Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 1/19/26

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they get into the Canucks now double-digit losing streak with Kevin Woodley of In Goal magazine. 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 HALFORN-N-D-N-D-N-D-N-D-N-D-A-D-N-A-D-N-A-D-N-D-A-D-N-D-A-D-N-D-N-T-N-D-N-T-N-T-N-T-N-T-N-T-T-N-T-T-T-Eat-N-T-T-Eat-T-E-T-Eat-T-T-Eat-T-E-T-T. Cheheed-Eat-Eat-E-E-T-Eat-E-V-T-Eat. He's going to flag is down. Cheyneed to the end zone. Holy catfish! Good morning, Vancouver, 6-1 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. It is Halford and it is Brough.

It is SportsNet 650. We are coming here live from the Kintech Studios and beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. No-a-dog this morning. Regular Zach is here, though. Good morning, regular Zach.

Good morning. And Lattie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough of the morning. He's brought to you by Sands and Associates. Got CRA debt? Wow, new read. Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit Sands dash trustee.com for more.

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Got a lot to get into you on a Monday show. Big weekend, lots of sports to cover. We're going to begin with the Doick Morning Drive. That's our morning guest list here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. The morning morning is going to join the show at 7 o'clock this morning. Our NFL insider from the two deep zone, the NFC and AFC championships are set. New England will host the Bo Nixless Broncos in the AFC title game, and your Seattle Seahawks will take on the L.A. Rams for the third time this season.

in a much-anticipated NFC title game. We'll break it all down with Mike at 7 o'clock this morning. 7.30, Dennis Bernstein is going to join the program. He of the fourth period in Sirius XM-NHL radio. Based out of Los Angeles, Dennis is going to be giving us some King's Intel as they become a team to watch as we get closer to the trade deadline. Could have Andrew Kane end up there? Could Elias Pedersen end up there?

We'll discuss all that and more with Dennis Bernstein at 730. 8 o'clock, Kevin Woodley, NHL.com, and Ingoll magazine. is going to join the program. As you heard in the intro, the Canucks got absolutely worked, six nothing by the Oilers at Rogers Arena on Saturday. They are back in action tonight, though, against the aisles that, once again,

at Rogers Arena, we'll get into all that and more with Kevin at 8 a.m. Working in reverse real quick on that guest list, 8 o'clock, Woodley, 730 Bernstein, 7 o'clock, 10. That's what's happening on the program today. Do you know Dennis Bernstein's a big Rams fan too? I did not know that. That makes sense so because he's in Los Angeles.

Ooh, spicy. Without further ado, Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I'm moving. We know how busy your life can be. What happened?

Missed it? You missed that? What happened is Bratzi Bion, the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources and safety training. Visit them online at BCCSA. What's up? Just smiling, buddy.

I'm just having a good time. I'm just smiling. Is it because of the Seahawks? Is it because of the Seahawks? Yeah, yeah. We're not going to start with the Seahawks. No. Okay?

No. It's not, you know what? It's more of a rarity that the Seahawks got to, or sorry, the Canucks are on a 10-game losing streak than the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks getting to the NFC title game. Although this has happened in franchise history before, among others, Joey Kenward pointed this out, both on social media. And through texts, the Vancouver Canucks, as it said in the intro, may have hit rock bottom on Saturday. their 10th consecutive loss. Jack Roselovic and Kisbury Kappan did the majority of the business.

A six-gole second period on Saturday night. Oilers absolutely blast the Kinnock's 6-0. They were right there except for the second period. And 13 minutes specifically of that second period. Nikita Tolapil, 29 saves. We can get to his story in a little bit later. But the Kinnocks have lost 10 in a row. They're 08 and 2 over that stretch.

They just finished a road trip in which they went 0-6-0. That's right. not even a loser point out of that one. And that loss on Saturday drops them to wait for it 4, 13, and 3 at home this season. I thought, I thought that it was going to be impossible

for the Canucks of last year to be outdone with how poorly they played at home and how many clunkers they put up in front of a ticket buying fan base. They're overcomers. I was wrong. Somehow they've managed to be worse at home. I think that loss against Edmonton

on Saturday. You could put up there with any of the disgusting home losses from last year? Well, at least the thousands of Oilers fans weren't upset. A lot of orange in the building. Yeah. A lot of orange in the building. Look, we're not going to spend too much time breaking down the game and talking about all the goals. The Canucks surrendered in that second period. There were mistakes made by young guys, including the goalie. There were mistakes made by veterans. The Canucks are entering a rebuild and losses are expected and frankly desired.

