Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 2/26/26

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they discuss the possibility of a Tyler Myers trade as he was held out of the game last night for "roster management" reasons, plus they chat last night's Canucks OT loss to the Jets with analyst Randip Janda. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Of course, behind the goal, the fires it off, the underside of the crossbar and in. Did you think it would be this hard? It's a nice question, thank you. Seneca hits shot, scores. Beck and Seneca goes five bowl on Jari. He had better cold tending, and tonight wasn't one of his best.

games. Yeah, say that again. Good morning, Vancouver 601 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. Is Halford in his Brough at his Sportsnet 650. We are coming you live from the Kintech Studios in beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning.

Good morning. And Lattie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford in Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Do you have payday loan debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up to 80% with no up for. unfee. Visit them today at sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the

highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle. You get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio. New year, new opportunity for comfort with orthotics from Kintech. It is time now for the Duick Morning Drive. That's our morning guest list brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. It begins at 6.30. James Sharman is going to join the program from the Footy Prime podcast. Exciting times in the footballing world. We are now just

105 days away from the start of the FIFA World Cup. Also the start of the MLS season. Whitecaps won another game yesterday. James is going to join us at 630 to talk about it all from the footballing world. 7 o'clock. Jason, we're going to go from soccer

to basketball. Ah? On the house on our show? Seriously. I know. Bobby Marks is going to join the program. NBA analyst for ESPN. The NBA has a tanking problem. What's the solution? Bigger question. Does the problem even really need to be fixed? Some teams say no. The commissioner says yes. Bobby Marks, former assistant GM of the Brooklyn Nets is going to join us at 7 a.m. We've been meaning to have an NBA guest on for a couple of weeks now since this anti-tanking story started to develop in the NBA. But we thought we'd just get

through the Olympics and then do it. So now we're going to do it. And since we're very much into online spats these days, I should mention that Bobby got in an online spat with Utah jazz owner and Utah mammoth owner, Ryan Smith, about this very subject. Really? Yeah. So does Bobby support tanking or where is he coming from?

He's got a very nuanced view of it. Okay. He likened the $500,000 fine that Utah had to pay. to a luxury tax for the draft, essentially. If you're willing to throw away your season and pay the fines, it's the equivalent of going over the cap to make a competitive team. This is like getting a competitive advantage. I understand.

Ryan Smith was like, you didn't pay the half a million dollars, brother. So it was an interesting back and forth. We'll talk to Bobby Marks at 7 o'clock about that. 8 o'clock. Randy Janda is going to join the program. Canucks color analyst right here on SportsNet 650. Canucks were back in action last night. the Olympic break and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets.

More importantly, I think some big trade news yesterday is Tyler Myers was held out of the lineup for roster management purposes. Lots to get into on the Canucks front with Randeep at 8 a.m. Finally, we're back to our usual generous ways here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. We're giving away a pair of tickets to Friday. Hey, that's tomorrow. Friday's game against Seattle. 7 o'clock puck drop from the Langley Events Center.

Caller number five gets the tickets at 8 a.m. this morning. Phone number is 604-280-0-650. I'll do my best to remind everybody about the giveaway closer to 8 a.m. But 604-280-650, that's the number. I'm not going to work in reverse on the guest list. Hockey is back. NHL is back. We've got a million things to get into.

So without further ado, Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was. We know how busy your life can. What happened?

Miss that? You missed that? What happened is Bratty by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies and resources and safety training. This is them online at BCCSA.ca.ca. We are going to begin with the Vancouver Canucks. Cole Perfetti, Mums Spaghetti,

scored 137 in overtime, and the Jets came back twice from a deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night. And that was certainly a hockey game last night. Rogers Arena between two teams well out of the playoff picture. I guess it was close the whole way and it was pretty hard fought but there weren't many dynamic plays made on the night as you might expect from two of the more

offensively challenged teams in the league. Drew O'Connor opened the scoring for the Canucks on a shot that Connor Pellibuck might have saved but Eric Comrie could not. The Jets tied it later in the first but then early in the second Elias Pedersen, won a draw cleanly back to Evander Cain, who shot Beat Comrie. That was Kane's 10th goal of the season and hopefully impressed some of the many scouts who were in attendance last night. The Jets did tie it late in the second, so off to the third period, we went deadlocked at 2. Now, Marco Rossi had a great chance to make it 3-2 halfway through the 3rd on a 2-on-1 with Garland.

