Halford & Brough in the Morning - Something's Gotta Give

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports (3:00), they talk last night's Canucks loss to the Buffalo Sabres (6:00), plus they discuss the latest hockey stories of the day with Sportsnet NHL host David Amber (28:13). 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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- on Peturka scores. And it's almost like it's too big for him sometimes. Ichiro Suzuki, Cici Sabathia, and Billy Wagner are headed to Cooperstown. Ichiro goes back on the track to the wall, and makes the leap, and makes the catch! Unbelievable! My, oh my, what a catch by Ichiro! What a week, huh? Lemon, it's Wednesday. Good morning, Vancouver.

6.01 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. It is Halford, it is Brough, it is Sportsnet 650. We are coming live from the Kintec studios in beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Oh. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough for the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers.

They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler. Well, they pay the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid.

Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. Big show, big show ahead on a Wednesday. Very excited to get into all of it. We have a big announcement as well. That's why it's a really big show, but I'll get into that in a second. We have a very good guest list today.

Begins at 6.30, David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host is gonna join us. He was working last night during the intermissions of the Canucks 3-2 loss. Another loss for the Vancouver Canucks. This time to the Buffalo Sabres. We'll talk to David about that. He's also hosting Wednesday Night Hockey tonight on Sportsnet. It is the Leafs, it is the Blue Jackets from Toronto. Talk to David about that at 630. Seven o'clock, Frank Saravalli from Daily Face Off. He has been doing a lot of writing, a lot of reporting, and a lot of guest spots on

what the landing spot might be for JT Miller once this saga finally comes to an end. We'll talk to Frank about that at 7. Can also ask about these reports out of Pittsburgh that Kyle Dubas is potentially holding a fire sale. Oh my god He's having a fire sale. We'll talk to Frank about that at 7 now programming alert 830 this morning Dan Murphy Sports Nets very own is gonna join the program He too was working last night's game between the Canucks and the Sabres now. You'll say well 830 That's usually what we learn time. You are correct. What we learned are going to go at 8 o'clock this morning.

That's 8 o'clock. Get them in now. Start sending them. Dumbart number text line is 650-650. Murph will join us at 8.30 to talk Canucks. What we learned are at 8. Finally, the big announcement that I was talking about, Jason, nine-inch nails are returning to touring. That's right. The peel it back world tour is going to happen this summer and on Sunday, August the 10th, nine inch

nails are coming to Rogers Arena. And guess what? We got tickets. We are giving away tickets every day this week for the remainder of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week. Now befittingly because it's 9-inch nails, caller number 9 at 815 this morning is going to win the tickets. The number to win tickets to see 9-inch nails on Sunday, August the 10th at Rogers Arena, 604-280-0650. That number again, 604-280-0650. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, January 29th, but if you want tickets now, call it 815 this morning, 604-280-0650. Call it number nine, getting a Nine Inch Nails tickets. The band that lent itself to the greatest name in men's league sports.

What's that? What was the name? What do you think? Nine Inch Nails. What's the greatest name in men's league sports connected to that? I mean I could think of a couple inappropriate names. Yeah. Well it's Men's League Sports. Yeah. Yeah. Nine Inch Bails. Oh. That's actually where I was going at all. That's much more clever. Way better than what I was thinking. Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Bails isn't bad. Yeah, I was playing them all Way better what I was thinking Yeah, a couple times intimidating team Big hands Cover a lot of ice

Wow, yeah figured it out You should if you were watching the live stream all ten of you you would have seen my eyes get biggest saucers on that One okay, we got a lot to get into on the program Guest list in reverse Murphy 830 Frank Sarah Valley at 7 David Amber at 630 without further ado laddie. Let's tell everybody what happened Hey, did you guys see the game last night? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened? 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 The Canucks lost another brutal one on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena. Yuri Kulich had a goal in to assist as the Buffalo Sabres, who had played the night before and lost the night before in Seattle, somehow managed to rally to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.

Rick Tuck had called a microcosm of the season and I think that was pretty appropriate because it was a boring start to the game or if you're trying to be positive, I guess, KG start, real chess match out there. Nah, it was boring. Regardless, not much happened. And there wasn't much life in the building at Roger's arena. There was even less life when Tage Thompson opened the scoring off a

face off in the Canucks end. Pedersen said after the game that he tried to block it, but ended up making it harder for Demko. Let's never speak of that first period again because things did get better in the second when Phil DiGiuseppe pounced on a loose puck and put it behind Ukka Pakkalukkonen for his first goal of the season. It was a good shift for the Canucks with Carson Soussi and JT Miller drawing assists. Hronik was also out there doing good things paired with Soussi. Hronik was with out there doing good things, paired with Susie. Hronik was with a bunch of different guys.

Susie looked good with Hughes, not so much. A few minutes later, the Canucks had another good shift that ended in a goal. This one by Elias Pedersen, who took a pass from Quinn Hughes and smoothly wristed one home. Brock Besser also picked up an assist on one of the more entertaining shifts the Canucks have had, well, all season at Rogers Arena. That was the hope part of the game. Remember, this is the microcosm of the season.

