Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 12/3/24

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they go around the NHL with analyst Ray Ferraro, plus they set up tonight's road matchup in Minnesota with radio commentator Brendan Batchelor. 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. Yesterday, your Vancouver Canucks practice in Minnesota ahead of their road trip finale, which again, we'll go tonight, 5 o'clock, from the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota. It's been a very good road trip for the Canucks so far. Not a ton to report from practice yesterday. The Canucks don't have any extra skaters at forward, so it's not like they can make any changes up front. I guess unless you were going to play Mark Friedman as a forward.

They did kind of shuffle around the blue liners, though, yesterday. Yeah, we'll see if Hughes tonight sticks with Tyler Myers or if Myers and Soucy are reunited, which could leave Hughes with Juleson. I guess one big question is, will Day-Arne come out of the lineup for Mark Friedman? That would be quite an indictment of day rna because i don't even think mark friedman's played many games in the ahl this season right the other indictment would be day harney's play while day rna was on the ice for

every goal against sunday in detroit um so we'll see what they do on the blue line there shuffle around some deck chairs on the titanic the canucks really do have to knock it off with these slow starts. Something that Rick Tockett is clearly focused on. He mentions it a lot. Vancouver has scored first in just nine of their games. That's one of the lowest totals in the league. In fact, only Seattle has taken the lead in fewer games eight tonight's opponent from Minnesota in stark contrast has taken the lead 16 times

one of the highest numbers in the league and the Wild have one of the best records in the league I suppose it's a credit to the Canucks that so often they are trailing 1-0 and they do not have a losing record. And that's why Rick Tockett has said that he likes the fight in the team. He likes the resilience of the team, but he would also just like to see a team that starts on time. Now, this has been an ongoing problem. And a few weeks ago, Tockett suggested that, and here's his his quote a couple of guys need to understand how we will play more predictably we're taking too many risks early on and not sticking to our structure now some of you might think well some of their slow starts are related to that backup goalie that is probably going to be in the AHL pretty soon, Erder Silovs. When you allow the first shot of the game,

it tends to look like a slow start. Yes, that's true. But I think, you know, Sunday's game in Detroit, they were sleepy to start. They did surrender the first goal, but, you know, fortunately they got a five on three, and they were able to turn that into two quick goals to start the second. You know, I don't know why they start slow because last season it was complete opposite they scored first all the time and they got off to these great starts why do you think this team

can't start on time uh i i know that the most obvious everyone points to the coach on this one right it's like they're not prepared before the game. The coaches hate it when their team has this issue because it's like, who's in charge of getting these guys ready to go? And Taka will speak about it in his pressers. He'll say, maybe we

got to change something up or we got to ditch the morning skate or maybe we need the morning skate or maybe the guys need to readjust their nap schedule or like he will go and try and change anything. Maybe you need to have your first coffee earlier in the day, all those little things, which quite honestly,

the coach has no control over anyway, because it's the players. And I know this is very trite and cliched, but it's the players that are out there playing, not the coaches that are out there doing it for them. I do think there's something to be said for the predictability part of it. I do wonder if Taka would like to see the guys play a little bit more of a straight line, straightforward, let's not confuse the issue,

start to the game. Maybe only to reverse what's happened over the first 20, 25 games of the season. Yeah, I mean, a lot of it starts with puck management. Yeah. You know, if you can hold on to the puck and not give it away cheaply, that helps your starts. Yeah.

How do you so often get pinned in your own end? Quite often it starts with a turnover, a puck that should have gotten out, and then all your teammates are like, all right, cool, that puck's getting out. Oh, no, it's turned over. God, I'm tired. I've been out here for a while now,

and now we're going to have to start defending. And, you know, that's got to stop, obviously. And the Canucks have had their issues with giveaways this year. There have been times that the defense just has not broken the puck out very well, and that's on the forwards as well. So it's just, I think, something to, we're not going to sit here and try and that's on the forwards as well so it's just i

think something we're not going to sit here and try and figure it out for the canucks that's their job but i think it's something to watch for tonight especially against a really good team in minnesota the canucks will be decided underdogs today and that's fine minnesota's a good team the canucks are shorthanded the canucks are are 4-1 on this road trip, though. Man, if they can just find, I sound like a soccer guy here by saying, if they can just get a result. Just get a result. You know, they did a really good job against Buffalo, Detroit,

getting it into overtime. And I know it's terrific that they scored in overtime and they won those games. But in reality, I'd have been perfectly happy if they'd have lost those games, but at least they got a point out of them because the way, the number of players that they're missing right now,

I think anytime you can get a point on the road is a good thing. Yeah, and this is just, look, it's one of the, if not the toughest opponents that the Canucks have played this year. It's in the visitor's barn. It's at the end of a lengthy road swing. So all signs point towards the Canucks being a decided underdog.

