Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 10/01/25

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they preview tonight's Canucks preseason matchup in Calgary and what the roster might look like on opening night, they discuss the latest hockey news with NHL insider Frank Seravalli, plus they chat some more 'Nucks with analyst Randip Janda. 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.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. We are going to start with the Vancouver Connects yesterday, prepping for tonight's game in Calgary at practice. One of the big notes yesterday, Thatcher Demko was given Tuesday off to attend to a personal matter. The club insists, I repeat, insist it is not an injury, not injury related whatsoever, but no word on how long he'll be away from the team. I suspect you won't play tonight in Calgary. We will believe them when they say it's not an injury,

and I hope that everything that's going on with Thatcher Demko is okay. At practice yesterday, Lecker-Macki remained on a line with Coots and Kane, and we'll see if that line plays tonight in Calgary. While Baines was up with Heedel and Garland, possibly in a spot that could have been occupied by a healthy Nils Hoaglander. Of course, Nils Hoaglander is out for a couple months now after having surgery. We are getting down to the final cuts here with the Vancouver Canucks. And yesterday at the request of a few, I made some predictions on how I think that the Canucks could start the season.

And it was based on what was happening at practice yesterday and also the waivers situation that I took into account. And here is my prediction for the opening night. I think they're going to start with 14 forwards. Okay. Of course, you've got the obvious ones, Debrusk, Peti, Besser, Heidel, Garland, Kane, Drew O'Connor, Blugher, Sherwood, and then four of the guys that were on the bubble. Okay.

Up front, I think Coots is going to start the season with the Canucks. I don't know if he's going to finish the season, but cross that bridge when we get to it. I think Lecker-O-Mackie is going to be on the team. And here are two that might surprise people. And this could still change. I think Carlson and Baines are going to make this team

Okay now Baines has a huge opportunity and he really needs to show something in my mind tonight at the very least to get in the lineup at some point in Vancouver and if he has a really bad performance my prediction could change but he's being given an opportunity

and we'll play some audio from from Baines himself later on in the show if we have time and also maybe some audio from Brett McLean, who was filling in for Adam Foote doing the media stuff yesterday as well on Baines and the P.K. So 14 forwards, I have them starting with just seven defensemen, Quinn Hughes, Horonick, Marcus Peders, Tyler Myers, Derek Forbort, D.P.D., and P.O. Joseph. That tracks.

So, no Mancini, no Willander. and Adog, this is for you. I don't see, no, no, this is a statement for A. Dogg. Not a question. Stand down. I don't want him all that involved. I don't see Mancini in the opening night lineup. So I see them sending him down to Abbotsford to play games.

He's waivers exempt. And P.O. Joseph is, I wish his first name was P.B. Joseph, because I think he's spending a lot of time in the press box. Oh, clever. I thought he wanted his initials to be PBJ. That would also be awesome. Two reasons why. That would also be awesome.

Yep. He's the type of guy that you put in the press box. Yeah, that's what he's there for. And I don't see, here's the thing. If Mancini's in the opening night, maybe this is a question for A dog. If Mancini gets in the opening night lineup, who comes out? Forward. God, you never.

But he's a penalty killer. Yeah, he is. He's a penalty killer. Take your worst defenseman out. Put your best defenseman in. Maybe Mancini could be good on the penalty kill. We don't know. Yeah.

And they haven't even looked. Yeah, they should try. You need, so you need four penalty killing defensemen. As much as it pains me to say, I understand your logic and I more less agree with it. It's just what happens. Like, you need, you need four defensemen that kill penalties. Yes. Okay.

So, Herona kills, Marcus Pedersen kills, Tyler Myers, and then you're not going to have Queen Hughes, and D.P.D., who I think they really want in the lineup, didn't do much penalty killing last year. Maybe he can do some going forward, but then that leaves forward to kill penalties and Hughes and D.P.D. Yeah, so you need four of them, and then for the most part, with forwards, you need three sets of three pairs of forwards. And we still don't really know. who's going to be the main penalty killers. Souter, of course, was a big penalty killer. Dakota Joshua killed penalties.

J.T. Miller killed penalties. Like, that whole thing is going to be interesting to watch if you like the P.K. Yeah. And Brett McLean was actually talking about that yesterday. Let's actually play some Brett McLean audio. I think we've got the stuff that he said. he talked about Baines killing penalties in practice and whether that's an area where he could distinguish himself

but also just the penalty kill in general because for me this is quietly a bit of a concern I don't think it's I don't think it should even be quietly they're missing a big component of last years and we just don't have any answers about it so far yeah right and that's due to a myriad of factors like we haven't seen a real game yet guys have it's been patchwork lineups

the entire time. I think tonight in Calgary is probably the closest you're going to get to address rehearsal, so maybe we'll get more insight tonight. Don't get me wrong. I'm not as worried about the PK as I was a couple years ago when the PK actually did end up, I mean, it cost Travis Green his job. Yes. Him and Pedersen

struggle early in the season cost Travis Green his job, I think essentially. And if you looked at that situation, it was obvious that the personnel wasn't there to kill penalties. I think there's more, especially goal-tending and defensive-wise, but I'm curious to see which forwards, and I'm, I'm curious to

see how much Pedersen kills, because I think he's, I think he's got the, the right instincts to kill penalties, just whether or not you want to have him in that role. Anyway, here is assistant coach, Brett McLean, talking about Baines killing penalties and also the penalty kill in general. He's killed, he finally killed in the Abbotsford game, I believe, and did a real good job in for last year on the PK, all reports say. So he's one of those guys that obviously we know he's scored at every single level, and he's got those offensive skills. But to be an everyday NHL guy, you've got to bring different things.