First period, boring. Second period, oh, there's some hope. Third period. You'd think the Canucks would have the advantage against a bad Buffalo team that had played the night before in Seattle. Well, you'd be wrong, because the Sabres were the ones with the energy and around the nine-minute mark, Yuri Kulich, Yuri Kulik, Kulich, who cares, found himself all alone in front of Demko and put it past him. Hronik, who couldn't quite get to Kulich in time, was out there with Hughes for that goal. So, uh, Horonick was plus one with Susie and he was actually minus two with Hughes. Cause that pair was also out there for Tage Thompson's opener.

Anyway, things got worse for the Canucks when they iced it with about six and a half minutes left. The Sabres won the draw cleanly back to Dallin who skated in and fed JJ Paterka right in the slot. Some call that the guts of the ice for the one-timer past Demko. I have no idea what the Canucks were doing defensively on that goal other than, Hey, remember that goal that Tage Thompson scored in the first period off the face off? Let's make sure that doesn't happen.

It's so Mark Friedman fully focused on Tage Thompson. Dallin was able to skate freely and leaving three Canucks, three Friedman, Sherwood and Heinen in complete no man's land. Perturka wide open in the slot. Some people call that the guts of the ice. Another dash for Hughes, who got caught in a different no man's land than the other guys. It was a different one. There was one no man's land over here and that had three guys and then Hughes was in one by himself and in front of the net.

So it was kind of generally more acceptable no man's land. I kind of blame Sherwood a little bit on that goal because he didn't get to Dallin at the point. I think that was his guy and Dallin's able to scare him. It was a disaster. It was a disaster. Look, not a coach, not the NHL level at Because he didn't get to Dallin at the point. I think that was his guy and Dallin's able to scare him. It was a disaster.

It was a disaster. Look, not a coach, not the NHL level at least, but I know there was a defensive breakdown somewhere on that goal for a team that hangs its hat on being good defensively. That's what Patrick Alveen said the other day. Even at the expense of offense and entertainment, Patrick Alveen said the other day, well, I think the fans want to see wins even if it's boring. Well, what if it's a loss and it's kind of boring? That's a bad luck. That's a bad, bad look. Thatcher Demko, we knew this was going to be tough coming back from his injury. He

said after the game that he's kind of lost touch with his game a little bit, which makes sense. Ian Clark, not there anymore. Just throwing it out there. Thatcher Demko's save percentage is like what? Mid eight hundreds. Yep. I don't know what it is. It's not, not good right now.

Something's got to change. We've been saying all season, someone's got to give. Come on, give. Demko save percentage for the record is 873. The focus last night for Rick Tauke in the aftermath was coming up small in the big moments for his team. Now, Sat and Bic were talking about that,

yes, the head coach is dealing with an illness and that might have played a role in it, but they also pointed out that that was maybe the most dejected and maybe the flattest that Rick Tauke has sounded about his team throughout the season, which we are now honing in on the 50 game mark of the regular season. I do want to play some audio because Rick Tauket mentioned on a couple of occasions last night, very specifically how they needed to be bigger in the big moments and how they

continually come up small in those big moments. First clip, the first one on our list laddie, Rick Tauke. We need more big moments to get out of it this year. Here's Tauke following a very disappointing 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at Roger's Arena. Oh yeah, I mean this is a, obviously this was a win we wanted. Could have get some confidence for the team. Now we gotta go back to the drawing board again.

2-1 lead, I thought like you said, we? Now we gotta go back to the drawing board again. To one lead, I thought, like you said, we had a bunch of chances in the second, and then we didn't have any, we dried up. So we're gonna have to look at it, the reasons why. But in hockey, there's key moments. Most of the games played 78% kinda neutral. It's that 30% unique big moments where the tide turns, whether it's a big face off win or a block

or a backdoor play to score in there. These are big plays that you gotta make. And we're not having enough this year, we know that. We need more big play moments to get, get ourselves out of this. So a lot of people are waiting for Mount Bruff to erupt. Kind of got there a little bit during that game recap. I don't know, man, like you just like, you got to do something. But at the same time, it's like, I know they're trying to trade Miller,

like they're trying to do something. And, um, and it's not like I'm willing to say, well, take whatever you can get, you know, they're in talks with a few teams, but you know, they, they need this to end. They need this to end for the sake of this season. If they still hope to make the playoffs, I don't even know for a lot of listeners, if they even care about making the playoffs at this point with this team. But I mean, I would like to see them make the playoffs. So, uh, I mean, you know, what, what's the Mount Brough,

how is he going to erupt? Because I'm just kind of like waiting for the other, other shooter drop. This is a management group that, you know, almost hangs its hat on, uh, especially the president of hockey ops, Jim Rutherford. I, I, I, I, I do Ops, Jim Rutherford, I do things. I'm active, I like to make trades. I'm gonna do, well then do them.