And most books have them anywhere between plus 122 to plus 124. The Wild are really good. In case you're unaware, the Wild are 16-4-4. They're first in the Central Division. And that's worth noting because the Central Division also holds the Winnipeg Jets, who up to this point have normally, through the first six weeks of the season, been atop that division. But they've been surpassed by the Wild.

And it's funny, if you want to do the game, the capsule on the Wild, they're really good in all departments. They don't have any weaknesses. They've got fantastic goaltending with Gustafson, and I do expect him to get the start tonight. They've got a legit Hart Trophy candidate in Kaprizov who's one of the top scorers in the NHL. They've got another high-end guy in Matt Boldy,

so it's not just sort of this one-man show. They might have one of the best defenses in the NHL. Just in terms of their top four is Faber, not Chris Faber, Spurgeon, Middleton, and Brodine. And they just added David Juracek to that as well. What a trade that was with LA

to get Faber Faber's been great again not Chris Faber wasn't he the captain of the Gophers too oh yeah oh yeah he was a gopher

I think he was three putt Shane Texan maybe they need to crank up some ACDC before the game that'll get you going that'll get you going shoot to thrill

hell's bells paradise city just kidding uh wonderwall wonderwall uh okay so there was a report from andy strickland uh he's a reporter out of st louis but uh has lots of sources that show numerous times usa hockey is expecting JT Miller to be available for four nations which begs a few questions uh when is he going to be available for the Canucks yeah uh Miller has been on most of the mock rosters I've seen for the four nations and that and those rosters come out tomorrow of course Miller on a lot of those rosters, if they have lines, a lot of the times he's a winger,

which kind of makes you wonder if Miller makes it, Besser is going to miss. I think Besser is probably going to miss regardless. But can you imagine if Miller can't play? Would that possibly give Besser an in, especially if they see Miller as a winger? Or are there just too many guys ahead of... Too many guys.

Yeah, like I saw a mock roster the other day that didn't have Dylan Larkin on it. I know, that's the thing. It's like, well, if you're going to do... They got some depth. If you're going to do the hierarchy of guys on the outside looking in, I'd say that Besser's maybe not even atop that.

I do wonder, and I get that Besser is a terrific player, but I do wonder if they look at his lack of speed relative and go, man, we're going to be playing Canada. We're going to be playing Sweden. And these teams are fast, and we're going to need to be fast as well. You mentioned Matt Boldy, who we'll see tonight.

Yep. I call him a bubble guy in terms, like, I don't think he's a lock to make this roster. On some mock rosters, I've seen him, and on others, he hasn't been there. I think he probably will be. Yeah, Bill Guerin's smart. He'll put him on the team.

You don't want to disrupt and upset your own guy, right? Then you end up like Marty St. Louis and Steve Eisman back in Tampa Bay. Remember that? I saw in the province the other day. I don't know.

I think it was a page who wrote it. I'm not 100. It might have been Coos. It's like this yearly reminder. Hey, the Canucks

could have drafted Boldy, you know? Yeah. Instead, they took Pod Colson. I remember. Yeah. Not the best.

Arizona had a bad pick there, too. Like, they took Soderstrom, the defenseman. So it went Podkolzin 10, Soderstrom 11, and then Boldy number 12. And then Cole Caulfield, who's probably going to be on the American team as well, he went something like 15th to Montreal. Hello, darkness, my old friend. How about some of the Arizona picks, though?

They haven't done a great job. Well, we sit there and go, you know, man, like would have been nice if they could get Boldy with that pick or Cole Caulfield with that pick. But at least we got Quinn Hughes. Sure. Well, part of the whole Quinn Hughes thing was that Arizona took Barrett Hayden. Everyone looks at Detroit, and rightly so.

They went with Zedina, and Hughes was playing in their backyard at Michigan. But I remember watching that draft and thinking, first of all, I didn't even know who Barrett Hayden was because I'm not like a big-time prospects guy. So all of a sudden, they're like, Barrett Hayden. I'm like, okay. It just opened everything up. The sea parted, and we're like,, oh my God, they're doing it.

It's really happening right now. Hayden on the pick. Oh God. I knew you were going to go there. I respect it actually. It's not too bad. By the way, just to put a bow on this conversation and we'll move into the Filiperonic stuff here.

The bubble guys, I went to the athletic because they seem to be the most dialed in with the amount of writers that they have around the U.S. team. The bubble guys are Robertson, Keller, Terry, Besser, Thompson, Kreider, Trocek, and Brock Nelson. So, I mean, you're talking about a slew of really talented guys. That's on the assumption that Larkin makes it. So it's a stacked team. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get really excited about this tournament. Yeah, it's interesting. The more we talk makes it. So it's a stacked team.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get really excited about this tournament. The more we talk about it. Some people really aren't into it. They're not expecting it to be intense. They're not expecting it to be very good. Nah, it won't be Olympic level, but I think it'll be better than the last World Cup or whatever you want to call that. It'll be better than that.

