Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 11/22/24

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

Mike and Jason get an update on JT Miller as Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman joins the show, they chat the latest Canucks news with Donnie & Dhali's Rick Dhaliwal, plus the boys tell us what they learned. 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. Justin in East Van, ask us anything. If you're on a news team, but you couldn't cover sports, would you rather report the traffic or the weather? Great question, Justin in East Van. That's interesting. There's a depends, though. What's that?

Because I would say weather would be more fun because you get to be in front of that cool green screen. However, traffic... Okay, we're on the radio still. Oh, it's the radio. What's that? Because I would say weather would be more fun Because you get to be in front of that cool green screen However We're on the radio still Oh, it's the radio Switching mediums I was going to say I'd pick traffic then because there's a chance you get to fly in the traffic helicopter

That is true I wouldn't want to go up in the traffic helicopter Really? That'd be fun Have you been in a helicopter before? It makes me nervous, man I've never been in one I was in one once. How was it?

I'm not really scared of flying, so I was okay with it. Helicopter seems different than a plane. I could understand why people freak out. Yeah. Everything's too close. The propeller, the window, the inevitable fall down. It's all just too in your face. Well, there's no forward momentum.

Yeah. It's very unique. At least, like, again, I'm not an expert on helicopters, but at least- You sound like one. In a plane, you're kind of like, well, if the engine blows, we can glide. Yeah. I don't know if even that's true. You just kind of-

You know, like, the wind will keep us up, right? They're like, yes, sir. The wind will keep us up. I didn't invent the, yes, sir. The wind will keep us up. I didn't invent the name, but there's a thing called a Jesus nut. You can look it up. It's the point on the top of the helicopter that if it ever fails, you drop from the sky, essentially. That's definitely not what I thought. It is a single point of failure that is on every helicopter.

And if it ever breaks, I'm warped. Yeah, well, good luck to everyone in a helicopter today. I'm just putting that out there. I'm just putting that out there. It's called the Jesus nut? It's called the Jesus nut. It's called the Jesus nut. Definitely not what I first thought of when I thought of Jesus nut. Yes, I know.

I said I didn't name it, but that's what they call it. So I would take weather just because I'm looking at the weather all the time anyway. Yeah. So I'm fortunate enough that I don't have to deal with long commutes. I hate the traffic in Vancouver, and I think I would get stressed out if I had to do it. Let's give everyone a little look behind the curtain here. We're getting older, the Halford & Brough Show. We're no longer the young, fresh-faced kids on the block.

We're old with wrinkles and don't look good. We also don't commute during normal hours, so traffic is a non-factor. But as we get older, everybody knows, every year you get older, the more into weather you get. It's an axis thing, the X, Y. It's like the bird watching thing. As soon as you turn 60, you're like, hey, birds are everywhere. Let's start watching them. Every year you get older, you spend a correlated amount of time more on weather apps or just looking outside being like. Tut, tut.

Looks like rain. Looks like rain. And in the summers, it's like, we really needed that. Yeah. It was hot, right? That's a dad move. It's a dry heat. Yeah.

So I think that weather fits what we're doing. Like, if we were to do a natural pivot where they finally were like, you guys have been doing this for a long time. We're going to shut it down. Like, that's understandable. Like, okay, you have a choice. I think we'd both go directly to weather. Like together, you mean? You report at the same time?

Just two, yeah, Bert and Ernie, Statler and Waldorf doing the weather, just pointing at the clouds. The text inbox is predictably full of helicopter experts. One's from Melissa in a helicopter. Yeah, she actually is in a helicopter, so she's probably the person we'd be speaking to about this. She asked us if we wanted to ride in a helicopter. Nope, she actually is in a helicopter, so she's probably the person we'd be speaking to about this. She asked us if we wanted to ride in a helicopter.

Nope, I don't. What about the previous conversation suggested to leave a column? We are all terrified. Was it the inherent fear of being in a helicopter? This text, I don't know if this is real or not. Oh boy, you guys are wrong on helicopters. Ha ha ha. All the fellow helicopter pilots are freaking out at their radios this morning. Do we have a big listenership in the helicopter community?

I want to imagine that we do. What did we, other than Brough's- The helicopter demo, baking the half of the- Other than Brough's assertion that maybe it would just float. What did we say that was so incorrect about helicopters? Well, someone texted in, a helicopter can be landed safely even if the engine fails and has no power. That's cool. Yeah. Did we say that it wouldn't say that i wasn't really paying attention if it lands on a giant pile of pillows do we have one of those

handy or people just hold a really big net all together this is okay this is i like this one for matt when helicopter pilots start learning to, one of the first things they teach you is that the helicopter is always trying to kill you. Yeah. Also, the glide down when a helicopter engine fails is called auto-rotation. Okay. That means spinning uncontrollably.

To the layman. And someone yells out, Jesus, the nut is loose. Oh, not the Jesus nut. That's yells out, Jesus, the nut is loose. Oh, not the Jesus nut. I'm reading the page. That's actually why they call it that, because if it ever fails, the only thing you have left to do is pray to Jesus.

