Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 1/20/25

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at a busy weekend in sports, they talk the latest Canucks trade rumours with Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, plus they chat Saturday's big win over the Oilers with Canucks Talk host & The Athletic Vancouver's Thomas Drance. 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. Prior to Saturday's game against the Oilers, and it was Rick Dollywall leading the charge on this, there were multiple reports that the Canucks had come close to a deal which would have traded JT Miller out of town. Dollywall in the mid-afternoon tweeted out that Miller had not asked to waive his no-trade clause yet, but there seemed to be a lot of activity around Miller. Dolly Wall then added, and this is about one o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, that

some believe the Canucks were working very hard on getting a deal done that day. Then, about an hour prior to puck drop on Saturday, Dolly Wall tweeted again, the Canucks are indeed trying to move JT Miller, but Miller's agent, Byron Bartlett, told me that his client never went to the team and never requested a demanded, or demanded a trade. Are you having trouble with your Rs this morning? Rs are tough today. Arrr. JT Miller is still Vakuwa Kanak.

So, that was kind of what it sounded like. If you want to download the podcast. That was classic how we're just grinding back and through it. Just gotta grind through it. He's gotta get through it's my I don't think anyone noticed It's Monday. You just gotta get through I have a tweed 1240. We got called it the guest lit Yeah, you just gotta grind through it. Sometimes you just gotta push through for tallying errors You just you just gotta keep going and going and keep grinding Guiding if you will so what's the latest on JT MOA? so going and going and keep grinding, grinding if you will. So what's the latest on JT Miller? So let's hand it over to Freage's audio

from Saturday's broadcast. Broadcast. Because Freage had the latest, including the fact that some thought Miller wasn't gonna dress on Saturday night. He eventually did, obviously had a good game against the Edmonton Oilers. Here's Freage from the broadcast on Saturday

about what happened and didn't happen with JT Miller of the Vancouver Canucks. Yeah, so it continues now JT Miller I expect is going to play tonight unless something changes at the last minute But there was a time over the last 24 hours where JT Miller was not going to play He was going to be held out of the lineup because talks were progressing on a trade I believe that team to be with the New York Rangers. Now I don't know exactly what happened but that trade is off right now so there's nothing close that would prevent Miller from playing but teams had things had progressed to a certain point where it definitely looked

like he wasn't going to play. Elsewhere around the Canucks earlier this week the Canucks sent out a note warning teams about tampering. Saying that, look, nobody is allowed to talk to any of our players without our permission in advance. I believe now at this time some teams do have permission to talk to Miller. Not sure who it is, but I've heard that there are some teams that have been granted permission to him. And the other situation we're all watching in Vancouver is Elias Pedersen. I heard this week that Pedersen, who does not have no trade protection yet, has told the Canucks he would like to stay. And I think that their preference

is to do that. So interesting note on Pedersen right at the end there, but we'll get to him on Pedersen right at the end there, but we'll get to him later on in the show on Miller. After that LA game, I thought that might be the last game that he played for the Canucks. And I tweeted it out and I said, I think we might be watching the last game we've ever seen JT Miller play for the Canucks just because he was dreadful. He was, he was terrible. He didn't look, uh, involved in the game and he made multiple mistakes to the point where Rick Tuck had to have a word with him on the bench.

And it just looked like one of those games, like something's got to give. And I don't, honestly, that could be the, the slogan of the year this year. The Vancouver Canucks, something surely got a gift. Surely. You know, and now they played well on Saturday with JT Miller in the lineup, but I would be

shocked at this point if JT Miller is not traded. Like I think, you know, I think from what I've heard, everyone's just kind of on board with, okay, let's get this done. Yeah. You know, and. He can't unring the bell at this point. Well, that's, that's a question that I'm going

to ask, uh, Elliot Freeman. Like, is it possible if the Canucks don't find the right deal that the genie could be stuffed right back in the bottle? But I don't think so. I don't think so. Not at this point, not with all the water under the bridge that's happened and all the times that JT Miller has been in trade rumours. I don't think so.

And I also just still think that the Canucks, they need some sort of shake up, they need some sort of, something different, even though they, you know, they did have one of their signature wins last night or on Saturday night. It's funny. You remember we came in on Friday and we did the Mount Rushmore of bad wins.

I do. We could kind of do a Mount Rushmore of wins that we thought that the Canucks would build on and like go forward and, you know, like there was the win over Florida when they beat them four nothing, there was a win over Toronto just a week ago, three nothing in Toronto. And then maybe, but maybe Saturday is it.

Maybe Saturday, Saturday really is the one that they're going to, they're going to take and they're going to run with. Um, but, um, you know, I'm sure a lot of you had heard on social media and you know, I, I, I texted a buddy who was at the Dyson ice event last night and I said, is Miller there? And he said he is notably absent.