It will be better than that, for sure. Well, if they had those dog races, it would be better. That's true. That's not World Cup. I'm getting excited. At least I can get into it emotionally. Nathan from Poco, I know you're Viking's dad, by the way. You should change that on your text thread thing.

He was very dismissive of the tournament yesterday, texting in on the Dunbar-Lemur text line at 6.50, 6.50 to the show, calling it like a glorified exhibition, which I mean, in a way, I suppose it is. But I think that in a very rare moment of asking people to buy in, I think everyone should go in with an open mind and not a skeptical mind, because at the very least, at the very least, even if the tournament doesn't come off the way that everybody wants it to, it's still an important appetizer for the Olympics.

It's been so long since we've had best and best. Here's the thing. If you want to build for the Olympics, having this tournament, you could say at the very least it might rekindle something inside of guys, and it might spark guys. And even if this tournament doesn't go off great, it can be like, well, it's a good table setter for the Olympics. I'd be pretty surprised if the intensity isn't very high for Canada-USA.

Yeah. Guys don't want to get injured for the playoffs, right? A lot of these young guys have been waiting for this moment. That's true. Connor McDavid has been waiting to play on a team with Sidney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon and all the other great Canadians and to go up against the Americans because they've grown up watching it themselves and they've been like why haven't I been able to participate in a tournament like that that isn't kind of some bastardized version just to I don't even know what they were trying to do with that last World Cup of Hockey make money

I guess get as many NHL players as possible. And make money. And show off some of the young players by having a young guns tournament. They didn't even make a lot of money. No, they tried to make money. Do you expect there to be a lot of physicality? Yeah. Because that's the only...

Tom Wilson makes the team. That's the only criticism that I might have is guys are like, well, we don't want to get injured for the playoffs, which is the running argument, right? I think having the tournament in the middle of the season is going to be a big plus compared to the World Cup of Hockey, which was like guys came in out of shape. Yeah. Right. And I mean, understandably so.

They're like, look, our summer is short enough. We don't need to truncate it even more just so we can play in this meaningless exhibition. I think this is going to be good. Okay. I want to talk a little bit about Philip Hronik here. Based on all the reports on him, it seems like the question is to have surgery or not have surgery. Typically, the advantages of having surgery is that you're more sure that you'll fix the issue and have a predictable timeline with the cons of that being that a you need surgery it's gone and b you miss more time in some cases major shoulder surgery takes four to six months to recover from which helps you understand why Hronik is being so careful. If it's four months, he's back

in time for the playoffs. If it's six, might be too late by then. Yep. We also don't know a lot of things. We don't know if Hronik for sure hurt the same shoulder he had issues with last season. Of course, Hronik did not admit he was injured last season, just asked JPAT. And don't forget that Hronik arrived in Vancouver with an injury. That might have been a shoulder injury too. I know he had that big hit by Reeves, which I think was a concussion, but I'm pretty sure there was a shoulder issue

that he was traded to Vancouver with. This is massive for the Canucks and the rest of their season. I do wonder if they're going to have to abandon their plan to operate without LTIR, their cap accrual plan. Not the accrual plan. Not the accrual plan, but that was everything. Kind of was.

If Hronik is out multiple months, and especially if he's out until the end of the regular season, this is where management is really going to have to earn its money because there are multiple balls in the air with this situation one there's the medical thing where you want the best for horonic but also the team uh and then look if you're gonna it sounds like he's gonna be out for a while sure regardless of whether he gets surgery or not I think they're gonna need to replace him like I I know the Canucks have I know the Canucks have done fine in the last few games they are 2-0 without him I mean they're

100% win record without him I think think they're going to have to replace him. Regardless, now, this is, I suppose, on the table. I don't know how likely it is, but could they pull a Vegas and put him on LTIR until the playoffs? That way, they get to replace him and keep him for the playoffs. Of course, they have to make the playoffs in order for that plan to work. That was the Vegas plan last year. Because remember, Vegas was not a shoe-in to make the playoffs last year. They struggled down the stretch with all their guys out

because it was hurdle and stone, right? And then they popped back in. Now, what happened there? Vegas made the playoffs and we're out early. So there's risk involved for sure. I was using the meme that Patrick Levine has the chance to do the most hilarious thing ever and that would be

hey Vegas did it, we're going to do it as well and put him on the shelf. It will be interesting to see if he undergoes surgery. That's all this really comes down to if we want to boil it down to its essence because surgery comes with a more defined timeline but also in this case

probably a lengthy one and if that's the case then you're looking at you put them on LTIR you probably play the Vegas game and then you open up that space to try and go make a move now any good executive takes a look at a season and I mean look look at, not good executive, but look at Chris Drury in New York. Sometimes plans change on you. Sometimes things go awry, and you've got to be able to adjust on the fly. I love all the people trying to put together a Canucks-Rangers blockbuster here.