Let's go, let's go, come on. You're a deal maker, make some deals. I think the do something mantra is very befitting because in a very weird way this has worked out. We did not plan this, but this is exactly what the head coach is saying to his team as well, that in these moments, in these games, when you're trying to find consistency and you're trying to stack together wins and you're trying to get out of it.

Certain players need to do certain things in certain moments. Now, I will say this. I feel as though that there might be some mixed messages coming through from this coaching step. I've been very loathe to criticize anything Rick Tauke has done this year because one, I think he's a good coach. And two, if you're going to stack up the list of issues

that this team has had, I would put whatever rift is going on close to the top, I'd put a very poor blue line in terms of roster construction at the top. I'd throw injuries, maybe third or fourth in that list. At times, I understand that people are saying, Halferd and Bruff, you need to criticize the head coach more. Rick Talk, it seems to say that, last night in his audio, he said,

we need guys to step up and chase big moments But at the same time they also need to know their roles and make sure that they're not chasing too much offense when it isn't there But when the big moments arise, they definitely need to go after it But they also need to understand where it fits within the game. It feels as though that Sometimes the approach that this team needs to take has to be so precise and so certain and play so perfect that there's no margin for error anywhere. And that's a tough thing to do on a nightly basis when, let's be honest, you've got different guys coming into the lineup, for example, and I feel bad for Mark Friedman, but Mark Friedman got called up in the wake of the Tyler Myers suspension and played 15 minutes kind of on short notice and got hung out there because he made a bad

read on, you pointed out it was a third goal, where was the game winning goal where? Well, I don't know. Yeah. I mean, he, he definitely had laser focus on Tage Thompson and. Right. Probably trying to.

Maybe you should have looked out somewhere else, you know. Probably trying to do the right thing. Yeah. Definitely wanted to do the right thing. I mean, he wants to play and he wants to make the plays that are going to help his team win a hockey game. It just went in the inverse because as Taki pointed out,

70 to 80 percent of the games that they play are kind of stuck in neutral. And the entire first period, for that matter, was kind of stuck in neutral. And then when it's time for these big moments to happen, this connects. And the one thing, unfortunately, that they've done consistently this year is come up small in those big moments.

I wanna play another piece of audio. Tachy harped on it again last night when asked about what's going on with his team and why they can't find the consistency to win games. He said, and this is the third clip we got here, laddie, it's our lack of ability to deliver in key moments. That's just been a microcosm of our season, just key times, key moments we're not getting them.

Two face-off goals, you're up two to one. We iced the puck there, should have connected on that play. There's just key moments. Protect in the middle of the ice. Like we just, sometimes the key moment, we're just, hate to use the word, but we're just, we go kind of numb for whatever reason in a key situation.

We gotta turn that around. So Bill from Buffalo, I apologize to you. You're a loyal listener and you tuned in and you wanted to hear Mount Bruff and I haven't really delivered today. Dalvier texts in, I fully understand if some apathy is creeping in to dampen Mount Bruff's eruptions. It's certainly happening with me.

Mount Bruff... He's not a clown, people. He can't just explode whenever you want him to. Here's the thing. I've also, I've also kind of said my peace with this team. Yeah, you have. The Mount Bruff would be nothing new.

I know Pedersen scored last night, but you're talking about guys coming up in big moments. You know, where was he in the third period? No, seriously. Where was he? Where were the was he in the third period? No, seriously, where was he? Where were the key players in the third player in the third period? Did he hear you talking when he was asked? No. Can you pull that up real quick?

Jump into teams and it's so Pedersen had a good second period. I actually thought he showed some life. He scored a goal. Of course he did. It was a nice goal. But there was an earlier question where he was doing the work on it, but there was a nice shot and he showed some composure on the shot.

And then he made a nice little move at the blue line where he spun around someone and then Tocket spoke earlier in his presser about players deferring too much. And I was like, that's Petey. Cause I was trying to come up with a Trump nickname. It was like deferential Petey, but it was too big a word. It didn't work, right? Anyway, can you find it? It's Tocket on Pedersen.

Yeah, Pedersen was okay. Anyway, he was later asked, like, what about the line? What about Pedersen's group that scored a goal in the second period? And this was Rick Tauke's response. I don't know. They got the goal. I thought they were okay, yeah.

And that was it. Oh, wow. That was it, right? He knows when you're talking, talk it smart enough to know that you can put enough stuff out there, I don't even wanna call it subliminally, but subtly, where you can, you don't even have to talk

about Pedersen like that. That was actually pretty upfront. When he's talking about, we don't get enough plays in the big moments, he's talking about his don't get enough plays in the big moments, he's talking about his best players. When he's talking about we miss a backdoor chance, he's talking about his second best defenseman, Philip Horonik, who had a chance to, as easy as it's going to get, and he was really frustrated after he missed that chance in the third period. I'm talking about Horonik, not Rick Tauke. And although I bet Tauke was very frustrated as well. Like, he knows right now that he's got an incomplete roster,

especially on the back end, and he knows that right now his best players are not giving him enough in the big moments in a game where you're up by one or it's tied in the third period. Who are the two guys that you're going to look to score a game winning goal or make a big play to push you over the top or to get that very elusive second win in a row, which is like this team hasn't had since I think December 1st.