Rossi's shot was saved and Garland couldn't get to the rebound. The Canucks also had a power play soon afterwards that they failed to convert. And with less than three minutes left, Garland was involved in another odd man rush in which he chose to shoot and failed to beat Comrie. They were right there, Halford. They were right there. Also, I want to mention that Rossi was the one-to-watch, brought to you by Limitless A.V. And he was that close, that close to making good on being the one to watch. Now, the Jets had a few chances themselves, but Nikita Tolopilo was up to the task in the Canucks net.

he's been very good in his last few starts. He's fun to watch too. It's a pretty entertaining goalie. So off to overtime we went where Brock Besser had a great chance to score. But again, Comrie couldn't be beaten, and that allowed Cole Profetti to eventually win it for Winnipeg. Seeing the Canucks home record fall to 6, 17, and 5. He's weak, Cole Puffetti.

Six wins. Six wins. Sorry, I had to say it. A couple notes from the game. Just 1625 of ice time for Elias Pedersen upon his return from the Olympics. He had a pretty tough night. Even short, he called it out on the broadcast.

Him and DeBrest had a tough night. Besides, of course, his face-off assist on Kane's goal, Blugher and Rossi each played more than Pedersen, although not by a big margin, but no shots on goal for Pedersen. I like to think that he was tired having seen his ice time go up to 1625 from what he was playing in the Olympics. That's true. He was bagged.

That's 16 minutes? He's like, coach, could you give me a break here? Of a 10 minute? I'm not a Superman here. The 13th forward in the Olympics. Tolopila was named second star. Shifley was the first star with two assists as his line went up against the blueger line and won the match fairly convincingly. Comrie was third star.

He played very well in the latter half of the game after. a bit of a shaky starts. There were, as mentioned, plenty of scouts in attendance for the game. A couple from the Kings and then a bunch from, I think there was, what, 17 or 19 scouts

in attendance yesterday? So a lot of people scouting the Canucks. Now, they could be scouting the Jets as well, but I think most of them there were to see the many players that the Canucks could trade and we'll get to one of them, that might be traded soon. It was Brock Bessor's 29th birthday.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Happy birthday to Brock Besser. The Canucks don't play again until Saturday in Seattle. So they had a couple more days off before their game against the Cracken. I don't believe they're going to practice today. The Cracken did not come out of the Olympic break on a winning note against the Dallas Stars last night. Now, Tyler Myers did not play this game. held out of the lineup, first reported by Rick Dahliawell, then the Canucks confirmed that he would not play.

He did take the warm-up skate, and it looked like he spent a lot of the time chatting with his family. And we largely expect him to be dealt possibly today, but certainly very soon. So the situation with Myers unfolded in pretty rapid fashion yesterday. It actually began with a... the report from ESPN's Kevin Weeks, who kind of from the clouds announced via Twitter yesterday that he had heard that multiple teams

had been interested in Myers and that he thought something might get done imminently. And that was followed up by Rick Dollywell's report later confirmed, of course, by the Canucks that Myers indeed was going to be held out of the lineup for what the club deemed roster management purposes. So, Dregor also had a report. I'll just read it verbatim quote.

They do have a trade option on the table. that they've asked Myers to consider. He has protection, trade protection, not the other kind, and is taking his time to consider. I'm told it was presented two days ago, the veteran and agent J.P. Berry continue to deliberate. So what's its play here, if you talk to enough people either in the know

or around being in the know, is that Myers has a full no movement clause. However, that clause converts to a modified no trade list next season in which case he has to submit a list. I think he can block 12, is how I understood it. Whatever the case, he goes from having full control to partial control. So what I think is happening here is the club has gone to Myers and says, we have an offer on the table.