And I think that says a lot. That is their premier charity event of the season and all the, sponsors and a lot of the season ticket holders are there and that is an important one, not only for charity, it's an important one from a business perspective. So JT Miller was not there. Food poisoning.

Which kind of suggests like, he doesn't want to be around like he doesn't want to be around. He doesn't want to talk to people. And I don't want to say like he's not part of the team cause he's still on the team, but it's, you know, it seems inevitable that JT Miller will be traded, but we'll follow up more with Elliot Friedman in about 15 or 20 minutes. Now let's get on to big story number two from the weekend. And that was the Canucks game against the Edmonton Oilers and Miller ended up being in the lineup because a trade with,

uh, it was reported the New York Rangers fell through for whatever reason. And the Canucks were deserving winners of a 3-2 decision over the Edmonton Oilers, one of the hottest teams in the league. Yes, the Oilers were probably a bit tired at the end of the road trip, but the Canucks were dealing with a few things too, in case you hadn't heard. Well, if you didn't hear, you weren't listening

to the last 10 minutes. Quinn Hughes, who else, opened the scoring with about five minutes left in the first with the Canucks on the power play. Miller, he was out there. PP1, won the draw back to Hughes who skated down the wall and flung one in front. Actually intended for Garland's stick, deflected in off an oiler's player at comb just six seconds into the power play. Not too long after that, the Canucks got another good bounce

when Myers long shot rebounded right to Danton Heinen who was able to beat Stuart Skinner rather easily and who else but Quinn Hughes made it 3-0 before the period was through on yet another power play. Miller fed it to Hughes for his second assist on the night. And the Canucks ended the first up three, nothing on the scoreboard and 16 to seven on the shot club. They had 16 shots in the first period. They've played games where they haven't had 16 shots. And I think a lot of us thought, um, you know, like, where's that been all

season at Rogers arena, you know, where's that energy been on home ice? The power play was clicking, the Canucks were getting shots. You know, where was that? Now the Oilers did get a couple back thanks to Dry Cytl, who just keeps on scoring for the Edmonton Oilers. And maybe we're like, oh God, are they going to

blow this? Cause the Oilers had actually just come back in a game from three nothing down. Yeah, it's Colorado. Um, but the Canucks did a great job limiting the Oilers to just three shots in the third period. We're probably all thinking that third period would all be, would be like all Oilers, the Oilers are all over the Canucks, but it really wasn't.

Miller was named the third star of the night in a game he nearly didn't play. Besides the two assists on the power play, he did a great job shutting down McDavid and Dreisaitl. And I don't know if the Canucks went to him and were like, if you play well tonight, you really will be traded. Yeah, I don't. But he dialed in. We haven't really seen him dialed in. You know, the odd time that was that great game in Montreal, and then there was a bunch of games that you were like, Ooh, something's going on here. And then he's nearly traded and he wasn't traded and he has a great game for the Edmonton Oilers.

I was shocked that he was in the lineup to begin with because usually the standard course of action for a transaction is you hold the asset out of the lineup just for protection in the event that he might get hurt or for some kind of injury. If you're that close to a trade, he sits out. Now, just because the trade fell through, I still thought, wow, they'll just keep him out of the lineup because it would be a huge distraction and there would be too much of a sideshow. But no, Miller went out there and as you mentioned, had a terrific performance. And then in the aftermath, JT Miller held court with the collective media and he had his scrum. And we've got about a minute, oh nine of audio here.

This is a back and forth with reporters where reporters, uh, to their credit, tried their best to get an answer out of JT Miller about his playing future in Vancouver. We will let the audio speak for itself here now. JT Miller following a very emotional 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night at Rogers Arena. I don't know if there's anything, I don't know, it's just try to focus on the game. It's probably good you're playing you know the Oilers tonight and have a matchup assignment trying to keep me focused. Is it different this time around than it has been? I mean you're not new to facing these questions from us about staying focused.

But is it different or has it been different over the last month and especially over the last 24 hours for you? Yeah, I guess. I don't know what to say to be honest. I don't have a good answer for it. I'm just trying to focus on game to game. It's boring but it's true. I did notice though you took the three stars. Is there any sense of sort of knowing that the uncertainties there just sort of savoring what's been a pretty great run for you in the city. That's nice try. You gotta be a little more clever.

I'm gonna try to. Okay. This was your last game in Vancouver. What does it mean to you to play here? I'm not gonna get into this. I'm planning on being at Canuck today, tomorrow. Whatever happens, happens. I'm focused on the next game. on being a Canuck today, tomorrow. Whatever happens, happens.

I'm focused on the next game. My initial takeaway upon hearing that was, well, this can't keep going on. Like you can't, could he come out on Tuesday against Buffalo and play the same way and then meet the media afterwards and be like, well guys, it's another game as a Vancouver Canuck. It's like stringing Boudreaux along all over again.

