Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 12/23/25

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

Guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe & Israel Fehr look back at the previous day in sports, the boys do some Ask Us Anythings in lieu of the fact that there is no show on Friday this week, plus they discuss last night's Canucks road loss to the Flyers with analyst Landon Ferraro. 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. You're listening to Halford and Brough. As the game concludes, the road trip is finished, as is the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule, The Caducs drop it tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers and their former head coach, Rick Toggin, by a final score of 5 to 2. Lord, I'm confused. Is this a happy ending or a third ending? It's an ending. That's enough. And we felt that the package that Minnesota came up with the younger players and gives us a chance to take a step back here and retool it a little bit with a hybrid form.

What an odd thing to say. Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough. No Halford, no Brough. It's a hybrid form of the show today. Josh Elliott-Wolf, Israel Fair, filling in. Izzy, how are you? Good morning. Good morning, Josh. Hey, dog, good morning. Good morning. Here, as always. And Zach, filling in. Good morning. Good morning. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio. Halford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to be in depth. free. In just two weeks, visit sands dash trustee.com. This hour of Halford & Brough is brought to you 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.

1170 Powell Street. And Howford & Brough is also brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. Found out why nobody beats a Duick deal since 1926. Visit Duick GM on Marine Drive, downtown in Richmond and at duikato group dot com you can text in 650 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors

and rental warriors for over 50 years visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dumbar lumber dot com we are continuing the Ask Us Anything's for today if you've got Christmas themed one Canucks ones hockey ones

general sports not sports whatever you can ask anything because that's in the name ask us anything it's you can send those in 650 650 because it's our final show of the week also get your what we learns in we'll hit those later on as well coming up on the show today we will talk to brady henderson out of seattle about those seahawks who are now in a very tight race for the nfc west a three team race That could come down to the final week following a Niners win last night and the Seahawks and Niners play against each other in week 18. So that's at 6.30.

At 7.30, Sean Gentilly covers the NHL for the athletic. We'll talk about the Vancouver Canucks, but also more around the league as well. And at 810, 810, Land of Ferraro will join us a regular here on Sportsnet 650. the former NHLer, we'll get more into the Vancouver Canucks. That's what's happening on the show today. Zachary, 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 was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance,

making safety simpler by giving construction. construction companies, the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit BCCSA.ca.ca. And the Canucks head into Christmas break. They finish the road trip with a loss. The winning streak comes to an end. The Flyers beat the Canucks. Rick Tockett and those dastardly flyers, they beat the Canucks five to two.

And it very much, to me at least, felt like the last game of a road trip right before Christmas break where you're like, we've won four already. We're good. If we go back four and one, it's fine. It had that feel outside of maybe Thatcher Demko, who I thought played really well despite giving up four goals. Yeah, it was one of those games where we've gotten used to the Canucks getting outshot, but this was just another level of that where it was clearly didn't have the legs, if not for Demko making a few decent saves early on. It probably would have been, they would been down earlier, you know, the fact that the score was pretty close through, you know, period and a half, two periods.

That got broken open as you saw, you know, a couple of big miscues defensively open up the flyers. And yeah, I mean, we don't have to worry about that 15 game winning streak anymore. No, no, the people, the team tank people can rest. It's not going to go. I mean, they might come back home and win like four more in a row and then we got to have the conversation again. But that's a future problem.

Right now, they are on a one. game losing streak and they continue to find themselves near the bottom of the standings, but it was a fun four games. It was a fun road trip, I'll say. Yesterday in terms of just what happened in the game again, that's her demco I think, especially for the first

half of the game played really well and then maybe you can make the case after that he had some moments, but I don't really put any of the goals on him. The two nothing goal, the Grunstrom goal, Zibuium kind of had a weird moment in front where it went between his legs and then he didn't really box out his guy too. So a rookie moment for him and then a much bigger rookie moment for Tom Blander when