That's why they call it the Jesus nut. Jesus take the wheel now that that nut is gone. I don't understand why they got to start the blades first. That makes me so nervous. I don't want to duck under blades as they're swinging around above my head. Can't you wait to start the blades so you get in? I don't know. We have countless helicopter experts. I'm solely going based off

of movies here. Does everyone have to duck too? Like even shorter people? Do they have to duck? I think instinctively you'll want to. Can you walk confidently to the helicopter? I don't think anyone's walking Dude, I'd be crawling to the helicopter. I'd be like just down on the ground. I'd be like, no, I don't want to be anywhere near this blade.

Anyway. Shout out to Dalvir, who cherry picked the line of the morning, by the way, courtesy of Jason Brough. A helicopter seems different from an airplane. If you're going to have one takeaway from the helicopter show this morning, that should be it. Because they are, in fact, two totally different things. Yeah, but then I went and stated the example of, like, if there's engine failure, that seems like a different situation. But he didn't confidently say they were different. He just said they seemed different.

So that implies they could be the same. It's the touchy-feely generation. I feel like a helicopter is different than a plane. But I don't want to state it on the record. Yes. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the Halford and Brough Show. But I don't want to be criticized. A lot more to get to on the Halford and Brough Show. But I don't want to be criticized. A lot more to get to on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

AJ from AJ's Pizza. I don't want to offend anyone, but I think a helicopter is different from an airplane. So the show goes off the rails on Fridays, right? Previous segment, we're talking about helicopters and our inherent fear of being in them. Then a very, very inaccurate scientific breakdown of how helicopters work. Then we quickly pivoted to what's going on with Jay Leno. Anyone got any ideas there? If you want to weigh in, Dunbar-Lemmer text line is 650-650.

I don't know what's going on. I hope he's feeling better. He had a fall. Sure he did. You just love conspiracy theories, don't you? Big helicopter got to him the uh it was actually written up it's everywhere in a bunch of newspapers it's everywhere yeah it's on cnn right why doesn't he sell one of his hundreds of exotic cars if he needs the money like the conspiracy theory suggests does he have have the cars still? He's addicted to the cars.

He can never let them go. Don't a lot of people, don't a lot of celebrities not care for Jay Leno? Like he doesn't have the best reputation. That's correct. That's correct. Yeah, the Conan thing. Well, it's not just that though. He's seen as kind of like a snake, right?

That is also correct. This show on Friday, just one big one. Just run it. I didn't expect to come in on a Friday and just run Jay Leno down. After destroying the concept of helicopters. Okay. We learned something about helicopters, auto rotation.

And the Jesus nut. We learned something about sharks yesterday. It was a big week of learning here. No bones. No bones. No bones in a shark. To the phone lines. You can just eat them. Don't do that. Take a big week of learning here. No bones. No bones. No bones in a shark. To the phone lines. You can just eat them.

Don't. Don't do that. Take a big bite out of them. Please don't do that. That's why they always got to keep swimming. No bones. No bones. No bones.

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. AJ. AJ from AJ's Pizza. I'm sorry I'm so aggressive. I have no bones.

I'd be mad too if I didn't have any bones. Right? Please. I beg of you. Please stop. No better time than now to speak to Elliot Freeman. Elliot joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Freed.

How are you? Good, guys. How are you doing this morning? We're well. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. Let's start with what Jason was just talking about, the Vancouver Canucks. It's been a pretty tumultuous week for the team as they now head out on their

Eastern road swing that begins on Saturday in Ottawa. Let's just ask the big picture cover all bases question here, Elliot. Do you have anything new or anything that you want to share about the Vancouver Canucks? Not at this point in time. I think that, look, I think that number one, you know, it's when you're in like kind of like a week of tumult, like these guys are in right now, you kind of have to figure out what things are going to look like before you really start to,

unless you're thinking of making some kind of permanent change, which I don't get the sense they're doing, you kind of got to figure out what your roster is going to look like and how things are going to look like before you really start to think about changes. So, you know, maybe they try to add something just to get them through the next couple weeks. But I think for the most part, like, this is your team for the next little while until Miller gets back and we'll just see how they battle through it. Oh, there goes my hot take.

I predicted that the Canucks will make a trade at some point on this road trip, so I guess I'm going to be wrong on that. I didn't know that, Jason. The thing is, any team that's led by Jim Rutherford can do anything. He likes to look and he likes to go as early as he can. But, you know, the one thing I always remember is, you know, it's harder to make deals when you're in a position where other people think you need to meet them. Like one guy who's going through that right now is Barry Trotz in Nashville.

He's, you know, he's trying to do something, but the Sharks are in the water, right? They know they're in trouble, and so they're going to make a hurry on them. I think the thing about the Cocks is, you know, right now they're in a little bit of trouble, so you have to be very careful what you do when you're in that situation.

