Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 1/22/26

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they discuss the 'Nucks snapping their 11 game losing streak yesterday, as Canucks Talk host & The Athletic Vancouver's Thomas Drance joins the show. 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. Whoa. Wait a minute. Huh? Hold up. What? Oh, okay. Did we just lose a fucking Canucks?

Dun, dunna, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun da da da da da da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Yeah, it feels good to finally get a win. Yeah. Yeah, it's a relief, obviously. What a freaking boost. They came together and they were resilient. I love it.

They're going to build from this. Good morning, Vancouver, 6-1 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. It is Halford and it is Brough. It is SportsNet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studios and beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning.

Good morning. Adon, good morning to you. Good morning. Good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brow for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Got payday loan debt. If you do, Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80%.

with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sandshasthtrustee.com. We are in Hour 1 on the program. Hour 1 is brought to by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle. You get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver.

We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio, make 2026 your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech custom orthotics. Big show ahead on a Thursday. It's a four-guester today. Five-guester yesterday. guester today on the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. Time now for the Duick Morning Drive. That's our morning rundown of the guests. Guest list today begins at 630. Brayton J. Wilson. Ooh, sounds regal. He is from WGR 550 Sports Radio in Buffalo. He was in

attendance for that wild, wild Terry Pagula Presser yesterday that took the internet by storm. How is the city of Buffalo feeling after a whirlwind 96 hours for the bills? Their recently departed head coach, their owner, all of it, we will ask Brayton at 630. 7 o'clock Ufa Bowden's going to join the program. He is now the head of content creation for a sports agency called Better Collective. But today, he serves as our chief Swedish hockey correspondent.

So as it currently stands, Sweden's Olympic team is without injured players William Nielander, Leo Carlson, Joel Ericksonek, Yonis Brodine, and Victor Headman. That's a lot of guys. What are they going to do at the Olympics? to Ufa about that. We'll also get a more in-depth scouting report on Ivor Stenberg,

the possible number one overall pick at this year's draft. 730, Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider for me, SBN. It's going to join the program. I think we all know what's going on here. Seahawks, Rams, NFC championship this Sunday at 3.30. Winner, of course, advances to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara and all of the electromagnetic fields that you get in Santa Clara. Brady's going to join us at 7.30 this morning.

8 o'clock, it's Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks talk, as you heard in the intro, Canucks win, Canucks win. Snapton an 11-game losing streak last night with a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals. We'll talk to Dranser about all that and get into some Canucks trade talk as well at 8 a.m. We got so much on the go,

not even going to do the show list in reverse. 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, We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it?

You missed that? What happened is brought to you behind? The BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit them online at BCCSA.ca.ca. Brock Besser had a goal and an assist. The Canucks scored four unanswered goals on route to snapping their 11-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night. Canucks win. Canucks win. I think it's fair to say that the Canucks responded in a positive way to their coaches' comments after Monday's loss. We'll play some Adam Foot audio coming up in just a few seconds. Last night, the Connucks fell behind early by two coals and kind of got screwed by the referees in the process. So what a test for this team. Were they going to fold their tents and just say, well, the world is out to get us?

That's what I do every day, but the Canucks did not. And based on the fact that they came back, scoring four straight goals, won the game, I guess they didn't act, defeated on the bench, or let their frustrations get the best of them. Now, they were tested again late in the game. The Caps pulled the goalie down two and made it a one goal game with just over three minutes remaining, but the Canucks pulled themselves together enough to get it over. the finish line and honestly it was a pretty big

roar from the crowd at Rogers Arena when the final horn went. I wasn't at the ring but it popped on my TV. It popped maybe I just wasn't used to cheering at Rogers Arena but don't they know about the tank? Don't they don't know the people

that were there to watch a hockey game? For one night. They allowed it? They allowed it. They said you know what? Let's snap this 11 game losing streak. Yeah. Even though even though it directly defies the tank. They were happy last night, Jason. I heard the pop as well at the end of that game.

And it's understandable. 11 losses in a row. That's a lot. 09 and 2. 2 games went past regulation. 9 regulation losses. It's a lot of losing. Every now and again, fans just want to see a win,

even if it's counterintuitive to finishing dead last in the NHL. Okay, we'll get to some of the players who had good nights for the Canucks. and maybe try and trade them out of town because of they did that. But first, let's hear from Adam Foote about what he had to say about the Canucks, not only getting the win, but doing it in the fashion that they did, getting tested. I would say twice, falling behind 2-0 and on kind of a weird call from the referee, but also right at the end where they had to hold on and avoid the late game collapse. Okay, so the first clip is how the veteran players,

who Adam Foote called out following Monday night's loss to the Islanders, did it a little different this time, and they handled adversity well. Here's Adam Foote following the win over Washington. It was good. We got down early as you saw, and they were resilient. I think the best part about it was how our bench was after being down to nothing. It was really calm and you got to get a lot of credit to the guys for not getting rattled.

really, you know, T.J. the ref came up to us after the first, and he said he missed that call. It was a really odd call, though. I could see why he missed it. You don't see that happen too often in the game. But, you know, when they got the high stick on the play, here we go, here we go, and really is this happening right now? But maybe it was meant to be to give a test to our guys.