So it's good to try him on the PK at this level and see whether he can contribute there too. So it's just he's another one of those guys that's been really good, and we'll continue to see where he's at here this next week. How important is the penalty kill in some of those decisions you're making? you know, quote unquote, at the bottom of your lineup in terms of, you know, you're not just going to be a guy that plays a shift on the fourth line. As you said, you have to bring more to your game, and the penalty kill certainly is an area where you lost a couple guys for last year,

and there's some response open there. Yeah, certainly a factor is making sure we've got enough good bodies for the PK, but it's more the guys that are maybe down the lineup. You've got to bring something, right? You've got to bring an element to the team, whether it's PK, physicality, speed, scoring, whatever it may be. So that's why we continue to try different guys in all different roles so that when we're making those decisions on those depth players that we're sure what they're bringing to our team. So I want to talk a little bit more about Baines because for me, he's going to be one of the main guys to watch tonight.

Sure. He needs to show up if he's being given a chance with Heedle and Garland. And that is a clear test for him. And of course, if he does kill Pulley's, he's going to have to do a good job. And he's a guy that has, you know, throughout his career, overachieved in the spots that he's been given. But he hasn't in the NHL yet.

He's done it. He did in the dub. He did in the HL. But he hasn't done in the NHL. And I think at times he's come up to the NHL, and been too deferential, although, you know, that was kind of the motto of the team, deferred, defer to Quinn Hughes.

Yeah, and he's only played 21 NHL games. Yeah. It's a small sample size. Very small. But I know it's only the preseason tonight, but, you know, you're looking at a Canucks Forward group that could have Baines in the middle six, Coots in the middle of sit in the middle six and lechermacki in the middle six this is what happens when you have a thin group and then one injury hits it all of a sudden things open up right and it was so again not to belabor the baines point too much I get what you're saying and I do think that the bigger picture here is there are certain signs during a preseason where you just know that something suddenly matters a little bit to him at me matters a lot but the stakes are incredibly low in the preseason

But every now and again, you'll get a pretty obvious sign that, hey, this is your moment to show us something. Because the lineups that we've seen through the first handful of games through the preseason have been mismatched and there's been a lot of guys going in and out. But when you play on what is ostensibly the second line with your 2C in Heedel and a top six guy, at least in terms of minutes last year in Garland, you know it's an audition to try and say, hey, I can play this spot with some regularity or at the very least to start the season. Now, whether it can last the whole year remains to be seen. Like I said, Baines has only played 21 games at the NHL level, and the production has been next to nothing. He's got one goal on that time. But this is the clear spot where Hoaglender would be in.

Right, and that's where we go back to when a team is thin up front and one injury hits, all of a sudden, opportunities get extended to guys that otherwise wouldn't probably even be in the NHL, never mind that high in the lineup. Can we play some Baines audio here? Here's Baines talking about the competition at camp, the opportunity, and there might be some more stuff. We'll see.

There might be something on the waivers situation as well. Here's Baines. The organization is doing its part to try to build the best depth possible. How would you characterize the nature of competition at this camp maybe compared to the last couple of evening? Yeah, I think this has been the most competitive one yet. there's a lot of good players. Even guys you don't expect, like Kooch's coming in, is a super young kid. He just got drafted, and he's pushing for a spot as well.

And there's, you know, guys like me and Carly who've been here for a while pushing for spot, so it's a good competitive nature. And we kind of knew that coming in here, that it's going to be competitive, and that's what makes everybody better at the end of the day. Does Waver's change the dynamic for you at all? Does that cross your mind in any way that things are different now because you require waiver? Yeah, that might play an aspect. I never really haven't. yet to thought about it but you know that's always a possibility that you know other teams out there looking into guys seeing what other guys could do and I'm sure we're doing the same thing

looking around to see other guys so it is an aspect of the game and you know you kind of you don't really want to be in that spot but all the things happen you know it's it is interesting because when we talk about the preseason which again I don't mean to be labor this point but it's going on way too long but when they when you talk about this it's a big deal for the individual players on the bubble. It may not be for the team, but for the individual players on the bubble. I'm glad you brought that. I'm glad you. Baines to me, though. What does he do exactly?

