite nice. So it's an $8.65 million cap hit. And that one was sort of, everyone kind of understood like, okay, that's going to be their first piece.

We didn't even spend much time talking about Reinhardt because why would he leave? No, and why would Florida let him go? I mean, he was such a vital part of a Stanley Cup winning team. 57 goals during the regular season, scores the clinching goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup final. I think a lot of people are disappointed. And I mean a lot of teams,

not just a lot of people in Vancouver are disappointed with how the Gensel thing shook out. Obviously Carolina's disappointed that they weren't able to keep them around. And what that does is that now makes Carolina even more aggressive to do something in free agency because they've already clearly had a deal lined up for the guy. What is Tampa doing?

What's going on with the Stamkos thing? It's so weird. And, you know, Elliot, we asked him about it, and he's like, yeah, Stamkos is not happy about it. Why him? Why do they pick on him every time his contract comes up? You know, it happened the last time, and they seem to prioritize, like, everyone else.

And the fact that, I mean, it could be possibly they didn't want to risk signing him to a contract that they were going to regret, you know, because he's getting older. They get Jake Gensel in there a little bit younger, but, man, it's Stephen Stamkos. They wanted to get faster, right? And Gensel does that for them bit younger but well they wanted to get Stephen Stamkos they wanted to get faster right and Gensel does that for them at least in the interim like he's going to get older and he's going to get slower but right now it makes them faster because they were a team

that started to get plodding like you know like yeah yeah they were always the second fastest team on the ice so they so that happens they're like the old veteran beer league team out there right like still good but you know they've won your beer league a couple times, so they know how to do it. They know how to do it. They're not doing it as fast as they used to do it. Yeah, but they've got jobs now. They're starting to have some kids,

and they're putting on a few pounds. That's right. And losing a step or two. They're going to miss games every now and again. It needs some young talent. They're going to show up at the end when it matters. Don't worry about the early season games. It's a very good analogy you're pulling there.

So I think that they just did the thing that they've done to everybody else. I think Kalorn had a chirp over the weekend, too, talking about how when Julian Breezebon and Tambay Lightning are done with you, they're done with you. Like, thank you for your service. It's time to go elsewhere. They moved on from a lot of guys, right? You can count an entire third line

that won a Stanley Cup there with Goudreau and Gord and Blake Coleman, and they're like, thank you for your service. You were great. Now it's time to go somewhere else. It's obviously different with Stamkos. Obviously, because Stamkos

was a much bigger impact player for that franchise than Barclay Goudreau. I mean, Breesbaugh's also probably going like, we haven't won much recently. We haven't done much recently. Statistically, he's been good still. He still steals campos. No, no, no, but the team.

The team maybe, I mean, there have been times where I've watched the Lightning and I'm like, maybe they're getting a little bit stale. Maybe they need to change something up a little bit. So our context in, Marcheseau would make sense with PD. Also, how do we feel about Chandler Stevenson? Chandler Stevenson.

He's been linked to the Canucks. Uh, yeah, he's a good player. Um, but unfortunately, according to Elliot and his predictions, if you want to read those up on sportsnet.ca Chandlerler Stevenson, Nashville most likely, if not, Seattle or St. Louis. So Elliot's gone out there and predicted Nashville and he's even given us a couple of plan B and C, Seattle or St. Louis.

I know some people have wondered about Tevo Taravainen. Elliot predicts the Rangers or Chicago in that one. In fact, I'm reading all these predictions. Not one of them says the Vancouver Canucks. I noticed that as well. Although Jake DeBrusque is on this list, and he said, I picked Seattle from the start,

have to stick with it. And then he just came on our show today and said, I don't know about Seattle. Maybe it'll be the Vancouver Canucks. Is there a scenario where the Canucks just don't sign anyone? Just don't do anything today? Well, nothing happened. Well, I think they'll sign someone.

I don't know. It might not be a day one guy. Who knows? I don't know if it's going to be one of the top guys, though. Right. That's what I'm... Look, they have $ and a half million dollars they have five slots to fill on the 23 man roster they need a backup goalie that's that's what they've said and four skaters so the skaters would be

ideally a top six forward a bottom six forward with speed a left-handed defenseman and then insert extra guy here so that's kind of the parameters that the Canucks are working within. Then when you start going down the list and you're looking at this morning and saying Jake Gensel off the market, Sam Reinhart off the market, Tyler Bertuzzi, in case you guys missed that one, is now a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, signed a four-year deal a short while ago. So things are starting to move where the boxes that the Canucks want to tick,

the ticks are becoming less and less available. So we'll see what happens over the next two and a half hours. We're here till 9 a.m. And then Canucks talk is going to pick up right after we're done. Coming up on the other side of the break, David Amber, Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host is going to join us. So we'll talk more about what's on tap for today. We can look back. What do you thought about the draft?