Owen Tippett was like, hey, you're going the wrong way. And then Owen Tippett scores and that kind of put the game away for the Flyers. Positives though. I think so Maxisone scores and I've kind of liked his game honestly since he signed the contract extension. It feels like he's kind of found another level, not a crazy high level, but it feels like his game. has progressed a little bit especially if you compare it to where he was when they called him up earlier in the year. Yeah, I mean he looks like a consistent

fourth liner now and that someone would fit on any team, not just the team struggling up front, not just the team that part of the reason that he came up was a lack of centers. So that was an opportunity that he got and maybe that's not where he sticks long term, but

the game, the speed, the way that he's approaching it seems like a guy who has wrapped his head around the role that he could play in an NHL level. How many times have we heard coaches and GMs talk about the importance of those players understanding that, right? It's like, hey, this is the role that you need to play at this level to be effective. It's

easier said than done. You'd feel like, hey, go play with speed, get in on the forecheck, make quick smart plays, get on and off the ice, you know, make room for the players on like do your job so that the the players higher up in the lineup have a better chance to do theirs and it's it's kind of stunning honestly that it's harder than it looks but he's a guy that has over the course of the time we've seen him play for the vancouver canucks shown that progression he he looks he looks really steady right now yeah and again i don't know if the

the end result for him is going to be at center in the nchel but just if if he can carve out a role doing something for the Canucks. I feel like he's making strides towards doing that. Maybe he ends up on the wing long term for the team, or at least over the next couple of years while he has this contract. But in general, from the game yesterday, I just don't know if there's many huge takeaways. Like they won four games in a row.

So you can't be mad at them for losing yesterday. I do think from the road trip as a whole, I know people were texting in about Jake DeBrusk yesterday, and I kind of said he's been fine but I do want to see more from the three veteran wingers outside of I guess a Vander King and Kiefer Sherwood like Brock Besser

Connor Garland Jake DeBrusk those three I do want to see a little bit more from post Christmas break yeah Besser's been quiet there's no doubt and there was a moment yesterday where he had like a puck in between his feet right in front of the net and he just kind of fell over it was a yeah he's had a few

also like slot chances in the last little bit where pox are coming out him right in the slot and it's not like he's the elite sharpshooter that we thought he might be going back to his rookie year but we know he can still shoot the puck and be a guy that can put those opportunities in and he's you know putting in the goal he's crest and all of those things that you don't want to see and that has to be his game right like that that's what he's has to do and we know what de brus game looks like and when he gets going it's often starts off on the power play, bleeds over into five-on-five.

That's, yeah, just not been the case. That's not what's driving the Canucks right now. Kiefer Sherwood, though, another physical game. 11 hits. He's out there, man. It's impressive. So, yeah, that was the game yesterday. Canucks lose 5'2, and now they're off for a few days before they return home for a game

on Saturday. But Patrick Alvin did speak on the broad. yesterday on Amazon because it was Monday and hockey on Monday. It's on prime. So Patrick Alvin, he spoke to Adnan Verkan Company on the Amazon, Amazon broadcast. And he was kind of, he was asked about the Quinn Hughes trade and how he feels about the young guys coming in. And he had a very fun name for whatever it is the conducts are doing. Here is his answer yesterday. Well, I think we look to what we needed in return in terms of what direction we were going here a couple of teams were involved and we worked closely with the queen and his agent we want to have a smooth ending here and we felt that

the package that minnesota came up with with the younger players and it gives us a chance to take a step back here and retool it a little bit with a hybrid form and getting two young 20 is 20 and over in 21 and we needed a center here Ross is a highly talented player that's been very consistent in the league and only 24 and then the first round pick the first round pick was important for us as well I so the mental gymnastics the Canucks go through to not call it a full rebuild is honestly very funny who has ever said retool it with a little bit of a hybrid form I mean it's I love it.

We're making up terms! I hope they keep doing this and keep expanding on these, like, buzzwords and just making them more complex as the season goes on. I really enjoy it. I also love how in the clip, as soon as he says, retool it a little bit with a hybrid form. They then start playing music in the background. It sounds like he's at a rave.

Yeah, I was like, boo, let's go. We got to distract us. That's the hybrid form. It's a retool with a twist of hybrid. I don't... If you serve that drink at the game, by the way, that'd be good. Yeah, the Retool twist. Yeah, retool with a twist of hybrid.

Sounds good. I do, it's just crazy. Like, what are we doing? Why are we making up terms? We don't need to do this. It's okay. You could do what the other 31 teams do and just call it a rebuild. It's okay.

But, like, other teams don't do the, or they do this too where they're like, well, not every team, but there are a decent amount of teams around the league that are afraid to say the word rebuild. For sure. Even when they're, when they're clearly rebuilding, it's like, well, I don't know what we're doing. It's a retool. Even if he said Retool and just left it at that, I would be annoyed, but I'd be like,

okay, it's fine. I've heard that before. I get it. You can label it whatever you want, but it just feels like every, every time this management group talks, aside from Rutherford, who feels like it's okay for him to say it. But whenever Alvin talks, it feels like he's doing, he's not going to say it. He's doing whatever he can to avoid the word. Yeah.