And they were, you know, our vets. It was one of the best game. I saw Garley and Besser play. Not just because he got best got points. Just he was competing and he was matched against Wilson. Real tough matchup and he defended well. So T.J. in question is referee T.J. Luxmore. Great name.

Sounds like a chain of casual restaurants with a pretty good happy hour. T.J. Luxmore called a holding penalty on Max Sasson after Sasson had his stick. taken out of his hands by Hendricks Lapierre and no one understood like what the rationale was for the call I think and it was IMAQ that pointed it out I didn't see it on the screen but I guess the other

three officials tried to talk T.J. Luxmore out of it but he wasn't having it called the penalty anyway and then I guess he went up to the bench afterwards and tried to explain what he was thinking or seeing on that one if the game mattered more the call would have mattered more but it did provide a moment for the

Kanax to go through adversity yet again this season and have something not go their way. And kudos to the group, at least in Adam Foote's estimation, for not letting it go off the rails at that very moment. Do you think they were all coming back to the bench and just very carefully closing the gate and very carefully putting their sticks down? Head held high. You know what?

I don't even mind that call. The vets responded well after I directly called them out, said Adam. Yeah, that's the thing. I mean, yeah, right? Not a single one smashed his stick. when I specifically asked them not to smash their sticks. The vet's just like, we're still in this, guys. Let's stay positive than looking around and smiling at Adam Foot.

Everyone like sacks at Bester, like, oh, Bessertel looks great. This is the worst day of my life. He had a golden assist, though, despite grinning through it all. Here is Adam Foote another quote yesterday talking about how he hopes. I'm being a good role model. That's right. That's not quite the vibe, but close. How the connects. how the Canucks in this group are going to build from the resilient shown last night.

Well, it's great. It's, it's, it's, it gives them the confidence. Like, you know, like I said, it's normal to feel frustrated what's been it going on with this group as far as they haven't got a balance from an injury all year. I mean, it's, I've never seen anything like it. And then, you know, what happened with how you leaving and then, um, extended injuries, Demco and things like that. Um, and they get challenged and they decided they came together and they were resilient.

I love it. They're going to build from this and, you know, I'm happy for them. I'm proud of. So let's hope that they do because one of the recurring themes with this particular group is that just when you think

that they put something past them and we're just when you think that they've, that they're no longer going to, to make the mistakes that they used to make, they go out and make them again. That was sort of the bigger takeaway from Monday's remarks from Adam Foote. It wasn't that they were hanging their heads and smashing their sticks and slamming their gates.

It was that they were doing it again. And this was something that they just couldn't seem to eradicate from this group. It was a different coach behind the bench. It was a different kind of messaging. The vibes were different, but the behavior was the same. one game does not change everything. It's a step in the right direction, sure, but I'm going to be much more curious to see what happens

when it continues to hit this group because I'm going to tell you something out there in Listenerland. There are more tough times ahead for this group as this season's played out. What did you think of Jake DeBrusk commenting in IMAX article? And he wasn't trying to, I don't think he was trying to push back in a meaningful way to what Adam Foote had said. But he did say, look, when I was in Boston,

there were guys slamming gates and snapping their sticks and these are pretty good competitors. And he kind of suggested like it's not a big deal. Myers did the same thing, by the way. Is the biggest deal the fact that their coach told them to knock it off? Because some coaches will have a different attitude about this, right? They'll be like, yeah, they're like coaches have different opinions, just like fans have different opinions. And I've seen a few people and I'm not going to push back. back too much on these people that say, look, if he's coming back and he's yelling and he's

frustrated that he didn't get a goal, at least it shows that he cares. Okay, fair enough, right? But this coaching staff, and that goes back to when Adam Foote was on Rick Tocket's staff, their philosophy was that's wasted energy, right? And when you're in a game and if you're frustrated, you're probably losing the game, let's channel that energy. let's not take away from the focus of the team by being distraction and let's knock that stuff off. Right? I'm really glad you brought this up. I'm really glad you brought this up because when we had this conversation yesterday,

there were way too many of you in listener land texting in with that exact argument, pushback analysis. And that's great. But you're missing the point. Forest from the trees, all that stuff. the biggest takeaway here is the coach told him to do something and they didn't do it.