Did look cool at the sphere. We haven't had a chance to talk about that. So we will talk to David about all that and more. That's coming. We'll talk a lot about Jake DeBrusque apparently today. And it's going to be a big Jake DeBrusque show. You're listening to the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah,

your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post-game show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. 6.32 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. Happy Canada Day, everybody. And happy free agency day, all our listeners. thank you for tuning in on a holiday Monday. You are listening to the Halford & Brough Show

on Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver Honda is 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. I'm getting always sunny vibes here. You feel it?

You feel me? Yeah, for sure. We are in Hour 1 of the program. David Amber is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour 1 is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. Northstar Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at

1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. Did you see the rainbow this morning over Vancouver? I didn't, but thanks to A-Dog. It was the first thing I saw when I walked out the door, and at the end of that rainbow, Jake DeBrusque. We're talking a lot about Jake DeBrusque today, folks. Yeah, his head was just like giant, just in the sky. It was freaky.

I never knew that he was a leprechaun. It's true. But he is. He lived in Boston for a long time, you know. That's true, actually. We can make this work. Based on my knowledge of history, that is where they come from. Okay. Let's go to But he is. He lived in Boston for a long time, you know. That's true, actually. We can make this work. Based on my knowledge of history, that is where they come from. Okay, let's go to phone lines now.

David Amber joins us on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, David. How are you? Hey, happy Canada Day. They're making you guys work on a holiday? Why is that? I don't know. It's outrageous.

I was trying to think the last time I didn't work on a July 1, and it's been a long time. And understandably so. This is content extravaganza for guys in our industry. think the last time i didn't work on a july one and it's been a long time because i mean and understandably so like this is content extravaganza for guys in our industry yeah it's good but it was early this morning i'm not gonna lie when i woke up okay so this morning uh hockey central signing season you're gonna be on the desk uh at 8 30 our time 11 30 eastern so we got a little bit of time before you have to go live on the air. And before we get into the free agency stuff, let's talk about the draft. First, I mean, I hate asking this, but how cool was it to be there live?

Because the Sphere looked unreal on TV. So how cool was it to be in the Sphere doing the draft, just taking all of that in in Vegas, in the last sort of standard draft that the NHL is going to have? Yeah, it's a spectacle, guys. I want to go see a concert there i'm going to make sure i do that in the near future it's it's really cool i don't even think tv does it justice you're just overwhelmed by it's like this incredible led light show and the audio is fantastic and the best way to describe it is just literally it's a spectacle so what was really cool is for

the group of kids, you know, to have their draft year done in that fashion in Vegas. I mean, how cool is it? Helene Dion comes out to announce one of the picks for the Montreal Canadiens. Michael Buffer, to me, that was the best part of the night when Michael Buffer comes out and let's get ready to rumble and all that and announces Jet Lachenko as their pick for Philadelphia. Like, it was fun.

It was a spectacle. It was a big night. And some of the reactions of the kids, I don't know if you saw the number three pick Beckett Seneca out of Oshawa. I mean, he was shocked. He was dropping F-bombs to his parents after he was picked because he was so surprised.

It was wild. So it was a really fun scene. And definitely have to get there to see a concert or whatever. They're actually showing movies there now, which I can't even imagine what that's like, but they're showing some hourly movie charging like $100 to get in, but there's

lineups to get in, so I think people are really interested to see the state-of-the-art facility. Which teams caught your eye in terms of what they did in a positive way over the two days at the draft? Well, I mean, Utah. terms of what they did uh in a positive way over the two days at the draft well i mean utah utah i mean they get tj ginla they go they shore up their blue line you know what's funny like it just goes to show you sort of what they have stable ownership now in fact that owner looks like he's going to be sort of the prototypical type of owner you're going to want in the NHL. Young, vibrant, progressive, innovative, rich.