Like, I think if they, like, if it was to do something in the next two weeks, it would have been something he probably would have done anyway, if it was something major. What reaction, how much reaction did you get, text or calls, when you suggested that, hmm, maybe the Bruins should trade Nikita Zdorov back to Vancouver? You know, I got some. There's no question about that. You know, sometimes you just sit there and you say okay what's a match and what makes sense and you know Zadarov has struggled in Boston this year

he's not the only one a whole bunch of them have struggled I think one of the things there too is that I think the Bruins have you know kind of said to him you know Nikita there's a certain way we need you to play and you know as you guys know sometimes he likes to carry the puck he likes to be creative I'm not sure that you know Boston really likes that part of his game and they want him to get the puck up the ice as quick as possible and they

want him to intimidate people and you know I know, I think the thing was, too, is that, you know, in that situation, you know, Zdorov obviously has say over things, and it's whether or not the Bruins and Canucks would ever even want to think about something like that, but the Canucks do miss him. You know, he was a bit of a wild man at times, but he fit really well. He fit the identity that Tockett likes to play, and they do miss him. It's funny. You have occasionally seen things where a player went somewhere.

I always remember Craig Conroy when he went from L.A. and then eventually went to L.A. and eventually he went back to Calgary. If I remember correctly, I should have looked this up, but I think there was like a Pittsburgh Ranger deal a long time ago where someone got traded and then got traded back. But it's rare, but it does happen. And, you know, he was a good fit there. They miss him.

And so far it hasn't been a fit, although it's early. Let's talk a bit about the Ottawa Senators, because I know you and Kyle discussed it on the latest 32 Thoughts. The Canucks are going to play the Sens on Saturday. And I haven't watched a ton of Sens games, but I've been noting that they're piling up shots, but they're not piling up wins. What's going on with this team?

You know, Jason, I'll tell you this. The one thing we're really learning in this league is I think it might be harder to rebuild in the NHL than anywhere else. I really am beginning to think that. You know, you look at all these teams that have been, like, the Eastern Conference is full of teams that have been on the cusp for years. Ottawa, Detroit,

Buffalo, for sure. It is, like, you take a look at, like, how long, you know, Chicago was at the top of the league. Now you look at what's been was at the top of the league. Now you look at what's been going on the last few years, Anaheim. I just think that this is a league where it's really hard to win. And I think that shows you how far the Canucks have come. The fact that they've...

The Canucks have turned around faster than some of these other teams have. I think that's big credit to, A, their players, and B, you know, just the kind of team that's been put together. But I look at Ottawa and, you know, Travis Green, you guys know Green. He can really grind you. He really presses the buttons. But even he saw last night that that team

was fragile like Vegas comes in I realized Toronto Ottawa is not the toughest back-to-back in the NHL but they played the night before Petrangelo got hurt they were using their backup who's Samson of their minus a bunch of guys and Vegas just owned the start of that game. And you can see Ottawa sag. And I just think that there's a lot of talent in that Ottawa team. But when things go wrong, and Buffalo kind of goes through this too, when things go wrong, it's really, like, they sag. And, like, that's the one thing I felt about the Canucks the other night

against the Rangers. Can you imagine what it's like? You walk in in the morning, you hear that JT Miller's not going to play and he's going to take some time off. Like, you can just fold. But they played hard and they didn't get a point, but they gave the Rangers everything they could handle. I think the one thing, that's one thing I really like about the Canucks,

and I think, you know, there's a lot of talk about Patterson, there's a lot of talk about Miller and how great they are, and they are great players, but I think Hughes is the guy who really sets the tone. I think that he pushes, you know, he's not a fiery guy in terms of what he says, but he's a fiery guy in terms of what he does, and he's a fiery guy in terms of what he does. And you can see that that team follows him. Let's talk a bit about why it's so hard to rebuild in the NHL.

Is it because it's so hard to acquire talent? Or is it building a culture of winning so you don't have a team that sags every time something wrong goes what happens like or is it the first one i i think it's the first one honestly uh you know if you like if you look at it like we're all sports fans right if you get the right quarterback you can change your nfl team pretty quickly um you need a lot of players and a lot of good players, but we've seen a lot of situations where a quarterback can make a big difference.

In the NBA, sometimes it's as simple as one player. I don't think there's a sport where one player can change a team more than the NBA can. I'm not knocking other sports. I'm not one of those please like my sports guys. But one guy can make a big difference.

You know, in the NHL, you know, you look at a guy like Bedard, you look at a guy like Celebrini, who I really am impressed with this year. They're great players, but, you know, what do they play? They play 22, 24 minutes at the most. And so you've got to, even Ottawa, Ottawa's got a bunch of really good players. Buffalo's got a bunch of really good players. I just think you need goaltending.

You need to be strong down the middle. You need to have star players. You need to have solid D. You need to be strong down the middle, you need to have star players, you need to have solid D, you need to have depth, like you need all of it to win, all of it. And it's so hard to get. The other thing too I really think has happened guys is the league's gotten really young.

Like this used to be an old league. Players and players can take care of their bodies longer now and And you can, you can play until you're older because we've got so many things we can do now. But if you take a look at how young the league is overall, I think it's, it's kind of, you know, I think people don't really come in and they think,

I don't know if they think it's going to be easy, but especially if you're not coming from the CHL where they play more of a pro schedule, you're not ready for this. You're not ready for the schedule, what it does to your body. And also, I don't think a lot of players realize, especially when they're young,

how hard the regular season is just in terms of length. And secondly, how much the flip changes when the playoffs start. Like, you know, we're talking about this Austin Matthews injury the other day, and I had a player tell me, you know, in the regular season, if I find out what it is, I might give him a pass.