And I didn't like DeBruscan, I didn't like Myers being like, ah, it's no big deal. To me, that's more of the problem. If it took Adam Foot 49 games to finally say something, it's a big enough deal that he said it. And secondly,

if the coach tells you to do something and it's within reason, like he's not asking you to go there and murder people, if it's within reason, and it's his philosophy. Murder people quietly with focus. Yeah. And don't hang your head after you do it.

Yeah. Be proud. If the cops show up, you're not going to, you know, hang your head. You've got to get your way out of this. Slam the door in his face. But it's one of those things where if you're not listening to the coach and you're not paying attention to his message, I think there's a much larger story here and a much larger situation that really needs to be analyzed by the decision makers and the people of power at the organization. Because you're not going to give your coach a fighting chance.

or in the case of Rick Talkit, he's not going to stick around to see how it turns out. If he can't get his message through to the guys. It's very simple. If you want to relate it to the majority of people out there, try not listening to your boss with regularity and push back against some of the few key tenets that he or she has to do your job. See how that goes, right?

Especially when something like this, it makes sense. You just laid it out pretty clearly. There's a reason they don't want players to do this. It's not just because they don't like it. It's because they think it adversely affects the collective and they think it's wasted energy and it's a distraction. All those for me, I'm like, yeah, that makes sense.

That makes sense. Don't do it. Listen to the coach. The coach is the guy in charge. Bruce let us do it. Right. And that's going to be the pushback. Other teams around the league, other teams around the league,

I'm sure the coach is like, you know what? You be you. If you're pissed off and frustrated, go ahead. Let it out right now and get it over with. Every time another team slams the gate, they just look up at foot. See? Well, they're allowed to do it. They did it over there.

Right. Well, in their house, there are different rules. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. We don't live there, though. Right? You live here. And like, this is the whole point. It's like living in North Korea here.

This is the whole point of the thing is at the highest level. It's like, are you on border? Are you not border? Are you buying it? or are you not buying it? When people ask what are those sentiments actually mean? I'm like, that's kind of it. It's like sometimes you have to put

your personal feelings or your desire to show your frustrations aside for the greater good, which is everyone pulling the rope in the same direction and doing the things the coach wants them to do. That to me seems pretty straightforward. My buddy's kid actually said that to him once. He said, it's like living in North Korea

in this house. And so he shipped him off to North Korea. I'll show you. It was also a good night for Vancouver's many, many, many, many trade candidates, including Evander Cain, who showed up again. He scored, but he also got a good forecheck in, didn't get a point on Brock Bessor's goal that led to the continued forecheck by David Kemp, who had a good game. And I thought the returning Teddy Blugher looked pretty good.

I read that the connects are 3 and O with Bluger in the lineup. Yeah. He's been the key. So if they get Bluger. Patrick Galvinianian is like, see, it's been injuries. Bluger, Rossi, Heedl. You're looking at 12 and 5. It's a cup winner.

Yeah. It's a cup winner. Yeah. No frustrations there. Which one of those pending UFAs will net the biggest return? Kane, Camp, Teddy Blugher. Probably Kane. Oh, Camp, Easley.

easily. The thing is, like, you're always looking for centers, right? Even Teddy Bluger was traded to Vegas, and they didn't even use them. Yeah. But they just had them as a spare center. You always want to have a bunch of centers if you want to go for a long cup run. It's probably Kane, but regardless, they all need to be cashed in. Hopefully the scouts have noticed that Kane has turned it on a bit lately.

If I'm the Canucks, I'd want to move him as soon as possible, given his injury risk, with no real reason to keep him in Vancouver any longer. Like, I don't think, like, I don't think he's going to be part of the future here. But teams closer to the cap, or maybe ones that just want to take the time if they have it, may want to wait right up until the deadline. Okay, let's talk about the deadline. Just so everyone knows, the Olympic roster freeze starts. February 4th.

And then the actual trade deadline is a month later on March 6th. So there's almost two deadlines this season. The Canucks have seven games left until the Olympic break. I'm going to throw another guy's name out there that we haven't talked about

much in terms of trades, but apparently the Canucks have had calls on Drew O'Connor. Is that someone they should? consider moving. Yes. Or do you keep him for next season because you do need players and see if you can't drive up his value even more?

Because remember, Drew O'Connor had a pretty quiet start to this season in Vancouver to the point we were doing the old bit about what would you say you do here? And you never know. Like, he might be a top six guy next season in Vancouver if they move out a bunch of other veterans, guys like Connor Garland or Jake Debrusk. O'Connor is a big guy who can skate and you could sell that he'd do well in the playoffs. My thought would be move him now, find another Drew O'Connor and try and elevate him next year and sell him again next year. That's the ticket here. Let's not get too attached to anybody that's over the age of, I'm willing to go like really low on this one.

