Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 12/6/24

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Guest hosts Jamie Dodd & Israel Fehr look back at the previous day in sports, they talk the latest trade rumours with Daily Faceoff NHL insider Frank Seravalli, plus they preview tonight's Canucks home matchup versus the Blue Jackets with Donnie & Dhali's Rick Dhaliwal. 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. We will start with the Vancouver Canucks who were back in Vancouver practicing yesterday at Rogers Arena. And I knew that it was going to be, or I had a feeling at least, it was going to be kind of a newsy day. And there'd be lots of questions for Rick Talkett. The media really put him through his paces after he spoke for 13 minutes. Yeah, that's a long avail. We haven't talked to you in so long, Rick. What's going on? They really grilled him on a lot of different things. Miller's status, Demko's status. yeah that's a long avail we haven't talked to you in so long rick what's going on they really

grilled him on a lot of different things miller's status demko's status uh the home road splits all of those things so lots to get into and we can start maybe with the most immediate news which was thatcher demko saying giving an update on his uh injury status and and to my ears and we'll play in just a second here a bit of a pleasant surprise because we talked on the show yesterday where it seemed like maybe the return date was getting pushed a little bit for thatcher demko there was maybe a little bit more uncertainty than there had been earlier in the week but the circumstances of practice where you know she loves was on the ice, Thatcher Demko had his own net, that's a positive sign.

And then afterwards, he sounded pretty optimistic as well. He did, yeah. And, I mean, I do think it's nice that we've got a goalie expert here in Latty because I do have something that I think needs to be pointed out. Not a Poplatius expert, just putting that out there. No, but this is not about his injury. It's about, he says he's ready to back up, which sounds nice. But unless something goes wrong with the starter,

that means that you're still not playing. So can you explain? Is it like a mindset thing that you're strapping on the pads, you're getting ready for a game? I guess you're at least open to going in. You're like, the possibility exists that you're going to go into the game. But unless something bad happens to the goalie, you're still not playing. Even if you're backing up, you're still going through the rigors of game day.

So that's what it would be seen as like, it's like, okay, he's ready to do that. But it's like a trial run. It's just like, we don't have to push it and get you back starting. Yeah. And with warmups, you can leave the net at any time. You know, it's a little bit easier for a guy coming back from injury rather than just being thrown into the fire. Okay, that makes sense.

There you go. That's why we have the goalie expert here. You've got the game day skate. Yeah. So this is going through the motions, essentially. He's trying to get back into the swing. So this would just be another signpost here. Another stepping stone, kind of, to full availability.

Although it is, like, if he's going's gonna back up you have to have full confidence that he can go into the game right because kevin lankanen has an injury in the first period like you got to play that your demko right so i get it as a stepping stone but you also pretty much have to be 100 sure that you're not risking anything putting him in the game if he's going to serve as the backup uh let's hear from Thatcher Demko himself in his own words kind of describing where his recovery is at. Here is the goalie yesterday after practice. Yeah, probably pretty close to it. Yeah, it's just about getting that consistent practice time. It's been a little tough just with the schedule. The guy's been playing a lot of games. So,

you know, just trying to find that time and, you know, on the road trip, back-to-back there and then a couple afternoon games. So not a lot of team skates, but that's just the nature of the schedule. So it's just about managing that and finding times where I can kind of get consistent reps and practice and things like that. Do you feel like there was time on the road, though, to make progress? Yeah, I mean, there's always time. You know, you can make stuff work with the tools that you have.

And, you know, Marco has been great trying to accommodate me with, you know, at the same time keeping Artie and Link sharp. So, yeah, I definitely feel like i've been uh working and progressing since i talked to you guys last that is thatcher demko and uh you know he also says that he like he's in a position where he can have a conversation with talkout about what the availability looks like i guess if i was at morning skate today before the columbus game my question to talk would be like did you have that conversation? How did it go? What came out of that? So we'll see. But

overall, I think a pretty positive day of practice and of commentary from Thatcher Demko and from the coach about his availability and the chances that we see him sometime here in the next handful of games, although it certainly sounds like it's going to be Lincoln tonight against Columbus.

The other piece of news, and this was kind of on a couple of fronts, it started with Rick Dahliaw reporting that JT Miller back on the ice skating, not with the team, but on his own this week. Frank Cervalli on Canucks Central saying he expects JT Miller should practice with the team next week, pointing to Wednesday as a possible return date. And Rick Talkett as well saying they have a plan for JT Miller, who's been skating this week, and they're in conversation, and they have a plan for him to get back, rejoin the team,

and then presumably be in the lineup at some point. So, I mean, this is the first real concrete timeline dates we've heard around JT Miller. And, you know, if he's practicing with the team on Wednesday, that is in the very, very near future. And that would be an incredible lift to the team. And all of a sudden, you know, I think just a couple of days ago, the uncertainty around both Miller and Demko was extremely high.

Now we're looking at, you know, they've got this six-game homestand. There's a possibility they're playing games with both of those guys in the lineup on this homestand, which I think would be a major, major pleasant surprise for Canucks fans if that happens. Yeah, because, I mean, look, the Miller absence has been talked about and poured over and speculated on since the announcement. But we're now just over two weeks since the announcement and since he hasn't played.