I might. Okay? But in the playoffs, if I out what it is, I might give him a pass. I might. Okay? But in the playoffs, if I know what it is, he's not getting a pass. And I just think that still when the playoffs start especially, it is a brutal, brutal game. And the other thing, too, is that big hit the other night with White Cloud. Yeah. There are too many players who come into the NHL right now

and just don't think they're ever going to get hit. Oh, totally. Yeah, totally. And the amount of hitting is down. Like big hits like that is down. Because I think, you know, the game's changed a lot. But the fact is that people forget that there's still guys out there who will do it.

Now, it's the onus is on you to do it cleanly. But they forget that there's still guys out there who will do it. You, it's the onus is on you to do it cleanly, but they forget that there's still guys out there who will do it. You know, it's interesting. I was watching the Amazon, the Thursday night whip around show that they have. It was on last night. Yeah.

And they had George Peros on during one of the breaks and he was going back and forth with Mike Rupp and with Scott Hartnell. And Hartnell straight up asked him, like, when you're taking punishments and hits into account, how much do you guys have to consider the fact that young guys come into this league and they're just not ready to be hit?

And Parrow said they actually, when they do their rookie symposium sort of thing, they tell them, they're like, there are people in this league that play very physical and are going to make a point of playing physical on you. So it is out there, but I just wonder if you need to get hit first. I liken it to crossing a crosswalk. Still look both ways. Yep. Right?

Still look both ways. Because even though you're in the right and you're in the crosswalk, if you get run over, you get run over. Like, you know, it's like my son, he doesn't play, like, organized hockey, but he skates. And, you know, when he's skating i say like i don't really care what you do out there go out and have fun and do what you like to do but the one thing i demanded him is that he always has his heads up head up because even when you're

going on like free-flowing public skates you never know when someone's going to try something or they're going to fall or stuff happens and uh it was, like, I always tell them that. That's the one thing I care about. Just keep your head up so you see what's going on around you. Freed, I wanted to ask you about JT Miller. Do you remember many instances like this? No, there aren't a lot. I have come across, i was reminded yesterday and the player asked me not to say uh who it was but i was reminded of the situation of yesterday

a few years ago where a player took like a couple of days off and they announced it as something else and it turned out he was just taking like a a mental break um uh you know i think that uh but you know to do it it sounds like it's going to be the expectation here is he'll hopefully and everybody hopes he's okay uh hopefully he rejoins the team after their road trip i think i the last game is in December 3rd in Minnesota. So we'll see how it all plays out. But one like this for a couple of weeks, it's unusual. And it's also unusual in the sense that, you know,

sometimes where we've seen, like, for example, like there's a player in Nashville right now, Spencer Sassner, who's taking some private time. And he hasn't, you know, nobody said what the situation is. And, you know, again, you, you, you hope he's okay. But like, that's a situation where he just hasn't been with the team all year. So the circumstances of this one are unusual.

But, you know, one of the things that, you know, a couple of things about it that kind of come out of it. Number one, you know, there is much more of an emphasis now

on mental health. And the other thing here, too, that's a bit compounds is he's also battling an injury. So, you know, it's not the worst thing

if maybe he gets some time to rest from the injury. But there is a bigger emphasis on mental health now. This is something that, you know, the world is much more cognizant of. But I did have a couple of people say to me yesterday, like they wonder, like, if this starts to become more prevalent, if, you know, teams start to hear from players saying, you know what, I'd like to do that too, what is the fallout of that going to be?

Is it something that the league and players are going to have to address purely from a procedural point of view? But it's a little early for that. The thing is, too, about it is the Can know, the Canucks could have just announced that, you know, Miller was battling an injury and he's going to take some time and nobody would have batted an eye. But, you know, I guess nobody really wanted to do that for whatever reason. So it seems a bit unusual, but it has happened periodically before. I just don't know if it's happened too much in season for that long. We're jumping around here, but I did want to ask about Calgary real quick.

We talked about them off the top of the show, and I said even though they're the enemy and they're the rival, I begrudgingly respect what they're doing this year because they've got to be the most surprising team in the league right now. As we get closer and closer to American Thanksgiving and being in a playoff picture, I mean, the Flames league right now. As we get closer and closer to American Thanksgiving and being in a playoff picture, I mean, the Flames are right there. They don't score a lot, but they don't give up a lot of goals.

They win games. They grind it out. They got good goaltending. They're one point back of Vegas for top spot in the Pacific. And I know that you and Kyle talked about them on the most recent 32 Thoughts. What were you guys discussing about the Flames? Well, I mean, like last night, I looked up.

I was otherwise indisposed, but I looked up, and the shots were like 3 to 10. I was like, holy smokes. Like, what's going on there? You know, the thing that in the summer, like there have been a couple of really hard years there, guys, a lot of noise. And, you know, Craig Conroy, what he asked,

is he asked all his players especially the veterans I'm gonna have a quiet summer I expect you guys to come back and compete hard and put on the best possible show we can and to those players credit they've answered that and some of it is veterans who are tired of losing and some of it like Dustin Wolf it's young kids who are getting an opportunity and they want to run with it. And I think, I don't know if this is going to last. Like, the odds are against that this lasts all the way, but I'm enjoying watching them beat the odds to start the year.