But let's not get too attached to anybody here. Let's remember eyes on the prize. Sell. sell, accumulate picks, and a lot of them, and do what you will with those picks. But if someone shows an interest in Drew O'Connor, like, okay, let's get them moving, right? And then sign another version of Drew O'Connor for next year on a one or two-year deal that's cheap, and flip him at the deadline, too. Jake DeBresk had a couple of points, I think last night. He definitely had an assist on Philip Horonix goal. So while we're at it, let's talk a bit about his potential value.

He's got a no-move clause for the next two years. so that complicates things a little bit but I wonder I just wonder if he'd be open to a move given the way his season has gone including the healthy scratching that Adam Foote gave him it's actually that's a cool way of putting it

the healthy scratching that Adam foot gave him yes I've always had a hard time can you scratch I love a good healthy scratching that's the spot that's the spot coach not all coaches do this right he's like now you're not playing

I'll scratch your back I don't, I've always had a hard time with the verbiage on that one. I know they say health bombed a lot. Yeah, I don't care for that. No. If I were Debrusk, I'd also be wondering about the future of the roster and how that's going to affect my production. We all know that Debrusk has struggled at five on five,

and so have the Canucks centers this year. So which centers, you know, there's a lot of talk about trading Elias Pedersen. Yeah. Who are going to be the office? Offensive-minded centers in Vancouver next season. Is it going to be Philippal and Marco Rossi? If Pedersen's out, and I don't know if he will be. But that's how I'd be thinking if I'm Jake DeBress,

because you want to put yourself in the best position to succeed. And, you know, I'm sure everyone would want to rather play for a winning team. You know, I'll just jump in on that DeBresk thing. You know, when he signed here, I do remember there was a lot of talk from him specifically about going to a Canadian. market playing in a Canadian market in the playoffs and being part of it because of his dad's career and his dad obviously working with like SportsNet and Hockey Night and getting to see these big moments and these big events that I mean he played in big games in Boston but he just wanted to have it

in one of quote unquote those type markets and since he's come here it's gone in the exact opposite direction right you got to think that this is just not worked out the way that he and his camp assumed it was going to I don't think it takes a Rhodes scholar to figure that point out. I think that that conversation should be as soon as the season's over, or maybe even before, if he doesn't want to play out the year here. But that's a conversation that they should talk with, hey, are we really going to keep doing this for the duration of your contract? Because we're not getting any better. And that, you know, idea of playing in a Canadian market in the playoffs, it's not going to happen here for a couple of years. I love that goal by Philip Peronik last night.

The recognition that the caps were vulnerable to an odd man rush, demanding the puck from Vlander who was like okay okay and then finishing off the two-on-one with de brusk I don't think Kronix's gonna get traded his agent sure doesn't like the speculation about it future captain man but man could he net a big return and both sides were open to it which I don't think they will be but man 28 years old right in his prime playing a premium position as a right-shot defenseman with a very affordable cap hit. But again, I don't think he's getting traded. I don't think he's getting traded either,

but I'm nodding my head along with everything you said and written here. I think he's much more likely to remain in Vancouver as a leader, teacher, role model for guys like Tom Vlander, and possibly even Keaton Verhoff, who is the right shot defenseman played for Canada of the World Juniors, who many people expect to go third overall. And don't forget, even though the Canucks are deadlocked.

last in the NHL, if they finish that way, the most likely pick is number three. Right. And I understand, back to the erroneous part of this equation. Like, I think if you're going to, like, you've heard me talk, I move everybody, right? But if there's one guy that, and there's a number of things that he's done here, he's shown up every night, he's played remarkably well. The fact that he's, I think he is plus minus is zero. Yeah.

The fact that he's been able to do that, logging like 27 minutes a night, often against the top opposition. He's a competitor, too. You can tell. He likes to play hockey, and he doesn't want to talk, and that's fine.

Because if you're putting up your end of the bargain, and you're putting in a good, honest shift every night, and you're playing like what the club needs you to be, then I'm like, okay, there's a guy that you want to keep around. Also, you want to talk about someone's going to set an example. How about someone that does it with actions instead of words? Yes.

As opposed to so many other people around the organization. Like how about someone that just goes out and does their job and then doesn't need a pat on the back and doesn't get the highs or lows that you're talking about with some of these other veteran players? Like goes out, plays, does everything you ask of them, goes home and then does it the next day. Here's some pretty good lessons there

that I think he could instill into a younger generation. So I don't mind if Hronix sticks around. That being said, they could get an absolute truckload if they were to move, like a truckload if they were to move them. You could sell a good story. You're giving whatever incoming team. team a lot of cap control with how many years he's got left on his term. Yeah, I'm with you there. You could get a lot in return for Hronick. That was a bad loss by Washington, which got Tom Wilson back

from injury and still blew a two-nothing lead to the worst team in the league. There's going to be a good team or two that misses the playoffs in the east where it's a very different race than in the West, and maybe it's going to be the Washington Capitals. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. It's Toma Strance here on the Halford and Brough show on Sports Night 6. What up, Dranser. Gentlemen, good morning. How are you doing, buddy?