I'll wait and see. Maybe we'll be here on Thursday, maybe we won't. But I'm taking every day as I can as Vancouver Canaic. It seems like an inevitability that he's... God, I don't know, you tell me. Do I have the wrong read on this? It just feels like an inevitability. At this point, usually, over the course of history,

when there's this much noise and there's this many reports, and a player gets as close to being dealt as JT Miller did, eventually that gets pushed over the line and he gets moved along. And either whether it's the other shoe has to drop or something has to give or whatever slogan we wanted to put on this, it just feels like this part of the story,

that chapter needs to close and I imagine that it will in due time. Yeah, well, we'll ask Freage about it. We'll ask him if he's ever seen a situation where a trade has come this close and then it doesn't happen and the two sides live happily ever after together again. Like.

It just seems crazy to me. Yeah. I mean, it is crazy. It's, it's been that sort of season. Let's talk about one more thing that happened over the weekend. of season, let's talk about one more thing that happened over the weekend. And that was the crosschecks at the end of the game.

Connor McDavid and Tyler Myers each earned hearings for crosschecks. They each got match penalties. McDavid crosschecked Garland in the head and Myers took aim at Evan Bouchard. I know everyone's making jokes about McDavid not getting suspended and Myers getting a hundred games, but if McDavid doesn't get two games, I'll be shocked because the precedent has already been clearly set and it's been clearly set with another superstar type player, Austin Matthews in the outdoor game against Buffalo, cross check,

this was a couple of years ago, Rossmas Dahlien right in the head. Similar play and similar, like Dahlien wasn't innocent in the whole fracas either, but Matthews took it too far, right? And that's exactly what happened. Like Connor Garland is one of the most annoying players to play against in the NHL.

I remember reading one of those player polls where like, who is the, who is, I think it was the most annoying player to play against. And I don't think Garland won it, but he was in the running. Yeah. Right? They're like, this guy is so annoying and you

know, he was holding Connor McDavid. He almost tackled him. It was like a form tackle, right around the knees or whatever. McDavid just had enough and his retaliation went way too far and he cross checked him right in the head. At the same time, off to the side, Myers and Bouchard were mixed up. But I don't know if Myers saw McDavid do it to Garland. And he was like, we're allowed to do that. And then just did that to Evan Bouchard. But it was like, it was like guys getting cross-checked in the head all over the place. And, you know, Myers was just as vicious as McDavid's. And, you know, I saw some people like whose was worse. So I was

like, they're both about the same because they both cross checked a guy in the head. Well, listening to the broadcast, Ray was calling it like he had just witnessed a bloody murder in front of his eyes. He was fired up. And I don't blame him. Yeah, that was pretty funny.

And I don't blame him because when you watch it and good on, by the way, good on our company, good on sports, that I believe we strung together 16 consecutive replays of the McDavid cross check on the broadcast. And it was like we had Zapruder footage, the grainy footage of the Myers one in the corner. We're like also Myers cross check, Bouchard. I was like, this is good. Nonpartisan broadcasting. I like it.

You know, they are in the trucks. It's like, did anyone get the Myers? I was like, yeah, we got, we got this camera at the top of the rink. And look, it's black and white, all fuzzy. We have some black and white drone footage of it. We'll air that. And then, OK, so we're going to do this objectively. And that's hard because this is your home

of the Canuck Sports Net 650. But I mean, let's be real here. Garland was antagonizing and instigating and poking the bear big time in McDavid. Yeah, but it doesn't matter. No, I'm just saying, like in terms of what caused the very vicious cross check to the face, like Bouchard didn't do as much to earn, let's call it earn, earn his cross check, right?

That those would be the only difference. He could have said something. Yeah, he might have used his words. Yeah, he could have said something. Maybe, but either way. Some cutting remark. Yeah, I'm sure. Who's this clown?

Point being, I think both guys are probably gonna miss, unfortunately, the return date in two games time when these two play on Thursday. Unfortunately, I don't want McDavid out there. You know what? I'll take a McDavid for Meyers trade. I disagree. I would like to see him out there on Thursday.

I really would. I think, I think it would be amazing to watch. Have you checked the standings? Yes, I have. I understand exactly what I'm asking for here. Instead of not having the best player in the world on the ice, I'm asking for him. I think.

I actually think that's one of the reasons he's going to get two games for sure. Just like the league will be like, all right, these guys don't need to be part of the game on Thursday. So just in case you don't know, the Canucks play Buffalo on Tuesday. So no game tonight, Buffalo tomorrow. Uh, and then, uh, they're in Edmonton on Thursday and the Oilers also have a game before, uh, the Canucks game on Thursday.

Yeah, yeah. Yes. I would say Alex Ovechkin. From a ratings perspective though, wouldn't the NHL want to only give them one game each so they would play each other on Thursday? From just like a ratings and storybook perspective, like give them one game each, then Thursday's just going to be wild. See, I'm with you.