I feel like this goes back to the Sixers and the, the sabers in the tank and like those teams embracing the word tank i'd have to go and look back the sixers certainly embraced that like sam hinky the gym at the time he was like all about the tank the process trust the process yeah and then the sabers were uh very much tanking the mc david year end up picking second and getting uh jack ikel but that's really spooked teams from even though their teams are basically now never going to say we're tanking and then we always have the conversation of like the players are trying and the coaches are trying and they're pro athletes and they're never going to go out there and lose so it's just kind of a spin on that and it feels like over the last 10 15 years since those teams got so much attention for the way that they approach things the teams are now even afraid of using the word rebuild although there was i was just reading a new york rangers piece this morning. And it referenced the thing that the Rangers did a few years ago, the letter that was sent out right about how they were going to get the franchise back on track. So those are things

that obviously still get referenced. You know, so I mean, when Jim Rutherford after the Hughes trade had his name on a statement that used the word rebuild, we did react accordingly. But I think at this point for us, it's not so much. Look, they are rebut. rebuilding. It's, oh my God, they actually said it because it's a meme at this point. Yeah. That they won't say the word. And it's, it's so stupid. It's so, so much semantics of just, okay, well, what's the difference between a retool and a rebuild? And I suppose that hockey people would argue that in their minds, a rebuild means that you are moving off players for draft picks. And the Canucks clearly have not been prioritizing that. In that clip, and this

is maybe unfair, but in that clip, Patrick Alvin had to be reminded that they also got a first. And he was like, yeah, that was important too. Oh yeah, cool. First round pick. That's sick. I forgot we got that. It is, so in the end to me, like even when Rutherford came out, he had the statement after

the Hughes trade, and it did mention rebuild. It was still like, okay, you can say the word, but it's just the only thing that's going to matter are your actions. And because we've heard both sides of it from the Canucks, like, hey, if we're, If you're worried that this is just going to be a retool and they're going to try to rush things,

I would say, hey, have some patience. Let's see what their actions actually lead to because they can be saying, hey, this is a retool, while still making moves that you think are rebuilding moves. Like to me, to me in the end, it's just going to be the action speaking louder than the words. And nothing that they've said since the Hughes trade has convinced me one way or another that they're fully committed to this being a rebuild or fully committed. to getting this done as quickly as possible. Now, the thing I will say,

I think if they had a lot of discipline and were very aggressive about trying to get ahead of things and trying to be like, hey, you know what, this year and potentially next year are not going to go well. Just based on the roster you have now and the ability to like, hey, it's going to be really hard to make trades this off season two. There are still not a lot of good free agents

unless you're in the running for Alex Tuck. so I expect next year to be very similar to this year and if you're looking at it that way and your ideal competitive window opens up a couple years from now I think there's a world where you go really hard on trying to get as many draft picks as possible this year as many prospects as possible this year even if it means trading someone like a Connor Garland

or a Brock Besser or Jake DeBrusk or one of the forwards with term and then maybe Thatcher Demko as well like That, if we're talking about accelerating a rebuild while still doing it properly, to me, that's the road. But you have to be super aggressive and super committed. And that's kind of where I'm like, hey, we would need to see that before I fully expect things to actually be able to be done in two to three years. Well, the change now within a week and a half was coming off the Hughes Trays, it felt like at least for this season, we might see that. and now I'm skeptical that we will even see that

with the Canucks this season the asset collection not asking them to blow up the roster and get rid of everybody but maybe one trade of a veteran player who's not a pending UFA and that tone and tenor has changed and I don't think it's entirely

because they won four in a row they went out on the road and they won some games it might but it just feels like in the moment of just kind of like how the fan base flipped not everybody but a decent sample of the fan base

that night Hughes gets traded people are emotional that one of the best players in franchise history has been moved and within the start of the next week there was a lot of quit Hughes and this guy left us high and dry and so on so things move quickly here

I did think though that the Canucks were positioning themselves at least for this year to ride this out and they're never going to say I think Canadian teams in general and the Canucks are certainly at the top of this list. Reticent to say going into a season, we're not going to be any good because hockey fans

don't want to go see a team that's not any good. They're not going to pay the money to go to Rogers Arena and watch a team that's not going to be competitive. So that has always been a challenge. It's certainly a challenge in this market. And now, yeah, I question if we're going to see anything beyond. Sherwood, Cain, and the obvious candidates get moved off the roster. Like maybe a forward and a bluger too.