Someone would like to acquire your services right now. And they clearly love the offer. And I'm not surprised that there are teams out there that want to have Tyler Myers. For the playoffs, at his cap hit and what he brings to the table, I think there will be a lot of teams lined up to get him. He's out a tough season, but he's been on the Vancouver Canucks. Which Canuck hasn't had a tough season. Name me one. I will wait.

Linus Carlson. That's true. So with Myers. Quinn Hughes. Right. The conversation sort of goes probably not as blunt as this, but hey, you can accept this trade that we like and we would like to move, like operate on ASAP. if you choose not to, we may not be as accommodating

if we were to move you later on down the road. Like we might not come to you first and allow you to decide and take your time and all that kind of stuff. And that's business, right? Imagine if Tyler Myers is like, you don't need to explain this to me, you can trade me.

Yeah. Because everyone assumes Myers has no interest in leaving. He does have a young family here. He's settled in BC, spends his off seasons, you know, in the interior. It basically lives here. And he likes playing for the Canucks, and he always has.

But even a guy like Tyler Myers might be like, listen, I don't really want to go out like this. I've never really played for a Stanley Cup. I realize it would be complicated with a young family. But, you know, this is not fun. They're not fun here in Vancouver. So, you know, it's not the end of the world if I go to another team. And maybe it's close by. Maybe it's the Edmonton Oilers.

Maybe. Yeah, or possibly. Seattle? Where he was at one point, the biggest villain that Seattle Crackett had ever known. Remember that? That's true. It's not long ago. Anyway, the only thing I really wanted to say on this is that ultimately, I think this is a good thing for a lot of different parties and for a lot of different reasons.

I think that moving Myers, who many of us just sort of dismissed out of pocket as a trade option because of all the reasons that you mentioned. Yeah. Him potentially being moved signifies a few things. One, there's no sort of untouchable for any reason. Everyone is open to a move. If Myers, the one guy who we thought would stay through this thing, is available to be moved, then anyone could theoretically be moved. And the other one is, is it really makes you stop. often think what Myers and some of these other veteran guys think about the future,

like kind of what you had just alluded to. There's a very good chance that Myers has seen this season and like you said, would be like, nope. Not again. No, thank you. Get me out of here. No, thank you. I have a career.

I have things I would like to accomplish as a professional. I do not want to sign up for the mentorship program. I'm not at that stage of my career yet. And that's an important thing because I wonder if that might go for some of these other guys. Tyler Myers might also be like, listen, I couldn't go to a new team and mentor the young guys there. Right.

In a winning environment. Yeah, or not do it. You got to remember. No, I think he does it naturally, though. I'm not saying he doesn't. Yeah. Right. But if you're going to stick around Vancouver for the next two years, the only thing you

are doing is mentoring. That's it. Or maybe it's the difference between having like two kids and seven kids. Kind of. You know? It's like, yeah, I'll mentor a few of them. But, God, a lot of them are texting me now. I'm not Philip Rivers.

I can't deal with all this. I only want a couple. But I think it's an interesting development in what we thought was going to be maybe a paint-by-numbers trade deadline for the Canucks. Like they're going to move their UFAs. Maybe they'll move a veteran with term. And then, lo and behold, the first domino to fall post-Shirwood trade could end up being Myers. I'll be very, very curious to see what the return is. Because we just saw.