I think they should have everyone back on the ice on Thursday. One game, did you learn your lesson? Did you learn your lesson? No cross checks to the head. And if you do, you have to sit out a game. And then just let them go. And then everyone in Toronto will be like, Austin, Matthew's got two games. Right?

So unfair. Also another good reason for them doing one game. I mean, you're right. I think they're both going to get two if I had to guess, by the way, the media, the meetings, the disciplinary hearings will be over the phone. So that means what's that's four, four games max. Right?

You can't go more than five. Five games. Yeah. And then, uh, they will take place later this afternoon. So we'll keep tabs on all of that and what's gonna be a very busy day. We're gonna get word on what the suspensions are gonna be. On the other side of the break,

we're gonna talk to Elliott Friedman about everything that went down with JT Miller and then everything that didn't go down with JT Miller on Saturday. Also, I should mention, there was a report from Larry Brooks in the New York Post yesterday suggesting that the trade parameters involving the New York Rangers

did not include Mika Zabinajad, who is still refusing to waive his no movement clause to go anywhere, but could involve Alexis Lafreniere, which is very interesting because that to me would be kind of a way more tantalizing return asset in exchange than Mika Zabaniyad. I mean, Zabaniyad has hit much higher heights than Lafreniere, but Lafreniere is only 23 years old. Yeah. So that's really interesting if that's what it does end up coming down to. So we can get into

all this with Fridge coming from another separate. Well, let's ask Fridge a few questions. We're going to ask him what happened, Let's read a few questions. Um, we're going to ask them what happened? What, like, why did this thing fall apart? And the other question I imagine would be, you know, is there any way that JT Miller is not traded because this thing has gone down the road so far.

Yeah. And at some point we've said this, right? Like the connects either have to make a trade or they have to say, this is over now. Right. I don't know. I don't even know if you can do the latter though, when it's this public, especially for an organization.

Yeah, they can. They should be like, this was all a media creation. Again, the media created another one. Trump is in today, right? It's true. It's a new era. It's true. It's all the media created another one. Trump is in today, right? It's a new era. It's true.

It's all the media's fault. You should be like, these guys were lying about everything. They made it up. They completely made it up. And a lot of people will be like, I believe you. Yeah, okay. They're terrible people. They're the enemy of the people.

Like, let's get ready for Buffalo on Tuesday. Let's do it. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Sportsnet's Elliot Friedman joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Fridge, how are you? Good, guys, how are you guys doing?

We are well. Pretty eventful weekend. There was a lot to get into. So much so we haven't even talked about the NFL yet. An amazing weekend of football, but we gotta put all that on the back burner because there's a lot going on here. I'll start big picture, Freage.

What happened or didn't happen on Saturday with JT Miller? So sometime Friday, Saturday, the Cocks thought they were close to something. And I woke up in, I was in Canmore obviously and when I woke up on Saturday morning and I should say I'm not an early riser but when I woke up on Saturday morning I woke up to a couple of notes saying you should be looking into Miller because he might not be playing tonight and I checked and I do think it was, I do think he was notified that was a possibility.

And for whatever reason, whatever they thought they were doing didn't happen. I do still think it was the Rangers. I'm even more convinced it was the Rangers. I just don't know exactly what happened. And obviously everybody would want to know what could be on the table. I'm not 100% certain. I think I have a pretty good idea. I don't think it was Lafreniere. I don't think it was a vintage ad. But I don't know exactly at the end of the day why it didn't happen. But there was a time where everybody thought it was going to happen and then, uh, it didn't.

So we'll see where it goes. And I think it's been open. I think now there's a few teams that have permission to talk to them. Not all of them. Uh, I don't think it's blanket permission. Uh, but I do think there's a few teams that have permission to speak directly to Miller. Um, do you know if Miller is willing to go to the Rangers?

I believe so. I have not heard, I have no reason to think at any particular time that he would veto a trade there. Who are some of the other teams that might be interested in JT Miller and might have permission to speak with him? I don't know everyone. I mentioned on the pod this morning that I think there's a chance that Carolina could be one, but I don't know any of that yet for sure. It sounds like the granting of permission to some teams is a relatively new thing.

As we also mentioned on Saturday night, the Canucks thought that there was maybe some tampering going on. I don't know if it was specifically with Miller or it was someone else. I just heard that they reminded teams that nobody's allowed to talk to their players without their permission. And that I think was on Tuesday. Yeah. Cause typically permission is granted when you're talking about a new contract, but you know, JT Miller signed, he doesn't need a new contract.

What do you imagine the conversations are about? It's a good question. Um, I, I, it's probably just him letting teams know, Hey, like if you want to make a deal, I'll wave to come there. I would suspect and, and just gauging his willingness to go to places. Yeah. Do you think they might be like, Hey, what happened in Vancouver? They might ask that too.