But there are still a lot of highly paid veterans out there on the ice. And results like Saturdays will only increase the speculation that some of them could be on the move soon. Take Connor Garland. On Sunday, there was a report from David Pagnata who works for the fourth period. Thank God there wasn't one of those on Saturday. and he said, in between all the turnovers in this Texan Patriots came, hearing trade talks involving Canucks forward Connor Garland continue. Per sources, Vancouver doesn't want to move him per se,

but will continue to entertain inquiries. Poor Connor Garland had to stay after the game on Saturday for after hours on Hockey Night in Canada, where he was obviously asked about his future and whether or not he wanted to stick around for a rebuild. Yeah, and let's hear his answer right now, Laddie. This is Connor Garland, as you mentioned, on After Hours. It was a question that Scott O took from the public, actually. It was one of the ones that submitted via Twitter.

And it asked exactly that, whether at his age and where he's at in his career, if Conor Garland wanted to stick around Vancouver. Here's what Conor Garland had to say on After Hours on Saturday. You know, I think people look at something like that through the hockey lens. You know, I've signed on to, you know, be on this team for another six years,

which would be 11 years. And that's not something you do blindly and just sign the contract and don't think about it. So, you know, I have a great connection to the city. I enjoy playing here. I want to get this team back to the playoffs and enjoy that feeling when you're on the run in a city like this.

You know, my son was born here. My wife's expecting I have another baby in April, our first daughter, which is another thing that, you know, it's in the city and it really bonds you in your family of city. So if that time comes, that's not something I'm taking lightly or just, you know, I'm throwing it out there. I want to get, you know, move on.

It's something that, if that process ever happened, that would be a long, long decision. And that's not something I'm thinking about right now. I'm thinking about our performance in two days. I'd just like to say, I have a lot of respect for Connor Garland. He's well spoken. For a variety of reasons.

And thoughtful. I think that the way that he's been able to turn himself into a very talented NHL player, despite his diminutive frame and the fact I don't think he was projected to be this kind of impact player at the NHL level. It's a model that you would want to show to other players. I think he drags his team into the fight. I don't think he's ever shortchanged the Canucks for every day and every dollar that he's gotten out of his contract.

I think he's given Max effort. I think he's got a good attitude. And I think that he I think he understands a lot of what it takes to make it in the NHL and is open and willing to share those things with the next generation because of how difficult it was for him. He also turns 30 in March. All that being said, they should probably consider trading him. Yeah.

I know that he might be a great mentor, and I know that those at Canucks HQ are probably not wrong when they say that if there's a short list of current Canucks that could help steer this rebuild through the tough years, Garland will be one of them. But right now, I think their primary objective should not be, looking two or three years down the road, it should be all about the immediacy

of capitalizing on assets and getting picks and prospects in the door. Yeah, Garland has a no move clause that kicks in July 1st, so the Canucks have to be mindful of that. If they do move him, they'll probably make sure he's somewhat on board with the destination,

because they did give him that no move clause and, you know, say what you will about agents. you do have to maintain somewhat good relationships with them. But the risk in not moving him before July 1st is that he asks out after July 1st. And then he controls the process. Now that would be a slippery move by Connor Garland and we just spend a few minutes praising him. That would be funny if he was just like, no, I'm, I am committed to helping the young players on this team

and I love Vancouver and I want to be a Canuck for life and then what did you say my no move clause just kicked in? Yeah I went out of here

and I'm telling you where I'm going to go. I'd actually kind of respect it. He's always been an elusive player. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That slipperiness extends off the ice as well. Other teams do not like to play that guy. Yeah.

His client, Philip Horonick. Future Vancouver Canucks Captain Philip Ronik. And Alan Walsh tweeted out, this is just wasted air. Great players are in demand everywhere, but the NHL is not fantasy hockey. Why bring up players that are not available for trade? Vancouver management and coaches are happy with Phil. And Phil has no interest in going anywhere else. It should be noted that Alan Walsh also tweeted something similar about Phil to know

two or three days before he was traded by the L.A. King. We should mention that that was also a retort from Alan Walsh to something that Elliot Friedman put on 32 thoughts, Heronik, and it was a spitball report at best. In the report, Frege said, he understands that Heronik has a full no move and controls the process. And he was basically saying,

if there was a team that would be interested, he wrote Ottawa as one being one. I mean, I don't really want to go too far down the road of parsing through Alan Walsh's remarks, but part of the reason fans like fantasy hockey is because it's fun and trade speculation is a part of every major sport. Yeah. I understand that I understand that Elliot Friedman throwing it out there has a little bit more clout than say like fart dog 620 on Twitter or some other anonymous account.

Like it carries more weight when Freed just doing it. It's part dog 420. That's right. Yeah, sorry. But at the same time, speculate. of speculation. He broke the Hughes trade, though, didn't he? Who?

Fart Dog. Yeah. 420. Tip of the cap to you, fart dog. You're doing a good workout. Yeah, he had Zeve Buhiam in it all along. Speaking of Freed, Elliot Freeman, reported that the Canucks are working, they are now working with Kiefer Sherwood's agent to facilitate a trade.