Well, they're going to find out tonight. He's got one point in 21 games. Like, I don't hate the player, and he obviously, like, has energy, and I like that aspect of his game, but I don't, I don't understand what his purpose is. Like, what does he do out there? His purposes is that is that, I think he's trustworthy, and

who else, who else, who else they got, man? It's a thin group. It's a thin group. Guys, like, everyone's focused on the, on the, on the, on the top six and for for for good reasons right for good absolutely good reasons because we want to see what peterson looks like this season we want to look and see what heedle's like and van der kane is new so i mean it makes sense to focus on the top six we've gotten comfortable with an okay bottom six for the last couple of years in vancouver um i i'm worried about it right now i'm

I'm worried about this group because, I mean, if you've got, again, like, think of the young or maybe in Adog's case, like unimpressive players that they've got playing in the lineup or could play. Coots, Leckermackie, like, these guys are not proven at the NHL level, Baines, who Adog is right to point out, like, what do you do? What do you do? What do you do well? You can't just tread water out in.

in the NHL, are you going to go make some plays? Are you going to be a good penalty killer? You know, I think about a guy like Yannick Hansen and how he basically battled his way into the Canucks situation. He was a guy a little bit like Baines. I mean, he was drafted, but in like the ninth round,

which doesn't even exist anymore. And he just carved his rollout. You know, he did kill penalties. He was a fourth liner with speed that got in on the forecheck, turned over some pucks, and then eventually he found himself, you know, trusted by the coaching staff, and he even got, you know, chances with the Sadiens. Like, that's what the coaching staff is looking for here.

Okay, what would you say you do here? It's a great question to ask Adog, because he's got to go out and, you know, do something. So let's get the listeners weighing in right now. Dunbar, Lumber, text message in basket is $6.50, $6.50. what do you think about Jason Brubbs' predictions for the opening night roster? Who do you think should be on the 23 man when the Canucks open again in about 10 days time

or whatever feels like 10 days time? I think it's only 8 right now. Way in right now. Dunbar Lumber Tech sign is 650, 6.50. What are you expecting from tonight's preseason game in Calgary, 6 o'clock at the Saddle Dome against the Flames? You know, the reason that I was bringing up my sort of disdain for the preseason

and how much of a dresser rehearsal it truly is. It's like, we oftentimes, I don't want to say talk out of both sides of our mouth, but on one side we're saying, you know, this is an important audition, and this is a chance for guys to show what they can do. And then I look at the Mancini situation. I'm like, but here's a guy who is showing pretty much everything he can do and has impressed. And at the end of the day, it's probably, and I don't even want to say probably, it's not going to get him an opening night roster spot because whatever he does,

he just doesn't fit. Like playing your way into the lineup. here's the funny thing. If forward is a hell of a lot easier because the competition is so much less. It's a hell of a lot easier. You got forward showing up that haven't really done much of anything

competing for spots. Whereas on the blue line, you've got A-Dog's favorite, Victor Mancini, putting forth what? The second best camp of any Canuck, maybe not named Braden Coots, I'd say he's probably been the most effective player,

most engaged, right? Has shown the coaching staff something to the point where they're name checking him in a bunch of their answers. but he's probably going to be on the outside looking him. And if he gets into the lineup, and you asked that earlier, who would you take out? I don't think, I mean, it's not going to be forboard.

I think he would probably end up playing in a third pair with forboard if they needed to give themselves a different look on a given night. Well, he's probably going to end up being the guy that comes in when a defenseman gets injured. No, that's probably going to play like 50 games. But that's going to be Joseph. That's what Joseph's there for. They signed Joseph to sit in the press box. Maybe, yeah, maybe.

I have not been in. I don't get that. thing is like you need Mancini to play games. You can't have him sit there for 25 games and then jump in. You want him to play a million games in Abbotsford still because he's young and he's learning still. Can he not go up and down? He can, but you also have a guy that's sort of built for that role.

Yeah, but so he, Mancini plays, say, the first 25 games in Abbey, someone gets injured. He comes up here, plays 20 games, goes back down, plays. The important thing about that is you can't just paper guys up and down anymore. The new rules say you can't just say, well, he's in Abbotsford and he's not. He stayed with the team. He had to go down and play a games. I don't know, but he could, though. Abbottsford's just right there. Yeah, but you're not listening to what I'm saying.

It makes it harder to play games. Sometimes he doesn't do that, Elford. If you have two games in one night, let's say, for example, it makes it very hard for Victor Mancini to play him both. Were you a very difficult child when you were told, like, were you a big, like, I want this dad? And there's like, no, you can't have that. But why? But why? So when they play, but why, but why.

So when they signed Joseph, it was to be a seventh defenseman. I know. Yeah. What I'm saying, though, is Mancini could play the first 20 games in Abby, come up and play the next 20 here and go back down, play another 10, come up here, play another 10 based on the injury cycle, whatever happened. What's wrong with that? What I think will end up happening is that he'll play situationally. Like if they are struggling on the back end and a guy needs to come out, or they want to give themselves a different look because he does bring way more offense on the blue line than some of his other counterparts, that's where I think he could plug in. But my bigger point was that within training camp,

If you were just to say on merit, does he deserve to be on the opening night roster? The answer is yes. He's gone out and played exceptionally well every night and showcased everything that he's about as a player. Could he be a fourth line forward? Yeah, no kidding. Seriously, when you ask...