If he's targeting, and if Frank is reporting that the idea is that he could be back practicing in about five days and then getting into the lineup before the end of this homestand, which ends on Monday the 16th against Colorado, then you're still looking at a guy who will have missed three weeks of game time, right? Like that's pretty significant in the NHL. And that should be enough time, you would hope,

especially given we talked about this yesterday. He's named to Team USA for the Four Nations faceoff. All indications there from that management group was that, hey, we have absolutely no concerns. This guy's not only going to be available to us in February, but is going to be ready to go and ready to be a big-time contributor. And so that will be two months away by the middle of next week. So you're looking at an idea that that timeline makes sense to me,

and it's not a firm one, as we've seen in other instances. In this one in particular, we don't know, but we'll probably start to get a little bit more information. If he does practice with the team on Wednesday the 11th, they play the Panthers the next day, Thursday, that might be a little too quick. You have one practice back, but then the Bruins on Saturday, I think that would be a possibility, right? You get a few skates in with the team. Maybe you're ready to go by then.

So that could be, you know, as few as four additional games that they play without JT Miller on this homestand. And maybe he's able to get back in for a couple before the end of the homestand and for a few before the Christmas break as well. Again, we'll see lots of uncertainty, but really positive updates from reporters plugged in. We'll talk to Dollywell more about it. We got both of them on the show, actually, Dollywell and Saravalli. So we'll see if they have more information on JT Miller. But Rick Tockett confirming as well that they have a plan for Miller rejoining the team, reintegrating and getting back in to the lineup.

A couple of other quick notes. It was a maintenance day for Quinn Hughes yesterday, so he wasn't on the ice. And with no Quinn Hughes and no Philip Roenick, the defense pairs they were rolling out there were pretty scary from a Canucks fan perspective. But Tuckett assures us it's just a maintenance day. Shades of 2018. Yeah, absolutely.

Like Derek Foreboard on the top pair. All right, let let's go good that he's back at practice interesting um but yeah talking assuring us it's just a maintenance day for quinn hughes no questions about his availability for tonight also in terms of the roster machinations for the canucks they put philip ronick on ltir they called up lecker mackie as earth reported yesterday they called up cole mcward they recalled max sasson as well so temporarily the dream of them kind of daily accruing cap space because they're not operating in ltir that's over for now but as i know sat has kind of laid out and other people have laid out as soon as guys like demko and miller are healthy good to go back on the roster and you set you're sending you know

she loves down uh cole mcward whoever right you're sending the corresponding pieces down they can be back below the cap and even with philip ronick on long-term injured reserve they can get back to kind of that cap space accrual. So it's a temporary blip. It's the kind of thing that can get complicated if there's more injuries and you have to keep calling people up and all of those things,

but it shouldn't hurt the Canucks cap situation too much down the line, especially if Miller and Demko are back pretty soon here. Yeah, it sounds like a matter of days in both instances now, so they have to fill out the roster. You have to account for that

extra bump in salary, typically under a million for these guys, but you call up three guys, that adds up, and Demko, Hronik, Miller, they're on big salaries. Teams that have to navigate having three guys on big salaries

for the most part, it is just LTIR and the Canucks have done a pretty good job of managing this. And yeah, we learned about the accrual. It's not just as cut and dry. No. If you're an LTIR, you don't accrue. No. We're all learning a lot about the cap. We're learning a lot about the CBA.

We've been so used to it. It's just like, well, they're an lti so it doesn't matter they're at the cap as soon as that announcement with with heronic yesterday came out i saw the mentions on social media are like yes we are pulling a lightning in golden nights and we are going to train for somebody immediately that's not what's happening that's not what's happening because that he has to be out to the playoffs for that to work guys he's not going to be out to the playoffs Crosby and Malkin let's go fire it up the Dallas Stars they might be pulling a Golden Knights with Tyler Sagan but we'll see how that one plays out I'm also curious Cole McWard got up uh got called up I wonder if we see him at some point I know the organization is pretty high on him. He's been playing well in Abbotsford.

I don't know that he's poised to be a full-time NHL or right now, but I just wonder given all the circumstances on the blue line. Does he get a look there? They've kind of established this process of they'll call guys up just to get him a taste of the NHL, right? I mean, Lucker Mackey for five games, right? They have no problem calling a guy up getting him

in sending him back down if he's not quite ready or for whatever reason right so Cole McWard we've seen that at forward a bunch right with guys like Baines Lucker Mackey you know Ratu went back down then came back up I wonder if Cole McWard could be the the next guy in line for that kind of treatment um we can maybe talk about the game itself and preview that a little bit later i mean really the the biggest entertainment event happening in vancouver tonight the columbus blue jackets coming to town on off of back the mood is gonna be wild off of back to the columbus blue jackets who played last night in edmonton yeah the vibes downtown for the blue jackets are gonna be just off the charts so So many people downtown to go see the Blue Jackets.