I do. Well, this fan base is smart enough to know, obviously, going into a season if the team's going to be good or not anyway. So it's not necessarily something they have to say. Like, what they've been kind of saying with their like, you know, we're the retool on the flyer, all the hybrid things they've been, you know, all these little buzzwords. Retool with the hybrid form. Yeah, all the buzzwords.

Like, they're still like saying without saying like, look, like we're, this is a team that needs to be reformatted, fixed and changed and altered and. some way and it might be at the expensive wins. And the fans, you know, this is a reasonably intelligent fan base, we know this. Like, people know this and they know going into a season, probably going into next year, barring any major moves in the off season, that this is a team that will struggle a bit for a couple of years probably until they can accrue these prospects and these kinds of players. I also think people, as far as like, hey, getting butts in seats and doing all that,

if you go into a season being, like, you don't even have to say that, hey, it's going to be a bad season or lay out expectations of what the season will be. But if you go into a season with a few prospects like they have right now, like Zee, Booiam, Liam Ogren, Barker Rossi, not really a prospect, but like a few young guys in the roster that fans can be excited about, plus you add, like, if you get a top three pick this year and you add, let's say it's a Gavin McKenna, I do think you're getting butts in seats, even if you're not going to be a good team, just because fans here, to Andy's point,

are intelligent enough to know that, like, hey, this is part of the process, process. And they're also going to be excited about exciting young players on the ice at Rogers Arena, even if it doesn't lead to a crazy amount of wins. Like if we're talking about like a Macklin Celebrini type player at Rogers Arena, even if you're not winning games, it's still be like, wow, I want to go watch that player because it's it's more fun than what I've seen in the previous. Well, if I could be critical, like one thing I think the organization doesn't do well enough is understand that the fans, like as to what you just said, want to. to see these prospects as the, like, fans are excited about the prospect of a rebuild because most people have never seen one, like a true one. And although the Canucks may never do that fully and embrace that fully, if they could bring in these young, exciting players like they did it with the Hughes trade, that will bring in fans because people want to see these guys. They want to see these young players and get a glimpse of positivity at the future of the

franchise, right? So if they can continue to do that, like, I don't think they have to be scared of losing, like, yeah, you might lose the casual fan. But that's what they're worried about. But most of the fans in Vancouver aren't casual. I don't know. I think there's a lot of casual fan. No, man.

Like, if you're going to a Canucks game... Those are the people that go to the games. If you're going to a Canucks game, like, 60 to 70% of those people are season ticket holders and they're like fans of the team. Like, they want to, they are invested in the franchise. They're not just there on a business trip or for a night out. Like, most of the people at Canucks games love the team and they want to see these young players. But they know that they're going to get those.

people because those people are always there so they are worried about the 30 40% of the people who want to go when it's the fun thing to do well you just have to weigh that against how much you want to stand the cup yeah the history of the Vancouver Canucks shows they tend to leave one way more than the yeah but i will say like the the frustrating part to me about this whole conversation is like man if you were just if you're just committed for two years you would have this huge window of like you're going to make the playoffs and you're going to be so much more exciting for such a longer period of time and the good faith you would buy too it would be incredible but think about all the extra playoff revenue i know exactly consistently going deep on deep runs

we've had this i mean i know you guys obviously your guest hosted we've had this conversation like ruff and hoffin and bruff have spun their wheels around this over and over and over again because it's just like it goes in circles it is yeah you know like the argument of against you know short term versus long term like it just it never ends and it's just no and it gets worse and it's one of those things with this franchise it's an impossible situation And we're going to keep talking about it for as long as it keeps happening. We're going to still retool a little bit of a hybrid form. This is a hybrid take on the fly.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Chat from Surrey, if you had to put a percentage on the likelihood of a trade with these players before the trade deadline and or before the draft, what would it be? So Kiefer Sherwood, Connor Garland, Brock Besser, Thatcher Demcoe, and Elias Peders. so Kiefer Sherwood 99.9 I would say like in 99

unless they go on a run and they're like the 20 game winstreet this is our guy we got to keep them future captain he's got 12 hits in every game um yeah I would say I would honestly if they

if they extend Kiefer Shrewood that would be I might have trance levels of crap because I would just be I would be so upset he's like the most I love the guy he's fun to watch. It is the easiest layup in a year where you are 31st in the NHL

when you got a guy producing like he is having a career season built for the playoffs should get a pretty high draft pick. It's the easiest layup to make that trade. So if they don't, I'd be very surprised. I'd be very upset. So that's why I'm going 98% on Kiefer Sherwood. I brought it down one because there's a 2% world.