Someone texted Jeremy and Langley texts in put Mancini up front on the fourth line, Brent Burnstile. See? Let's go. When you said, what do you... Don't start doing that. When you said about Bainz, you're like, what is it that you do around here? You don't ask that question of Mancini

when he plays. Pio Joseph's another one. Like, he's not awful. He's fine, but he doesn't really... He's not, he hasn't been... I haven't seen him be that fine-ish out there. But my point is he doesn't really do anything either, man. Sine you at least notice him, right?

Man, can he make noise out there? Yeah, but Adog... You want your guys to make noise out there. I know, but you've also... I am too, in theory, but you also have to take care of the fundamentals, right? Like, you need to have guys that... It's not bad with that. Adel got the right answer with the wrong equation.

You've seen him killing parents? Penalties? Oh, not the penalty. I just meant, well, do that's huge. Is that the fight? Every player has to be able to do that. The third pair guy, probably. Four defensemen need to be able to do that. Four defensemen. Are you listening?

Yes, they have four D-Men that could do that. Now, if Mancini's in the lineup, name them. You didn't even know the four guys that kill penalties. Horonik. Horonick and. Well, Hugh should be killing penalties. Pederson? Yeah, Marcus Pederson.

There's four. I'm a big advocate of putting So you're going to take DPD out of the lineup Maybe That's probably the one I mean that would be the one I'd have time for that I would have time for that

But I think this organization I like really like Oh okay well Well yeah that's a tough one So you would like to have your cake It's a bit of a conundrum And eat it too Well yeah

Why would you have cake and not eat it Now this is where we go back To the foreboard conversation Which I'm like I get it on the surface I want to imagine these are the conversations They're having In like the trust group You're listening to the best

of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Frank Sarah Valley, our NHL Insider, joins us here now live on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing?

We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. So big news yesterday happened while we were on the air. Massive contract extension for Career Caprizov in Minnesota. They get it done. It costs a lot of money to do so. What are the immediate ramifications or some of the big stories that jump to mind both for the wild? and then the NHL at large,

given how big the price tag was in the AAV for Caprizov. Well, I can tell you there was a lot of happy agents yesterday seeing that deal come to fruition and get registered because, I mean, the truth is a rising tide lifts all boats. And it's not necessarily for the superstar players. Like, I don't think there's any correlation here between Carrel Caprizov and Connor McDavid. McDavid's in a class and world of his own,

and if and when he decides to sign with the Edmonton Oilers, and it's for a shorter term, it's not going to be a new record setter. He's not going to challenge the Caprizov's $17 million a year record on a short-term deal. He got the record because it is an eight-year deal and because the cap is going to be increasing so significantly. But where it does make a big difference is for players that,

I don't know, call them close to a point per game or point per game players that were previously going to be in the $8 million a year range. Those guys are now going to be getting ratcheted up to 10 to 11. It just changes the overall landscape in terms of the new high watermark and now what everyone else is going to be comparing themselves to. Frank, it's being reported by Elliott Friedman

that Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils are closing in on a 7 by 9 extension. Initial thoughts on that. Pretty expensive. $9 million when you look at not just the devil's cap, but when you also look at

the state of really the rest of the defensive market. Now, I know these deals were signed in different years, and I know that this one is much longer, but Luke Hughes with two NHL seasons

under his belt and not anywhere near the quality of player is now has the same AAV as KAL McCar moving forward. Yeah, that's a lot. That's really interesting when you put it like that. He's getting paid more than his brother now. Quinn. Yeah. And

his other brother, Jack. Yeah. Which again, when you sign a deal in 2025, like, and you're comparing it to a deal signed in 2020 or three, it's obviously, going to be different. However, it's just, it's a significant amount of money for a player that hasn't really yet shown to be at that level. And I'm not knocking Luke Hughes at all. But if he had a different last name, I surely don't think he's reaching this type of potential in terms of

A.A.V. And pay. If the devils were to make a play for Quinn Hughes, if, would it be a, would it be a challenge them for them to fit everyone in? Because Quinn's going to have quite a big ask when his contract is up. Sure. It will be, yes, so long as Dougie Hamilton remains in the fold in New Jersey. You can't have three, $9 million plus defenseman. It's, I mean, I guess you could in a couple years, but you can't right now. And this puts Dougie Hamilton, this new deal squarely on the outs. I mean, I know that there's definitely some recency bias baked into the Dougie Hamilton conversation with all the time that he had missed.