I saw that you wrote your latest trade tiers for the Vancouver Canucks up on the athletic. When all is said and done before this trade deadline, once this trade deadline is done, how many more assets should the Canucks be able to add to their draft board? honestly they're kind of true with their good straightforward trade assets to be totally honest with you gentlemen unfortunately this team does not have well first of all they're not very good on the ice right and that's a problem because that diminishes value everywhere um but secondly they you know don't have a ton of really good trade chips that like and i'm talking about things of exchange value that aren't essential right i mean obviously Tom Vlander would have a ton of trade value, but, you know, this is a team that needs

more upside 21-year-old players capable of playing in the NHL now, not fewer, right? So not, not sort of counting the Buehum-Augren-Villander-type trade chips, everything else is at least shrouded in complication, right? You've got a pair of guys in my not-moving tier in Philippeel and Thatcher Demko, who are effectively not-mobile. moving because they're massive injury risks, right? I mean, and that's not, that's not me saying that, you know, I hope Philip Heedel comes back healthy. I hope Demko's, you know, sojourn to places far afield to figure out what's going on will sort of help them remain durable and play a ton of games. But the fact is, is from the perspective of a rival team considering paying for a guy.

Hedles played 72 games in three years since the 2023 playoffs. Thatcher Demko's sustained seven separate injuries in two years since he first took that knock on his knee in that game against the Jets in March of 2024. Those are complicated assets to move for reasons of injury. You've then got your players who are going to be complicated to move because they've got no move clauses. And that's pretty much everyone else. That's the veteran seven,

which I sort of include in that Pedersen, Debrusk, Besser, and Garland, the three-wingers, plus Marcus Patterson and Philiparonic, who the team anyway has very little inclination to move, understandably so. And so, or somewhat understandably so. And so, you know, I mean, realistically you get down to it,

and it's like Kane, Bluger, and KAMF are kind of your remaining assets that are straightforward to trade. If you produce a second round pick out of that trio, like an equivalent value total, I think that's a pretty good job, right? Two-thirds and a sixth, two-thirds and a fifth would probably be a good outcome at this point if we're looking realistically, unless the Kinnocks do more major surgery involving one of their vets. Kane's recent uptick in play, very recent, last few games really, is that going to help?

I don't know, man. I mean, look, at the end of the day, if you ask me, does a playoff-bound team value Kane's size, playoff experience, and sort of unique, heavy offensive profile? My gut would be that someone will. you know this is where like I struggle sometimes with hockey people evaluations because I'm just like this to me would be a negative yeah right yeah yeah you know what I mean like I look at this and be like well why weren't you playing like that all the time well what are we talking about that's not what I'm interested in being affiliated with like I'm just saying if I was in the shoes of a general manager and running a team I'd be like that's not what I want on my roster

but I think the truth is that six foot four with his level of playoff experience has played in the finals and been productive in two consecutive years in the Stanley Cup playoffs and like you know those hits on Adam Pelick and Matthew Schaefer I mean those are hits that hurt those are hits that teams want in their lineup early in a playoff series and so my gut would be that someone will ultimately step up

and while the market has been lukewarm you know I'm not going to be shocked honestly given just overall trade dynamics in the overall market, if the Canucks are able to prove something closer to a second round pick, something better than they paid for him in the summer, despite the fact that his performance has been uneven to say the least this season. And despite the fact that, you know, I think the team itself has far more modest expectations of this. I would like to bet generally on some team out there making a mistake. Is it more likely that the Canucks start trading away the veterans

with term once the offseason starts? I don't know. Honestly, I don't have a really good handle on it. I think the team, you know, privately and publicly the team has said everyone is available. That matches what I'm hearing from league sources about what they're telling other teams. I don't know how aggressive or proactive they've been

in selling or trying to find answers to some of these veterans with term. I think the feeling internally generally is that most of these players are sub-30, and they're not like rapidly depreciating assets that the team needs to deal with urgently urgently from a shed their cap dollars perspective, that they have some time to, you know, rebuild this roster around some of these players, that most of them will hold value. And that most of them haven't played that well anyway to this point.