Within that minute there, you got scared. I got a little scared. I got 1% more scared. You visualize what would happen if you had to go Durant's levels of crashing out. Yeah, it's not a, it's not a pretty sight. Connor Garland. So,

so I would, we'll use the before the draft timeline on this one. Because I would just say before is no move clause kicks in. I'm going to go 20%. One in five. I'll go higher. I'll go 30%. Okay.

I mean, I think of the players that they have signed longish term of the forwards, which I guess would be Garland Besser, DeBrasch, Elias Pedersen, I think for me he is the most movable one. And especially like you don't have to deal with the no move clause. That's probably the biggest reason. It's an easy, easy guy to move. But I also just wonder, I don't know what the price for him would be. because I've always maintained that he's a player

that's more valuable to your team than he is in a trade. Yeah. But also at the same time, if you're the Canucks and you're like, well, might not be good for at least two years here. Then he probably flips to the, he's more valuable to you as an asset than he is in your lineup.

But I don't know. I also wonder if they look at him as a guy that if they're retooling with a hybrid form, that's right. Does he need to be around because he's a leader and he plays the right way and does all these things. So I don't know. I would go, I would go 20%, I think. Which is not high.

Is high or is not? Not. No, it's not high. But I think it's higher than Brock Besser, who's next on the list. I would say like 5%. Yeah. Because he also, like you sign for cheaper here. He obviously wants to be here.

For me, I think there, even if you're going full scorched or three build, I think you need to have some guys around. And I have no problem with Besser being one of those guys. They'd have to give someone else that money, right? Like, it'd be, it's like a team at a maybe slightly different ebb, but San Jose has been in a rebuild now for three plus years, and they signed Tyler Toffoli to, you know, a contract. Not maybe, I guess the, the dollars aren't quite there, but like with the cap going up, they'd have to give somebody that money. And you got Brock Besser, a guy who's been here for a long time, has, you know, he's a fan favorite. He's been productive for large swaths of that.

he's a guy that you know you can have on your first or second line and he can produce so that one is yeah that one seems unlikely especially given the ups and downs of last season heading to free agency and what that look like

and getting the resolution that they got to on July 1 Thatcher Demco I would go 15% because so it really depends to me he is the signal of like if they trade Thatcher Demko Kempco, especially before the trade deadline, that to me is like, oh, they're serious about

this being a tank year and this being a year where they want to... Their aggressive hybrid. Yeah, this is the aggressive part of the hybrid retool. But I still think it's super unlikely because he also signed and it feels like he wants to be here. You know, that being said, like, I just don't know if you're going to be competitive enough within his contract, so three years after this, to warrant having a goalie, like Tatra Demko, signed to $8.5 million. I could see the move in him at the deadline.

There could be an offer there. I could see it happening. That's the one of player on the list that wouldn't totally shock me. Like Garland is unlikely, best or unlikely. Obviously, sure, what's gone. I mean, I'd be very shocked if he stayed. I mean, any of their UFAs, you know, are probably going to get moved or they'll attempt to move them at the very least for some sort of asset.

but I wouldn't be shocked if Demko moved on. I wouldn't be shocked just based on assuming he stays healthy. If he gets injured again, then it's off the table. I just don't see. He won't have any value at that point. But if he could say healthy until the deadline and continues to play as well as he is, I could see a team that's in cup contention that needs a goalie

or at least wanting to go on a deep playoff run that needs a goalie in need enough to offer a kind of package that Kinnux would be very, you know, it would be hard for them to say no to. I also wonder what that package would be. Oh, that I don't know. What do they value Thatcher Dement? Like, what do the Canucks value Thatcher Densk value thatchard M. Coat and then what do other teams value Thatcher Dats.

I mean, goalie packages historically aren't that great. No, they haven't been. So, I mean, I don't know, like, it's not going to be like a Hughes-esque return on the same. No, of course. I have no idea what the package would look like. I'm just saying there might be a team out there. They'd be like, you know what, maybe we could take off our first rounder or a couple picks or our first rounder and a prospect maybe because we really, really, really need to. goalie. The thing I wonder about is a conditional first based on like, hey, because I think you can only

do team-based conditions now. But yeah, if you do a conditional first and it goes from a second to a first, if a team makes the second round or makes a conference final, then that to me might be like best case scenario because I don't know if a team's going yet, here's a first for Thatcher Dempco. Maybe they do. Maybe a team's desperate enough and maybe he's been healthy enough playing well enough by the trade. It would shock me. Like if he's like playing like Vesna Calibur Demko by the deadline and he's stayed healthy and he's so great at the Olympics.