You've got to be rich. I don't know. Utah's done well, and it won't surprise me if in short order they're a contender in the Western Conference. So I really like what they did at the draft. Jason Bukalek was just ecstatic with what Montreal did. I think Demidov at five, they were surprised that he dropped all the way to five to them. And then they got Michael Hage at 21,

and there's a great story there. He's been through a lot, both on and off the ice, and he played in the GTHL, the Greater Toronto Hockey League, and 2006 happens to be my son's year, so I saw a lot of these players playing, you know, with or against my son, and Michael Hage is a kid who's just, he's been sort of an electric player for a long, long time, and the fact they got him at 21,

I think there's a lot to be excited about for the, you know, for the Montreal Canadiens from the draft. So, you know, listen, time will tell. And I guess you'd say the Sharks are the clear winner because they got the sort of franchise player in Celebrini and they got a very good solid defenseman at number 11 in Sam Dickinson. So time will tell, obviously. You just never know.

But by all accounts, it was a pretty good draft. And I think a few teams are really excited with the prospects they've secured. What's the plan for the draft next year? I don't know. Listen, it's going to be such a letdown. You go from the sphere to, all right, let's do it in someone's garage since the GMs aren't going. They're like, I don't know what the NHL is going to do

because if this was sort of the last big draft, it certainly went out in a big hurrah, but it'll be an incredible letdown next year if it's just done in a very understated way. Listen, it costs money to go to the Sphere, and I'll tell you a little behind-the-scenes story. I mean, we couldn't set up. It takes a lot to kind of set up the sets

and do all the logistics that are needed and audio and get all the cameras in place. And usually you have sort of two days for the crew to get set up. We had just a few hours because what happened is the NHL had to rent out the sphere from James Dolan, who's the owner of the Rangers, and he wasn't cutting them any deals. No kidding. Every hour you guys are in there is an hour i'm not selling tickets

to something in the sphere so i'm it's costing me money so it's going to cost you guys money and you know the nhl didn't want to go crazy on the budget so we we were in like quick order and when we were done uh like i was literally like all right thanks everyone for watching walking off the set and there was like a group of people coming in to tear down the set so they had to be out of there in like two hours. It was crazy. So I'm not sure they'll be able to afford to go back. They certainly can't afford to. I'm not sure they're going to want to pay the money to go back to the Sphere.

But I really do hope they find a way to make the day special for the kids and their families. That's always my takeaway, guys. It has to be special for those kids. We all know the amount of sacrifice that goes in. It's not just a kid with offensive talent or defensive talent. It's all the morning, the training, the discipline, the sacrifice, the siblings having to sit there while their brother or sister is playing.

It's a lot that goes into it, so I hope they make the day special for the kids and their families. Tell us about your day today, David. When do you get going? What's the plan? Well, I'm currently drinking some tea because honestly, as soon as I landed down from Vegas,

you know when that happens when you've been kind of running around like an idiot and your body probably just doesn't allow you to get sick? Oh, no. Just too early for that. You've got to wait two days.

I know. I was like, where am I going? I don't know where to go. I'm trying to not strain my voice too much. I don't know. I'm a bit of a mess. But as far as the show goes, we're on at 1130.

Sorry, we're out at 1130 Eastern. We're on at 830 Pacific time. And this is an interesting year, guys. There's a lot of Stanley Cup champions who are conceivably up for grabs and most interesting to me is stephen stamkos the idea that this guy who's a two-time stanley cup winner has been the face of your franchise for 15 years first ballot no question hall of famer that he might leave your franchise is shocking to me over money like i i don't i can't believe this is happening and or maybe it is happening maybe it's not but i i just that to me over money. Like, I can't believe this is happening,

or maybe it is happening, maybe it's not, but that, to me, is the most interesting storyline. And a secondary storyline, guys, is Jonathan Marcheseau. I mean, this guy's a consmites winner. He was undrafted. He's a great story. He's always defied the odds. He's the kind of guy I would bank on. Like, I know he's undersized.

I know he's 33 years old. None of that has mattered. He's coming off a 40-goal season. You win with guys like Marcheseau and kind of in the same ilk as Stankos. He's been the face of the Vegas franchise since they started. The idea that they're going to let him just walk away, and I get it's a

business, but man, oh man. There's just some good players out there. There's some interesting names out there. And I'm really interested to see how the dominoes fall. And usually there's a lot of deals already, you know, wink, wink, you know, in place already. So between, you know, the first 30 minutes and first hour and a half, there's a lot that's going to happen potentially.

And I'm excited to see how the cards fall. I wonder how much you're going to be talking about the Nashville Predators today, because according to Elliot, Stephen Stamkos could go to Nashville. He writes, as I left the draft, Nashville was number one on my Stephen Stamkos list. But Freed also has Brady Shea predicting he'll go to Nashville, and Chandler Stevenson, Nashville, as the favorite to land him.