The only other defenseman of note really that's been, I mean, Anderson got moved and Kulak got moved. And that's it. And you'd put Myers probably somewhere in between those two in terms of value to their respective teams. But Myers has a fantastic cap hit given what he will offer to a team. He's got term on his contract. And you got to remember, like you said, for as tough a season as he had or his had, physically he still brings things to the ice that a lot of guys just can't because they're not the same size. And in the playoffs when the game changes. With him in a structured environment, if he can find one, where he's got a fairly simple job to do

and doesn't have to make a ton of decisions, he can be very, very valuable. Okay, let's talk about the Oilers last night because there's a couple pieces of audio I want to play. And the first one is Connor McDavid kind of getting welcome back to the NHL and the NHL media. And he was asked a question by, I believe it was Mark Spector. Now, a lot of you might have seen this clip online and only seen the shortened version. And it looked like Connor McDavid

was upset with Mark Spector and didn't even bother to answer his question. And classic mainstream media twisting the narrative. It was, you know, it was horrible. Was it woke? No. I think so. No. Felt, well woke? Maybe. Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't want to get into this. What's the definition again? I can't remember. It was fake news, though.

Yeah. It was fake news. No, he's right. It was fake news. It was fake news. And I want to play the full clip here because Connor McDavid, I think, was just trying to make a joke, period. And then had a very thoughtful answer in the wake of yet another big game disappointment for the Oilers captain. A hard question, but, you know,

Stanley Cups found Gretzky and Crosby and those guys and gold medals and you've been put yourself in position and it's not finding you. Did you think it would be this hard? That's a nice question. Thank you. It's disappointing. I had no way it was no way around it. You could be sitting here having a totally different conversation with things had gone a little bit differently. So yeah, it's hard. It's hard to win. It's hard to win at any level, especially when we're talking about the best of the very, very best in the NHL and the Olympics. So margins are very, very small. And we obviously saw that on Sunday, and we felt the effects of that here in Emerton from time to time.

You're a pretty hungry guy. Can it make you hungrier? It's all part of the process. I mean, that's what it's got to be, you know. You know, what other option do I have? It's in, yeah. So only furthering the frustration for Connor McDavid in the Edmonton Oilers, they went out last night and blew three different leads.

Two of them are the two-gold variety, losing six-five to the Anaheim ducks in Anaheim in a very wild game. Now, this one, the frustrations might have been born from the Guy Annette, Tristan Jari, another incredibly rough outing for the Edmonton Oilers, to the point where in a tie game, in the third period Chris Knoblock decided to pull Tristan Jari from the game

and replace it with Connor Ingram. That's not a good sign. I would love to know. Third period pull. Tie game. Tie game. Ooh. Ooh, that's bad.

So afterwards, Jari, unlike previous iterations of this song and dance, took a bit of ownership and said they needed to come up with a save. But that wasn't enough for his head coach in probably the most strongest critique I've ever heard Chris Knoblog issue to a goaltender.

Here's what the Ebbenton Oilers head coach had to say about Tristan Jari after he and the Oilers blew three leads in that game last night to lose 6'5 to the Anaheim Ducks. Yeah, obviously I wasn't happy with the goaltending. The goals that we gave up, especially in the third period. Yeah, I didn't like those. And, yeah, definitely there was other mistakes there. but part of it is you need better cold tending and tonight wasn't one of his best games.

So how much of this stems not only from Jari's play, but his remarks, I think they were earlier this month, where he actually called out his teammates and he said, I think the chances that we're giving up, some of the shots, they're tough. I think it's a lot of great. days. I have a feeling.

I was like early in his tenure with the Oilers. And I just wonder what the relationship is like between him and the coach, but also him and maybe his teammates. Since arriving in Edmonton, Tristan Jari has appeared in 12 games. He has an 863 save percentage. And I know save percentages have dropped across the league, but you're not winning anything. anything. You're not making the playoffs with an 863 save percentage.

So to your point, Nalblock is not a guy that very often criticizes anyone. He's usually very positive and very optimistic, especially when it comes to the media. I'm exactly where you are with this. I think that he wanted to make sure that everybody knew that that game last night wasn't on the guys in front of Jari. It was on Tristan Jari.