It's the natural thing to do. It is totally the natural thing to do as a fan, and I'm enjoying some of the trade proposals because Jacob Truba, right shot defenseman. I'd be down. Bloated contracts. I love Truba. It'd be so entertaining.

Words and all, I love Truba. They would have to retain a large amount of that contract. That's going up. Two years left at $8 million. They'd have to retain a lot. One and a half years left. It wouldn't be. Look, if Hronik was LTIR, and then you fit Truba in for him, million they'd have to retain a lot one and a half it wouldn't be look if veronic was ltir

and then you fit truba in for him that's fine for this year but then you might go into next year and be like oh we gotta get besser signed we gotta make improvements to other areas of our team and also there's the whole fact that jacob truba hasn't played all that well. No. At any rate, I just think there's a lot of people out there putting together some fun potential blockbuster deals. There was also that report that the New York Rangers called the Canucks about JT Miller. Yeah. Okay, and that is, I know I've used this phrase a lot.

You know, Rick Taka talks about eating the elephant. I just talk about the elephant in the room with JT Miller. I hope nobody eats that elephant because he's just sitting there in the room, not bothering anyone. He's a different elephant. We don't know what's going on there. And until we know, then we can, you know, it's hard to talk too much about this.

But, you know, I think it's one of those, I want to talk to Wish about the Rangers right now because, again, I watched them last night and the Madison Square Garden faithful were not very happy because this is the New Jersey Devils, one of their main rivals that came into MSG, blew them out on the scoreboard, and their fans were enjoying it.

There's lots of Devils fans there, and a lot of the Rangers fans. They just left. Yeah, they've lost six of their last seven. All six losses have been a regulation, so no consolation, no loser points. There was Devils fans in attendance at MSG last night laughing and openly mocking Igor Shesterkin, who, by the way, if you want to talk about a guy where the shine has come off going into this contract that he needs to sign,

24 games played this season, the Rangers have given up five or more goals seven times already. So whatever he was at one point, like the finger in the dam, keeping it from bursting, it's kind of burst on the Rangers. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Ray's going to join us in a few minutes here. We should talk briefly about a Monday night football game that prior to kickoff, I was like, we're not going to talk about this on Tuesday.

It's the Browns and it's the Broncos. Who cares? And then the Browns and the Broncos put on a show for the ages of Monday night football. Well, Jameis Winston did. Broncos had something to say about it. Yeah, Bonex had that very nice touchdown pass. That 100-yard touchdown pass.

Oh my God, that was incredible. That was pretty nice. Also the Broncos defense, two pick sixes in the game. Although Jameis Winston did have something to do with that. So I tweeted out after the game, Jameis Winston is the most entertaining football player alive. Now you'll note, I didn't say best. I didn't say greatest.

I didn't say goaded. I just said entertaining. Because entertainment means that you're constantly forced to watch because you never have any idea what's going to come next and that is the best way to sum up james winston football you never know what's going to happen i compared him to a great action movie in that you know won't get a lot of love from the critics sure might not even make sense the premise is ridiculous and when you hear jamis winston sometimes you're like this whole premise is ridiculous but man it's fun to watch it really is

and um i think um i was i was actually trying to think last night who is the jamis winston of hockey is there one because for golf i was thinking the first name that came to mind as another athlete phil mickelson before he started winning majors sure incredible talent but he would always make some horrific mistake right at the end while you know at that yeah while going for it in a big way you. You remember at the U.S. Open when he hit driver off the tee and he shouldn't have, and after the tournament he's like, I'm such an idiot, right? Yeah, when he finally broke through and actually won majors,

it was kind of like, yeah, this is less interesting now, right? Be crazy. Do stupid stuff. Make the wild decisions. But he's kind of that high-risk, high-reward type of player, both on and off the field, if we're being honest about Mickelson. But back to Jameis, is there a guy that plays like, the first name that actually popped to mind was Evan Bouchard,

but I'm not sure if that quite fits. No. I just can't believe that I did that. I am such an idiot. Yeah, that was Evan Bouchard. Okay, so the problem with the Mickelson comparison is that like i'm gonna be perfectly honest he's been too successful he won like part of james's thing is that okay so last night for example the box score is remarkable james winston threw 58 passes yesterday and he

completed 34 of them he almost threw for 500 yards he finished with 497 and he threw for four touchdowns like there's only a handful of people that can do that in an NFL game it it's hard but he also threw three interceptions two that got returned for touchdowns and he had the now like infamous line overnight it became famous this is what Jameis Winston said after throwing three interceptions two of them returned for touchdowns against the broncos on monday night football it's the opportunity to continue to glorify the lord even through the toughest circumstances i know i'm better than this i know i'm like i'm just praying for the lord to deliver

me from pick sixes like that's that's just, that's not me. Like, phenomenal game, offense, do some great things, but I messed it up. Deliver me from pick sixes? I would like to be there live while he's praying. It's so great. I'm just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick sixes. Not the win, just the pick six part. As they say in the Old Testament, deliver me from pick sixes. Not the win, just the pick six part. As they say in the Old Testament,

deliver me from pick sixes. Ray used to pray to be delivered from back checking. What a segue! Ray Ferraro joins us now on the Alfred and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Ray. How are you? I'm good. I often thought the Lord was busier

than watching me play hockey. Or Jameis Winston play football, maybe. Yeah, I just, I don't, you know. Yeah, when I listen to that, I'm like, oh, gee. I don't even know what to say. Like, you know, like, yeah. He's okay. I'll say this.