But when you look at that contract, when you look at Darnell Nurse, and you look at a couple other deals, Seth Jones, that were signed in one moment in time, those deals have not aged very well and with that there was a bit of a course correction and there were some deals that brought the market down a bit

believe it or not and now this Luke Hughes contract sort of ratchets that back up again. Yeah this is going to be really interesting to watch now because I remember when you and I talked about this I think it was last week you did mention like part of this whole story was Jack very openly saying like

we need to, I'm going to paraphrase here but start deploying Luke more like you know when the number one defenseman minutes and first unit power play and all those things and I do wonder if Hamilton's presence had a bit to do with blocking that in the past or maybe it was that the organization thought that Luke wasn't ready for it but at seven years nine million per he's getting paid like he should be ready for it he is and I really have questions as to whether or not he is ready for it I mean I think there were some significant deficiencies in various parts of his game. Yeah, can he run the power play? Of course. Can he defend? I'm not entirely sure that he's up to that level yet. But look,

the facts of the matter remain really clear. This is a defenseman who in his first two years in the NHL averaged north of 21 minutes a night and average north of 40 points. Yes, that's going to get you paid in any economy or any salary cap situation. But this one, I just think, think it's a different set up, a different set of rules given his pedigree and given who he is that really changed the dynamic for the New Jersey Devils and made this an excruciating negotiation to the point where he's missing today's day 14 of camp. I don't know if he's in New Jersey and ready to hit the ice today, but if not, that's two full weeks of camp gone and we know historically how detrimental that's been to players that are trying to get up to speed. It seems

like they never really have a good season. Jeremy Swayman being the last example. What do you think, I mean, a player that came to mind when you're talking about I mean, this guy's definitely a point of game and I think one of the most underrated players, but Kyle Connor

in Winnipeg is in the same situation as Connor McDavid has got a year left on his deal. Then he's UFA. I mean, his ass could be astronomical. He is a terrific player and can the Winnipeg Jets are they going to be able to afford to keep them?

Oh, they can afford to keep him. I mean, the jets are in one of the most enviable cap situations going. They don't have anyone that makes a $10 million Aavie, which is... That's true, actually. They've got shyfully locked up to a good deal. They got Morrissey locked up to a deal, good deal. Elibov is one of the best deals going. I mean, they're in a great...

They could do anything they want. They could pay him whatever he's looking for. the difference is they've gotten no commitment from the Connor camp and no engagement. To my understanding, these two sides have not exchanged numbers. They haven't gone down the path of exploring what a deal looks like. And I think it's raised some real questions after Nikolai Ehlers slow played the Jets last year right on out of town. The situation was amicable.

Um, you know, he, he obviously played in the playoffs and, and contributed. And then when it came time to, are you staying or going, he entertained and said all the right things, but then sort of meekly slid out the door. And I could envision a very similar situation, I'm not predicting it, but I could see a very similar situation playing out with Kyle Connor that, hey, this guy has, has been, this team sniper, you know, hit 40 goals for the second time last season. And then they can't retain him in some ways because they're Winnipeg. Winnipeg doesn't have a hard time acquiring guys via the draft or trade. They have a hard time retaining guys. And that's why the Shifley

and Helibuck extensions were so massive. And even Neil Pionk most recently. But it's a lot harder for them to retain in Winnipeg. Have you heard any concerns from the lower revenue teams about the rising cap? Because if it's the top revenue generating teams that are pushing this higher cap, and I'm not saying it's all that. I'm sure it's some of the media deals that are signed as well. But are they all going to be able to keep up with this? I think there's real concerns about that.

And here's the other part of it. And I'm really curious to see where this goes from here, because the conversation among executives and agents yesterday after the Caprizov extension was signed was if you look at the cap numbers that the league and the PA put out for these next three seasons, they think that those are sort of the minimum bar thresholds, meaning the actual cap could be a lot, it could be significantly higher than that, once all the revenue is counted. Now, I'm not convinced that the league and the PA are going to agree to that solely for the

reason that you're asking, meaning they might choose to keep it artificially low, link to, even link to revenue. They're going to have to pay back money to players after the season is over, meaning once, it's still a 50-50 split, right? So it doesn't matter whether you get it up front or you get it after the season, once every dollar is counted. If the players only received 49 and the owner's got 51, the owners have to distribute that extra 1% back to the players. And that actually is happening for last season. I don't have the official number yet, but players are expected to be topped up from last

season. So what does that mean moving forward for small market teams? Let's say the cap is on paper to be 113 million two seasons from now. Agents and executives are projecting the that internally based on revenue growth closer to $120 million. $120 million U.S. dollars creeps close to 175 Canadian. Yeah, well, that's why- Are the Calgary flames, the Winnipeg Jets, the Ottawa Senators? Are these teams, at a certain point, you can't charge your fan base more. You can't, you know, double your season ticket price.