It was partly on Darnel Nurse on the winning goal. You notice he didn't admit Didn't say anything about Darnel Nurse, though, right? He might have. No, he didn't. He talked about how his top line got a lot of chances. He praised Matt Savoy for one of the best games he had played on here. Matt Savoy was very, very good last night.

But he hung that one on Tristan. So between pulling a guy in a tie game in the third period and then lambasting him afterwards, I think he wanted to send a message. Now, here's the interesting thing. What's that going to do? You know, this is the interesting thing. Okay. You sent that message, and I don't know if this part is advertent or inadvertent,

but you also sent a message to the general manager who went out and acquired that guy. Because that's 12 games now since buying them, and you've got nine days left until the deadline. Stan Bowman has not exactly knocked it out of the park. That's what I'm saying. I mean, the Tristan Jari acquisition has not worked out. It still could, but it hasn't worked out. long-term contract to Trent Frederick.

That looks beautiful. And everyone's like, what? Like, he's done nothing. Andrew Mangiopani was brought in, and now he's like a problem on their books right now. Like, they might have to provide a sweetener to get rid of them to open up cap space to go out and acquire a player, which is a problem. And the connection should probably be involved in that if they can.

it's just you know you look at this lineup up and down and obviously you like some of the pieces at the top of the lineup but I don't know man I don't know

they might have an easy first round and they might be able to get past a team like Vegas in the second round might because they've got McDavid and Drysiddle and when you got those guys you can do a lot of good things but

I they don't look like I'm just going to bring up some stats here they don't look like a team that is capable of getting back to another Stanley Cup right now I mean at this pace they're not guaranteed to make the playoffs Jason let's just put it

let's just call it what it is they have one of the worst goals they're not they have one of the worst goals against averages in the NHL and that is never the profile of a team that goes on to win the Stanley Cup There are four points clear of Los Angeles for the final playoff spot.

They're one point out of being in the second wild card. Seattle's right on their heels. And if Seattle had a won last night, they would have also passed the Oilers because the Ducks passed as well. Laddie, real quick before we go to break, given the delicate ecosystem that goalies live in, is it at all feasible that the Oilers could go out before the deadline and make another move to get another? Yeah? Yes, absolutely. Okay.

It's been done before, hasn't it? No, I know. But they already made one. If you don't like the immediate returns, then I can absolutely see a team like Ebbington who meets to win now going out and altering course because what else can you do? You can't keep going the way it's going.

Follow up question. Do they just say, all right, enough, and just go get Binnington? Do they have the assets to do? That's the thing. I don't think they have the ability to. Can you? Well, I mean,

because they'd have to dump Jari in the process. Yeah. And they'd probably have to tack on whatever first round picks they've got left. I don't. I don't even know. We're talking about trade notes, 2028 first round picks. Yeah, I think they've traded.

Oh, okay, so they've gotten next year's first round pick. That's what I'm saying. But they've already traded away this year's first round pick. Yeah, so you'd have to trade your 2027 first round pick. And you'd probably have to, I don't even know what else. You might have to take a bad contract back and figure out something. They can't take a bad contract back. They don't have no cap space to do that.

And then you have to come up with an emergency injury that lasts for the remainder of the year for Trent Frederick and get his cap hit off the book. Like it's a mess. I'm not saying it's entirely feasible, but when you go this close to the deadline and call out the guy that they already acquired to fix your goaltending problems, they just wonder if there might be another move

still to be made there. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. The Canucks in around 2014, right? When they fired Mike Gillis, they should have looked at that situation and said, well, and we still got some good players

including the Cidians, although they were getting older. But they should have looked at that situation and said, look, we are screwed. In terms of being a cup contender, and then just really, really lean into that. And it's a lot easier to do, I think, when you've had the success. You just put it out there and you say,

listen, we had our chance. We came really, really close. but now the NHL, this league, it comes in cycles. And sometimes the good times are when you get to lean into being a Stanley Cup contender. And that's when you trade futures for rentals at the trade deadline. And it's very exciting. And you try and go win a Stanley Cup. There are other times where you're not going to be a cup contender and things are trending