It's crazy. Pederson and Miller, mostly. And they weren't getting it done in the third period. So on that note, Jeff from Black Creek, Texas. What the hell happened to this leadership group being lauded as a mature tight group taking responsibility for the team's play? There are lots of times I heard some of the players touting how close the team was.

Certainly doesn't feel like that this year. Such a stunning fall from Grace last year, which was such a planet, pleasant, unexpected break from all this. I can't believe we are back here. Yeah. The leadership group is in tatters right now. fall from grace last year, which was such a planet, pleasant, unexpected break from all this. I can't believe we are back here. Yeah, the leadership group is in tatters right now, outside of Quinn Hughes, who did have a

pretty dreadful game last night by Quinn Hughes' levels, but no one's going to blame Quinn Hughes at all for anything this season. Pedersen and Miller are the two other big parts of that leadership group. The Canucks are actively shopping those guys right now. And you're not seeing the level that they can play at. You're not seeing their full potential right now. We haven't seen it from Miller or from Pedersen for a full year now.

And we see it in such varying degrees from JT Miller, who some nights look super engaged and he's one of the best players on the ice and other nights. Like I think back to that, God, who do they play? It wasn't after, what was the game after Winnipeg? The Kings game. The Kings game where he was like, what's going on here? Yeah. I was after, what was the game after Winnipeg? The Kings game. The Kings game.

Where he was like, what's going on here? Yeah. I was like, is that the last draw game? You know, and that's your leadership group. That, that, so that's who the other guys on the team in theory are looking to lead them. I mean, we, we spoke about this numerous times over the course of the last week where the

results have been peak Valley, peak Valley, and it's been win-loss, win-loss. But more importantly, it's been solid performance followed by flat performance. And I think it is sort of becoming crystal clear that the leadership group, their identity, which has also been very erratic and very inconsistent Has permeated the rest of the group or is at the very least is what this group identifies as now One night we can go out and we can have a tremendous effort and we can lock it down and we can play this style To a team we can come up big in those big moments and then the very next night We don't that game against Buffalo last night I was stunned when I heard Bic and Sad talking about this on the post game show.

I got to double check it at the break to make sure it's 100% accurate, but I'm pretty sure it is. The Buffalo, you know how many offensive zone draws Buffalo won last night? Oh, two. Two. Both in the big moments. They both led to goals. He scored on both.

Yeah. Bluger lost that one cleanly on the winning goal. And then there was just so much confusion. I watched the play over and over. Friedman is just following Tage Thompson. Sherwood, who I imagine was the guy that was supposed to get out to Dahlien gets caught up in, didn't really get there that well.

And then Bluger, because Friedman had kind of gone high to take care of Th Thompson. Bluger was kind of playing defense. Like he was the right, he was the right defenseman. And then Heinen was out of the left left point. So he was not really part of the play anyway. And like, and then so Dallin skated by himself down the wall. Right. Did anyone check him? No. No. And so Dallin skated by himself down the wall, right?

Did anyone check him? No. No. And then he passed it to Paterka for the one timer. Did anyone check him? Did you see Bluegrass? So who the hell, so what the hell were the guys doing? Like they're not going to the puck carrier.

They're not going to the guy who's wide open in the slot. Some people call it the guts of the ice. Yeah. And then, you know, who's wide open in the slot. Some people call it the guts of the ice. Yeah. And then, you know, Demko didn't make the save and it was a great, it was a good shot. It was a good opportunity. And you're kind of like, well, yeah. I mean, if you're going to give a guy an open one-timer from the slot, he's going to score a lot, but that your Demko is supposed to be an elite goalie.

And we knew it was going to be tough for him to come back. Um, and I thought it was very interesting what he said after the game. There's a little, little party at a long, at a long session with the media. And he said, uh, I kind of lost touch with the game. Um, and I think he means like his game. And he was talking about just reads on plays, just the feel for the game. And that's totally understandable, but it's not the best timing. It. Yeah. And that's totally understandable, but it's not the best timing.

It's not. And you know what? You could throw that on the pile of things that Tauke is speaking about where he's like, we need guys stepping up in the big moments and we're not getting it. I think Demko totally fits that category. Jay texted in earlier and he said,

I don't think you were right, Mike. I think Tauke is telling his team to score when you have the open net. Score if you have multiple shots from the slot. How many opportunities does Besser have to make this 3-1 game? Jay, that's exactly what I'm saying. I cherry picked Hronik and now we're kind of cherry picking Demko, but take your pick. Tauke is saying that within his framework of how the game should work, There's enough big moments that are up for grabs that the Canucks don't grab. Sure, Besser's one of them.