He's a very interesting character, right? And it was funny. One of his old teammates, I think it was Jerome I'll say this. He's a very interesting character, right? And it was funny. He is. One of his old teammates, I think it was Jerome Ford, running back, he had the best line ever. He said that when Jameis comes into the huddle to call the play, he delivers it like he's got a secret to tell everybody. And then I pictured it, and I'm like,

I know exactly what he's talking about. You know what? Let's throw Ray on the spot. We'll ask him, was there ever a guy that you played with or against or a player that jumps out as someone that was like the ultimate high risk, high reward or took crazy chances, had crazy talent, but made horrendous mistakes? Well, we watch one now in the game today. It's Eric Carlson.

Yeah, that's a good one. He had a quote this week. He said, you know, fans either love me or hate me sometimes in the same game, which I find quite amusing because it means, yeah, this is just the way I play. You don't like it. You don't like it. And there's really no more, like, I think he's the perfect example for what, for what you're, you're talking about because you have to, you have to almost not care what the, what the negative is.

Most players will get to a point and everybody's got a different threshold because of their talent and they'll go i can take one more chance and i might get burned here and for everybody it's a little different for some guys it's carrying the puck 10 feet they don't shouldn't carry it 11 for some guys it's it's, oh, there's only two D back there. I'm going to try and beat them both. Right? Everybody's got a different threshold. But for Carlson, it's like he never sees a play

he doesn't think he can't make. And that's the high risk and high reward. I mean, as I think back, like Alex Kovalev was like that. One of the most talented players I've ever seen. And Al would do things on the ice. He'd be like, I don't even know how he thought of that.

Like whether it worked or not was irrelevant. It's like, how did he even think of that? And he would be the guy that jumps out first for me. I wanted to ask you what you thought of the Rangers last night losing 5-1 to the Devils. It feels like something's got to give with the New York Rangers considering all the noise around them and the fact they are not playing very well right now. Well, yeah, I mean, a lot of times when there's noise, that's the time to settle it down and don't do anything because everybody's well aware of the you know the the position that you're in but the fact that chris drury sent out that memo to the

other teams and said hey we're open for business and you know that that's where truba and crider's name got linked in there uh when he sent that out it's impossible for that to stay quiet right you're sending it out to 31 other teams somebody's going to say something to somebody and so now that it's out it's it's impossible for that not to be a lightning bolt into the middle of the locker room and you know i've been in enough rooms to know that that wasn't a one-day talking point that that continues and as the team has struggled and continues to struggle and continues to bleed chances which is really you know it's been the story of their season at the beginning of the year they had a really good start but their goaltending was out of this world the record really didn't indicate the same style of play

so i i do think that there is something that it feels like there's movement i'm going to agree with you that uh that there's movement that would be rather imminent now here's the other part to it great you can want to make 10 trades but you got to be able to make the deal, right? You got to make the money fit. You got to make the players fit. Like the Kreider and Trouba have 15 team no trades, I think. And so say you were able to get somebody interested, what kind of return are you getting when the whole league knows that you need to move somebody? So he's in a tough spot.

Chris is in a tough spot there for sure. And I'm sure it was not much fun last night in the garden for the fans and the management and coaches to sit there and watch the team from across the Hudson come in and give them a boot in the rear end. Ray, how many stories from the dressing room do you remember but just wouldn't tell on the air just because there is that i don't know if it's like a it's not a legal privacy issue but you just don't want to tell those stories because those stories that 20 20 maybe yeah like there's lots

i mean if you sat around and there's lots of goofy stuff that happens and guys say stupid things and you know somebody comes in with a terrible haircut and you know it's open season that sort of stuff but um there'd probably be i don't know 20 maybe that you're like that's nobody's business kind of like i don't know you're you hear it talked all the time like it's family and i wouldn't say it's necessarily the same as family but there's i don't know. You hear it talked all the time like it's family. And I wouldn't say it's necessarily the same as family, but there's, I don't know, there's certain things that get said or you laugh at that maybe aren't as much for the public as you'd think. I want to be clear here this isn't hockey this is every locker room every locker room i've you know like i played baseball

till i was playing in the nhl and the locker room in baseball was every bit the same as one in hockey. It was the same. And that's one of the great parts of being on a team is that you get to hang around and you've got to kill time. And there's, I don't know where you're going with this, what happened that you're asking about, but there's, yeah, there's something. I just wonder about some of the arguments that might happen or some of the like i i'm thinking about i'm thinking about the rangers right now specifically and and what would be said in the room after it got out that chris

jury had sent out that memo to the nhl gms and maybe it's not in the room. Maybe it's not a room-wide discussion, but maybe it's the players. Because there are so many ways that this could go with the team. I guess Dre was hoping, like, all right, it's going to be a kick in the pants. Like, we better play better or else they're going to trade some of our friends away. You know, especially Kreider, who seems to be quite popular.