Like, Mike, what you control is your effort. It's like the Canucks the other night. What you control is your effort. It's like the Canucks the other night. What you control is your effort. And this team gives them a hell of an effort, like, almost every night. And it'll be interesting because Anderson's having a great year. You know, Codry's been really good in terms of agreeing to play with young players and not having a problem with it. Not every veteran is like that.

You know, Coleman has said, I'm going to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And the young kids are going with it. I even think they wonder, though, like, how long is this going to last? Sure. While it lasts, they're going to enjoy it.

Vridge, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy the weekend. We'll talk again soon. Yeah, so you know what, guys? taking the time to do it we appreciate it, enjoy the weekend, we'll talk again soon Yeah, so you know what guys, I got a call this morning someone said to me, you set the city on fire

yesterday, we can't handle two days in a row so I'm sorry if I was a little caller No, this was great, thanks man Alright guys, take care Yeah, Elliot Friedman here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650 You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.

You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough. Our next guest comes courtesy of the Donnie and Dolly Show on Check TV. It's Rick Dollywell here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Ricky D? All good, buddy. How's it going? How's it going? We're good.

We're good. Excited to talk to you on a Friday. Brough's got everything that we want to cover. Go. Are Demko and Besser going to play on this trip? That's a great question. Well, you gave it to me yesterday. Well, that's the big one for me is do they get to play on this trip?

Nice to see Demko address the media Wednesday. Despite reports last week that Demko's return is imminent and close, Demko did say himself day-to-day he knows he's going to return, but he refuses to give a timeline. The Canucks are doing this right. Demko and the Canucks refuse to give a timeline. Any timeline you guys have heard is from the media, and it's been mostly off target. But Demko says he's still got a little bit of work to do,

huge progress in the last two three weeks so everything's on track he is close now i've talked to enough people to think that demko might not play on this trip but also might play at the end or might play his first game against columbus at home so that's where we're at right we're at the guessing stage but be prepared for a possibility where he might not play on this trip. He is close, but here's the deal. You cannot play this guy unless you're 100% sure. Last time they brought him back from an injury too quickly, he lasted two games. That was nine months ago.

That's why we are where we are today, because they rushed him. They can't do that again. So earlier this week, I talked to a goalie coach who told me this. The perfect place for Demko to play his first game is at home. It's not on the road. Being at home is better for his recovery after a game. So you're on the road, there's travel, you're going back and forth to the hotels, there's more condensed games. Canucks have four games in six weeks next week. That's not ideal for a goaltender who hasn't played in nine months.

So proper recovery, rest, and load management. Get ready for those three things when Demko returns. The biggest thing with Demko is not when he's going to play his first game. It's his durability after the first game. How long can they depend on him? Well, they can depend on him a whole lot better if they make sure he's 100% and he's ready to go. This is going to be terrifying when he returns. Yeah, it is. I don't think the big story with Demko is when he's playing his first game, Jason. I think the big story is how long can he last after he returns. And if he's 100%, that's the goal.

They're in this predicament because they rushed him. They can't do it again. They rushed him for the playoffs, to be fair to them. Yeah, okay, okay. But he also was overplayed. He's been overplayed by three coaches. I agree. Go back to the All-Star game. Okay, but he also was overplayed. He's been overplayed by three coaches. I agree.

Go back to the All-Star game. And they had road trip after road trip, and there was one trip where he played in Chicago. They were one of the best teams in the NHL. Do you really need him to play at the end of a road trip in Chicago to beat the Blackhawks? Travis Green did it. Boudreaux did it. This guy did it.

They have got to stop overplaying this guy. That's the bottom. And that's why I've been told load management is going to come into play with Demko from here on in. He's got a contract that needs to be re-upped in a year, year and a half. And he needs to get to 100%. And he needs to get in a situation where, look, he can play a lot of games for the Vancouver Canucks,

but he can't get as injured as much as he's been injured lately. And by the way, go ahead, Jason. Oh, no, no, give your by the way. Really good, massive hurdle for Besser, given the okay to fly with the Canucks. I don't know, Jason, if you know anyone that's had concussions. Yeah, we mentioned this earlier in the show. Being allowed to fly is a good sign for him. Yeah, I was told last night, massive hurdles.

So you can't sit on a plane with a concussion to Ottawa without it being approved by the doctors, and that's really good. He did skate, was it Tuesday morning? And then he took Wednesday off. As with all concussions, you have good days, bad days, but he's on the trip, which is great. And you hope to see him play. Now, it sure is nice

to see Sherwood and Garland provide offense in the top six in Besser's absence, because they're sure not getting it from DeBrusque. Three goals in 18 games. Sherwood could run for mayor right now. Man, has he been a find. He could be the best money value contract in the NHL. You know, this guy, so much to like about him. The longer he hangs in that top six with Pettersson, the better for the Canucks until they get 100% healthy.

I'm sure you keep in touch with Danny Milstein still. I call him Danny money Milstein that's a good nickname for him money Milstein does did you text him as soon as you read 32 thoughts with Elliot talking about you know here's an idea trades the door off back to Vancouver yeah I did I did and but I got to tell you this, guys. When an insider like Elliott Friedman tweets or says or writes something like that, you have to know the method to the madness for insiders. You got to be able to read the tea leaves. And obviously the Canucks miss Zdorov. I talked to enough people last night to know, yeah, they do miss him.