So it's not like there's some window that the club is going to miss. Like I don't get a huge sense of urgency, but I also am not entirely certain how much that spin or, you know, sort of tactful political maneuvering. We're not moving anybody, right? Versus we're not actively trying to move these guys. They're not on the block, right? So I'm struggling to decipher that a bit. But from what I'm hearing, it's, you know, I don't get the sense, like, I think it would, I don't, I don't get the sense like the Canucks are shopping to Brusk, right? I get the sense that if a team presented them with an offer that made

sense, they might go to the player and see if you'd wave. So that's sort of the dynamic there that as best I understand it. I want to run by a few things that we've talked about on the show. What's your curiosity level for Elias Pedersen playing for Sweden at the Olympics? Yeah, I mean, one thing I'll say is he has been better defensively this season. We know that despite, you know, the lack of sort of deception and, quote, unquote, juice in his offensive game. But, you know, it does look different last night when the team's like killing a lead. And I thought, I thought he was covering for a bunch of teammates. Like he had some third period shifts with Van der Kaine and Linus Carlson and Jake DeBresk where I thought the winger's defensive efforts were poor, to be totally honest with you.

And it didn't really matter because Patterson just sort of was able to come over, earn the clear. I thought he was immense, honestly defensively last night, breaking up plays, earning clears, finding smart ways to begin to transition the puck, getting the dump in. So, you know, that to me is an indication too that it's like, Pedersen's been playing really good defense defense for the Canucks here,

but we haven't often got a chance to see it in part because this team has always been trailing, right? I mean, there was like that 11-game stretch during the losing streak, where other than that Islander's first period, they hadn't even been in the locker room with a lead during an intermission, right? Like they've been trailing at just a preposterous clip, like not just losing, but always behind.

I think they doubled the amount of time that they spent leading this year just last night. And, you know, there is a situational element to which, oh, we finally get to see that defensive game in service. of holding a lead, like where the game state actually calls for it, and it does look a little bit different. And I suppose that would pique my curiosity a little bit in terms of him playing for Sweden. You know, if they're able to hold leads, they've got a ton of high-end defensive personnel. You think about Foresling.

You think about Yol Eriksanaq if he's able to go, Hedman, if he's able to go, that blue line group in general, obviously the Wall of St. Paul and Net, if they decide to go young in goal, which they obviously should. I mean, there's a chance that this Sweden team could be a real monster if you ever fall behind against them. And Pedersen could be, you know, part of the tip of that spear. Could that influence how he's viewed by us, by people around the league? I suppose I'm a little bit open-minded to it. But, you know, again, that dynamic, offensive element in his game, I'm still not seeing a ton of that.

So I suppose muted excitement, but a higher level of excitement coming out of last. last night than I've previously had. Yeah. In part because I think I just hadn't had an opportunity to see his defensive game matter until last night when it did, and I was actually genuinely impressed by his play in that third period. Okay. Another topic that we brought up just because we saw a report about it, should the Canucks be interested in a guy like Shane Wright? Well, for sure. If they'd send Shane Wright up the I-5, that sounds fantastic. I mean, I'm a big believer in Shane Wright.

I definitely want to bet against this crack and management team if I can. And I mean, he's, you know, I don't know that he's the dude capital D on a great team, but I feel like he's a little bit Sam Bennett coded. You know, one of those high pedigree guys who can be like

the perfect second line guy or a supporting piece on a great team. Maybe that doesn't match what his sort of draft pedigree was in his D minus one year or whatever, but I think he's a good player. I think he's an exceptionally fast skater. I think he's got a lot of skill. I think he can play a sort of in-your-face game down the middle of your ice. He's right-handed.

There's a lot to like about Shane Wright. I'm a big fan of his game. And so, you know, for me anyway, that would be, like, I don't think that's the perfect trade for the Canucks to look like, because I think this Canucks team needs the capital D dudes first, right? Like, I think you need to find your answer to whatever. Pick X Young Star. that's the face of whatever team you want, Cooley, Celebrini, Bidadard, whatever. Like, that's what they need to be identifying here. But, I mean, I think Shane Wright's a really good piece.

And whether it's the Canucks or somebody else, if he's actually available, that's a home run by low. Like that, you know, for me anyway, if you're a team like Buffalo, right? It's like, can he be your version of Sam Bennett? That sort of thing that puts your forward group over the top. but that's how I'd be looking at that bet. Do you think the Canucks are going to be looking at those types of trades for guys 21, 22,

the age gap trades that hadn't worked out before, and I'm frankly not a huge fan of because you're always looking at guys that have had an opportunity in the NHL and the teams, whether you like their management or not, have determined that, yeah, we can move on from him. Yeah, I mean, I think they're bad trades. Like, I think as a general rule, even when they work out, they tend to

like even when the best case scenario and we've seen it play out for the Canucks right the best case scenario is the J.T. Miller trade and the Philiporonic trade right? But I still think that those tend to set you back because of the way that you're committing money.

You know, generally speaking you have to pay the guy within a couple of years. Usually those contracts are risky. They're certainly less mobile. For a team that needs to hit sort of more volatile home runs. I think higher upside bets are more important.