The price has to be static. it has to remain what it is. And are they going to develop enough revenue sources outside of that through corporate sponsors or sweet sales or whatever it is enough to keep pace with that growth? I have real questions and concerns about that. And I know they do as well, which is why we might see my prediction is a lot of internal budgeting where, hey, the cap might be $120 million, but you can only spend $103. that's kind of why I asked about Kyle Conner

like can they afford it from a money perspective not necessarily I think they can I mean look at who their owner is like what no one ever really points out like he's the richest man in Canada like they could literally do whatever they want yeah

all right are you hearing anything about the Vancouver Canucks because we've been going through their forward group and with the Nils Hoaglander injury and they already came into the season looking a little thin down the middle. A couple of the young wingers haven't really shown all that well in training camp, although Lekra-Machia and Coots have shown well. Are you hearing anything about them? Are they going to be looking at the waiver wire? They're going to be looking at any trades?

Yeah, I think they are. I wouldn't be surprised if they're one of the teams that's interested in Lucas Reichael, who's available from the Chicago Blackhawks. Look, a really talented winger with speed that I think has so much more to give but hasn't found any consistency at the NHL level. In fact, his game is kind of infuriating to watch because you know that he has all the tools, but hasn't strung it all together over the course of a full 82 games. And so the Hawks are very likely to be moving on from him

over the next five to six days, maybe even sooner than that. it's not going to cost you much like think mid to late round pick is that the type of flyer that the Vancouver Canucks should be taking at this point in time given some of the issues that you just talked about and that Hoaglander one like you would think

seemingly on a more complete team you could withstand a loss like that not saying they can't but that actually is a pretty significant blow for this team if I'm not as thinking Reichel was drafted and signed to his ELC by the previous regime, right? That was a Stan Bowman, not a Kyle Davis.

And yeah, is that part of this, is that it was the new regime just going in a different direction? Are they just not very impressed with the player? No, I think they've sort of been banging their head against the wall here, trying to get this guy going. And he requires opportunity. It's not kept space. Like, that's not an issue.

But if you're going to be putting him in the lineup, you can't just plug him in a fourth line role. That's not really what he is. And anywhere else higher in the lineup, he's taking opportunity away from someone else for a player that they just don't, they don't think has earned that spot. So I know some Canucks fans listening might say, okay, so why would we want that guy? Change of scenery and overall skill and talent.

Like I think there's really something there. I'm not saying he's going to pop, but I look at that guy and watch him play 60 games last season. And I'm convinced that someone's going to dig it out of them. We're speaking to Frank Sarvelli, our NHL insider here on the Halford and Breff Show on Sports Night 650. Do you want to ask you about the Florida Panthers, Frank, and what they're going to do in the wake of the Alexander Barkoff injury? I was watching some of your content on Bleacher Report yesterday. He had a very interesting suggestion for potentially filling that center spot.

Can you tell us what it is? Yeah, I mean, you don't have to look very hard. So, like, there's two schools of thought here, right? Like, if you're the Panthers, you either get super aggressive and try and address that from the get-go with, you know, there's no one replacing Alexander Barkov, right? Right. He's the most complete defensive center.

You could even make the argument in the game's history. So moving forward, do you do that off the hop of the season and try and put your best foot forward and say, we'll address whatever the cap issues are later? or do you bide your time and try and, you know, soldier through the season and then address it at the trade deadline? One player that if you're putting on the aggressive hat of Bill Zito, which he's been pretty aggressive as their general manager, one player that really stands out is a Gennie Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins. I mean, obviously in the last year of his deal, I don't know how much longer he's going to be playing after that is a real question.

but this is a player that at one point in time was one of the most dominant in the game he's not going to be Barkov and he's a totally different player but if his cap hit is kind of potentially at the right price if you can get Pittsburgh to retain which they've shown an interest in doing and if you can intrigue Malkin Miami is where he makes his offseason home

so it's not it wouldn't be tough for him to make that adjustment after so many years in Pittsburgh I just think it's an interesting fit and I think there's a way capitalized to do it if Pittsburgh retains half to get him under the league average annual salary from last year

which is $3.83 million and then you could still have the potential of bringing Barkov back for the postseason if you want to do. Very interesting indeed. Frank, thanks a lot for doing this today, man. We really appreciate it as always. When we do this again next Wednesday,

be on the eve of the opening night of the NHL season, which I cannot wait for. Thanks again man, appreciate it. Let's go. See you guys. See you later. Frank Cerr Alley on SportsNet 650, a presentation of Angry Outer Liquor. He's a let's go guy too. You hear that? I heard that. Let's go. Brandeep Janda joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. What up, Brandeep?

What's going on, boys? Thomas Mueller noted fan of in the booth with Batch and I, I believe that's confirmed, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, yeah, that's his go-to podcasts. He subscribes to it. Yeah, he loves to say, why is it a more regular? Only once a week. That's it. What are we expecting tonight in Calgary 6 o'clock puck drop from the settlement?