If they do call Boston or if they have called Boston for Zdorov, what does that tell you about their mindset about the blue line? That seems like a panic move to me. There is absolutely no one in Abbotsburg. Forget about it. Prices are very high on the trade market. So what do you have to do as a manager? You know prices are high, nothing on the farm.

You've got to think outside the box. To me, this is a think-outside-the-box philosophy for the Canucks, if they're interested in Zdorov. So I'm going to tell you what I know. I texted Milstein, and he said he has not heard the Canucks going after Zdorov. He would know. But a trade is not going to be easy. Zdorov doesn't make 3.7 anymore.

He's at 5 million, five years left. He's 29 years old. And I'm going to tell you something else. When it comes to trades, the Canucks right now are not in the same position as they were this time last year, when they were one of the best teams in the NHL after 20. Right now, they're the 16th best team in the NHL. The reason Rutherford was so aggressive last year was the Canucks came out of the chute

and were one of the best teams in the NHL after 20 games. And he said, you know what? I think we can win it all. I better get ahead of the market. Right now, he's got to wonder about a couple of things. Maybe wait and see how this team looks after Demko's return. Will the Canucks be a 500 team without Demko or return to elite status with Demko? So I know you talked about a trade coming up.

I'm not so sure they make a big trade right now. It's not as simple this season as last year. So I think, like, I agree with what Elliot says. They might tinker and make a small trade, but I really do wonder if they wait to see what they got after Demko returns. Hey, speaking of Diamond Danny Milstein and Gold Star Hockey, one of their clients just got recalled to the,

if I'm not mistaken, right, Max Sasson? Diamond Danny is better than Money Milstein. That's a Goldstein client, correct? Gold Star client. I know Milstein. Listen, I know Milstein really, really, really good. I don't even call him Danny. I call him Dan. I can't believe you guys are calling him Danny. Anyway,

he's got, and the great thing about yesterday was not only are the Canucks thinking about Zdorov, but we got a Dan Milstein client on the roster, Max Sasson. I want to say this first. Sasson was the next, was the best center in Abbotsford. He was the number one center. And with Miller out, this makes sense because check this out, guys.

If a centerman goes down on the road trip, you need an extra one. And if they didn't call him up, they wouldn't have had an extra one for the road trip. Because look, six games, four games next week, injuries could happen. So it's a good move on that front. So I want to take it back to when Sasson was in college. He literally had 25 teams after him. So he gets down to his four list, like top final four, and he makes his final four and the Canucks are on it. But Patrick Helvine didn't promise him anything, right? No ice time, no top six. When hockey people recruit players, they tell you everything you want to know.

They tell you and they tell your agent, you're going to be the captain. You're going to be in the top six. You're going to be penalty killing. You're going to be in the power play. I've got to give credit to Helvine. He're going to be in the top six. You're going to be penalty killing. You're going to be in the power play. I got to give credit to Alvin. He did not promise Sasan anything. And teams always do that. They're the kings. Hockey people are the kings of promising stuff. When they recruit you, necessarily never happens. But at that time, when he was down to the final four teams, Milstein knew one thing. He knew that if Sasson got to Abbotsford, the Sadeen twins were

going to be there and he would have a fair chance with development. And he told Max that. He said, look, if you go to Vancouver, you're going to go to Abbotsford, but the twins are going to be there. You know, people talk about when the twins were hired, that it was just a PR move. It wasn't a PR move. They are absolutely respected in the league and agents are saying now, hey, then that wasn't the case in Utah because I got horror stories. No, not Utah, Utica. I got horror stories about Utica and how badly that was run at times. This thing about the Sedin twins, they're working with kids. It's really, really good. Milstein played a big role in it, and then he was down to the final four teams,

and he picked Vancouver. So that's how he kind of got here. This kid works hard. He's a good skater, and he's going to give the Canucks depth in case of injuries on this road trip. Hey, I know you're not worried about the CFL. Are you worried about the BCHL?

Oh, boy. You guys got three hours? Okay. The BC Hockey League has lost a ton of players lately due to the NCAA rule change. So the BC Hockey League called an emergency board of governors meeting Wednesday in Vancouver. I believe the BC Hockey League has also recently met with Hockey Canada as well. It sounds like to me the BC Hockey League is going to come out with a statement next week about how all of this has affected them and their league. Chilliwack Chiefs have been really hit hard. But you know why they've been hit hard?

Because they're one of the younger teams. Older teams are not getting hit as hard. So one high-profile kid left the BC Hockey League for the Western Hockey League, and I asked the agent, I said, why? So this is the agent's response. My client can now play and continue to develop amongst his peer group in the Western Hockey League while retaining his commitment to the NCAA. This move allows my client to have any potential Hockey Canada opportunities. And this is where the BC Hockey League really hurt themselves, leaving Hockey Canada. Because these elite young kids now, they, in the BC Hockey League, because they're a rogue league, you don't want to be a rogue league,

they can't go to National Hockey Canada events. So what's happening right now in the BC Hockey League is the top young players have options. Their parents and their agents have more power. They don't have to go to the BC hockey league to get their NCAA scholarship. And it was interesting. Barkley Pernetta, the giant GM was on our show yesterday and he said something very

interesting. He said, NCAA scouts are coming to our games now, Rick, and they're not coming through the back door. They're not hiding anymore. Isn't that amazing? What is happening with the BC Hockey League and the NCAA and Hockey Canada is amazing.