the wrong way. Some of your key players that you've depended on for years are starting to get a little older, they're starting to get a little banged up. The league has taken a toll on them. And now we have to lean into the other thing. Now we lean in and we take advantage of the other teams who are in their contender status and we say, okay, we're going to help you try and win a Stanley Cup, but we're going to do it for a price. And the price is we're going to take your futures off you because you don't really care about your futures right now. But some teams and the Vancouver Canucks have been one of those

have just been like, yeah, we're going to ignore the natural cycle of the league and we're just going to do our best to build this thing brick by brick. And again, there is a nobility in that, but it's like being stuck in quicksand quite often. and you just, the harder you struggle, the worse it gets, because sometimes you're like,

okay, we'll go out and get a player in free agency. For example, a guy like Louis Erickson, right? Good player. Yeah. But a player, you know,

free agent years, once you get to under strict your free agent, you know, you're getting into your late 20s. You might be even a little older than that. So you've got the age risk there. And not only does the acquisition of a player, like that not work, it actually becomes another problem to deal with.

Instead of just leaning into it. And the Leafs are at that stage right now. They're at that stage where they had their chance. Now, what are you going to do about it? I bet they don't think that they're there internally. I bet that they think, and this is often a lot of it, general managers, and I'll use the word guilty because I think they're guilty of doing it. is they're guilty of saying,

we'll just take a step back, let's take a deep breath, we still have Matthews, we still have Nylander, we have Nyes, and we have Tavares, and we can do this with those guys. All it takes is for me to make a couple of moves, and then I get to win the Jim Gregory Award

for General Manager of the Year because I turned it around. They've only got two years of Matthews after this, by the way. Yeah. There are a great litmus test for, I think, a lot of teams that are on that precipice, of are we legit or are we not? Are we in our window or are we out of it?

Do we have a chance or do we not? The Leafs are right on it. If they're healthy and everyone's available, they're a playoff team and who knows what happens in the East, which is wide open this year. Wide open, although Tampa Bay is kind of proving now that they might be the class of the conference. But I think their blue line is downright bad.

Yeah, and the question is... Right now as currently configured. Yeah. And part has to do with it's banged up. Yep. The other part of it has to do with it. It's not that great. Okay.

Adam, the former bath guy, has a question. We'll take this to break before we do. The smart decision brought to by Crow. Would you guys be upset if there was a trade for Myers on the table and he used his no trade clause to stay in Vancouver? I'd be upset that it happened, but I wouldn't be upset with Myers, if that makes sense. I wouldn't blame him because he specifically wanted that no-move clause.

Yep. Or whatever he's got. You know what my smart decision is? It's an idea that I came up. It's not quite a hot take, but it's an idea. Remember how the NHL used to have buyouts like amnesty buyouts where you could just wipe a contract off the books and it wouldn't count against your cap

and everyone was free to go and all that? I think they should bring those back and give the Knoch's five of them. What if, Jason? What if they made one of those for no trade clauses that you were allowed to eradicate, wipe out one no trade clause? Think about it. It's like, you're not, you're not wiping out somebody's contract.

They're still getting paid and everything. But you get like one mulligan on a no trade clause. We're like, we shouldn't have given it to you. Because right now, right now there's an epidemic. There is an epidemic of no trade clauses and no movement clauses. They should have a no, no trade clause day in the NHL where for one day, all no trade clauses get wiped. That would be amazing.

And you have a single day to trade those players. If you can't get it done, the NTC is going. back on the next day. But that would be 24 hours of just chaos. Now we're thinking. We're coming up with ideas. These are very restrictive.

The NHLPA would be like, no, we're not doing that. Like, wait, it's hilarious to me when you hear about some of the guys that have no trade clauses. Doesn't Manjiapani have one? When we were talking about that yesterday? Thomas is like, why is everybody calling us right now? In what world does like, like, this has no disrespect, maybe some to Andrew Mangiopani, but why does he have a no trade clause?