Uh, yes. Uh, but I think it's, yeah, I, I have put it this way. Uh, Jason, I think that teams are probably doing that due diligence anyway. Um, it's also, it also becomes like the guy's got a no move clause. People aren't going to want to go through everything that would take to get them. If he's not going to want to go through everything that would take to get them

if he's not going to waive to you anyway. So this way, at least to get some confirmation. So, Frege, I guess this is a big question. A lot of people have theories, but why is this happening? Why are the Canucks trying to trade JT Miller and why does JT Miller seem okay with it? So, I mean, it's, it's one of those things where, um, there's probably a lot more out there. There's probably a lot out there that is true. There's probably a lot out there that is false. And there's probably a lot out there that is false and there's probably a lot out there

that is kind of in the middle. And you kind of, you just have to go, you just have to kind of sift through and figure out what you believe is true and what isn't. Initially, I thought it was a personality clash. The timeline as it came this week seemed to indicate to me that the activated intensity around it on Friday didn't have anything to do with any teammates, but maybe the organization got to a point where it said, we just have to go. That game Thursday was rough. The fact how they lost, how they lost. Miller just didn't seem himself,

to say the least. He played great on Saturday night. If he plays like that and he was phenomenal, then either one of two things is going to happen. Either Vancouver is going to say, okay, he's going to stay with us because we need him, or someone else is going to say, look, if Vancouver and Miller feel that they've reached the point of no return, then we'll be happy to take him if he's going to play like that. So I just think after, I guess, my guess is,

and you saw Thursday's game everybody was frustrated I just wonder after that game if it just reached a point where we said we said where the Connucks said we've got to do this now. So there's a lot of fans that don't want to see JT Miller traded. Is there is there any way to put the Genie back in the bottle or is this thing more than likely going to happen? I mean it's a tough one for me to ask. You know someone said to me yesterday, do you ever get tired of talking about all this stuff and the answer is yes, but if you think I get tired of it you can only imagine how

the people who are directly involved feel about it, right? Look I think, I thought it was really interesting, a couple of, like last time I did the telethon, sorry two years ago I did the telethon, we interviewed Natalie Miller as part of the telethon and you remember the Instagram videos last year like there was a real love affair between Miller and the city and I saw it like some people were sending me posts on X on Saturday night. I guess when Miller left the game after they beat the Oilers He rolled down his window and took pictures with some fans who were waiting to see the Kodak's lead down his window and took pictures with some fans who were waiting to see the Kodaks leave. So I mean I know and I've seen it like that I know there is a

at its height the relationship between Miller and the Kodaks and the fans has been fantastic and I know somebody who was at the charity event last night who said to me you never would have been able to tell I know Miller wasn't there but you know you would never been able to tell, I know Miller wasn't there, but you would never have been able to tell that there was anything bad going on the way that the players treated the fans. And my point is that Jason and Mike, these things, they go up and down. There's phases where what was true today is not true tomorrow. And all I can tell you at this point in time was,

sometime Friday, Saturday, I think the Canucks and the player thought he was going to the Rangers and it didn't happen. And that is why some people are like, don't like to tell you anything until it's done because things can happen. In this particular case, something happened. Yesterday, I woke up, I checked,

everyone was telling me nothing imminent. Last night before we recorded the pod, I checked, people were telling me there's nothing imminent. I haven't heard anything today, but you know, it's, this blows hot and cold. We're speaking to Sportsnet's Elliott Friedman here on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. You know, you've been working in hockey for a long time, so you've seen a lot of different

things, Elliott. And I'm sure that, you know, a trade that got to the one yard line, but didn't get across the goal line. This isn't the first one that's happened, obviously. There's probably been other ones as well. But you know, in recent memory, I don't remember one like this where the player was about to be held out of the lineup, then went into lineup then played really well got one of the three stars the night and then met with the media afterwards and you know I don't know if you saw Miller

scrum after the game on Saturday but there was about a good minute and a half two minutes where he was just directly being asked questions about if he had played his last game in Vancouver and to me it would seem wild if he had played his last game in Vancouver. And to me, it would seem wild if he had to do that again on Tuesday against Buffalo, and then maybe again Thursday, whenever the case, if this drags itself out. So I know, I mean, we talked about putting the genie back in the bottle or unringing the bell.

If nothing is imminent, I still wonder if the club can keep putting Miller through this or keep going through it themselves where it's just this waiting game for the other shooter drop. Yeah, it's a really tough situation. I don't disagree with you, Mike. The only thing you can really do is Miller can say, look guys, I'll talk about the games but I'm not going to talk about any trades until anything ever happens.