But it could also be like, hey, guys guys let's have a mutiny right you know like okay and i don't know how it all i don't know how it all works like well guys go off small groups go ahead no not that so i think the what would happen is the news would get out and the thought would be what the was that like what's going on here? Like, guys would be pissed off. And they'd want to know, like, what's going on? Guarantee you if there are 22 guys in the room and there are 16 different agents, because some guys might represent a few, all of those agents got a call that day. They all got a call.

What are you hearing? What's going on? Has this got anything to do with me like it becomes survival uh in a hurry and but at the start the the first thing would be guys would be sitting around having a coffee and go what the was that did you know anything about this like what have you heard and so there would be an agitation more than anything right away and then like every other thing the quest for knowledge like what is going on and now how uncomfortable is everybody at this moment because everybody's trying to figure out

how once the big story comes out everybody's trying to figure out how, once the big story comes out, everybody's trying to figure out how does it impact me. So basically, it's like all office gossip, which we've been a part of at the radio station. Oh my God, we're losing our jobs. That guy should go, not me. But what else can it be? Because nobody would have any real knowledge. Right? Like if that email or that whatever, however they send it out,

went out this two weeks ago, when everybody hears about it or the first guy hears about it, he asks the second guy and within three minutes, 14 people know about it. And then everybody wants to know what is going on here. And you can imagine how it makes everybody uncomfortable because then Jacob Trubauer or Chris Kreider walks in the room and everybody would stop, wouldn't you? Oh, I was going to tie my skates again.

Yeah, exactly. You wouldn't believe this, but we were just talking about you. And, you know, like it would be a really uncomfortable thing. And the results since that memo came out, I think, speak for themselves. Yeah. They need a guy that makes the joke to break the tension. It's like, hey, Jacob, I was just looking at my phone. Have you seen this?

There will be gallows humor at some time, but I don't know in the first day if there's much of that. I want to talk about Philip Hronik and just get your thoughts on the situation that he's in, apparently trying to decide if he wants surgery or if he wants to just rehab it, or maybe there's a decision on the type of surgery that he's got to have, but also the situation that the Canucks are in because people are putting together some timelines and going all right well if he's going to be out three or four months why not just keep him out the entire

regular season and pull a Vegas you bring someone in and then you get to keep Hronik too for the playoffs now you're going to make the playoffs but you know it just seems like with this situation there are a lot of balls in the air for horonic himself but also the team why i suspect there is and and i there would be an announcement of something if there was something to announce um i broke my leg and dislocated my ankle in nove of 92. And for about eight, a little less than that, five or six days, they were debating whether to do surgery or if they could reset the ankle. Because there was something about the, I can't even remember. Anyway, something they thought they could reset it. And so they tried to reset it, which was brutal. And then after a day, they did an MRI, two days, they did an MRI.

And they're like, yeah, it's not going to work. We're going to have to do surgery. So like they were, we were exploring other avenues than surgery. If you can avoid surgery, you'd like to avoid surgery. And so that, if you go to see, uh, outside doctors, which happens frequently that, you know, the, the team doctor makes an evaluation, then there's a couple of different guys that might be specialists in this case and shoulders, um, that you would go see them. And they would have their opinion. And they would have maybe a different way to fix it, to repair it,

to avoid a surgery. Everybody, there might be three or four different ways that get presented. And then, Hronik and his agent, they have to decide what's the best course of action with the team. And so once they get that, then there's, there's, that lays the road out in front of Patrick Alveen and, and Jimmy Rutherford,

right? Like that just, that lays the road out there. And so, um, until then there, there's lots to talk about, but none of it's really you can't really explore any of it too deeply until you get the final answer health-wise uh you got boston and

detroit tonight i'm curious about the red wings i know we've talked about boston before especially in the wake of them uh getting rid of jim montgomery and then bringing in joe sacco but it's funny because we were just talking to Wyshynski, and he said that the next coach to go might be the guy from Detroit, Derek Lalonde, because it hasn't been the sort of trajectory that they want in Detroit about getting back into playoff position. What's the vibe or the feeling you get ahead of this game today from the Red Wings side of things? They're edgy, right?