But there's a handful of other guys as well. The overriding theme isn't necessarily who the guys are, but that it's always his guys that aren't doing it. Like, does that make sense? This has been this consistent theme throughout this season. And I don't know if this is maybe getting into the territory of PDO or bounces and chances evening out throughout the course of a year that you can't always grab the big moments and you're not always going to come up

big in the big moments, that there needs to be another strategy other than play 70% or 80% of the game in neutral. And then in those 20% moments, you need to be the dominant team. Maybe that's too much to ask, but that is exactly what he's saying. It's exactly what he's saying. And what he's also saying is that our guys consistently aren't grabbing those moments.

Now I would say- And the Pedersen line was okay. And the Pedersen line was okay. It was just okay, right? And that tells you everything you need to know. Yeah, they got the goal and they're okay. Yeah. Like I understand the coach's frustration on this.

I really do. This is how they're gonna play hockey. How often do you think, trade them both, honestly? How often do you think? I mean, it's great if you're in a fantasy league or you're playing on Xbox. It's so hard to, you can say it, but I know that it's virtually impossible to do right now. I mean, you could walk in.

You could train them both over the next six months. You could, but you could also royally screw things up. Well, they're royally screwed right now. We'll talk to David Amber coming up next on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about Janpro, the leaders in commercial cleaning, janitorial and sanitation. For more, visit them online at janpro.ca. It's Canuck Central with Dan Riccio and Satya Arshah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post game show. Listen 4 to 6 PM weekdays and on demand

through your favorite podcast app. 632 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. Did you hear how Laddy snuck in a little baseball in the intro this morning? I did, yeah.

I had a kid. I had to do it to him. Who's the guy that didn't vote for Ichiro? The same guy that didn't vote for Derek Jeter, right? Yes. Yeah. Which is his thing. That's his thing?

If Babe Ruth wasn't unanimous, then no one should be unanimous. I kind of respect him. It was the same guy? Yeah. Really? Yeah. As far as pettiness goes, I kind of respect that level of pettiness. But what was his, he must have had a reason for it. I think his reason is what Greg just uttered there. Everyone should have a waiting period for getting into the hall.

So he just doesn't like first ballot in general. Well, yeah, because the greatest player of all time wasn't unanimous. So how could some other schlubs be? Is this some sort of rookie hazing for the Hall of Famers? Yes, actually, it's a good way of putting it. It's the most boomer opinion I think you could have in a group full of boomers. You are listening to the Hell from a rough show on sports net 650. We are now one of the program.

David Amber is going to join us in just a second here. Our one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling, Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. To the phone lines we go. Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host David Amber joins us now on the Hal for Nebruff Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning David, how are you? Good. I imagine another long restless sleep for Canucks fans after last night though. Yup. And the in basket here, the Dunbar lumber,

text message inbox, all the texts flooding in this morning early as well. Kind of echoing that sentiment. There's a level of frustration that just keeps growing game after game after game, David. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Canucks only consistently consistency this year is being inconsistent, good performance performance followed up by a clunker. Last night was definitely a clunker, a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

After the Sabres were on the second of a back-to-back when they lost the previous night in Seattle. Yeah, I mean, that's the story of the season. In fact, what Mike said was the loss doesn't quite make Mount Rushmore. How does that not make Mount Rushmore? Buddy, we got a lot of bad losses this year. Let me tell you. Just edged out. what the loss doesn't quite make Mount Rushmore. How does that not make Mount Rushmore? Buddy, we got a lot of bad losses this year. Let me tell you, just edged out.

I mean, it's maybe top 10, but I don't think it's a Rushmore because honestly, so many of us expected it, like that, the possibility was out there that they were going to do exactly what they did last night. Didn't catch anyone by surprise, nobody. Yeah, it's kind of crazy. That's the eighth straight time we're coming off a win.

They followed up with a loss. So this isn't, you know, it's not just a small blip. I mean, they're just, they're not getting any traction. If anything, it makes, you know, Patrick Alveen and Jim Rutherford's decision making a little bit easier. It's not a knee-jerk thing, but you know maybe it becomes a bit more clear like hey we really have to we can't just try and wade through this and see our way to the end. That's some things, discernible things as far

as the nucleus of the team and we know what we're talking about here will have to be done. So yeah that's a tough one. You, again, the funny thing is guys is inconsistent as Vancouver has been there. They're right there. They need to get some traction. They need to go on a run. I'm talking about the playoffs this year, but they're certainly right there in contention. The season isn't lost in that sense, but you know, bigger picture. I think when we started these conversations in, you know, late September, early October, we were talking about are the Canucks going to be prepared to make a Stanley Cup championship run. And right now that's sort of been shelved and the closer goal in mind is like, let's just get this team to the playoffs and see what they can do.