Like if all those things occur, then I, it wouldn't surprise me. I also don't, I don't know if he's going to the Olympics, even if he plays it. Well, it depends on, yeah, it depends on how he continues to play. Yeah. Like, so I would say I just don't know if there's enough runway, I guess is my point for him to have a big enough track record of like, hey, being healthy and and playing at a high enough level for another team to be like, this is our guy.

Even though I fully believe that if he is healthy in the playoffs for whatever team. He's a difference maker. He's a game changer. Yep. Right? But I just don't know. I don't know how realistic that is. We do get a text from Thai guy Demco to Montreal. Montreal needs

a solid goalie. Potentially, but I feel like they're also pretty high on Fowler. Yeah. But I would be open to, I'd be open to moving. Badger Demko. And then the last one on that question, the percentage question, of who... Petey. It's Pedy. I'm going like 2%. Yeah. And it's not because the Canucks wouldn't want to move him. It's because he has no value. Like, before being honest. No value and no move. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's just he doesn't have the value right now to warrant that kind of a move. Like if he was playing like, you know, vintage Pedy, as we always say, of course, then the Canucks probably wouldn't want to trade him. But even though, like, if he were to be playing at that level, then yeah, obviously there would be a big return. But. he's just, he's just not.

He's had a better year than last year, but he's just not playing at that caliber to warrant, you know, I don't think there'd be a market for him. Yeah, I also just wonder if like, hey, you're going to be, if you are going to be a retooling with a hybrid form team for the next couple of years,

if you, like, you're going to put him in some spots where he can produce. And maybe over the next couple of years, he rehabs his value a little bit more, and then you can kind of make a decision when you're coming into a competitive window of what you want to do with him. And maybe by that,

point, you go, hey, he's making 11.6 and the cap has gone up enough that you feel fine with that on your second line. I don't know if he's ever going to be your 1C again. But if he's your 2C playing well defensively while still putting up a decent amount of points, making whatever percentage of the cap it is at that time, I don't know. I don't know if I'd have a problem with it. Yeah, I mean, there's just, it's almost pointless. Unless a team knocks the kind of Canucks socks off and it's a place that he wants to go and a team like I just don't think they yeah there's there's no team out there I believe that would take that risk on so it is on the Canucks to take the long view try to rehab the value a little bit, see what he has and then you're in a position where maybe you are more advanced in your retool with a little bit of a hybrid format and you keep that player around he's he's still an NHL player he's just he's not the guy that and hasn't been the guy now for a couple of years that we thought he could ascend to.

We go to the phone lines and we welcome in Landon Ferraro, former NHLer, regular here on SportsNet 650. Appreciate you. Take the time, Lennon. How are you? I'm doing good. Are you guys doing? We're doing good, and we were just, we were talking about the Canucks having a successful road trip. A 4-1 road trip didn't end super well last night, but what are your kind of biggest takeaways, I guess,

from what was an eventful road trip? Yeah, I mean, if you looked at, say the Canucks were at the top of the league and went four and one on a road trip, right? Like, you'd be totally okay with that. And, you know, how the game ended last night, it had to fall off eventually, but, you know, they had a great run and it worked out. What Canucks fans were obviously very curious to see on this road trip where the players acquired for Quinn Hughes. What did you make of Rossi, William, and Ogren in the first few games

here with Vancouver? You know, we'll start with Rossi because, you know, I think of the three players, he's had the slowest transition. And yet, you know, I think he's looked pretty good. Like, he's someone that's, you know, he's a young center. It's a tougher position. And he was playing with new guys the first time he's, well, I mean, it's the first. time any of those guys have been traded so it's all new for them and then you look at the top of this roster and you know like that's kind of been the part of the roster that really needs the help and needs the scoring help because they haven't had the players especially with peterson out injured right now so you know like ogren comes in and gets slotted into a good spot he doesn't

have a point coming in and all of a sudden he gets his first goal he gets a great assist on a on a hard forecheck between him and carlson working together and giving it to sassone last night like i think he's this trade has been the start of it has been very good for o'grant i think that his games kind of come out a little bit more um you know you go from a team in minnesota that's you know, it's very deep, and, you know, they're going for it this year. Like, it's hard to find the ice time, but Ogren gets to Vancouver here, and you just feel that little bit more secure in the lineup, especially after being traded, you know that, okay, I've got a little bit of runway here.