I wish I could really delve in to tell you what's going on, but I really can't because I've got to hold my tongue because there are certain things behind the scenes that are happening. But here's what I've been told. I'm not sure what the BC Hockey League can do. Can they become an older league, a super league? Will you see more Europeans and Americans in the BC Hockey League? They need to come up with a plan. What is the BC Hockey League going forward,

and how do they adapt to the NCAA news? Because I'm going to tell you, the kids that are being affected are the elite young kids. The kid that didn't go in the Bantam draft because he wanted the scholarship, now he's 16. He doesn't have to play in the BC League. He can now walk. He can walk to the NCAA.

So the kids that are getting plucked are the young, elite 16, 17-year-olds. Should the BCHL have seen this possibility? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. The moment they left Jason Hockey Canada, I can't tell you how many people thought it was an absolutely horrible move.

You know, and again, I can't tell you any details, but it was a bad move. And the league would tell you today, it was a bad move. And when this kid left for the Western Hockey League, one of the reasons he left is because he can now go to Hockey Canada national events. When you're in the BC League, you can't do that.

And that's a direct result of leaving Hockey Canada. And I do know that there has been contact with the BC Hockey League and Hockey Canada in the last little bit. So, you know, sometimes you make decisions, and we all do. We make good decisions, bad decisions in life. I don't think that was a good one for the BC Hockey League. So let's say you're a really good 16-year-old player right now, and you want to go to the NCAA eventually. Can you now go and play a couple of years in the dub and then tell that WHL team that I'm going to the NCAA and the WHL

team will say, okay, fine, as long as we get you for a couple of years yes absolutely here's another one for you the tri-city americans got a kid um and in their press release they said we work with the ncaa and so the kid it was a kid out of chilliwack that went to tri-cities and the americans worked tri-city americans work with the ncaa in the sense the kid already had a scholarship, and the kid still is going to retain his scholarship with his NCAA team, but he gets to play in the Western League. And it's just changed everything. It's just, Jason, changed the dynamics of thinkings for the young kids, the parents, the agents, the teams. I don't know what the BC H hockey league can do uh to counteract

what are they selling now what are they selling well it's a tough sell right and again so do you do you do a super league do you just become a 1920 year old league do you invite more europeans and americans do you know and here's another one for you and What really pissed me off is when I talked to local parents of minor hockey kids in Vancouver who say they can't get into the BC League because the BC League is recruiting so many Americans and kids from back east that Junior A kids in the lower mainland are going to Alberta and Saskatchewan to play Junior A, yet the two letters in BC Hockey League are BC. How about taking care of your BC kids first? Okay.

That's enough BCHL. Laddie's getting upset over there. I know him. Tell him to get a haircut, man. Do you got a haircut yet? Yeah, I got a haircut. Oh my goodness. Personal shots are coming out. He looks like me in the 80s

with the hair down to the neck. Yeah, he's still young. He's allowed to have hair like that. I'm not 92, you know. You're not 32 either. Rick, did you enjoy the Grey Cup, my friend? Oh, 3.6 million watch, bruv.

3.6 million watch. That's the best numbers the Grey Cup have had in four years. How many watched in 2009? 3.6 million watched. That's the best numbers the Grey Cup have had in four years. Look. How many watched in 2009? Six million. Five, five, five and a half. Look, my point on the CFL is this, and Donnie and I, we're getting old.

I went to Empire Stadium. I'm so freaking old, I still remember Jerry Taggy and the Cardiac Kids in 79. And then, you know, Roy to Walt Fernandez. You know, that was my 85 team. We went to Empire. Donnie and I love the CFL. We're always going to love it. It's Canadian. Think Canadian. Show some national freaking pride.

And it's a Canadian product. Yes, they have issues, but they also had a great cup in Vancouver that had 52,000 plus. There was a great cup here, Jason, when David Braley was here. They were stuck at 42,000 tickets. It was bad. They could not give tickets away.

They could have put great cup tickets in every car in downtown Vancouver while people were working, and people still wouldn't have used the tickets. And, yes, it's a league with ups and downs. Yes, it is a league. But the Arizona Coyotes have been a black mark and a freaking embarrassment to the NHL. Every league has good teams

and bad teams. And I just think, like, I've been a big fan, Donnie and I, and maybe it's because we're old uh but we went to empire this is a proud franchise and it's a part of british columbia and it's a part of vancouver and it's a part of our history and i don't want to see them go anywhere and neither do i that's why i talk about it that's why i'm critical of randy ambrosia because i think he did a terrible job i'm happy the nicest thing about the CFL right now is they got some stable owners.

But what will happen with the Argos? And we're talking about the company that I work for now. Are they interested in the CFL? Because Randy Ambroji said he had a conversation with them, but it was a short conversation. And there's lots of rumors that Rodgers wants the NFL in Toronto.