So post game yesterday, Rick Tauke had mentioned on a handful of occasions, the team's inability to capture the big moments, to step up big when a moment was there and ready to be grabbed. Is that something that you and Sam are noticing as well when you're watching these games and coming back from break? Like we're going to talk about this in the intermission. This team always seems to come up small and big moments. Tauke said at post game, is that something that you guys have noticed? Yeah, I mean, I think it goes hand in hand

with our previous sort of comments just that the inconsistency because, you know, you spelled it out right at the beginning, the 2-1 lead, you know, the Canuck team from last year, and I think that was a big part of their success was having leads and making the other team chase and essentially locking down games and they just haven't been able to lock down games and, and sort of rise to the occasion and find themselves, you know, whether it's within a game itself, you know, stretches of five good minutes, five bad minutes,

or over the course of a series of games, you know, one good game, one bad game, it's getting that traction arising up, taking advantage of opportunities. You know, you had a very tired, you know, travel weary, poor team, you know, bottom team in Eastern Conference come to your building last night. That's a scheduled win, you know, a playoff team that is a scheduled win. And you're going to have some blips along the way. It's an 82 game schedule. We all understand that.

Um, but the amount of blips are exceeding the amount of sort of great successful runs. And yeah, I think for Rick pocket, this has been really tested his patience. You know, I'd love to talk to Rick, you know, candidly, and he might say this has been his most difficult coaching year, because he probably just thought he was coming into coach and he's had to deal with so much other stuff than just coaching players. There's been a lot of, you know, having to have a high EQ on how to deal with all these different players and what's going on in the drama when they're not playing. It's not just X's and O's. So I'm sure there's a little bit of exhaustion setting in mentally for a coach who, you know, coach of the year and great motivator,

but what is it going to take with this specific group to get them all on the same page at the right time, pushing in the right direction? I don't know if you heard Patrick Alveen's media availability the other day, but he lauded Rick Takeda and said he was a great coach and he could see him being a long- term fit here in Vancouver, but he also acknowledged that it's a two way street.

I keep wondering if Tauket is not the coach of the Canucks next season, whose decision could it be, could it actually be Tocket's decision to walk away? And Alfred and I were talking about it the other day and it seems like ever since Paul Maurice walked away from Winnipeg, I wonder if coaches are just like, maybe I just need to sometimes bet on myself and get out of a situation that's not working.

I'm not saying that's going to happen in Vancouver, but I think it's a possibility. Yeah. I mean, would there be a marketplace for Rick Tocket? A hundred percent. You know, it would be a lot like Jim Montgomery, who, you know, how did he leave Boston?

You know, there's a lot of people who feel he sort of created a situation to push him out of Boston and lo and behold, he had a job six days later in St. Louis, right? If Rick Taukett were whatever the circumstances to not return to the Canucks after this year, I would be shocked if he wasn't a head coach

on an NHL bench the following year and within days have job offers, whether he would take them or not, we don't know. I think he genuinely likes Vancouver. I think he don't know. I think he genuinely likes Vancouver, I think he likes living there, I think he likes the environment, I think he likes the fact there is a passionate fan base, I think he likes the fact that they have a good team. If a team's firing their head coach to hire Rick Tocket, what does that situation hold? So sometimes it's the devil you know. I don't think there's any impetus or interest for him running out the door as soon as he can

but I bet this has been really exhausting for him and I think Patrick Alveen recognizes that. This is something that has been going on for some time, the inciting and you know the drama behind the scenes and I think again that's why it sort of is, is meaning it's coming through ahead here in a loss. Like last night, again, I think it makes it a little bit easier for Alvin and Rutherford. It doesn't mean you just take the first offer that comes along, but I do think you can kind of say, we just can't salvage this. And it's hard to sort of say, Hey, everyone, just be professional. We're working on some things. I think, you know, there's a certain sense of urgency to move forward.

When you guys were doing your pre- show prep and getting together all the graphics and what you might talk about and everything, were you holding like a little manila envelope in the event that the trade was going to go down right before the game was going to be the puck was going to drop? Funny you ask that we always are like just our luck, like the worst case scenario, if something happens, you get off the air, you know, our hockey central sort of pregame show, setting up the night is 6.30 Eastern,

3.30 Pacific every day. Our nightmare scenario is at like 4.05 Pacific, right where we're off the air, all hell breaks loose. And you've missed everything. And I'm sure you guys feel the same way with your show. And the other nightmare scenario is at 3.29 Pacific, and you're just about to go on air and it hits the fan and you're like, oh my God, now we gotta react.

But we were prepared. I mean, I certainly had notes. Our producer, Matt Marstrom, was like, okay, there's a scenario where JP Miller gets traded right before we go on air and we just have to be prepared for that. So you definitely need to back your mind. You're kind of ready for everything.