I thought the Preds were going through a rebuild. Well, it's funny. Barry Trotz, he rolls into that position after David Poyle had been there for 26 years and buys out Matthew Shane, gets rid of Ryan Johansson. He just was like, no, I got my guys. You're not my guys. Adios. He's not afraid to make big moves.

So that's actually very interesting. I know you just had three, John. And yeah, I guess the Predators will be someone to keep an eye on. They just locked down UC Soros. I guess he's looking at the age of Soros and Yossi and Forsberg. Look at their core, right? Their core isn't a bunch of 25-year-olds. It's not like Vancouver, Quinn Hughes and Pedersen.

This is an older core. And if you're going to win with this group, if this is your window, you're going to have to add some really great parts to that core. So that's interesting. They're an aggressive franchise, and I feel, you know, it's cool that they've kind of taken a flip the page quickly on, oh, yeah, we're rebuilding. So, like, no, I think we could do some damage.

And I think we've seen that. Like, even Florida last year, right, we didn't – no one looked at Florida and said, well, they're necessarily going to win the Stanley Cup after getting to the final last year. They go, they get Forsley, and they get OEL, they get Kulikov, you know, Stollars. They didn't pick up a bunch of superstars,

but they picked up guys to work around their core. So, you know, those guys you just named, if they do land, you know, Stamkos, et cetera, my goodness, that could definitely change the complexion in the Central Division. David, one final question. Which management group in Canada is under the most pressure today?

Oh, Lord. Most pressure. Well, listen, Vancouver's already done its work, right? I mean, they've done a lot. They've done some. They haven't done all their work. Not all, not all, but I mean, you know, Roenick, Joshua, Myers.

I mean, they've done some of the work, a lot of the work. Yeah. Listen, Montreal, you know, Ottawa, you know, listen, I guess Edmonton, they just came within one win

of winning the Stanley cup. And now they have 11 free agents and I know their core is in place, but they've got some tough decisions to make. And some of those players that are, you know, Connor Brown, Warren Fogle, these are Matthias Janmark.

These are some of their better players in the playoff. You know, like everyone's going to talk about McDavid and dry settle. I get that, but they're not, they're not at a game 7 of the Stanley Cup final without Matthias Janmark and Fogel and those guys playing as well as they did.

Those were the guys who really helped lift them up during that Dallas series, helped lift them up when they were down 3-0 versus that Florida series. Janmark scored the only goal they had in the Game 7. I don't think they have to break the bank for all these guys, but I think they've got some tough decisions to make. If you're going to lose 10 free agents,

you know, Carrick, Perry, et cetera, Desjardins, a whole group of the sort of ancillary guys that go around their core, who are they going to replace them with, right? It has to be the right chemistry and the right group. I'd say there's a, and listen, Ken Holland's just walked away. So now it's like, all right, Jeff Jackson, here you go.

So I'd say there's a legitimate amount of pressure there. There's always going to be pressure in Toronto. There's a lot swirling. I'm sure you talked to Elliot about the whole Mitch Marner thing and how that's going to play out. We actually didn't talk to any Mitch Marner with Elliot. Oh, okay, well. Yeah, but, yeah, the Mitch Marner thing, we've talked enough about that.

And, by the way, we're going to let you go now because you need to have your tea, but the Oilers have signed Connor Brown for one year at one million dollars so uh there you go we're providing you updates on the fly here David thanks so much for joining us uh today hang in there uh I know it's been a busy last little while for you all sorts of traveling and um and we appreciate you joining us this morning listen i really appreciate you guys having me on all year uh i love what the canucks have been doing and i love the fact they sort of have the breakout season it was really awesome to see quinn hughes win the north he had a really great speech i thought and uh i hope canucks fans have a good day today and i look

forward to seeing you guys next year thanks david have a good show today take care guys uh david amber. David Ambrose, Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Okay, let's do a hard reset here and go through some of the stuff that you might have missed over the last couple days. We'll start with some of the signings, and these are all re-uppings mostly. So Max Domi re-ups in Toronto on a four-year deal at $15 million. It's just under $4 million per year. Sean Dursey in Utah. Utah is just making moves left and right.