Like their penalty killing is the worst in the league their power play is one of the five best and they don't score any goals so their five on five play is it doesn't help them at all i mean of course we saw on the weekend when they take a penalty they can't kill that yeah um and and the point the thing that happens i'll say about when you have a a number that's that bad for detroit you almost have to draw a line in the sand and say it doesn't even matter where we rank in the league anymore we have to look at it from now because they could go on an amazing run for a month and go from 32 to 27 like it's not even going to matter anymore their their number is so bad they're giving up a power play goal virtually every game and so um they've got like you know

that five on five scoring's not great they can't kill a penalty they're goaltending now they've got villi husso in goal because we saw talbot left the game. He's hurt. He's not on the trip. Alex Lyon is hurt. So they're kind of dancing around that. They don't have a true number one centerman. I think Dylan Larkin is an awesome player, but he's a two for me. So you don't have a lot of creativity in the middle of the ice. And if you don't, and the Bruins are one of those teams you struggle to score um you know the the middle of the ice has to distribute the pocket has to you've got to facilitate offense

and if you don't have the right people then you're going to struggle in that regard so uh detroit they you know derrick alone used yesterday in an interview used the term uh we just can't get any traction we play two or three good games and then we slide back and that's kind of where they're at you know they're yet they're i think they're what are they three points uh four points behind boston yeah right now it's not like it's a catastrophe but you know buffalo ottawa det. This is the second year where it's felt like one of these teams is going to break through. And are they? I don't know.

We're 25 games in, and you can see how hard it is. Man, the Bruins power play versus Detroit's penalty killing. The worst power play in the league versus the worst penalty killing in the league tonight on ESPN. I think they're just going to play Plinko. Let's just drop one of these

discs from the top and whatever happens this will be more exciting than what's going to happen out here. Ray, enjoy the Plinko tonight. Have a good call. We appreciate you doing this as always. Enjoy tonight and everything else. We'll do this again next Tuesday. Talk to you next week. Thanks, guys.

Ray Ferraro from TS enjoy tonight and everything else. We'll do this again next Tuesday. Talk to you next week. Thanks, guys. See you, buddy. Ray Ferraro from ESPN here on the Alfred and Brough show. What? You can say the letters TSN. It's not like it's going to get you fired. If I'm going to get fired, it's going to be for a good reason. Some silent alarm is going off in the back here. I don't know what it is. There's a man in a suit that wants to

talk to you after this segment. To the phone lines we go. Brendan Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks, joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Batch? Good morning. So how big a challenge is tonight going to be for the Canucks? Yeah, you know, the Wild are a really good team.

They've got arguably the best player in the NHL this year in Kirill Kaprizov, and they're humming along at a really good pace this year and Kirill Kaprizov and and they're they're humming along at a really good pace this year so I think it's easily the biggest challenge of the road trip coupled with the fact that the last game of a road trip is always uniquely challenging because of uh you know you almost have one foot on the plane to come home and and see your family when you've been away for that long so you know I'll be really interested, especially with the names that are out of the lineup, but the fact that the Canucks have gotten by without the likes of JT Miller

and Phillip Hronik and by all measures have already completed a successful road trip with four wins in five games. I'll be interested to see how they play tonight against a really tough opponent and a really good measuring stick game for them at this point in the year. Yeah, at the risk of looking past tonight's game, I mean, I'm interested in seeing how they do, but I'm more interested in the news that might come later this week on three fronts. First of all, I don't know when they're going to finalize

what they're going to actually do with Philip Hronix in terms of having surgery or the type of surgery or not having surgery, but that's still up in the air. Will Thatcher Demko return to the crease Friday against Columbus, first home game back? I know we've been, a lot of people are kind of targeting this date and there's informed speculation that it could be on Friday.

And also, are we going to talk any more about JT Miller and when he might return to the team? Yeah, and I think you could add a fourth one to that list, which is, is anything going to come of the trade rumors that are swirling around this team and around a guy like Niels Hoaglander in particular after some of the reports we've seen so it's a really interesting time right now because you know I don't have answers on any of those fronts like you know maybe we'll see Demko on Friday I agree I've heard some speculation to that end but I don't think that's a certainty there is no news

it's been all quiet around JT Miller, so I'm not sure of any sort of timeline in terms of when he gets back. And until we get some more concrete news on Hronik and whether he has to have surgery or not and what the timeline looks like, you have to assume that he's going to be out for a while too. So if I had to pick one of those three that i think were most likely to get good news about sooner it's got to be the demko situation but there's a lot up in the air for the canucks right now but you know from our perspective as analysts and pundits we'll talk

a lot about that the guys in that room just have to figure out how to continue to get by without some of those guys in their lineup and try to rack up points. And hopefully they have an opportunity to do that coming home, although clearly the road has been better for them this year. But they've got a heavy home schedule in December that they need to try and take advantage of in spite of the fact that some of those guys might not be playing for them. I will say if Demko doesn't start on Friday against Columbus,