Yeah, they're closing streets, Jamie. To go see Ken Johnson and Sean Monaghan and the Columbus Blue Jackets. I feel like that's an overreaction. Closing streets for the Columbus Blue Jackets? Look, man, they're plucky this year. It's true. They're hot.

People are really excited to see them. Take extra time, right? When a marquee opponent comes to town, you know it's going to be busy, so take extra time right when a marquee opponent comes to town you know it's going to be busy so take extra time to get to rogers arena if you're going to the game uh tonight i do want to talk about this story around the nhl and the big news around the nhl yesterday the chicago blackhawks fire their head coach luke richardson promote their ahl coach and Anders Sorensen to be the interim for the remainder of the season. And this is not a big surprise, right? I believe Luke Richardson was in the final year of his contract.

We all know what the results have been, although it's not as if he's had a ton of talent to work with. Not a big surprise. The timing is really interesting because already the dominant story for Chicago's season has been the frustration of Conor Bedard. We've heard Elliott Friedman mention it. We've seen it play out. He's spoken about it. I mean, you remember the game he played here, right? And he wasn't good in that game. He has the turnover late.

JT Miller scores in the empty net. And the shot of him on the bench, you know, that is an extremely frustrated, dejected player. Then on Wednesday, Conor Bedard is officially left off the Team Canada roster for the Four Nations faceoff. And one of the things you heard in the aftermath

of that decision, I think Elliott Friedman wrote about it in 32 Thoughts, is not just Conor Bedard, but you throw in Stephen Stamkos in there as well, right, whose Nashville team has really, really struggled. Being on that roster means so much to these guys, and they know the fact that their teams are struggling, that they're not in a position to succeed.

That really cost them a chance. Now, I think you look at how Canada put together its roster and what they prioritized beyond the six or seven best forwards, I think it's fair to ask the question, even if Chicago was a much more functional team and Conor Bedard had a bunch more points and goals, would he have been there?

I don't know. You look at it, they wanted to take guys who were really two-way players. It's the same thing with Stephen Stamkos. I don't know if Stamkos was realistically going to be on this team but from the player's perspective anything that hurts their chances of making that team is going to be extremely extremely frustrating and you just think about the visible public frustration we've already seen from bedard what we've heard reported then you put this on top of it and it's like okay well now this is

impacting not just what i'm doing at the NHL level and my ability to win games and perform. Now it's impacting my ability to represent my country at the highest level. Look, I'm not saying that's why Luke Richardson got fired. I just thought the timing was really fascinating. And I can't remember a situation, like a tanking rebuild situation turning sour this quickly.

We're two months into Conor Bedard's second season and frustration already boiling over. They're in a very delicate position here. Like they have to absolutely nail this next hire because you can't get into this cycle of, okay, we're a rebuilding team, but we're not winning. We're getting frustrated. So we got to fire the coach.

Then we hired another guy because we had to hire someone, but he's not the right guy either. Now we're frustrated again. Now, and all of a sudden you're in a situation where, you know, Conor Bernard's five years into his career and he's had four different coaches and there's no continuity of it's built up.

I can't remember another situation go south this quickly there's still time for them to turn it around to rebuild or start rebuilding that relationship with conor bedard but to go from the high of man we got the first overall pick in for a generational prospect new face of the nhl franchise savior to where they are now is just an incredibly rapid decline for the Blackhawks yeah it's it's concerning and in Chicago they have some other issues swirling they have a local TV dispute at the moment that is filtering down to the players that the athletic Scott Powers and Mark Lazarus are writing almost every day about the frustration and Bedard's front and center. Understandably, he's not producing,

and he had a pretty cold stretch goal scoring-wise earlier this year that was obvious to the eye that was really gnawing at him. But the players are talking about, you know, we feel like we're letting the fans down who are going out of their way to watch us because they have to go through some, some hoops and ladders to get there and looking longterm as well. You know,

we do have this, this really great generational young player in the middle of our lineup, but are, are we, are, are we such a mess right now that people aren't going to be buying in, in the next two or three years? So you're right,

Jamie, you look at who that next coach is going to be buying in in the next two or three years so you're right jamie you look at who that next coach is going to be you know it's very easy i think and it's it's easy enough that we can do it on the radio and and in this market did it for a long time where tank trade everybody get some young players and then oh well you've got all this cap space why don't you sign these veteran players who are, well, the veteran players are probably available because they're not at that cap hit going to a contender. So you've got this mishmash roster and it's easy for a guy like Kyle Davidson to, you know, take in all the plaudits and well, yeah, my strategy is working. It gets a lot tougher when A, that prospect that you drafted is incredibly frustrated and b now you've got to

you've got to start showing some results and that coach that's coming in now is gonna have to be a really big part of that to turn this team around and get them in the right direction you mentioned this hypothetical where maybe bedard has three coaches in the first five years of his career i immediately think of the buffalo savers with Jack Eichel. Yeah. Right? By the end of his tenure there, and he had the injury thing, which was a big asterisk to the situation,