And we're all so close to this. We all follow it. It's not brain surgery. And for our analysts, it's a matter of like, okay, so here's a trade that has happened, or here's a situation that just happened, let's react to it. Much like the Connor McDavid, Tyler Myers suspensions,

right, you can say, what's your feeling on it, and just be candid about it, and we can have that conversation. So you do prepare for that and we were certainly you know kind of thinking there's a scenario where you know it all might hit the fan right before we hit the air and it didn't but um... but again that could be the case today we have the Leafs in Columbus uh...

at uh... four thirty pacific time four o'clock is our pregame show and there's a certain scenario of course where we'll gut some of what we're going to talk about about the Leafs or Columbus or whatever, and be ready to talk about the big NHL news, which could be coming out of Vancouver. If you were a head coach and you had lots of job offers and the one thing you wanted to do was go to

a team with a legitimate chance of winning a Stanley Cup. It doesn't have to be a perfect team, but you know, if you're thinking that you're going to be there for three or four years, which is actually quite a long to be a perfect team, but if you're thinking that you're going to be there for three or four years, which is actually quite a long time for a head coach, you'd like to have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

David, what is the first thing that you'd want to know about the team? Huh. I guess one thing I'd want to know about is who the general manager is and make sure that I can walk in the same direction as the general manager and that we have the same feelings on the type of team we want to field. In working with Brian Burke, he always made it clear he would leave the head coaching up to the head coach. He wouldn't be calling down and saying,

you know, I picked this guy in the first round, you better play a more get this guy in the first power play. And when it came to the transactions of the team, you know, he was in charge, I'm the one who's going to make the decision, and ultimately, we'll collaborate. But we both have our own, you know, vision, and hopefully, it's the same vision. So that to me is a really important thing, right? You want to make sure you can work hand in hand with the management group, you want an ownership group that's aggressive. So as much as your question might have been more geared towards the players, you're staring down because it's so hard, right? There's

20 different players, different personalities. You know, you don't like to see what's happened in Vancouver right now, but you know, there's, there's, you know, talking to players, talking to the, you know, whether it's Kevin VX or Luke Gothic, or, you know, any of the analysts I work with that have played before, they made it pretty clear that there's definitely cliques on teams and infighting on teams. Like, it's not a shock, just like, you know, at your work, guys, and at my work, not everyone's going out for beers after every show. I mean, it's just, that's not how it is, but how well you could collaborate and work together and, you know, still be pulling in the same direction. So I think if you're a head coach, it's not as much

about the players you're adopting, although that's a huge part of it. But I also think it's like, where's the ownership at, what's the GM and the management group at, and can we work hand in hand together towards the common goal? I agree with you to a certain extent. I agree with you on the GM and the alignment and to make sure that you're

going to have the freedom to do your thing and that you've got a great relationship. And I think Rick Taukett has that in Vancouver. But I would disagree with it's not so much about the players because I'd want to know immediately what the players were like. And that goes from ability, and I'm talking about the leadership group here. And that goes from ability, and I'm talking about the leadership group here. Like that goes from ability to personality, to willingness to work together, how hungry

they are to win, how hungry they are to learn. And I think right now, the major problem in Vancouver is that Rick Taukett has one guy, one guy who's a top dog that he can trust. Hmm. That's a hard way to win. Yeah. I, listen, I think that's really fair.

The only thing I would say to that is depends on the situation, right? Like think about how Jack Ico left Buffalo and there was all this, all this guy's selfish and this guy wants to do his own thing. He's not listening to our team doctors, goes to Vegas, he's fit in perfectly. He's won a cup. He's not listening to our team doctors, goes to Vegas. He's fit in perfectly. He's won a cup.

He's having an MVP caliber type season. You know, think about Pierre-Luc Dubois problem, problem, problem, Columbus problem, Winnipeg problem, LA problem goes to Washington. Not a problem. Everything seems to be fine. He's fit even great, you know, like sometimes it's circumstantial as well. And it's hard to get a perfect read. There's no coach that walks into a dress room and knows exactly what he's got in his 20 guys.

He might know some of their ability and capabilities, but it's really incumbent on the coach to bring out the most in their players. You know, Rick Pockett probably walked into Vancouver and he wasn't sure who would buy into how he was gonna, you know, push them and it worked perfectly with Connor Garland, with Dakota Joshua, et cetera. Like he squeezed every last bit out of every player last year. And many of them, including JT Miller, had career years. And sometimes things change, and then injuries happen, et cetera, et cetera,

things out of your control. So I think it's impossible for a coach to walk in and 100% know what he's walking into from a player standpoint but your point on Quinn Hughes is very fair like that is he's the one guy I think Rick Taukit can trust and knows he's low maintenance and he just comes to work and he is also a superstar and you know how many Quinn Hughes's are there in the league? Not many. So if Rick Taukett ever were to look elsewhere,

I don't think he could base it all on, all right, well, I need like five Quinn Hughes because there just aren't that many to go around. But certainly I think a coach has to have the confidence that he or she can draw out everything they can from the group that they're handed. We saw that from Rick Tauke last year. It's not like he's forgotten how to coach.