What roster battles that we think are going on, do you think you're going to be paying most attention to tonight? Yeah, I think there is probably two spots you'll look at, and one is the current Neal's Hoaglander role. Originally, this was supposed to be a fourth-line role. Now with that injury and Hoaglander being out eight to ten weeks, probably moves up a little bit and obviously R.S.B.B.B.S. is a player

that you look at playing next to Hedel and Garland saying is this, you know, the opportunity for this player to really make some inroads on that battle, right? Like we've seen three players and those players that were at least one or two of them expected to graduate from the H.L. Abbotsford roster after winning the Calder Cup. That's R.S.P., that's Linas Carlson

and Max Sass and we haven't really seen much of, you know, from that trio. So, you know, I think that is one spot. You're looking to say, all right, you need to show something if you get a good, you know, a pretty plum opportunity here. And I think with RCP, he's got that tonight if the lineup stays the same as it was in practice. And, you know, you've kind of seen maybe something from Sasson mostly down to his speed, but not much. I think Linus Carlson hasn't really shown that. that much this year, Bands himself has not really shown that much.

So I look at that spot and say, all right, if you are going to put one of these guys from Abbott'sford with some skilled players like Philip Heedl and Connor Garland, who's going to make the impact here? And R.P.Bantz has an opportunity tonight. So I don't think it was a good sign for the trio of Sasson, Kravsov, and Nils Amon that they were kept off the ice at practice yesterday because there were too many bodies down there.

No, the assistant coach Brett McLean kind of explained it. He's like, yeah, we talked to those guys. I was like, yeah, but we also saw Crapsov play. You know, I wonder, you know, like, have you, I know he scored a nice goal. Have you seen enough from Atu or Atu? Not particularly. I think last year when Ratu came to camp and he started the season, we were focused a lot on his improved skating.

And compared to what we'd seen previously, it had improved. I think this year, hey, the shot was nice against Edmonton, but overall his ability to keep up with the play if the Canucks want to play faster is going to be something that is, I think, has to be focused on here. So with Ratu, if you're asking me, you know, do you expect him to be on the opening night roster? I believe so, based on his face-off skills,

based on his, you know, potential to play the penalty kill. He does play a heavy game. He engages in battles. He gets to the middle of the edge of the end. Those are things that work in his favor. But I think the overall confidence in his play, the overall ability to keep up is going to be something that you do have to keep an eye on. So, you know, this is a player that for many he locked into the roster this year.

I think, you know, ideally you'd want him to compete against somebody. You want somebody that is showing something maybe equally or just slightly below rot to to have that competition factor. So with his play right now, I don't think it's been his best, but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that this team wants to play faster. They want to move up the ice a little quicker. And Ataturatu's game has never been about quick skating. I thought he made improvements last year,

but this team does want to play quicker this year, guys. And he's got to really kind of level up in that regard. And it's not an easy thing to do, you know, every single year. At some point, you do hit your ceiling or you have to, you have to, continue to improve. And I think with him, it's going to be something that he's going to have to show here. Are you worried all about the forward group? I think, you know, when you look

at this group, defensively, we know they have some depth. They've got some young players. They've got some veterans like a P.O. Joseph, that can be your 7-8. From a forward group perspective, yeah, there's not there's not room for injuries, right? And I think we were fully aware of the fact that at the center position, we needed to see something this year with Alias Patterson,

Philip Heel, and whether it's Ratu, can he be a everyday NHLer? But with the Meals Hoaglander injury, I think the unique profile of Hoaglander has posed a little bit of a question here because, yes, there are frustrations when it comes to Hoaglander and his consistency, but one thing is for sure, he, you know, brings speed, he brings an engagement level, he brings, you know, he can win battles. I think when it comes to losing a middle six forward, if you had faith in those HL, one or two of those HL guys, and they can show something here in the final two games,

I think you feel better about yourself. But as of right now, until one or two of those guys show you something, Jason, I think there has to be a question of, are they deep enough in the forward group? Because whether it was at the end of last year or in the lead-up to this year, Patrick Alvin has mentioned the guys from Abbotsford, they're ready to go, they're ready to make the NHL. Well, until that happens, until we see some consistency in their game,

until we see them kind of going to that next level and being near NHLers, maybe not everyday NHLers, but near NHLers, I think it's fair to question whether they've got that depth because you need to see something from one of those three guys, and I think tonight, if R-Speed bands plays, that's the guy you're looking at. It's an interesting juxtaposition between the battles at forward and the battles on the blue line.

We talked about this earlier. You can make the argument that outside of Brayden Coots, the most impressive young player, out of all the connects, maybe the most impressive player, period, has been Victor Mancini, and he's more than likely going to be blocked out of the opening night roster and the rotation,

not necessarily because of the way that he's played, which has been good, it's just there's not really a spot for him to find. Where is it forward? You know, the Hoaglander injury opens things up, and you're almost asking some of these guys to step up and take the opportunity. Curious to get your third.

thoughts on the Mancini, I guess I'll call it a dilemma, because it does feel like he's done enough at camp to warrant a spot. The spot just might not necessarily be there for him. Yeah, there's, I think the profile of the player does matter here where, yes, you need a right shot, you need a right-sided defenseman, I should say, but with Elias Pedersen, he just looks NHL ready. And sure some of his decisions still are at certain moments, you're saying, hey, maybe you don't need to take the shot into the shins there. You can work it down low. You can play a little bit more patient.