but he was just done with that environment. He goes to Vegas. Since he's been in Vegas, he's been a really productive player. He's going to be a big part of that Team USA at the Four Nations. Is he at the level of guys like McDavid and Matthews and McKinnon? No, but he's going to be a big part of that team usa at the four nations and is he at the level of guys like mcdavid and matthews and mckinnon no but he's he's pretty darn close yeah he's an absolute stud and it's just you know it's so fascinating right because the blackhawks get bedard and everything seems poised for this incredibly bright future the sharks get macklin celebrini and the difference and i know the the sharks got

thumped last night by the Lightning, right? They're still a very young, not that talented team, but the difference in vibes is just off the charts. And it's so fascinating how easily it can turn one way or another. And, you know, Chicago's in big trouble right now, and they've got to start turning it around in a hurry to kind of get that shine back on the Conor Bedard era for the Blackhawks. You're listening to the best of Half the blackhawks you're listening

to the best of halford and brough you're listening to the best of halford and brough from daily face off nhl insider uh frank cerevalli here on halford and brough frank thanks for doing this very busy times around the nhl how are you i'm pretty good yeah what a busy day already jacob truba news yes it's uh it's been interesting yeah so I mean we've just read some of the tweets from you know it does seem like a lot of reporters maybe got the same information a lot of the same language used right he's out for roster management purposes what's the latest you can tell on what we should expect the Jacob Truba situation how we should expect it to play out here in new york well it certainly seems like

he's reached the end of the line with the new york rangers that uh the captain's tenure will be ending today if not he's already played his last game as a ranger and probably of of little surprise in the sense that his name has been out there for a bit and then really started to percolate last week when Chris Drury sent out the memo to all 31 other teams, letting them know that he's available. I mentioned then that I knew there would be a handful of teams interested in Trouba. And, you know, when you look at it now, my understanding is that there's been a few teams that have put legitimate offers on the table. There are teams that as Trouba has a 15 team no trade list, some of them are on there.

And they wanted to at least allow him, I don't want to say some choice in the matter, but at least some say and be sensitive to the position that he was in with his family situation. And he was taking some time over the last 12 to 24 hours to really think about that. And the Rangers have let him know, hey, if you can't come to a decision, then we will put you on waivers, much like we did with Barclay Goodrow as a way to get around the no-trade provisions in your contract. And we'll have someone pluck you off of waivers in a sort of decided or done deal, so to speak, if you can't come to terms with the decision on your own.

So that's been my understanding of what's been put toward Trouba and it's now up to him to basically see how this plays out from here like you said Frank no huge surprise that the Trouba's name's out there it's been out there for a while but it does seem like the way the Rangers have been playing that the front office here really wants to to escalate this is this just the the thing that is available to them that makes the most sense to them to to send that message to the team given the way that it's played lately i don't know that it makes the most sense um i think it's a really cutthroat way to do it which i think we're all okay with in today's NHL,

that they're making a hard-line stance. As a general team perspective, this isn't good enough. You saw the direction that they were trending in over the last 10 days as Chris Drury sent that out. It seemed to plunge them further into the abyss. And changes are necessary necessary this is a team that they felt like they wanted to make changes last summer for whatever reason weren't able to do so and now after not being able to get over the hump in the conference final that they've got to just do things a little bit differently they've got a core of players that, you know, lots of question marks about.

What happens with Igor Shosturkin after this year? Will you eventually re-sign Artemi Panarin? You've seen some other players that are younger guys take on bigger roles. What's the next iteration of Chris Kreider look like if he remains in New York? So they've got a few existential questions to work out with their team. And I think what's really interesting is they're hungry to do so. And all of these conversations started with a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations that was off to a 12-7-1 start. What does that say for the rest of the league if the Rangers are willing to shine a light on some difficult questions about teams like Detroit and Nashville and other teams that wanted to be

in better spots, the Ottawa Senators, that haven't to this point, and yet we haven't really heard too much. You know, the other thing that springs to mind for me, Frank, is, okay, Jacob Truba's tenure as a Ranger is over one way or another. He's played his last game there, and it's great. I get it. You're sending a message, and maybe you're trying to do a little bit of addition by subtraction, but moving on from Jacob Trubis is not going to single-handedly change how that team plays. Let's say a team does claim him on waivers.

All of a sudden, you've got an extra $8 million in cap space, and if you're willing to be this aggressive, I think it's fair to guess that Chris Drury is going to be pretty aggressive about using that cap space in season. Is this the kind of thing where maybe they have something, you know, an iron in the fire to use that cap space? Like, how quickly could we see them be aggressive to add after they do the subtraction of Jacob Truba? Well, it depends on who they're making the transaction with, because it's not, to your point, it's not to just get the $8 million in cap space and then marvel at it over the next number of weeks and say, wow, isn't that amazing? We're spending less money. That's not how the New

York Rangers operate. So there's certainly something else in the works here in terms of trying to improve this team. It might not be necessarily a position for position. I think you could say that. And look, this is a team that's always trying to get better. Ultra aggressive is the way to view them. So I'd be real surprised if that cap space that they were able to generate from moving on from eight million would be sitting there long if at all on truba he's a guy that uh hockey people obviously like and respect he's been at times in his career very good very productive and in his role as a as a leader as a physical d-man uh but with with that cap hit it's hard to imagine that a bunch of contenders who are probably very close to the cap would be able to fit that in. So logic says that it's probably a team that's got some cap space that might be interested in him. And those teams are generally not the ones pushing for the playoffs.