And this has a lot to do with the extension that a lot of teams would want to get Keefer Sherwood signed to before. or they give up a return to the Vancouver Canucks. And they want to know what that extension could look like. If he's asking for the moon, well, maybe they're not interested in Key for Sherwood anymore. But that's a situation with Sherwood. Frankly, there isn't a Canucks veteran that hasn't been the subject of trade speculation, except for, I don't know, maybe Kevin Lankton.

Like, you know, I don't think there's been a ton around him. He's probably the guy that gets ends up getting moved first. But, you know, this is what happens when a team announces its intentions to move in a dramatically different direction. There's a push for management to turn veterans into futures, hopefully. And there's quite often a push from the veterans to go somewhere with a better chance to win now. Now, they don't always come out and say, I want a trade. A lot of the times they'll speak publicly about their commitment to the city, how much they love the city, They want to be part of the solution.

But behind the scenes, they're like, hey, like, this isn't really for me. This is one I signed up for. Listen, if you guys can find something, bring it to us. And we'll discuss it. Remember Ryan Kessler right before. That was Olympic year, too. Right before he was traded, not right before, but before he was traded, he said, like, all this rumor stuff. you know, it's all lies or whatever, and then he ends up going to Anaheim.

Yeah. I want to add one note onto the Sherwood thing, by the way, and it relates to some of the other big news from the weekend. That, of course, that Sunday, the Calgary Flames finally traded defenseman Rasmus Anderson to the Vegas Golden Knights in case you missed it. The exchange was Zach White Cloud, a defensive prospect named Abram Weeb, who Laddie is quite familiar with. Or Betriloak Chief. 2027 first round pick and a conditional 2027 second round pick. Now, I mentioned this trade in relation to Sherwood because of the UFA status

and what you talked about with the extension. Now, in the case of Anderson, Craig Conroy in the aftermath of the trade said that five teams were interested in trying to obtain Anderson. But when the agent informed the flames that he wouldn't sign an extension with Calgary or anywhere else, a bunch of teams dropped out. Some of them reduced their offers.

And it kind of left Vegas, which is the place that Anderson wanted to go on the short-term deal. Really, one of the few suitors left. That's a nice pickup for Vegas, especially, you know, in the wake of losing Petrangelo, who's such a big piece for them. So they get Anderson. And part of the reason Anderson didn't want to sign anywhere with Vegas or otherwise is because he's been playing on a really team-friendly deal for the last few years. He only is capped at his 4.55 million. Calgary picked up 50% of that for the remainder of the year.

So what does this mean for Sherwood? Well, I look at it and I'm like, if you're going to deal Sherwood and you go and talk to his agent, he could very well do the same thing Anderson's saying. And like, we're not going to sign an extension anywhere. I'm going to go to unrestricted free agency because this is my one big chance to cash in, not unlike what Anderson is thinking here. I don't know how much that would change the equation for Sherwood. I think a lot of teams might have envisioned him as a rental anyway, like just for the remainder of this year.

It's worth noting you're starting to see these things now where... I think Vegas will want to sign him long term, don't you? They will. The question is, does Anderson want to take that deal? Or does he want to try free agency, being one of the best defensemen on the market? We've got an entire hour for what happened. So we can return to the Canucks and the NHL on the other side. And we'd welcome your texts into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650.

Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dunbarlumber.com. Let's get to the Seahawks because the Seahawks blew away the 49ers on Saturday. But, and maybe this is just me, maybe this is just my fear, what's the one team I have not wanted them to get in the playoffs?

It is the Rams. That's who they're getting. And the Rams, after an incredible win at Chicago, they will be the team that the Seahawks face in Seattle next weekend. Yeah, and I want to first bask in the glow of what happened on Saturday,

and I want to start with our good friend, Steve Rabel, Seahawks radio call. It's not very often that you get the game-winning score on the first play of the game, but that's what happened. All the points, all the points of the Seahawks. needed came on the first play of the game. Rashid Shihid, kickoff return for a touchdown.

Here's what it sounded like. Holy Catfish. Steve Rable on the call. We're off and running and over end. Chehid at his own five across the 10, 15, 20. Cut straight upfield. Has a gap. Across the 40, midfield 50.

Try to trip him. Goetheed to the end zone. Holy catfish. Open the game with a night. So a little inside baseball here when it comes to play by play. There was a flag on that play. Eddie Pignero, the 49ers kicker, tried to trip Shaheed on the kick return. It was almost like a slide tackle.

I saw that. I knew that was the flag. On the TV call, the end of the touchdown score was very muted because the, I can't remember who was on the call. I apologize in the moment, but they really played it down. And the Westwood one radio call also played it way down. because they weren't sure if the touchdown was coming back. Raves went full-throated on that one. He was like, whatever.