I think this market is going to be like, Oh, what is going on here? Yeah, I could see that. Although I would much rather they be cautious than, than, you know, rushing back into the crease. And at this point, you know, we'll be in. It's December 3rd, they've been cautious. Yeah, I know they have been very cautious,, you know, we'll be in December. It's December 3rd, Pat. They've been cautious. I agree. Yeah, I know. They have been very cautious. But, you know, if there's a question of should we wait a few more days

or should we wait another week, then I would rather they take that time to make sure that he's ready, especially because of how well Kevin Lankanen has played. And there aren't a lot of back-to-backs in December, actually. You know, there's one road trip, I believe, where they go away and play on back-to-back games, but other than that, it's pretty much a game every other night, so it's not like you're put into a

situation right away where you'd be forced to consider another Archer-Shilov start, and with how well Lankanen's been playing, I think, you know, you have the luxury of being a little bit more patient if you have to be, but that said, yeah, it would be great to get Demko back. It would be great to, you know,

see how he is able to get back into the crease and what that's going to be like for him. And, you know, hopefully he can build some confidence. And because there's a game every other day in December, pretty well, it's a good opportunity to get him in, but, you know, not necessarily have to play him a ton because you could go to kevin lankan in a bunch of those games too and and i think that's likely to be the case even let's say if he does start on friday i don't know if it's a guarantee they go back to him on sunday and and beyond but you know that's that's that's the great luxury that kevin lankan and has

provided this organization is that they do not need thatcher Demko to come back and be a workhorse right away. Here's a question for you. Who has been the unsung hero for you? I put it out on social media that I think it's Pew Suter because there are some candidates that are not what you'd call core players that are contributing, but I think we've talked so much about Lankanen. I don't know if you'd call him an unsung hero, but Pugh Suter for me, I mean, the guy's got nine goals.

I know we talk about everyone here in Vancouver, but I don't know if we've been talking as much about what he's been doing as, say, Lankanen or Kiefer Sherwood or some of the other candidates. Yeah, I think there's a couple things I think about when I think of the unsung hero is one that you're right, because we analyze this team so closely, we talk about everybody. So everybody that deserves to be sung, gets sung at some point during the season. I also think the unsung hero award often becomes the our best player that didn't win in one

of our other awards award. You know, so, you know, you could even look at a guy like Connor Garland and say, well, he's deserving of being recognized, but he might not end up being the team MVP or the top forward or the top scorer or anything like that. But I agree with Pew Suter. Like, this is a guy that's never scored 15 goals in a season in his NHL career and is on pace right now for 33.

So, you know, and on top of the production, you know, he has been a bottom six center. He's been a top six winger and now a top six center helping solidify that position with JT Miller out of the lineup for the last six games. So, you know, the fact that he can be a Mr. Everything for this organization and essentially you know if you got guys that are hurt he can go up the lineup and and fill in in a spot he actually seems to have been one of the best top six wing options

with Miller and Besser when they have both been in the lineup and played together and then on top of that you can rely on him to play top six minutes down the middle and still contribute and be a big part of the team. I think he's a very quietly invaluable player for this organization. So he certainly

deserves to be sung a lot more. I'll say that about him. We're speaking to Brendan Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks here on the Alfred and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. A reminder, you to Brendan Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Reminder, you can hear Batch on the call tonight. Canucks Wild,

5 o'clock. You can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. Coming up in four minutes time, brief interlude here in the Brendan Batchelor interview. I'm going to remind everybody

that we are going to be taking calls at 815-815 to win a pair of tickets to see ACDC this April, coming April in April of 2025. The phone number is 604-280-0650.

That number again, 604-280-0650. We'll continue our conversation with Batch. Just a reminder, taking calls at 815-815, caller number 10 wins the pair of tickets. Batch, you know, it's funny. We've worked through all these great value contracts that the Canucks have had this season.

Guys outperforming their dollar sign in the amount that they've got on Puckpedia and what have you. But, you know, it's almost futile to have the conversation about which one is the best value contract because I think the answer very clearly is Kevin Lankanen, who has just been fantastic for this team, setting the record for 10 consecutive road wins to start the season. Two things.

One, are you fully expecting him to be a key member of Finland when they announce the rosters on Wednesday for the Four Nations? And two, how quickly should the Canucks think about resigning Kevin Lankanen? How much is it going to cost? Yeah, well, yeah, I do think he'll end up being on the Four Nations roster, although I guess whether he's end up being on the four nations roster although you know i guess whether he's second or third on the depth chart is is the the conversation because it's likely to be uc soros although if lankan and keeps playing the way that he's playing then you never

know yeah um but in terms of the contract that's a fascinating one for me and this is something that ran deep and i got into on our podcast this week in the booth we had a listener ask us about has lankan and priced himself out of coming back to vancouver and i thought it was such an interesting way to phrase the question because the answer to that is we don't know because you need to get thatcher demko back into the lineup and see what he's capable of doing coming off the injury and then you've got to think about a Thatcher Demko extension at some point here and what that dollar number looks like. And that's going to be dependent on his ability to come back and get back to his sort of Vezina nominee level of play.

But with every passing game that Lankanen plays well, his dollar amount increases. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.