What is the read on what he could bring to a team, especially if it's a team that is lower down in the standings? Hard to say. I mean, I've been trying to piece together some trade opportunities for Trouba, you know, as we've gone on here and over the last few days. A few teams stand out. Nashville is one, although they don't have the cap space. They'd have to try and find a way to create it um utah has had a real um issue with their defensemen going down one after the other

first sean dersey um then they were in a spot with john marino and then now um you know you look at maverick lamoureux after the fact three key pieces um all on the right side of your defense that are out for significant periods of time so um they just Utah is is one team with cap space with draft capital with a lot of if they check a lot of the boxes including the need that they'd be one team I'd be keeping a real eye on. And also a team that probably would be, if we're being honest, Utah, the old Arizona Coyotes, would probably be on a few no-trade lists that are lingering from last summer.

So it seems to connect a lot of dots, and that'd be one team that I'd look at. And another would be another team without the cap space, but certainly with a need to improve their defense would be the detroit red wings and i don't know that they would be on on truba's um truba's list because he is a michigan kid um maybe that would make or take some of the sting out of it. But again, Detroit would have to make it happen. And what could they send back to New York in order to make it worse? How close is Kyle Davidson to being on the hot seat? I mean, this is going to be his second coaching hire, right, after bringing in Luke Richardson.

And it can be hard to get three coaching hires as a GM, right? So I feel like this is a pretty high-stakes decision, not just for the organization but for him personally to really get this one right and start things turning turning around in Chicago because you know since the high of winning the the lottery for Conor Bedard it's been a lot of pretty tough times for Chicago since and I wonder you know it's one thing to change the coach how long is it before Kyleyle davidson is kind of next on the list of changes there yeah i think we're a ways off from that because if you think about it the first chunk of his tenure was still about tearing down and it was still about making trades much like the brandon hagel one which pops up again this week because hagel makes four nations face off roster

for team canada and has been such a big part of what Tampa has done, but he spent really kind of, you know, think about his first few months on the job. It was making a coaching change, firing Jeremy Colleton. That was like literally his first week. Then that's followed quickly by, you know, those trades that we were talking about and then they get to the bottom and now it's about building back up again bedard's one great piece to start but look at at what's going on in um in edmonton look how long it's taken after getting connor mcdavid and he has leon drysaddle already there plus nugent hopkins and hall and others it can't just be about one

player there's a whole team that you have to build. And for him, he's assembled a lot of the pieces. You talk about Rinzel and Moore and Korchinski, and I love what I'm seeing from Frank Nazar in the AHL to this point this season. They've got a lot of really nice pieces, but it's going to take time. It's going to take years for that team to get finally assembled. And, you know, we're kind of looking at like 2028 before you can really have a sense of, you know,

how competitive that team could be. So I think he's still got some pretty significant runway left. Sticking with teams that have come out of the gates struggling, and this is a team in Nashville that had much, much higher expectations than chicago they were seen with what they did in the offseason as a as a dark horse cup contender it hasn't gone that way they've really struggled to score they get shut out in montreal last night they've got some veteran players here they've got some players on some big tickets if they don't

turn things around pretty fast the the season's pretty much going to be over for them. What can the Predators do? Is there anything that is percolating in the next few weeks here that might open up for them as they do try to turn this thing around? Yeah, I could see Nashville being one of those teams that's in on Trouba. We can talk about the lack of scoring and the shutouts and all those things that have contributed to it. They are also giving up way too much.

And that part has been consistent from start to finish. They've been in the market for a top four defenseman. But this has been an abject disaster. There's no two ways about it when they went out and made the decisions over the summer to sign and bring in the pieces that they did you know part of that was predicated on the idea that they'd have a chance to win and be competitive this year you're thinking okay we can sign ste Stamkos to a four-year deal. We can go five years for Jonathan Marcheseau.

We'll worry about what the fourth and fifth years of those deals look like later so long as we have a chance to compete and potentially even win a Stanley Cup this season. If you don't even make the playoffs and you're not close, it's unforgivable. I mean, look at the way this roster is structured. Stamkos 34,

Marchessault 33, Forsberg 30, Ryan O'Reilly 33. He's got two years left on his deal. Roman Yossi is 34, Brady Shea 30. Like this is an old team. UC Soros is 29.