You know, Philip Peronick was seen as a second pair D when he was acquired. He's now become a 1AD for the Vancouver Canucks in terms of both his level of performance and how he'd be viewed around the industry. It's like that's as that's as close to a home run as you can get. And the truth is that having, you know, both teams having made that trade, the Detroit Red Wings are better than the Vancouver Canucks just two years later. One of the guys they got, you know, one of the picks they made as a result of of the Heronic trade's already playing top four minutes for them and is on an ELC

and has like a far sort of cheaper timeline and not to mention more time and far less risk attached to their deal, right? And that's like you have to look at these things holistically. That was a clear win from a player evaluation standpoint for the Canucks. But in terms of what advanced their goals as a team, you know, I think it's like a wash, right? It's not a deal that put them significantly further ahead of where they would be if they hadn't made it. and that's the issue. So I agree with you that those trades are not the ones that are going to,

this team is not trading draft picks to get out of this problem. This team needs to nail draft picks to get out of their problems. And, you know, as difficult as that is, that's the reality of this situation. Are the Canucks, have the Canucks weaned themselves from this addiction? Probably not. Probably not. What I will say is I don't think they're going to trade their four picks that are in the

two rounds going into this NHL entry draft. I think they're very happy with that positioning. Maybe on the draft floor, we'll see some movement around the board, but I think the club understands how important these four picks are in terms of giving their prospect system a shot in the arm.

But like, for example, that 2027 second they got, could we see that move for, you know, and you were mentioning guys like 21, 22. I think the way the club looks at it is like under 25, right? They'd even have like an older, window than you'd be comfortable with.

But yeah, I think they'd still be open to doing something like that for the right player. And, you know, it's not just the Canucks, by the way, right? Like, we do see these trades work out sometimes, but, I mean, you look at this Montreal build, for example, and I think they've done just about everything right. But some of their worst moves, the new hook and the Kirby Doc bets, right?

I mean, I just think these types, I think these variety of trades where you're trading, you know, the volatility and uncertainty of draft picks. And people use uncertainty and volatility as if it's negative, but like that volatility could also benefit you, right? I generally think that using those assets to buy, you know, more established but lower upside pieces, I generally think that's losing strategy, no matter who you are.

Oh, especially for this Kinex team. Yeah, especially when you're this team, Bill, like this with this few assets. I mean, there's no question in my mind that those, that a deal like that would be a mistake in something I'd regard critically. Um, Dr. Ancer, are they going to make Philip Hironik the captain? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think there's some, uh, buzz about it for sure in the business. And, um, you know, I thought like he did his best yesterday. He was actually in the room after a win, but you know, that's not the test. The test is, are you in the room after a loss? Um,

and, you know, I'd say there's been like less than five times. I've ever seen him after a loss. To me, I don't know how you can be captain in this market if that's the case. Like, that's just not how it should work. I think for when this organization picks a primary player spokesperson, I think you need to be far more available than he's been. And, you know, I think you need to be available in bad times and good. I'm glad to see him talk after a win.

Obviously, his play style, his general demeanor, right? And he's got sort of a certain level of like FU vibe. Oh, yeah. Everything he does. And I like that for a defensive defense. That's the best thing that he brings from a character standpoint. Behind the scenes, he's a very well-like teammate. That matters too.

You know, I think he's done a lot in terms of just even, you know, helping to step in and mentor some of these younger defenders that they've got on their roster. The fact that he seems to remain so committed to this organization, despite being obviously and privately, like absolutely desolate about the fact that they traded his partner, right, with whom he combined to be one of the best pairs in the NHL, you know, that also speaks well of them. So I think there's a lot of,

there's a lot of reasons to do it, I suppose. But I would say, you know, if I was the Canucks, and I'm obviously not, if I was the Canucks, I'd want to see like 16 months of a concerted effort to be, like, you can't be silent, Phil, and wear the sea in the city, right? I mean, go back to the early 80s, and we're talking Stan Smil, we're talking Trevor Linden, we're talking Henrik Sidene, we're talking Mark Messier, who was like, awful, but was good with the media, was able to serve as this team's primary spokesperson. We're talking about Roberto Luongo, who was, like, the most withdrawn of them and was

criticized for it roundly, although the positional awkwardness also played a role in that. We're talking Bo Horvatt. We're talking Quinn Hughes. That's the last seven captains, and that takes us back a full generation. You're going to put Philip Peronick there, given the way that those gentlemen all conducted themselves in public and sort of how they approach the public-facing part of the job, the sort of social part of the job. I mean, it doesn't feel like a fit to me, but perhaps it could be. Perhaps it's something that he could grow into. I just want to challenge him to do that. Be in your stall in the locker room every time it opens.

Like, sing your teammates' praises in the media. Calm things down. You can't be silent, Phil, and be the captain of this organization, in my opinion. And I think to rush that choice and do it this summer would be a tremendous error. We talked a little bit on this show and actually had a guest from Buffalo in the wake of Terry Pagula's press conference with the Buffalo. with the Buffalo Bills. Do you think we'll hear from Canucks ownership? It's very rare. It's very rare. But do you think it's possible this season?