I can dial this one back later. I'm getting fired up. And it was great because the touchdown ended up standing. And as I mentioned, had the Seahawks just left it there with the seven points on the board, they would have been fine because that was one of the most emphatic beatdowns

you're going to get in a playoff game. The numbers here are remarkable. And it's real to give you an idea of how comprehensive and definitive and outstanding the Seahawks were in all three facets of the game. They scored 40 plus points. They rushed for 150 plus yards. They had zero turnovers.

They allowed zero touchdowns. They had fewer than 10 penalty yards. And they scored a special team's touchdown. Those numbers I just threw out there. No other team in NFL history has done that in a single game, regular season or playoffs. It was as dominant as you can be. against the 49ers team and actually I waded into 49ers

Twitter after the game to see what they were saying and if you want to talk about a like a crestfallen despondent fan base they're like we just got and we got our ass beat twice twice in the span of two weeks

and it wasn't close the Seahawks went down to Santa Clara a few years ago in the playoffs and they were totally outclassed right but the thing was is like they had an opportunity let's say the Seahawks had an opportunity two weeks after getting outclass

to make amends. Yeah. And it got way worse. They were so hurt, man. They were so, like, credit to the Seahawks. They were amazing and the crowd was amazing. But, you know, like, Kristen McCaffrey obviously wasn't 100% in that game either, like for the whole game.

And it was kind of like, well, what other things could possibly happen? The 49ers. That was the second. I just want to throw it out there. That's the second most lopsided loss of 49ers have ever suffered in the postseason. Yeah. Yeah. I mean that, that, you know, listen, I'm, I'm worried about everything.

So I was a little bit worried about the Niners coming into Seattle because they had shown such incredible resilience throughout the season, you know, and Kyle Shanahan did a great job as head coach. But when they returned the opening kickoff, you know, it's like, it's like the place was, that was the type of start that was possible with the Ford. 49ers on a short week with the 49ers all banged up and perhaps more most importantly with the Seahawks on two weeks rest and just like ready to go healthy feeling good about themselves and then you could tell that the 49ers were just like I can't I can't handle this crowd I can't handle this defense what do we do with our hands this is incredible like this is this is this is incredible And frankly, that's why I wanted the Chicago Bears because I don't think Caleb Williams

for all the miracles that he pulls out of nowhere, I don't think he could have handled that. I'm a little more worried that a veteran like Matt Stafford, who's kind of seen it all, is going to be like, yeah, it's hard, but I can handle this. Yeah, I agree with that. This is the most difficult opponent that you can, could have got in the NFC championship.

That being said, if you're a neutral, it is an unbelievable, unbelievable matchup in the NFC championship. It is everything you possibly could have asked for. The numbers on this thing, consider this from the regular season. Seahawks and Rams played each other twice. Series was tied 1-1. In those games, total points, Rams 58, Seahawks 57, total yards in those two games, Rams 8,000. 830, Seahawks 829.

Like there are, there's very little to choose between the two. You know what I was really impressed with again on Saturday? Was the Seahawks' ability to run the football. Oh, Kenneth Walker was incredible and hopefully Sharbonnet is okay and ready to go for the Rams game. 175 yards on the ground. Yeah. As this season has gone along, they have become way less reliant on Sam Darnold and Jackson Smith and Jigba, which really carried the offense in the first half of it.

Well, you know who I was impressed with? Cooper Cup. Veteran guy. Yep. Showed up. Been a big game. Yeah. It was a very impressive win for the Seahawks.

I guess we should talk about some of these other games. You kind of mentioned the Rams off-handedly. That was a fantastic game yesterday. Very trying conditions in Chicago. The Rams survive an all-time miracle throw from Caleb Williams to send that game into overtime, which was an unbelievable play. Also, maybe one of the funniest plays of the weekend when the Rams defensive players were calling for the push-off.

On Colquemant? There was no push-off. You weren't even close to them. That was just like panic, desperation. Like, he must have pushed off to get that wide open. We couldn't have possibly left him wide open. That would be reckless and irresponsible.

It was such an unbelievable play. I think they both, both the Rams defenders looked at each other, like, we'd better come up with something real quick. And they thought it was, tried for the push-off, but it was not a push-off. What a throw from your back foot in those conditions,

getting chased by like five massive dudes. Laddie, do we have breaking... We do. You know what? This sounds the breaking news sounder. Sportsnet 650, breaking news. According to noted NFL insider Diana Rusini, the Buffalo Bills,

one day after getting dumped from the playoffs, have fired head coach, Sean McDermott. Wow. Wow. Okay. That is a big, bold statement, maybe not entirely surprising, given that the road in the AFC playoffs was pretty wide open without Patrick Mahomes and without Lamar Jackson

to go into Denver and to turn the ball over the amount of times that Josh Allen did yesterday, I guess Sean McDermott walks the plank for it, but one of the longest tenured head coaches. He'll be removed from the stadium just yelling like, it was a completion! Yeah, it was a completion! That's funny. Full control.