He turns 30 when his deal kicks in next season, going up to $7.74 million. If you don't make it now, there's no hope for you later. So they've got to find a better solution, and it seems like a lot of that comes back to the guy whose hand has been on the controls making all these moves in Barry Trotz.otz frank just before we let you go here i mean there's been so much going around around

on around the nhl we haven't really had a chance to ask you about the canucks i know i know you're on the station last night and you had the report about jt miller maybe next week wednesday rejoining the team in practice is there anything else that you're kind of keeping an eye on monitoring around the Canucks right now? Yeah, I would say that I'm certainly curious to see how Thatcher Demko wakes up and feels today. My understanding was he has put that knee to the test, to the limit over the last few days and weeks as he's worked his way back. And I think there's some thought that if he woke up today feeling good that he has a chance to back up tonight um so that would be

interesting to see him back in uniform and then yeah the jt miller thing everyone wants to know when's he going to be back um it's still i think in some ways to be determined, but they do have a plan, and that plan seems to include him rejoining the team midweek next week for practice. I think Wednesday would be a logical choice when you're here midweek, and it's also sandwiched between games Tuesday and Thursday, but I don't think that's set in stone and definitely something to keep an eye on. Frank, really appreciate it.

Great stuff. So much going on right now. I'm sure you've got lots to get to, so we'll let you go. Thanks for doing this. Thanks, guys. Have a good weekend. Thanks, Frank. That is Frank Cervalli from Daily Faceoff. From Donnie and Dolly on Check TV, he is Rick Dollywell. What's going on, Rick?

How you doing, guys? How you doing? We're doing well. A big news day for the Canucks yesterday. Lots of news from practice. Lots of reports out there. I know you've been all over the JT Miller story. What is the latest you're hearing on JT Miller? I just wanted to say this.

What I really like about this week, first Jim Rutherford came out and he said, we're going to stand by JT. And then a day later, Rick Tockett said, we got a plan for JT. What's the key word by Talkett there? It's we. The Canucks are working with JT and his agent, Brian Bartlett. Does that

sound like a player that wants out? That report that Miller asked for a trade was not true. It was nonsense. If the player wanted out, why is the team working with the agent to make things better? When teams started calling the Canucks about Miller, and there was about a handful of teams, the Canucks turned around and made Bartlett a call, and they made him aware. They said, look, teams are calling on him. We just wanted you to know. Never in those conversations was there ever a trade request made. So I want to get that out of the way first. Second of all, JT has started skating this week. I believe he was at the Burnaby Winter Club skating with Jason Krog on Wednesday. That's a really good sign.

And his return is not too far away. I don't think this weekend, but possibly next weekend. You never know. It's been 17 days since Miller took his leave. The most important thing is JT has taken the time to clear up whatever he's got to clear up. He's a massive part of the Canucks. His popularity in this city remains high. Fans chanting his name. You guys remember at the wrestling event last week? Yep.

Is another example of his popularity in this city. When he is ready to return, he will let the Canucks know it's his call, not the other way around. So he will definitely let them know when he's ready. And I think everybody is just cheering for him to get back on the ice and get over what he's trying to get over. Now, I want to say another team that Miller is going to be a big part of will be the American team at Four Nations. Miller was an early pick by the Americans. He was always going to be on this team. He's going to be a big part of that U.S. team.

They love his snarl, and they feel when the Americans play Canada, you're going to need players like Miller. You're going to need that size, toughness, grit, snarl, skill, all that stuff. His leave of absence didn't alter the Americans' decision to keep him. Just like Rutherford, the U.S. is going to stand by JT. One more American note. I see a lot of people mad that Besser didn't make the U.S. team. Well, let me tell you something.

Besser was always a bubble guy for the U.S. They watched him, but he got hurt. He got the concussion, and that really hurt his chances. Take a look at the forwards the Americans left off. Cofield, Thompson, Keller, Tuck. I mean, come on. I mean, the Americans, last 15 years, boy, they're coming on in hockey. Take a look at their development program.

Take a look at the first round of the NHL draft. They have just as many Canadians in the first round. These guys, they're spending the money to get better at hockey. And let's face it, the Americans are right there, right now, with Canada. And they could have made a second, just like Canada, they could have made a second team for the four nations, let's be honest. The Americans were really hoping and hoping and hoping to see Demko play. They really were.

The door was open with the way Swayman has played in Boston. Demko is very highly thought of by USA Hockey, but I do know for a fact that Besser and Demko, they're still going to get looks from the U.S. team. All those guys that didn't make it, whether you're on Canada or the U.S. or Finland or the Swedes, a lot of guys are still going to be looked at because of injuries. And, you know, the tournament's still a couple of months away.

There could be some injuries to key players, but I've been told that Besser and Demko still will be looked at in case of injuries down the road. From practice yesterday, Rick Demko was another guy to make a little bit of news. He did talk to the media about his recovery. It seems like at this point that the next sign for him is to get into uniform, potentially back up. Is that your feeling, that for the Canucks, the next sign of progress is for him to at least be part of a game, even if he's not starting? Very close, very close, Israel. The big key from yesterday was that Lankanen and Demko

were the only two goalies on the ice at practice. That was what everybody was waiting for. One of the problems for Demko the last few weeks was not getting enough practice time and shots. It is very hard to get the shots when there's three goalies on the ice. That's not the case anymore. So that

was the big move. Just to put Demko and Lankan into practice, not have a third goaltender, that was the key. It happened yesterday. So that means Demko is close to being an option for the Canucks. He admits he's close to dressing as a backup. Can he back up tonight against Columbus?