Like, they're just giving them all like crazy. I think every member of the New Jersey Devils has them. So here I'm going to put it to Gary Betman and to the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, friend of the program. You guys get together and maybe even this summer just open up a limited time window that you can wipe out one no trade clause. It's just a small little adjustment that could go a long way. Or limit how many teams, how many NTCs a team can give out. Like maybe you're only allowed to have three guys with no trade clause on your team. The issues are already out there.

The majority of them have been granted. Like I'm sure there'll be more in future contracts. and everything else. Everyone's texting in, The Purge. The Purge. So you want a day like in the movie Purge,

but with hockey trades. But, okay, the one day that Andy's talking about, hopefully less violent. The one day that you're talking about would be too difficult. Maybe the same violence. You're allowed a little bit of violence.

Just for a treat. So now it's not just the smart decision singular. It's the smart decisions plural, courtesy of the Halford & Brough Show, brought to by Crow. Brandyam Janda joins us now in the Halford and Bruff Show

on Sports 9-650. What up, Brandyip? what's going on boys how are you it's been a while it has been a while great having you back on the program lots to get into let's start with Myers your thoughts on him being dropped from the lineup yesterday

for roster management reasons the news this morning that it's believed that Detroit is the team looking to acquire him and him potentially having played his last game as a Vancouver Canuck yeah certainly surprising to hear that Tyler Myers

would not be in the lineup last night I thought it was not from a perspective of teams are interested. Six foot eight defense been right shot D man. He's good skater. Mean when he wants to be. We've seen that happen as well guys in the path where he brings snarl to his game. It's just a matter of whether Tyler would consider it. And at this point in the season, the fact that he didn't play last night, it seems like all the reports are signaling that he's mulling over his options. And it makes a lot of sense, right? If you're an acquiring team, you're looking for a veteran player, you're looking for an individual,

that's played in tough games, knows what it takes, and brings an element of leadership. Yeah, Tyler Myers makes sense. Now, Detroit, I can see that as well because they want to shore up there, probably their second third pair. I believe Bernard Dawker is playing on the third pair

on the right-hand side, which you certainly need to upgrade if you want to be a good playoff team. So that one makes sense to me, but I look at a couple of teams even in the Pacific guys. I look at a team like the Ducks. I look at a team like the Kings. Like, these are teams that could use a Tyler

Myers. So even though Detroit's name is out there, and I heard Dallas mentioned as well, I would not be surprised if there's two or three other teams that are making that phone call as well. How do you think this affects the Canucks Room if Tyler Myers is traded? Certainly it, you know, it does affect it. This is an individual that all the young players, you know, basically lean on at some point. And even, you know, in game, we've seen it on the bench as well where Myers is talking to a young defense and maybe they're having a little one-on-one mentor session and

Tyler's admitted as much as well saying, hey in the moment it's my job as a veteran to let these guys know with some immediate feedback at times as well. But guys, even away from the rink in the locker room, just the way he interacts with everybody, there will be an effect for Tyler Myers if he's indeed traded, if this, rumors,

you know, even yesterday I saw some of IMAX quotes of players in that room, you can tell then there it's going to be a big loss when it does happen because he's a guy that everybody leans on he's a player that plays the right way you don't hit 1100 games in the n hl and not have an impact so i think in the room unfortunately for where this team is it's going to be maybe in a way unsettling but that's kind of necessary where they are at this point in 32nd in the nachel but that's kind of status quo up until the deadline there's going to be a lot of waiting and seeing

of which veterans are going to be in the room. The room will change. So I think the Myers impact is going to be a big one because he has been a big part of that room. He's a veteran. But even beyond that, guys, you're waiting out until, you know, the trade deadline. Everybody in that room is going to be looking around

to see which one of those teammates are still around after the deadline passes. What if you thought of Nikita Tolopulos play? Yeah, I think what Tolopilo, heading in, it seems so long ago. that we actually did games prior to the Olympics because with that two-and-a-half week gap. But I take it as a development year for him, right?