Well, I would go further than that. I think we should hear from Connux ownership. I mean, even if it's a letter to season ticket holders, even if he doesn't face questions from the media, you know, I think we're in a situation where the Canucks president of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford on the record, has discussed his timeline, right? His potential timeline. and it doesn't match up clearly with the multi-year build that this team's going to need to execute as they enter this new rebuilding phase. As a result, I think the onus is going to fall on ownership to be the primary stewards of this rebuild.

And we've seen across 15 years that Canucks ownership has been the NHL's most reluctant rebuilder. There is a trust factor there, right, or sort of a skepticism factor there that I think probably needs to be a dressed with direct commentary from Kinex ownership one way or the other. I think the fan base deserves clarity on exactly what ownership is thinking, especially given the probability that we are going to not necessarily see current management finish what they start in terms of this rebuilding effort. Or at least that's what the publicly available breadcrumbs already hint to us. So, you know, I can tell you, like the Vancouver Media Pool has request has made their

request. And I think fans deserve to hear from Canucks ownership at this sort of transitional phase of this team's, you know, history. Transer, this was great, bud. Thanks for taking the time to do it, as always. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. We'll do this again next week. Thanks, boys. Be well. See, buddy. Thanks. Thomas Trance from the Athletic, Vancouver and Canucks talk here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Addog was texting me incessantly.

Oh. Going like, ask them. Ask them. Ask Drance if Tyler Myers should be captain. Askedrance if Tyler Myers should be captain. He's the obvious choice. He is? There's no obvious choice. There is.

Zero obvious choice for captain. He's like the only guy that likes to talk to the media. That's not the only job of the captain. In fact, it's like well down the list. Well, for this Canucks team, it's probably the most important one. No, it's not. It's creating a culture. He would create a good culture.

Tyler Myers is going to be out of the league in a couple of years. Well, so you get him two years to create a good culture. He only have one year left on his contract after this? To give him one year to create a good culture. I don't think there's an obvious choice, and I don't think they should name a captain. I don't think they should name a captain either. I think it would be ridiculous to name a captain. What's the point?

I think you're reaching on everything. If you're trying to... Who's reaching on every? A dog? No, no, no. Like a little kid trying to get to the top cover. Like, we need a captain. Someone will move to sea.

Do you really think they need a captain? I mean, I wouldn't care if really all that much if they didn't name one. It feels like you do. I think if they were to pick one, though, Myers would be the obvious can. The third pair of defensemen. Yes. I think they could go without a captain. We're a long past the day.

Oh, absolutely. I'm not saying they need to name one. I'd be fine if they didn't name one. See, when he brought up third pair defenseman, I'm getting like Craig Ravey is the captain in Buffalo or Andrew Farance is the captain in Evan. Yeah, it goes against that your best player should be your captain. Or like one of your best players. Yeah.

I know. But the contacts don't have anyone that fits that mold. Because none of their best players are a captain material. Well, none of their best players are good enough to be. I'm serious. Yeah. Well, that's part of it. Proinic's good.

So I'm just saying in the Canucks case, because of their unusual situation where your best players either A, don't really like talking to the media, are closed off from the media or they're just not that good. Who else do you pick? Well, if you got to pick someone. This is, this is why people hate the media. Yeah. The media obligations are important. I think you need a good spokesman for your team. But way more important is what happens.

internally. Of course. But like it always goes with us and I'll take a little like I'll admit it. You know, the first thing that ever gets discussed with the captain is how good is he with the media. How good is you with the media? Like it matters. But my main concern with this Canucks team right now is who is going to be the leader or leaders? Because we were sold, here are the three leaders that we were sold a years ago, J.T. Miller, Elias Pedersen and Quinn Hughes. Yeah. I mean, did that. I can't imagine how the leadership group could disintegrate worse than what's happened. Sure. With, with this group. Why would happen? Do you know what I mean? I know what you mean. Yeah, yeah. I don't, I don't care if these guys, I mean, there are obligations with talk with being a captain. You have to talk. You have to. It just,

And if Hironik accepts the captaincy, he's going to have to talk. But way more important is for them to develop some group of leaders who can set a chart going forward, a course going forward, and carry it out. Now it's not going to be like, we're going to win the Stanley Cup next year. And that's going to be something that they're going to have to be on board with. And management and coaching staff is going to have to meet with this leadership group and say, what are our goals and how are we going to accomplish it? Because the culture needs to be reset, whether the Canucks are going to admit it or not.

And I think Philopronic could be part of that, but I think just give those guys an A, and then they can alternate the media obligations because I still think they should be waiting to draft their next captain. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.