I was told last night, let's see how he feels this morning. I'm not going to rule it out. Maybe Sunday, but he's close, right? So he's close. I was told last night, let's see how Demko feels today. But he's getting close. That's close. I was told last night, let's see how Demko feels today. But he's getting close. That's great. Because I'll tell you something, nine months ago was the last time Demko played a game.

What a grind this has been for him. I can't imagine the ups and downs he has gone through, not just the grind physically, but mentally as well. I don't think anybody thought it would take this long. It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride for Demko, to say the least. Actually, for everybody. You know, the team, the player, the agent, the media. I've never covered an injury like this in Vancouver. Like, it's just been all over the map. And I give the Canucks credit, and I give Demko credit, for never giving a timeline. The only timeline you ever heard was from the media. Nobody else.

Because nobody really knew the timeline. But now it's close. So I think you can honestly say that he is very, very close. Now, I really like Demko going out of his way to praise Lankanen yesterday. He also made a very interesting point. Demko said the way Lankanen is playing, it takes a little bit of the pressure off of him. He doesn't have to be all world when he returns. Demko said the way Lankanen is playing, it takes a little bit of the pressure off of him.

He doesn't have to be all world when he returns. Now, I really don't know where the Canucks would be this season without Lankanen. He's been that good. You throw in the way Tuckett raves about Lankanen. He said yesterday that Lankanen is a fun guy to coach and his teammates love him. That sure sounds to me like a guy, a coach, who would love to have Lankanen back next year. But look, re-signing Lankanen is a no-brainer, but getting that done is going to be a whole lot tougher. The Canucks might have to step out of their comfort zone to sign him. This regime never likes paying much for a backup goaltender, and Lankanen's salary now is going to be in a different area code.

They might have to get out of their comfort zone if they want him back because they're not getting him back for under a million, and there's going to have to be term attached. It's a whole different negotiation. I give the Canucks credit for waiting out Lankanen in the summer. You know, I found out in mid-August that the Canucks were interested in Lankanen in the summer. You know, I found out in mid-August that the Canucks were interested in Lankanen, but I was told the other day it actually goes farther back to, I think, late July, where the interest and the talk started with Lankanen.

So they did their research on this guy, and they did really good work on getting him, identifying him, outweighing him, and the market wasn't there for Lankanen. guy and they they like they did really good work on getting them identifying them awaiting them and the market wasn't there for lankan and he had a ton of teams after him but teams had to clear cap space and they had to make trades and the canucks just absolutely killed it there's a lot of teams right now kicking themselves for not getting this guy with the way he's playing right now some teams could use lankan and as a starter never mind a backup but it's uh it looks like we're now finally very close to a demko lincoln and tandem uh lots going on in the nhl trade market right now rick i mean with all the jacob truba news

from this morning and you know we know jim rutherford and patrick albine they're always active now i don'tvin they're always active now I don't think they're connected to the Trouba situation but what's the latest you're hearing on the Canucks and what their activity is looking for trades around the league yeah I'll get to Trouba and Kreider and the Canucks in a bit here but I just want to say this it is hard not to hear uh Neil's Hoaglander's name on the trade market. We know the Penguins like him. We know the Canucks like Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Patterson, who's a UFA.

Is there a deal to be made there? Although it's going to take more than Hoaglander to get Patterson. Prospects as well. It's going to take multiple pieces. You're not getting that one-on-one. Sorry, one-for-one. Patterson makes a lot of sense for the Canucks with Hronik out eight weeks. But this is a top-pairing defenseman in Pittsburgh.

He's not going to be cheap. The Penguins want NHL-ready or close-to-NHL-ready guys. They're not really interested in draft picks who are going to take three to five years to develop. They kind of got one guys that are right there ready to go. Hoaglander alone is not going to do it. His struggles this year have been well documented. He's only got two goals. He found his way into the coach's doghouse.

Everybody in the league knows it. You know, on that road trip, he had games where he had six minutes of ice time, seven minutes of ice time. Although the last game, he got up to 13 minutes, and he got a shift late in the game in Minnesota, so there was a little bit of trust coming back from talking in that Minnesota game for Hovlander. So, you know, it connects Pittsburgh.

You know, is there something there that can get done? Another team that likes Hovlander is Columbus. They're in town tonight. GM Don Waddell on the trip. So his name's out there. There's no question about it. That's a chip the Canucks could use. Somebody told me the Canucks called the Rangers about Chris Kreider,

but here's the problem. Every team in the NHL is called New York. When they announced that they were open for business. My guess is Vancouver is probably on Crider's no trade. Obviously, Vancouver, every team checked in on Chuba as well, but again, he's got a big no trade. You know probably Vancouver's on it. He didn't even want to go to teams.