And he said it, he's like, I just wanted to get off to the, you know, to a positive start, and he really has. You can see that there's more to his game, but, you know, going to take a little bit, and that's totally fine for the age that he is. Bouillon obviously had the great

first game, and the points were nice and all that, but like I've been really impressed with the defensive side of the puck forum. I didn't realize that he was as physical as he is, and I don't mean

running around and hitting guys. I mean you know, like getting into a battle in his own And he's, you know, he's strong enough and goes in hard enough that he can pin a guy and wait for help to come. His skating's, you know, obviously great. And he gets around and makes his plays. He's looked good. You know, I think, though, that he'll, like, he will definitely start getting better and

better as his time goes on here this year. You know, he's a, he's a young guy that likes to have possession of the puck. and you go back to the game that Vancouver played Minnesota the week prior and I had watched a couple of Minnesota before that and like the puck was on his tape

a lot of the game and you know you can see that that's the style he likes to play like he hasn't fully brought that to Vancouver and to be honest like I think that's a young kid that's just been traded in his first year pro and he's on a new team

and he doesn't want them to think that he's a puck hog. So he's moving the puck quicker than he normally would. He's not taking as many guys on one-on-one. I feel like last night he started to do that a little bit more. But again, like been really impressed with him, but can see where his game will grow quite quickly, just with more comfort here. So when a trade like Quinn Hughes happens,

and, you know, a guy that important leaves a team. I think we all kind of wonder how it's going to affect the room and affect, especially veterans that may look at it now and be like, how, like, what is the future here? Do I want to stay here? Does it help when someone like Bouillon comes in and like Rossi comes in? When they're NHL ready already and they can factor into the lineup, does that make a blow like trading Quinn Hughes a little bit easier

when the veterans don't have to wait for, you know, prospects to arrive or the draft picks to get made? I'd say it's definitely like a consolation prize, right? Like, if you're one of the veterans, seeing Quinn Hughes get traded was just the right way to say it. Like, it was the thing that made it real. They knew that this was kind of coming, or not kind of coming, they knew that this was going to be coming over the last stretch here.

and it would be something that kind of takes, not kind of, it fully takes over the dressing room because it's such a big deal. And so the trade eventually goes through and they're sitting there and like, you're right, like they would be thinking like, well, we got some good pieces back. Like it's not three first round draft picks and the next drafts. And you're like, okay, I'm going to be retired by the time those kids are even close to making the league. Like that's a different position to be in.

Like, this definitely helps in the fact that they've come in and gone on a, you know, on a four-on-one role since that. And, you know, just watching the interviews, watching the guys on the ice, the little clips from practice and stuff. Like, man, like, they're having fun. They got some wins finally, right? So, like, that would definitely make the shock of the Hughes trade dissipate a lot quicker. because, I mean, it doesn't matter if you're at the top of the league or the bottom of the league. Like, winning is fun, especially if you're losing and, you know, it's been a tough year to go on a good little stretch and just have some lightness enter the locker room, especially as the new guys come in because you don't want them walking in and then they're walking into the same situation of guys that have been through it already and have, you know,

I've had struggled and are at the bottom of the league. Like, it's a tough situation to walk into, but you instantly get some wins now. Everyone's feeling good about themselves. They're joking around a little bit, and, you know, the new guys are feeling comfortable quicker because, again, like, vibes are happy. It's not dooming glue, right? One of the surprises of the early part of the season for the Canucks was the defensive play, because the decor was supposed to be a strength.

And on paper, especially with Quinn Hughes, that was supposed to be something that was carrying the team. But even just before Hughes was traded, and this has carried on through since he was traded, the defense has improved. And it feels like with the mix of veterans that the Canucks have and the young players that are getting an opportunity here, that they are at least a little closer to what we thought they would be

to start the season. What do you make of the mix defensively that the Canucks do have now with those three veterans in Myers-Ronick and Marcus Patterson and the young players that they're that are bringing in and getting a pretty good opportunity here to play a lot of minutes? Yeah, they really are and that's all you can ask for is a young guy is minutes and opportunity and then it's up to you to take advantage of them and the young guys have kind of hit their stride here. but, you know, the older guys are playing well. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but watching Philip Horonick since Hughes has been traded, especially last night watching him kind of dance around and, you know, he's making more plays.