That's going to be his last thing. That's going to be the last thing that he does is the Bill's head coach, is making phone calls from the plane, complaining about the catch and overtime or the non-catch. As it was, yeah, okay, busy morning and news just coming across, according to Diana Rusini, first one on this from the athletic. Sean McDermott out as the Buffalo Bills head coach. So the immediate reaction there, obviously,

one of the longest eras in National Football League coaching history. Sean McDermott's been with Buffalo for an awfully long time. It's another vacancy that opens up. offseason that's, I believe, only seen to this point, one coaching higher. And that, of course, was John Harbaugh going to the New York Giants. McDermott will probably be in demand as much as anybody, given the success that he's had in Buffalo over the last close to a decade. But yeah, some big news on a Monday morning, Sean McDermott out as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Okay, so so much to discuss from this weekend in sports. So get your text in to the Dunbar-Lumber

text line, 650, 650. We will talk to Mike Tanier in about 35 minutes. So we'll have a lot of NFL coverage to go. In the next segment, there is some more Canucks news and some NHL news that we'll get into. But text into the show. We'll love to hear your thoughts, opinions, questions. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. On a Monday, happy Monday, everybody.

Halford, Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub the Morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Got CRA debt? Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. Kevin Woodley from N.HL.com and Ingole magazine. It's going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three.

Hour three is brought to by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Dash pound.com today. We're going to be live from the Kintech Studio. Make 2026 your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech custom orthotics. Our next guest is a presentation of White Rock Hyundai. It's Kevin Woodley here now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. What up, Kev?

Just digging in for the same eight-game homestand, boys. How are you? Oh, man. So on the weekend, I was in my vehicle driving home, and I was listening to the second intermission hit, It was sat and Bick after six goals had gone in. The Canucks were trailing, Edmonton 6-0. And they were just throwing out the notion that even though he was sick with an illness

and probably not fit to go in the game, the Canucks might have to put Kevin Lankinen in for the third period because of the mental anguish that Nikita Tolapilo seemed to be going through during that game on the weekend. As someone that covers the position and goalies so thoroughly, what were you thinking where you were watching that second period unfold on Saturday? I thought you were going to say, someone who knows mental anguish. What were you thinking?

Appreciate you not going there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, you felt for him. You looked at some of the goals and were just, you got to tip your hat to the other team for the finishing, for some of the plays they're executing. You might want to shake a fist at your own team for some of what they're giving up.

But, you know, I had an actually really good chat with Nikita yesterday after practice. And honestly, like, his mindset didn't change in the intermission. And that's a really good sign after a period like that. There's nothing, like, it's so easy. He could have gone to, like, the Devin Kooli,

like put it on a t-shirt saying about nothing matters or we're all going to die. Right. But it, which is Kooley's sort of mechanism for staying in the moment. It doesn't matter how good or bad things are going. Goalies have to find a way and it's super easy for all of us to say, but really hard to do in real time to just take that next shot mentality. And talking to the pillow yesterday, even as much as things started to snowball in the second period, and maybe they're, you know, maybe,

I don't even know if he could have reset anything or change anything in the second period. He did by the third. And that's, you know, we talk a lot about looking at the game technically and analyzing how these guys play the position. And I can see all that on the ice. I can give you the, you know, the breakdowns between the pipes on how they handle certain circumstances, tactically and technically.

But you don't really get a chance to figure out what they're made up of between the ears. And honestly, I think that third period and talking to him yesterday was a really good sign that that one thing that every goal he knows you have to do but is always easier to say that to actually do about staying in the moment and finding a way to regroup for the next shot,

like he felt like he stuck with that. Listen, I know the last two of, I think it's six goals in each of the last two starts. and there are some things that he's going to have to either tighten up or make some decisions on in terms of how he plays. Depth is one of them, and I don't mean depth north-south in terms of relative to the goal line up to the top of the crease. There are some moments he's recognizing where even at his size,

I love that he's backed off his depth and he shortened his routes in the crease. And I think there's a lot of the improvements we've seen up to these last couple of starts are sort of rooted in that. And there are going to be moments, open looks, where he needs to take a little more ice. And we talked about that yesterday, and that's part of the process, being able to read the game and recognize that at this level,

even at his size, there will be those times and figuring out when they are. But I do think east-west, in terms of where he's positioned relative to the lines of his post, if you take a line and draw it straight up ice from his post to the other goalie's post, I think there are times where he has,

up outside of that. You know, some of the overlaps off the post, as much as, you know, he could have argued goalie interference, you know, even though the review said Max Sauton pushed Curtis Lazar in, you know, there are just a few times where the extra foot or so that he has to cover or the move he has to make into the middle on some of the laterals, I think he could shorten that even more so with the change in sort of the depth east-west. But that's all part of the adjustment. I was really impressed when I talked to him yesterday. I know they see a goalie there. There are still a lot of tools and a lot of signs. And it's like if there's ever a year

to go through this learning curve and learn how to manage screens and there are still things he's doing really well. Like this is the year as much as it's a really tough environment. And so we'll get the explanation today. I probably wasn't going to start Abbotsford Place Tuesday and Wednesday. And if he wasn't going to start here. I guess you get a chance to let him reset in the minors. But in terms of long-term plan potential, I don't mind seeing him get a few more games up here, and yet they sent him down yesterday and bring up Uri-Batera. I think that's probably because he's just going to sit on the bench, but we'll wait and see and get the explanation on that. I know it looks terrible in terms of how many pucks went in.