You know, all I can say is that everybody involved thought something was going to happen on Friday or Saturday and then it didn't. So like, you know, nobody has, believe me, if I get something wrong, I hear about it and nobody has reached out to me to say anything I said on Saturday was incorrect. So, at that point, it was close. Tell us about Ilyas Pettersson and Pettersson coming to the Canucks and saying, I don't want to be moved and it sounds like the Canucks are okay with that for now. Yeah. So, Pettersson, I heard it, uh, I checked

it, uh, it was confirmed to me that I don't know. And I, I should just clarify. I don't know if Pedersen said that directly to them or if when the agent, Pat Persan met with the, uh, Canucks in Montreal after the World Juniors, when the Canucks were on that trip. The message was conveyed to them that way. I'm not 100% sure on that one. But what absolutely happened was that Pedersen, either himself or through the agent, told the Canucks he

does not want to leave and he wants to stay. And the Canucks received that message and they were good with that message and whatever was going on around him seems to have cooled. And he also made a huge play at the end of regulation there on Saturday night, getting the puck out of their zone. And I do have a sense that just that, like I said, the team and the number of the players are receptive to Pettersson staying and so My sense around it and you know, it could always change but my sense around it today this morning at 643 Pacific time is that Vancouver is accepting of that request

How do you think it's gonna be for Pettersson if JT Miller is indeed traded? because you know a lot of people are just gonna say JT Miller was traded because? Because a lot of people are just going to say JT Miller was traded because Elias Pedersen and him didn't get along. I don't know if that is entirely true. I believe there's more to the story than that. But man, if you thought there was pressure on him before, there's going to be even more pressure on him if JT Miller is actually traded. I think that, you know, I always think there's more to the story that we don't hear. I agree with you on that, Jason. I also think that one of the reasons it got pushed so close to the goal line on Friday is that it had nothing to do with Pedersen. It was just the way things went on Thursday night. I think the organization was kind of like, we have to do with Pedersen. It was just the way things went on Thursday night

I think the organization was kind of like we have to really make an attempt here So I don't think you can say it's all it's all his fault or anything like that the one thing you can control is how you perform and You know and I know that no matter what happens with Miller if Pedersen plays to the level that he can play at, people are going to be like, they're going to rally around Pettersson. They're going to be happy with that. And that's the only thing that Pettersson can manage is I play my best, I give it my all, people will be okay with that because they will.

And if I was in his situation, that's what I would say to myself worry about what you can worry about control what you can control And that is how you perform and if you perform at the level that he's capable of things will take care of themselves What did you make of the cross-checking chaos? What did you call it cross-check a Palooza at the end of the game on Saturday? Well, first of all, I was a great game. Yeah. You know, hockey day in Canada was a great day. And I was talking with Kyle. I don't know if we've ever had four better games than that one on the same day.

Can we get more hockey like Bruin senators? Like that game, that game was, that was a bit of a throwback. Like there was some nastiness. There's lots of goals, more hockey like that. Yes I even like your game was a great game like it was it was great hockey I I mean you guys came to play they came to play it was great game oh look like Garland should have gotten I don't know one penalty seven penalties like you know he did he did his job. He just said, this game is not going into overtime because of Conor McDavid. He just decided that he was

taking McDavid out of the play. Now, the debate I've been having with people is, even if the referees call a penalty, it doesn't do anything in that situation unless you believe the Oilers were going to recognize it and throw the puck at the Canucks and take a six on four. Now I don't know that I would have done that because it was a shooting gallery. The Canucks were completely being dominated. The Oilers were getting all the looks they wanted. The Canucks were playing the kind of desperate hockey you have to play. They were throwing themselves in front of things and blocking shots. I mean, the only

way a penalty changes things is if the Oilers... But I'm not convinced. Do you want to give the Canucks a breather? And if you lose the lose the face off the game is basically over. But anyway someone argued with me last night that they could have done that. Look like Garland frustrated McDavid. McDavid like you look at his whole week he got slew footed which was a dirty play. He took that shot at Johansson which I wondered if he thought he was going to be clipped so he decided to do it first. Like, you know, he got angry and he lost his mind for a second. He'll get suspended because of it.

Myers will get suspended too. You can't have those cross shouts to the face. I mean, look, like they missed penalty. Penalty are penalties. But in the moment, unless you believe the Oilers were going to throw the puck at the Canucks and say, we're going to go six on four, I'm not sure that would have changed anything. Has the precedent been set with the Austin Matthews

two game suspension for cross-checking Dallin that it's pretty easy to just give McDavid two and Myers two as well? Uh, I, that's what I wonder. Um, I immediately, the first thing I thought about It's pretty easy to just give McDavid two and Myers two as well? That's what I wonder. Immediately the first thing I thought about was Matthews and Kyle reminded me that when Matthews got the two game suspension, he was mad about something that happened in the previous game, like McDavid probably was too. So there's something there. I wonder if my, the one thing that I was talking about with some people and I don't know the way player safety is gonna rule they

wondered if Myers would get more just purely because McDavid and Garland were engaged at a much higher level than Myers was with Bouchard and as a result they might look less fondly on Myers play as opposed to McDavid's I guess for lack of a better term but we'll see I think they're both getting something. That would go over well in Vancouver if Myers got a longer suspension than McDavid. I'm sure that'll go over well. That would be terrific. Yeah I know I'm sure it'll fill up your content for weeks. What did you think? You know, I just wait until just wait until the leaves show up in a couple weeks