They're throwing $24 million at Sean Dursey, so they're blue line now with Sergeyev coming in there and J.J. Moser coming in there. Interesting one last night. Patrick Kane signs a one-year extension to stick with the Detroit Red Wings. So I guess part of the Iser plan there was to get Patrick Kane beyond what last year was. I thought Stephen Stamkos would look good in a Red Wings jersey.

Yeah, I wonder if that might be a move. I wonder. Well, I mean, there's the obvious relationship between Iserman and Stamkos. It's got some Mike Modano and Detroit-esque vibes. He would just look good in it. I don't know if they have the cap space for it. I don't know if there's been any talk of that. I just feel it would look right.

Deals from this morning. I was going to say Kevin Weeks tweeted a thing about Stamkos and the Devils. I'm sorry, I'm not sure if you guys mentioned that, with a little eye emoji. Oh, okay. So he's wondering if maybe the Devils are in on Stamkos. There's been numerous. Big time. It's actually quite an interesting free agency day.

Oh, yeah. And the Stamkos makes it so much more interesting because all of a sudden you you've got this guy that most people probably said yeah he'll end up staying in tampa bay like there's no way they're gonna let him sign somewhere else and now it looks like he will uh jonathan marshesau uh out of vegas also a guy that the devils are reportedly looking at so they're in on marshesusso and Stamkos. Which actually does not surprise me because they do not want this. They want this to be a one-year aberration last year, the Devils.

We had it step back, but that's all it is. It's not we got to a point and now we're falling off. It's we're going to step forward in a major way. They need a new John M. After their John Marino trade. That's true, actually. Everyone needs a John M. They need a new John M after their John Marino trade. That's true, actually. Everyone needs a John M on the blue line.

So, um... Or on the... Sorry, up front. What are the Canucks going to do here? They are going to sit and wait and make very, very... I hate saying it this way,

but I'm going to say it. Underwhelming signings today. Because there are people that thought that they were going to go big game hunting. Well, I think they went hunting, but they didn't find any elephants. I was going to say they couldn't eat the elephant. They were going to go big game hunting. Well, I think they went hunting, but they didn't find any elephants. I was going to say they couldn't eat the elephant. They were going to go big game hunting, but they expect him to come home with a score.

Like, you're going big game hunting. Come home with some big game. And right now, I look at the Gensel money, seven years, $63 million, a $9 million cap hit, and I say that's great that the Canucks did not get tied up in that money. I think it's too long and too much. I understand that Gensel's a very good player. I do. But that is, that's a hamstring contract for me at the end of it.

That's a $9 million cap hit for a guy that's turned. But what about the first few years? Sure. I think he could be, I don't know if that is worth it if they are able to unearth something that makes more sense financially and here's the thing but the whole idea is to try and you know be aggressive while you've got quinn hughes on this contract and thatcher demko on this contract you've committed to pd you've committed to jt miller you've committed to haronic if just i mean the argument would be like,

now's the time to just go all in, be aggressive, get as many elite players as possible and try and win a Stanley Cup. I think the counter argument would be the worst spending historically in the NHL is done on July 1st. Agreed. That's the kicker with all of this

is that sometimes you get caught up in the excitement and I get it people are going to text in it's disappointing when everyone else is doing this big glitzy glamour shopping and they're throwing stuff in the cart and like it's one of those like old 80s game shows right they're like well stuff's getting it's the squidward meme i've mentioned a million times you guys have no idea what i'm referring to i do where you're looking out the window he's looking out the window everyone's having a good time yeah and. And he's just like, everyone but me. Yeah.

But forever the bridesmaid, never the bride. Pragmatically speaking, more bad deals get handed out on July 1 than good deals, historically. And I mean, I said this last week, so I'm really just reiterating what I said last week, where I'm like, you know what? Let someone else make that financial investment. Now, the kicker to all of this is that you have to do something at some point. You brought up a pretty good... The Canucks have a lot of needs here.

It's not just a goal-scoring winger for Petey. They need some defensemen. They're going to lose Ian Cole, and they're going to lose Nikita Zdorov. So you think about their playoff lineup. Those guys have got to be replaced. And they've already tried to circle back on Cole, which maybe gives you an idea of where they're at now part of this part of this is due diligence but other part of it is um they might need a backup goalie i think they do need a backup goal yeah like do they want silov's to be that kind of floating goalie up and

down between the nhl and the ahl and you know maybe insurance that Thatcher Demko has been hurt a few times in his career. Maybe they want a veteran net minder so you don't throw Seelovs into this situation where you're like, it's you, buddy. It's all you. Which is probably why they circled back with Casey DeSmith last week.