I don't think it's all on him. I think that's pretty obvious, and I like the way he managed it, and I still think there's a goalie there, and I'd like to see them give him an opportunity to show him that. Because you kind of got to figure this out, right? Like where the ceiling is with Makita Tolapilo. Adam Foote said that Thatcher Demko is dealing with a couple of things. What are you hearing about Dempco? And do you expect him to return this season?

Or do you think it's possible that Canucks just shut him down and try and rebuild him? Yeah, I honestly don't know. I have heard a little bit that there seems to be some uncertainty about what specifically it is. You know, and anytime you're dealing with, I mean, it's all connected. We've talked about this before, lower body, right? And the fact it's taking this long, you know, assuming truthfulness in the lack of a diagnosis so far, you know, tells me that there is some uncertainty and that maybe, like, quite often you can have,

symptoms present one way in terms of where where the discomfort is and they're caused by something else like one of the most common and I'm not saying this is this is just an example like but one of the most common things when goalies get recurring groin issues is the actual problem can be in the hips and again I like I like to stress I'm not saying that's what the case is here but it's just an example where it can present one way and it's it's really something else so I don't know. I had heard going into the weekend, and obviously we're coming out of it now, but I had heard that that uncertainty, like, I'm not the only one that doesn't know. And I don't think that should necessarily be worrisome beyond the fact that it's worrisome he's injured again.

I don't know that he was ever fully back from the first one. It sounds like maybe he came back and was pushing through that a little bit. Frankly, in terms of his playing. and the results, it never looked like he was fully back from the first one. That outside of maybe adrenaline of the first couple of starts, I just didn't look like the same guy. And again, part of that's environment. But in the last month, quietly, because that's the thing, like one of the things talking to players yesterday about just what's going wrong,

and there's obviously a lot to this, what the biggest problems are. Like one of them said, hey, like we're also missing Thatcher Dempco. And that's true, but I would counter that, when he has been available, you know, it's out of the illness the other night, like Kevin Lankenen's performing at a top 10 level since mid-December in the National Hockey League, and it's not resulting in wins.

So it's, you know, yes, they miss Satcher Demko, absolutely. But they're getting Satchredemco level performances statistically out of Kevin Lankin, and it doesn't make a difference right now. God, how bad are the Kinex underlying numbers that you've got access? to when it comes to defending? Honestly, like, we talked about this at the beginning of the season.

Like, very east-west stuff in terms of seam passes was worst in the National Hockey League by a margin at the start of the season. Now, they tighten it up kind of, you know, kind of November into December, but it's gotten loose again. And again, talking to some of the veteran defenders yesterday, just like, you know, just away from the front of the room,

scrum and without a microphone running like just you know where's the root of this and talking asking a little bit about the system and how much of it they just feel like you know they're not and very very clearly we're not trying to make an excuse but like the way the center ice position has been impacted and what that does to your defensive zone and the fact that they're just defending too much yeah like they're just in there too much and the longer you're in there as other team stack shifts that's when you fatigue that's when you fatigue that's when you're you're you make mental mistakes. And if you're in there for one long shift,

do you fully recover by the time you get back out there for another shift? Like teams have stacked shifts against them defensively. They've been hemmed in. Let's go to the Hughes trade and call that a, you know, you can break it up into segments since December 13th, high danger chances against five on five, 28th in the National Hockey League.

They're still decent off the rush 21st. Like that's not great, but it's not the, you know, it's bottom third, not bottom three. In the defensive zone, again, this is where the mistakes are being made, where teams are piling shifts against them, high danger chances against, dead last in the league, 32nd.

And a lot of that were sort of back to seam passes, east-west defensive zone. Net front, like right in front, has actually cleaned up a little bit, but from the dots down, you know, sort of teams being able to create in that low to mid-slot area and driving the net, dead last in the national hockey league. Godman Rush is 21st. You know, so again, bottom third, not bottom three,

which when you consider the way things have gone, you know, is a relative victory. The ones that really jump out, though, and we knew this was going to happen, right? How many times last year did someone say they're a different team with Quinn Hughes on the ice? Like, they're a competent playoff level team

with Quinn Hughes on the ice, and they're a lottery team without him? Like, that was sort of, you know, Drancer may have been the first one to coin that, so credit to him, but like the, you know, the underlying metrics with and without Quinn Hughes offensively were staggering. And since the trade offensively, they are 30th, 31st, or 32nd in every significant offensive category except the power play, which actually continues to generate high danger chances at a eighth best in the league level.