The game starts at four o'clock then those something else somehow the connector playing Patrick my homes and the ref sir and his favor, too Okay. Okay. I'm glad you mentioned that speaking of the speaking of the refs What did you think or what have you heard about the reactions to the job that Chris Lee and Wes McCauley did on Saturday because I saw a lot a lot of criticism about how I'd say they controversially handed the end handled the end of the game. Well, the thing is like I said, you know, okay, so it depends on what you think the others would have done there because let's say they call penalty.

Okay. Yeah. Are do we think the play is getting blown dead? I think the argument that's being made is that regardless of the outcome of calling it, that it should have been called, and I kind of have time for that. It's like if you see something that egregious,

you put your hand up in the air and call. Garland should have got a penalty like this. I think that's pretty obvious. He could have had three penalties. Like we said, he just said okay Whatever happens here. McDavid is not tying this game. He just he should have gotten penalties There's no question about it. So hearings are today both via phone I guess we'll find out in short order what McDavid and Myers are gonna get hey Freach Thanks for taking the time to do this today, man. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. We'll chat again soon.

Alright, guys. Have a great week. You too, thanks. That's Elliot Friedman, Sportsnet's very own, here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What we just have to call Thomas Dranzerotica. Thomas Dranz Erotica Corsi Thomas Grants Erotica Expected Goals Thomas Grants Erotica Doth Model Thomas Grants Erotica Regression

Thomas Grange Erotica Pee-Dee-Oh Thomas Grange Erotica 8.03 on a Monday. Fappy Monday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour three of the program.

Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk right here on Sportsnet 650. It's going to join us in just a moment here to kick off our three. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell and Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Pound.com today. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, Thomas Drantz joins us now in the Haliford and Brush show on Sportsnet 650. What up Drantz? Gentlemen, good morning. Drantz,

what's the top of your mind right now with this team? Well, I mean, obviously the top of mind has to be the scuttled trade with the New York Rangers. I thought that overshadowed a pretty solid Canucks performance on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers and I think it should have. with the New York Rangers, I thought that overshadowed a pretty solid Canucks performance on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers and I think it should have. The truth is that, well, I couldn't get to the bottom yesterday in between various AJ's pizzas and football games of exactly what happened in terms of the package and why exactly it fell apart. You know, I've had some suggestions to me that we're talking about, you know,

certainly not Lafrenier and, and Braden Schneider, but instead sort of more in that like he'd all Ryan Lindgren kind of a bucket in terms of a potential return. Again, I'm not, I wasn't able to confirm why the deal fell apart but certainly Dolly Wall and I were dropping a piece shortly and it was suggested to us that maybe it was like conditions on the first round pick that might have been involved that caused it to fall apart. Anyway, when you look at sort of that, right? And sort of one of the things that I was checking into was like, what changed? Did something change for the Canucks last week to raise their level of urgency, right?

In terms of making this deal and you know, uh, effectively where I think we're at is the, is the answer to that question is no. The sort of wider, like the wider stance, the wider posture here is, is just that, you know, I think this organization's reached a point where I don't think they think it's tenable to move forward with this core as it stands. And so I do believe, and of course nothing's done until it's done and perhaps something dramatic alters the organization's thinking on this, but I do believe we're reaching a point where the organization's prepared to reach a transitional step or

a more transitional stage of their team building a cycle here. I think the pretty consistent approach we've seen from Rutherford and Alvin, like if you were to draw a through line, it's been to really believe in the score, believe that they can win with the score and then work to supplement and sort of upgrade the supporting pieces around it while also locking up this core. And I think we're about to hit a significant transition in terms of how the Canucks view, you

know, the project, like the project at hand, I think is about to be changed. And I think that's what the reports on Saturday indicate. What kind of return do you think the Canucks could get with a JT Miller trade? Well, yeah. I think one thing that I think is weighing on the minds of Canucks decision makers is

that these deals are basically impossible to win. By the way, we have an example of it, and they have an example of it. They're well aware of this example. That's two years ago they traded Bo Horvat and they traded him for I guess the pick that ended up being 18th overall that's Axel Sandin Palika's who the Detroit Red Wings ultimately selected maybe the Canucks would have gone in a different direction but you're still talking about like a Tanner Mollendike or Matthew Wood or like a prospect of that caliber like a really good prospect they'd probably be one of Vancouver's top prospects, one of their top three anyway,

but not a guy contributing in the NHL today. Anthony Beauvillier, right, who obviously underwhelmed in his time in Vancouver and ended up being a cap dump that helped facilitate the Zadorov rental. And Atu Ratu, who's playing well in the American league and looks like a, you know, very strong bet to be an everyday NHL player down the line, but maybe not one with a tough ceiling. I mean, that's, that's a deal you lose. Right? Like the Canucks had to make a subsequent deal, a subsequent dice roll that they absolutely hit.