Like, all of a sudden, again, and it's not just Horonic, but he was, to me, honestly, one of the more noticeable ones out of this trade, but you have a situation where they're not looking for Quinn Hughes every single time they touch the puck and all of a sudden now more attributes out of their game are coming out and showing right so you're not

like I don't want to make it seem because I've said this a few times now but I don't want to make it seem that like I was sitting here thinking like Hughes needs to be traded he's you know he's hurting this team like anything like that but when you do trade one of the best players

in the league which doesn't happen often but all of a sudden, like, everyone's making plays, everyone's kind of doing what they need to to have a good shift and try and find some offense instead of your first thought as soon as the puck is touching your stick is, where's Quinn on the ice and I got to get him the puck, especially the young guys, right, like just forcing it to Quinn all over the place and then him holding on to the puck trying to do anything he can to help the team win. but you know all of a sudden you take that piece out and you look at the power play and then like the puck is moving around really well there's a lot of player movement from

position to position like everything just seems to flow a little bit more because guys know that they can't just throw it to Quinn like they've got to find the play themselves it is halford and brough no halfer no bruff Josh eliot-wolf is real fair filling in joined by landon ferraro former n hL are regular here on sports net 6 So we saw Max's own score a goal last night. Linus Carlson has had a few good games. He's had a few good weeks here. What have you thought of those two

and how they've kind of grown throughout the season here? Yeah, well, let's start with Carlson. And, you know, I remember you and I having a conversation, I think the last time that you were kind of filling in on this hosting. And to me, like over the last few weeks here, or even call it a month. You know, like, I was really happy with where Linus Carlson's game was headed. And, you know, then a couple weeks ago he starts putting some points up.

And I said on one of the broadcasts, like, this is the closest I've seen Carlson to what he was in the American League. And I don't expect him to put up the types of numbers that he did in the American League, but I'm also not taking that away because, like, I think Linus Carlson is a really solid player. and you know everyone can talk about his skating and you know it's not the fleetest of foot or anything like that but yet he gets himself to the right parts of the ice consistently he's hard in battles he's started to bring more physicality into his game like you know ogren does a great job on on sassone's goal uh last night you know the job of the uh of f1 is to get in and install the puck and and give your give your next guy time to get there. Well, Ogren does that perfectly. Then Carlson comes in and, well, the defenseman kind of beats it out of the corner.

Yet, like, his first couple steps were fast, and he lays a really good hit. And then the puck gets moved out to Sassone. Like, that was a really good forechecking play. But, you know, over the last couple games, like, he's taken another step here. Like, he's confident. I think he now, for the most part, understands what he's able to do and what gets him to the right spots of the ice and gets him rewarded with points.

Like I think he's figured out a little bit more of the league, and that's great news. You know, with Sassone, I said it yesterday when I was on with Drans. To be completely honest, like, you know, I'm a big Sassone fan, watching him in the American League, getting to know him a little bit. He's just an awesome guy, and he works hard. Like, he's earned this opportunity,

and I was really happy for him. But, you know, he comes up after getting called up at the beginning of the year, and he gets those goals in the first couple games, and then he goes pretty quiet and not just quiet, but, you know, was struggling in his D-Zone a bit, and, you know, like everyone was having to kind of play up the lineup,

and he just wasn't ready for it. And to me, it honestly got me thinking, I'm like, I just don't know if he's like a full-time NHL guy or he's just a bubble guy that bounces between the American League and the NHL. And, like, I kind of had that thought enter my head. And then over the last stretch here again, like, he's gone, you know, he's gotten put back into the position that, you know, he needs to be at right now. And, but his speed is coming out again.

And he's starting to make plays. He's not just chipping the puck along, like trying not to make a mistake. He's playing the game now. And it's working. Like his game has elevated a good amount. He's on a good line right now that, you know, seems to be working pretty well and work off each other really well. So, you know, like he's done a bit of a 180 and really taking good steps again.

But, you know, I think that just brings you back to the conversation of, You know, they've traded Quinn Hughes. That's the first step. But are they going to commit to the rest of it? Because, like, Sassone's one of those guys that you see with more opportunity being opened up a little bit. Like, he's taken really good steps, and a lot of the younger guys have as well. So, like, I think to me it just shows that, you know, they've made the right decision. They need to focus on the young guys and keep kind of retooling this team in that.

direction because they have some really good pieces and and like that's where the excitement and hope for the Canucks is coming from like you know I don't know about you two but watching while they're on that four game win streak not once did it enter my head like oh okay now they're back like they can go on a run now and maybe they make playoffs to me I was getting excited on the couch watching thinking like you know you look at the goals that have been scored like a lot have come from young guys. And you're like, this is exactly what you want to see. You want to see hope for the future. And that should kind of show them and give the management group a bit of excitement of, you know what, like we are doing the right thing. We got to commit to this fully

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