Okay, Gav, I want to move on from that because I'm not sure I can take it anymore. Sorry, buddy. Sorry. No, no, no. The numbers are the numbers. Listen, I'm going to throw some numbers at you now. One number is that it's less than a month until Canada starts playing at the Olympics.

In December, Jordan Binnington's save percentage, and this is in seven games in December, was 839. Now, he started Saturday, or Saturday. He started January on a high with a Saturday shutout of the Montreal Canadiens. Since then, though, he's allowed 15 goals in his last three starts. I know you sometimes say, well, he got us, he did the job, you know, last year and he's been great under pressure in certain times in his career. But there are limits to that, aren't there? Yeah.

Like, is Canada really going to give this guy the starter's job to lose when they go in Italy? Why else do you take them? That's sort of what I come back to. I don't know, right? Obviously, I don't know what they're, which way they're going to go. And the cliff he has fallen off statistically this season, if he doesn't at least, you know, stick a couple like pegs on that cliff and start to climb back out of it, I'm with you. it's kind of hard to picture. And yet, if it's not his job to lose, why are you taking him?

It's not the, I mean, unless you're like, oh, well, like, hey, Jordan Bittington's at his best when everybody in the world doubts them. So let's add to the doubt by not starting them. And the tough part is, here's the tough part. They got check-y in the first game. And then they're back-to-back. So he's getting one of those two. I don't think they'll start, especially going to cross-over season and all that comes

with that. I don't think they're starting the same guy for the first two. I can't remember who the second game is, but it's a lesser light. And so... It's France or Switzerland. Right. And of course, we've had no problems with the Swiss on the international hockey stage. Historically, right?

Like, pull that scab off. But honestly, so if you get it, and like, that's funny. I was talking with Teddy Blugher. Obviously, he spoke yesterday, and it's the first time we've had to sort of have a chance to talk with him for some NHL.com stuff about the Olympics. And he sort of pointed out, like, how short and quick this is and how the every game and the intensity,

it's like, you know, the cost of losing to check you in the opening game, you know, could be significant. So do you give them that one or do you give them the second one? And if you give them the second one and Canada just rolls them and it doesn't matter who's in that, are you really,

have you really answered anything about, so listen, there are more questions than answers. The only thing I will point out in his defense. And listen, it's not a strong defense. I admit that. His numbers,

I've talked about this all year, like bottom of the national hockey league. For whatever reason, his environment in St. They're not playing for him. I don't know if he's just getting all the tough starts and they're obviously not a great team. They're not even a good team.

But they're not playing for him. When I look at, like, so this is now a month, mid-December till last night, his expected say percentage, and he's underwater on it, he's underperforming. though nowhere near the level he was for the first three months this season.

But his expected say percentage is 863. Everybody looks at Joel Hofer and the job he's done. And hey, like, how can Jordan Binnington be the starter for Canada when he's not even the Canadian starter on his own team? Like, Hofer's taking starts away and deservedly so. But Hofer's got a 909 in that same window. Like, that's the same team. And you're talking about a 40-point swing in expected environment.

So whatever's happening in St. Louis between Jordan Bennington and the Blues, and I don't mean, like, oh, they don't like them, they're not playing from them. That is not what I'm saying. But like, in terms of when things go bad, what can happen is both sides of that equation, the team and the goalie, can start trying to do too much. Oh, I don't trust my defense to take away this back door, so I'm going to back into my net and play deep. And the defense is like, oh, I don't trust them to make this save, so I'm going to go sprawling out and try and buy them. walk it and let that guy walk around me and now all of a sudden the two on one's a two on oh and that's an extreme exaggeration but that's a snowball that once he gets rolling downhill it can be really difficult to stop and the case i always go back to is steve mason who got traded from

columbus to philadelphia and had immediate success and told me at the time he'd fixed his game in Columbus but you couldn't see it because the players didn't trust him to do his job and he didn't trust them and pretty soon nobody's doing their job and it feels like there's a bit of that with Jordan Bennington and St. Louis. And listen, we don't care about the St. Louis Blues here. We just care about Team Canada. But if that doesn't get fixed, I don't know how he flips the switch from not being able to trust what's in front of him. Like, do you just get to go in and be like, okay, now it's Canadian defense and I know where they're going to be?

And all these habits, especially on the side of aggression where he's like charging out of his crease and guys are just passing it around them or walking it around him. Like how do I reset all of those things? can you flip that switch? And I don't have the answer. His experience leads me to believe it'll be easier for him than it might be for others. But I'm with you. There's a big question on when he gets that chance.