So I don't want to argue with this as me wanting the CFL to fail. Like, I've traveled to Grey Cups. I've gone to Grey Cups. I've been to Calgary for Grey Cups, Montreal, Regina. I love the CFL. My first team was also the Roy DeWalt, Mervyn Fernandez. That's it?

Those guys were legit stars. So I'm going to ask you, Rick, because I'm trying to make a point here about the things that the CFL needs to do. And by the way, one of the great things that Amar Doman did was not pull the wool over everyone's eyes and say everything is great.

He said, we've got some issues here and we've got to fix them. And he didn't blame people. He didn't blame the market he didn't say we're canadian we should watch it he said we got to give people reasons to watch it and not just use those excuses my question for you right now is who is the biggest star in the cfl and does that star come close to what mervin fernandez was and roy dewalt and matt dunn dunn again and damon allen and doug flut, and all the guys that we used to see in the league.

Yep, and it's player identification. And the Lions got 30-plus free agents. That pisses me off. How the hell can anybody buy a jersey of a player when you've got 30 free agents? It's ridiculous. And the biggest star, I hate to say it, is a guy who struggled last year. It's probably Nathan Rourke. And he's Canadian,

and that's a position for Americans in this league, and Canadian quarterbacks haven't had a ton of success over the years. That's why we're all rooting for Nathan. But I want to get back to you. You made an interesting comment about Sportsnet. I'm going to give you this. What did you see after the Grey Cup game up in the press box? I saw Keith Pelley with a lot of joy and happiness.

Keith Pelley runs Maple Leaf or whatever they're called, all the Argos, everything. Keith Pelley's a huge CFL guy, right? Yeah, that's good. And Keith Pelley, yeah, and I tried to bring this up with Donnie, is when Keith Pelley's excited and he runs that whole big, huge billion-dollar empire. And when Keith Pelley travels to Vancouver and he's got an Argos scarf and he's jumping up and down because the Argos won, that's a good sign for the Argos in Toronto. And I'm going to tell you something else. Just like Vancouver, Toronto's got good TV numbers for the CFL. I think they outdrew the Chiefs

and the Bills in Toronto by like $200,000, grand. You know, again, why is the CFL up against the Chiefs and the Bills? Why are you up in Toronto? Why are you going straight up? And Toronto is the most important market in this country. Whether we like it or not, everything runs through Toronto. You know, and you guys know that we work for Toronto companies basically all our lives. It's sickening and it's saddening, but it is what it is. But why is the Grey Cup up against the Chiefs and the Bills,

which is the game of the year in the NFL? But anyways, that's a different conversation. Great point on player identification, Jason. Look, the Leagues got a ton of problems, but they also seem to survive every year. And I'm going to support them because I'm a Canadian. I love the CFL because the first word in the CFL is Canadian. I'll say it again. And Donnie's in the – I know it doesn't mean just because you're a Canadian

you have to love the CFL. It doesn't mean that, but that's the case for me and Donnie. But you make a great point on identification, who's the stars. And then this team has got 30 freaking free agents. So now we're going to see 15 new faces in the lineup next year. We're all going to say, who's that? Who's that? Where'd he come from?

Sign your guys to two, three, four years. I know the CFA, I know the CBA doesn't allow it, but sign your guys more than one year. Maybe you won't have 30 free agents. All right, Rick. I love your passion. Love it, buddy. Fridays are always fun. And I love yours.

I love you too, guys. Hofford, you're on time. Today makes me happy. There are kids at BCIT that wait for you every 8 o'clock to make sure you come on time with me.

Today, you nailed it. You weren't 803 or 804. That, my friend, is how you do it. Thanks, brother. Love you, buddy. So much love. So much love. So much love and then a big hang-up.

Good old-fashioned phone slam. From Rick Dullywall here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Before we go to break, Laddie, I'm going to give you... A buddy of Danny Milstein's. 90 uninterrupted seconds to say your piece. Never make fun of agents. You heard Rick. You need three hours to really break down the whole BCHL, CHL discussion. You're not going to get your piece. Never make fun of agents. You heard Rick. You need three hours to really break down the whole BCHL,

CHL discussion. You're not going to get that much. You're not going to be able to get all the details out in this little bit. And full disclosure, I work in both leagues. Okay. So I have connections to everywhere. And it's not just what Rick was saying. It all comes down to control.

Hockey Canada, for the longest time, they haven't seen Junior A as the viable route for them. That's always been a failure in their eyes because those players leave Canada and go play in NCAA, which is America. So they want everyone funneled to the CHL, which is their baby. It's their lot of money invested in that league to have success. And they want all of the top players, every single one of them going through the CHL. So they made things in years past, even before the BCHL left Hockey Canada, they made things very difficult for them to get anything done,

to have any sort of increase in sort of talent in that level. So the BCHL took the step, as Rick mentioned, to leave Hockey Canada. And my question comes down to is why are we ceding this much control to Hockey Canada? Do we want them having this much control over all of the players in Canada and making them go the route that they deem the best? Shouldn't it be on the player, the consumer, to decide which team they go to, which route they want to take? Why does it have to be sanctioned by Hockey Canada?

The whole sanctioning process is by Hockey Canada. They're the ones that make up that system. They can choose to sanction BCHL players to go to these events, but they choose not to because it's a power play. They're trying to force players into their direction. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.