But he's got the NHL body. He's got the confidence. He's got the edge. He's got the snarl. And when you look at Mancini, I think he's got amazing puck skills. You see him, you know, lug the puck through the neutral zone.

He can do things that certain other players on this back end can't do. And you can see the confidence that he got from last year's Calder Cup win. However, I think there are still some, you know, maybe some decision-making, maybe, you know, knowing when to go versus when not to go are still things at the NHL level that he's got to serve out. And I think with Mancini last year at the NHL level, guys, he was playing a little bit more conservative. We saw kind of forays down maybe the flanks a little bit every now and then,

and he was playmaking. But at the NHL level, he played it safe, which is totally understandable as a young kid. At the HAL level, who's the opposite? He was a rover. He was like Eric Carlson or Quinn Hughes. and he was everywhere. So how do you find that, that middle where you're essentially making the right decisions

at the right time? And that doesn't happen right away. We're talking about a player that's going to figure that out. I think, you know, this is probably a good thing for Mancini in the long term because you're not put in a situation where you're trying to figure that out

at the NHL level. Of course, every player wants NHL experience, but when you've got that competition on the right-hand side, maybe, you know, you play in the HL a little bit, the coaches can work with you down there. And then at some point, and I believe this is going to be the case this year, I think that right-hand side is going to be a little bit of a shuffle between young

defensemen. There might be moments where Elias Pedersen is setting in the press box. And if Tom Villander is having a good stretch in Abbottford where I think he will eventually be, you bring him up, or Mancini might be that. So, you know, I think that's the best case scenario because you don't really want to drop a young player on that right-hand side and say, hey, you're the guy through thick and thin because these guys have to learn

they have to get their five good games and they might have a couple of games that are not great yeah and they want to develop them to be top four guys not develop them to be bottom pair guys you know so hopefully one of them is able to take over for Tyler Myers at some point and then you've got him and the young player

in the top four position and even if Myers is still on the team he's in the bottom pairing there is a little bit of news I wonder if you think this interesting, Randeep. Conor Ingram has been traded to the Edmonton Oilers. That is interesting. You know, there's a lot of talk

last week coming out of Edmonton how, and I know 32 thoughts mentioned how popular of a teammate Cal Pickard was there. And essentially, if you're making a lateral move, you know, which some would perceive a lateral move, I think if Connor Ingram is in the lineup and if he's on the team and obviously he's had to go through

some of off-vice issues, but he has shown to be a quality NHL goaltender. He's not an upgrade on Stuart Skinner, but he is an upgrade potentially at that backup position. So if you're looking for, at the very least, a person that can maybe handle a regular season role a little bit more or a viable option in the playoffs to say, we need an alternative to Stuart Skinner, it is an upgrade.

It's just not an upgrade that, you know, if I am the Edmonton Oilers fan base right now, I'm saying, you know, we got our guy. It's a slight upgrade. So it's an interesting move. I think it does improve then if Connor Ingraham can, you know, stay in a lineup and if he's an individual that, you know, is available. I think it certainly is an upgrade.

But overall, it's not that slam dunk, I think, a lot of Oilers fans we're looking for. And let's be honest, guys, I don't know if that's possible right now. No, no. It's like trying to find a slam dunk at 2C and getting it for cheap. No, no. And even going back five years, like how many goalies have the Edminton Oilers been interested that said no things? Like go back to Brayden Holpey. You know, they made it pitch to him and that was a miss. Jacob Markstrom was a miss. You know, we had Bob Stauffer on the summer and he was talking about they were interested. Even Archer Shulov didn't make that happen. So, you know, I think at some point you just have to take what you can get and can you upgrade the position. So it's good enough in that regard. But in the big scheme of things, still a massive question for that team. the way, Frank Zara Valley, who we just spoke to on this show, has the details of the trade. Because Ingram was on waivers, so he could have been picked up for free. Here's what's in it for the Oilers.

Utah is retaining 800,000 of the $1.95 million that Ingram is owed this season, and Ingram is going to report to Bakersfield in the HAL. So that's one bit of news. in the NHL. The other bit of news is that Luke Hughes got himself a nice contract. Seven by nine? Was that the numbers, Hufford? 63, yeah.

So now Luke Hughes is making more than Quinn Hughes, and Quinn Hughes is also making less than Jack Hughes, but not for long, right, Randy? No, this is going to be, you know, it might not be Caprizov, But we know Quinn Hughes is going to get a lot of money on whoever pays him. And I think, you know, the one thing is the Vancouver Canucks will be in the position to give him the most money. If he wants to stay in Vancouver, not now, but we're talking about the summertime and when he's eligible to do that. But, you know, the question that comes up for me whether, you know, with Luke Hughes now signing that deal is obviously every player wants to make as much as they can and every player potentially.

I don't know. I can't necessarily speak on behalf of a player that who knows what they have in mind, but maybe they want to play with their family. Maybe they don't. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.