Like they hit lucky sevens when they traded for Philip Peronik, who's been a star level contributor, bona fide star level contributor since arriving in Vancouver. Um, you know, but, but without the pharonic piece of this, that trades not a win. And I think that's something that, you know, we have to keep in mind when we think about what a JT Miller deal looks like or, or an Alias-Peterson deal looks like for that matter. Although in that case, I think you're talking about something high, higher end in terms of the return, just given sort Pedersen's age and pedigree and potential.

Nonetheless, you know, you don't make the Miller trade and make your team better. There's going to be work that this organization needs to do in order to come out like really creative work, subsequent work that they're going to have to do if they're to deal Miller, you know, get a couple pieces in a future or a couple futures in a piece back and actually find themselves in a healthier space in terms of overall talent level, right? Like it's not going to be straightforward here. And this isn't an organization that wants to or can really afford frankly to take a significant step back. I mean they've got a captain in Quinn Hughes who's playing at a level we've never seen

in Vancouver hockey history and Quinn Hughes after next year is going to become extension eligible at which point you know these players these days right the these players these days are not not that old but these players these days. These players, what I'm saying is players like Quinn Hughes, right? They have a certain pre-agency level of, you know, authority and leverage a year out from pre-agency, right? That's more than anything what I'm saying. Like you're going to hit that point in 18 months. The organization knows Quinn Hughes. They know that he wants to win in 18 months. The organization knows Quinn Hughes. They know that he wants to win. And they definitely want to win with him. And so, you know, I mean, if a Miller trade comes to pass,

or a Pedersen trade comes to pass, and I do think the organization has reached a point where they think that they've got to reset this core and move forward with, you know, just one of them, then they're going to be worse. And yet they're going to, they're not going to accept that they're, they're going to need to be good or better than they were this year, next year. And so this is a pretty complicated sort of set of circumstances that they're navigating. And one that represents a pretty significant departure for a team that entered this season planning to be You know and setting things up to be like one of those contenders That's adding at this point of the year as opposed to one of those teams that's considering

You know, I don't want to use term as dramatic as dismantling but considering subtracting Sort of a key a crucial piece from from their lineup in the right way. What do you think of Lafrenier's name being involved in trade speculation? What could he bring to the Canucks, both good or bad? Well, he's incredible. I mean, I think he's a really, really good player. I think things have gone sour in New York for

a variety of reasons, but I think the straight line, like you know, Lafrenier, because he's a former first round pick and because of the shot and because we've seen some of the highlights of the chemistry and then the cool stuff that he's able to do with our Temi Panarin, you think of him as a skilled guy, but there's a straight line sort of two way panache to his game. Like I almost look at Lafrenier as like imagine if you could design in the lab the perfect Rod Brindamore winger and you'd get Alex's Lafrenier. And yeah, I mean, when I say it that way, you can just imagine how sort of that backtracking and the ability on the forecheck, like how that would play with how talk it

wants to play. Right. And I think that's, that's pretty appealing. Um, you know, I don't think that that was on the table necessarily when the Canucks and Rangers were deep into discussions over the weekend. Um, Elias Pedersen, we've talked a lot about this. Um, the pressure on him, if Miller is traded and it's kind of looking like that's

going to happen. How interesting is that going to be to watch? I mean, very, very for sure. But I think that pressure exists like, yes, the pressure is going to be huge. Don't get me wrong. It's going to amplify it, but how much is it going to amplify it relative to him already being at 11.6 million? And you know, his performance this season being a key reason why the Canucks aren't in the same place that they were last year, right?

And as much as, I mean, I think it's fair to note, for example, that the Canucks didn't hit at like the same 99th percentile rate with bargain bin free agents that they did last summer, but they still did pretty good. I mean, Sherwood and Lankenen were solid value ads. Yeah. I don't even want to know where this team would be without Lankenen.

And I'd add too, that Debrecht has been solid. Like Debrecht has been good, a good addition for this roster I think overall and more than that when the Bruins for sure they do and you know they're there Debrecht has those stretches where it's quiet around him but you tend to look at it and it's like yeah but they're still out scoring their opponents when he's on the ice and tend to tend to be helpful in terms of carrying play. And then he goes on these, you know, 10 game goal scoring binges in which you go eight one and one.

And it's like, okay, that's kind of what you're getting from a really good, you know, sort of like a top six complimentary winger who's paid fairly for that. And more than anything to the key and free agency isn't necessarily to get the stone cold nuts hit, although that would be great. The key when you're buying the long term guys is like, are you avoiding the Chandler Stevenson's? Are you avoiding them? And they did. And that's huge.

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