When the Rangers tried to trade him last year, he didn't even want to go to teams in the East, never mind a team in the West. But here's where the Canucks are well over 500. Miller and Demko are back soon. sure he didn't even want to go to teams in the East, never mind a team in the West. But here's where the Canucks are well over 500. Miller and Demko are back soon. There's no need to make a panic move. They're doing their due diligence. They're making calls. Teams are going to try and take advantage of them because they have so many guys out, but the Canucks won't make a move just for the sake of making a move. And prices are high. Teams are always looking for your top prospects. It was a good week for Canucks prospects.

Tom O'Lander, named to the Sweden team for the World Juniors in Ottawa. O'Lander is going to be a big part of that Swedish team. Top four, lots of ice. Second power play unit, I am guessing, first PK. Scott Young of the Canucks, the director of player personnel, saw Willander play last week in Belfast. There were four NCAA teams there. I think Young's got a kid on that,

Merrimack team, and he was there to watch his kid. Also saw Willander play. Sawyer Mineo, tryout for Canada. This kid's stock is really, boy, did he have a good camp talk. He had absolutely raved about Mineo. He's in Seattle.

He's going to be there. I don't know if Seattle's going to trade him at the Western Hockey League deadline. That would be a big chip for Seattle at the dub because they're not very good and they could move him and get a ton back. And also I want teams around the NHL have noticed Danila Klomovic's hot start. Nine goals in 19 games. Klomovic has taken advantage of long-term injuries to Carlson and DiGiuseppe. He's played higher up in the lineup. He's producing. He's only 21. The thing about Klomovic, he's only 21.

He's on pace for over 30 goals. He's got size, great shot. Canucks might still have something there, but they got some prospects that teams around the league are noticing. Every team notices other teams' prospects, but it's been a good week here for some Canucks prospects. Hey, Rick, a quick one on the Lions. What was your reaction to the Lions naming Buck Pierce head coach earlier this week? Yeah, it came down to Buck Pierce and Mike Benavides, and they went with the offensive coach. No surprise there.

Benavides got a really hard, long look, but they went with the guy that they feel can work with Buck Pierce, no, sorry, with Nathan Wark and turn him around. One thing I was told, all the coaching candidates, the finalists for the Lions' job, they're number one lure to Vancouver, and the reason they wanted the Vancouver job so bad was Nathan Rourke. So Nathan Rourke is going to be Buck Pierce's project to get him back to playing with the way he was playing

when so many NFL teams noticed him and there was so much NFL interest in him that's what Buck Pierce has got to do he's got he's got to get Nathan Wark back to playing where NFL teams were noticing him he obviously struggled when he came here last year right he obviously struggled but you know what this was a coaching hire if you took if you take a look at buck pearson his work in winnipeg as an offensive coordinator their offense has been great it was it tailed off a bit this year because they they lost a got a lot lost a lot of guys couple guys on the o-line too his work with the winnipeg offense was a big reason why he was hired. But I think it's a very good hire. He's now got to turn around and hire a coaching staff.

And the Lions now got to deal with a lot of free agents. I do believe they're going to take a good run to get their top receiver, Justin McInnis, back. And also, I think they want Stan back, the running back. Because, you know, if those two hit free agency, Vernon Adams is going to try to get both those guys to Calgary. So I think it's the Lions' job to get those two guys signed. But really good, Israel, really good signing by the Lions,

and I think that it was the right move. I hope they find a way to keep Mike Benavides in British Columbia. He's a good coach and just a really good person. You won't find a better guy in the CFL than Mike. And I think the Lions might try and find a way to keep him, but I think it was a good hire by the Lions big time. Rick, great stuff. Enjoy your chat with Trance on your show later today.

Is he on today? Is it Friday? Isn't he always on on Fridays? I forget about him. Listen, I need a favor from you guys. Yeah. ACDC tickets, you guys are giving them away. I think with all the work I do for you guys, you know, you should put a name in a barrel or something. No, you missed the call and you had to call in. You were talking to us.

Hang up and call in. I'm not calling. I'm not calling. You've got to put my name in a barrel, and you guys have got to pick it out on purpose. Come on. Talk to Canberra. Talk to Canberra about it.

It's beyond me. Hey, listen. Above my pay grade. Tell your boss, after all the work I do for you guys, and by the way, I get up early on Fridays just for you guys. I start working the phones. I called some agents this morning at five just for you guys. We appreciate it. And ACDC, I need some tickets. I love those guys. You shook me all night long. Are you kidding me? Queens Park, New West in the 80s. Oh, I'm telling you, it brings back memories. Those guys

are the best. None of this Taylor Swift stuff. It's ACDC, that's all that matters. Get me some tickets. Call your boss right away. Alright, thanks Rick. I'll see what I can do. There he is, Rick Dahl. I thought he was going to hang up before I... I thought he was going to swear there. He caught himself. Taylor stuff. Taylor Swift stuff that he said. He definitely

caught himself. Rick Dahl, not a Swifty. Not a Swifty. He missed his chance. 8-15. He should have hung up at 8-14 and called in. He technically was the first caller. That would actually have been funny. He's like, I gotta go. Gotta go, guys. I gotta call in for these tickets. Yeah. Is he eligible? I don't

think so. We're gonna check into that. I don't think so. Unfortunately. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.