It's just there's so many things outside his control this year and it's taking its toll on what's happened on the ice for the Canucks. Tonight, Scotiabank Wednesday night hockey, 4 o'clock start, 4.30 puck drop. It is the surging Columbus Blue Jackets in Toronto to take on the Leafs. Before we let you go set this one up for us David. Yeah I mean you spelled it out it's actually really interesting so the Leafs are first in the Atlantic and they've got you know it's not a comfortable Leaver they got a three point cushion on on Florida and the Leafs did not want a division in many many years I can't even remember the last time they want a division and I'm not

talking about that whole give me key Canadian division thing. It's been a long, long time for them and Columbus, like you said, they're one of the really cool stories of this season, right guys? We all know everything they've been through and it's kind of incredible. A lot of people just thought this would be a year where you can't even think about hockey after the tragedy that happened to Johnny Goodrow and they really leaned in on trying to play for him and pull together for him and they're a great story. They're right there on the precipice of a playoff spot. Montreal is another great story Montreal is actually in that that final wild card spot after their win last

night a come from behind win against Tampa but um, we're going to set the stage on Columbus and why they've had this resurgence. I want to talk a little bit about Toronto and you know, what they might be looking to do moving forward. Austin Matthews looks healthy again, guys. I'm not sure how much traction that's gotten out West, but he's scored an eight of his last 10 games. He's you know, he's one he's now putting up goals almost every game. It's kind of back to that guy who scored 69

goals last year. So, um, we're going to talk on those things, but again, we're going to be ready to react if, if any other news comes out of the NHL, specifically Vancouver, we're certainly going to be on top of that as well. But yeah, we look forward to it. It's a good matchup tonight on

Scotiabank, Wednesday night hockey. Give some love to Kent Johnson on the broadcast, Port Moody kid, 22 years old. It looks like he's finally starting to figure it out in the NHL and we're going to have Kent Johnson as a guest on Friday on the Halford Improv Show. So, looking forward to talking to Kent.

He's super talented kid and we've been cheering for him and he's got scored again the other night. He's got almost a point a game guy now, 27 points and 33 games for Ken Johnson. David, thanks for joining us today. Enjoy the game tonight and thanks as always for commiserating with us about the Vancouver Canucks. Yeah, let's see what happens tomorrow in the rematch with Edmundson. It's Shane Myers and McDavid aren't there, but you know, best of luck to the Canucks, we'll see what happens. Thanks David, appreciate it.

David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host here on the Helford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Dunbar Lumber, text message in basket, second consecutive day, it's been cooking. Lot of texts coming in. Consistently and thoroughly, people are not happy, not pleased, and here's the thing, concerned, but also somewhat apathetic, which is a problem.

So, Frank Ceravalli is not feeling well. So unfortunately, Frank is not going to be able to join the show today. So we'll try and find someone to fill in for Frank, but it's tough to find someone last minute, especially when you're doing the morning show. So it might just be me, you, Halford and the dogs and everyone texting into the Dunbar Lumber text

line at 650-650 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. We can get to the latest on the JT Miller trade watch. There has been some reporting, just no trades. Lots of, lots of reporting, lots of speculation,

but no trades. The NHL also released the quarter century team for the Vancouver Canucks. There was a first team and a second team, Kevin Biaxa was having some fun with that on social media. Um, and we can discuss that, see if everyone belongs, see if there were any omissions from that. Um, it doesn't include players like Pavel

Bure because he hasn't been part of this team since 1998, was that his last year? Yeah, he did not play this century. He did not play. This quarter century anyway. For the Vancouver Canucks. He's eligible for the Florida Panthers. Um, so get your texts into the Dunbar Lumber text line.

Uh, for example, Jer from Airdrie texts in, this team is stuck in neutral. They haven't completely fallen apart. They haven't gone on a run and figured it out. Just stuck in no man's land on route to a ninth or 10th place finish in the West. Does a big move push them over the line and get them going or completely cripple them? I'm willing to find out.

Okay. You know what else I want to do in this next hour of the program? I want to carve a little bit of time out to speak about the city of Edmonton and the day collectively that Edmonton had yesterday. I believe on the internet, they calling it crashing out. Edmonton just crashed out entirely yesterday. It was a spectacle from suggesting that Connor David should remove his services from

NHL marketing and media obligations or the four nations face off. He's been dreaming about playing with Sidney Crosby for his whole life, but he got suspended three games for cross checking a guy in the head. So he's, he's going to bypass that dream. And that wasn't even the craziest thing that happened yesterday in Edmonton.

We're going to get into all that on the other side. And before we go to break, I need to tell you about Rogers Xfinity TV. Get set for adventure. Discovery Channel has moved. Catch all the latest seasons of your Discovery favorites. They're all available on Channel 411. That's 411 on Rogers Xfinity TV.

So coming up, it's an entire hour of uninterrupted Halbro excellence. You're listening to the Hal for number F show on Sportsnet. Six 50 Connor McDavid should immediately withdraw from the four nations tournament. I'm not joking.