My hunch, though, is that's why you take him to give him that chance, and it might be in that first game. Okay, Kev, before we let you go, we're going to Ottawa. So over the weekend, it was a 6-5 overtime loss. The senator suffered to the Montreal Canadiens, and the big story was obviously the six goals allowed, the even bigger story was what defenseman Jake Sanderson had to say

about goaltender, Levi Merlin's performance in that game. We've got the audio here. I'm going to play it so everybody can hear it. Here's Sanderson on his goalie after a 6-5 overtime lost to Montreal. How did you feel about your team's goal-tending? Yeah, I think you know, let me make some good saves, but

no, I think at the end of the day, you've got to make more than 10 saves to win a game. I think at the end of the day, you got to make more than 10 saves to win a game. I've never heard a player say something like that. How bold, how brash? How did that? That's crazy, man.

How did that? How did those remarks land in the goalie community, Kev? I mean, not well, obviously. It's funny. Hey, listen, 13 saves, damn it. There were 13 saves. He got the math wrong. I will say that.

He made 13, not 10. If you're going to rip him, you might as well get it right. Listen, like, the irony, too, is there was only one bad goal. the bunch and it was a mid-danger chance, four on seven on high danger chances. That said, they've got a goalie problem in Ottawa. This is like defensively, this isn't, a lot of times I'll come on here and be like, ah, goaltending doesn't exist in a vacuum. And, you know, team defense is a big part of this.

And they do have a tendency when they do have breakdowns to make them grade A's or A plus plus. But overall, especially let's let's go the last six plus weeks. started December. Like, the Ottawa senators are top 10 team defensively. They give up nothing off the rush. They're the best team off the rush in terms of not giving up high danger.

Their PKs ranked third in the league. They do have a tendency to get picked apart a little bit. They're mid-pack in the league in the defensive zone. You know, but overall they're six. Like, I'm not going to sit here and be like, they need to, you know, Jake Sanderson and the defense needs to do better in front of their goal tenors.

They got a young goalie who was really good a support role last year, has struggled in that same role this year and struggled even more so since they've asked him to be the guy with Linus Altmark's absence. So, yeah, like, hate the comment, but it's not wrong. A little tougher when you're pointing to a game where your goalie, you know, you didn't give up any bad ones. It's not like you gave up any bleeders, the kind of kill a bench. Like, these were you giving up great chances and he wasn't coming up with saves.

I do think in the defensive zone, the way teams sort of pass it through and around them can be a little tough. You see him struggling with screens and traffic, something a lot of young goleys go through. We talked about it with Tolopilo. I actually think he's managed it pretty well. We talked about it with Shee-Loss last year.

Like, that's a major challenge. I'm not sure why they waited so long to sign James Reimer. He was skating in Colonna. He was ready. He went over to the Spangler. He played some pro games over there before the Spangor. Like, he was ready to go. last night was not a great start, not terrible, but kept them in and got them a point.

I would have gone to him a lot earlier. Frankly, I would have signed him a lot earlier. So let's see if he can settle things down until Linus Almark comes back. But Levi, Merillan, and I was big on him last year, he needs a chance to regroup. And that's, you know, we see, you know, Habs fans, go to Abbotsford this week.

Jacob Ballard's going to play, like one of the best young goalies in the game. Levi probably needs the same opportunity to get a reset in the minor leagues. Continuing to throw him out there, regardless of comments with the way it's going right now, obviously isn't doing. The team has lost confidence, and he's lost it,

and they probably need to get him a chance to reset it elsewhere. Cav, you're the best. Enjoy the game tonight, bud. We'll do this again next week. Best goal in the league tonight, Ilya Sorokin. I should probably win the heart if he does what he did in the first half in the second guy. So not to make that ahead of the Kinnock's 30-second-ranked offense against him,

But, yeah, I get to watch something I'm excited about. That's an important thing. It's something to watch. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing Schaefer. Yeah. No, Horvott, I don't think. No, not on the trip, but it is Sorokin starting. If there's a chance for the Canucks, because they have, you know,

the Islanders have struggled, their top six, they're mixing things up against the night, putting in Sypacoff or Shabanov. It might be in that they arrived early after the afternoon game in Calgary. and mayor just may not have had a night out with the rookies. So they'll either be guilty and run the Canucks out of the building or there might be a little left over in there. All right, thanks, Kemp. Appreciate it, bud. Take care, guys.

Kevin Woodley on SportsNet 650 was brought to you by White Rock Hyundai. Visit the showroom on King George in White Rock or Whitrockhunday.com. I hope Matthew Schaefer didn't go out to any bars because that would be illegal. That's right. He should be arrested. That's on the spot. All right.

Get you what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650, 650. It was a busy weekend in sports, so there should be no shortage of you texting in your What We Learns to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650.