Possibly. Do you want Teddy Bluger as your 3C or your 4C? Because if you want him as your 4C, you might have to go after a third line center. I think they will probably want to replace some of the size on the blue line that they're going to lose in Nikita Zdorov.

We haven't mentioned that they want to get faster. Yep. Patrick Alvin said this at his press conference, season ending press conference. What do you want? And he said, obviously we need a winger, top six winger.

And then he said, I'd like to add some speed as well. So look for any of the signings that the Canucks do make today, even if they aren't top six guys to bring some speed to the Canucks. And they also have to keep in mind their penalty kill, which was quite impressive in the playoffs and it was improved over the past few seasons,

which I get it was a low bar. But if you look at the penalty kill ice time in the playoffs, Ian Cole played a lot on the PK. Lindholm, obviously. Zdorov played a lot on the PK. So those guys are going to have to be replaced in some form because I don't know if you want Elias Pettersson out there killing a lot of penalties or JT Miller out there killing a lot of penalties

or, you know, Philip Peronek being the first D-man over the boards killing penalties. Quinn Hughes isn't going to do it. But, like, you do have to keep in mind those roles in your roster building. I wonder if Tyler Mott ends up back here. I think it's possible. I think it's. So in another thing that dropped late last night,

Rick Dollywall and Thomas Drance, who you'll hear on this station, by the way, right after this show, Canuck Stock is going to pick us up at 9 a.m. today, if I'm not mistaken. They had a piece out on the athletic, and they threw out a couple of names in terms of like a speedy bottom six forward who would obviously be in the penalty killing mix.

And they threw out the names of a recent Stanley cup champion and yoked forward, Ryan Lomberg. Do you see that picture of him in the room? No. So it was obviously, it wasn't doctored, but he was in a pose where he was drinking out of the cup.

So his arms were flexed. He looked like a professional bodybuilder. Like it didn't look, it was – everyone was like, look at that. Anyway, and so they throw – It was like Marty St. Louis legs. Yeah, basically, right? They got him mid-squat. It's like, whoa, look at those legs.

So there was Ryan Lomberg and Tyler Mott were the names that Drance and Dolly threw out there. So I wouldn't – I mean, Mott got healthy last year and played in 69 nice games last year. So there's something there. So this text into the Dunbar-Lumber text line, I feel like we're going to be talking about this a lot. This no state tax advantage is getting incredibly annoying.

The league definitely needs some sort of equalization program. Gary Bettman was actually asked about this and he kind of shrugged it off because I don't think you can assume that players are just signing in Florida uh or I think Tennessee so Nashville might be one of those no state um tax states or no tax states um I'm not 100% sure on that though but for me you know when you're talking about a guy like Sam Reinhardt, yeah, obviously the tax

situation is advantageous, but you can't tell me that that's the only reason he's re-signed in Florida. Can you imagine being a hockey player and playing in Florida? That'd be awesome. That'd be incredible. Winning cups.

Winning cups, yeah. You got a winning team. You don't have the pressure that you do in a Canadian market. And I get that some guys want that pressure and they want that attention. They prefer to play in a market that really, really cares about hockey. But then when you weigh it with like,

you know what Vancouver's like in November and December, it's dark and rainy. There's a reason people go to Florida in the middle of winter to escape the weather in Canada. And I know Merrick and Free just talked about, talked about this a lot, but like just keeping your body fresh.

Yeah. Imagine the weather helps, you know what it's like to go outside when you're feeling aches and pains and like, oh, it's also dark go outside when you're feeling aches and pains and you know like oh it's also dark and rainy out terrific right like it is that is that is definitely a factor so the equalization program would be really really difficult to put together i think of the tax-free states there's seven of them the ones that have nhlL teams. Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, as you mentioned, Texas, and Washington. Seattle Kraken.

So there you go. Okay, we're going to go to break. When we come back, Luke Fox from Sportsnet is going to join us. We're doing a ton of free agency, and we can look back on some draft stuff as well. But a lot happened over the weekend. We haven't even got to a lot of the trades that transpired on day two of the draft on Saturday. So we'll get into that. We'll also keep an eye on all the signings that are coming forth.

Things probably won't pick up until closer to the time that unfortunately this show is off the air. But there are some news and notes already coming through. So it leads me to believe that we will be able to break at least one or two pretty cool signings. Hopefully, maybe even a trade while we're on the air. We're here until 9 o'clock. Hour

one is in the books. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.