Like I think there's sometimes, when we look at goalies, we assume that because Batchar Demko played, because Kevin Lankin and his handle decreased, that the drop-off is not going to be significant. I think with total people, he's played well. I liked his game. I thought he's made some really good saves even that game last night against Winnipeg.

two strong saves in overtime prior to allowing that goal off of a bit of a, you know, unfortunate play off the paddle of a stick. But I think he'd look confident in certain places. Is there maybe that technical discipline that he, you know, needs at the NHL level? I think, you know, obviously talking to Woodley and you guys have done as well, he thinks there's room for improvement there. And I tend to agree sometimes when he stays within his post, He's just a lot more confident of a goaltender.

But going back to this, this is a development year for Nikita Tolopio. There was not a thought that he would be playing at the NHL level. So to have him playing games at the NHL level behind a team that's trying to figure themselves out, that's trying to get experience at the NHL level themselves and gel with the new pieces, I think Tolapal has played strong. I think he's made saves in moments that, you know, has kept his team in certain games and made some really, really strong saves. But a young goalie's still a young goal.

You're going to have those moments maybe that he feels like he should have one back as well. What did you think of Marco Rossi's game last night? I thought he was going to bury that two-on-one that he had with Garland in the third period. But Comrie found his game yesterday after a bit of a shaky start, and the Canucks weren't able to bury their chances eventually. Yeah, I think with Marco Rossi, it's just been tricky for him just based on the fact that, When he came to Vancouver, we already know he was battling something, right? So to get a fair assessment of the player in that stretch, I don't think was possible.

And then he shut down for a bit. And now it feels like he's got to ramp up yet again to the NHL style. So I'm like, I know it's, you know, overall, I haven't been wowed by him, but I completely understand why I haven't been wired by him because he hasn't been healthy when he's been in Vancouver. Now this might be the real opportunity we can see Marco Rossi play and hit a level, perhaps if he gets a bit of run here, where we can actually see what he can do when he is feeling good,

when he's got some consistent line mates as well. So for me, Jason, I think, you know, there's certain moments in that game. You mentioned the two-on-one. I think that change in overtime is obviously not something that he'll be happy at either as well, that poorly time change in OT that essentially leads the odd man rush going the other way.

But, you know, that dynamic play that we did see in Minnesota at certain times, that hasn't been seen yet in Vancouver. But like I said, I want to see him get 10, 12 games of just being healthy, consistency with some line mates. And then hopefully Marco Rossi can provide a little bit of that, you know, that flash that we saw in Minnesota as an opposition player. But I think with Rossi, most importantly for him is just, all right, now that you're back in the lineup, stay in the lineup,

that is a 60-point player in the NFL. He's shown that. He's just got to find his footing here in Vancouver. Pedersen's line, I think, had a tough night, certainly from a possession standpoint. Now, Pedersen did get an assist. He won a face off, and I went right back to Evander Kane, and he scored, so hopefully all the scouts in attendance were like,

wow, that Evander can still put the puck in the net. Let's get that guy. But what did you think about, well, I mean, we'll just pick one thing. Pedersen's ice time, I believe it was lower, not by a significant margin, but lower than Rossies and lower than Blugers. Yeah, there could be a couple of things here, right? Like, I think with Elise Pedersen, we've discussed it, you know, and I'm sure, I know for a fact you have as well,

just that not being able to find that level of consistency in this play. And I'm not talking to the two-way game. I'm talking about being a play driver. And you talked about the territorial position or lack thereof. When you're not going, a coach is going to probably ring you back. And one of the things I think we have to acknowledge is, you know, Teddy Bluger was one of the better players last night, right? for the Vancouver Canucks.

So when you've got a centerman that is relied upon for the matchup rule, you've got an individual and line that you probably trust a little bit more in terms of Connor Garland playing the two-way game and Leo Mogher and what he showed, I think that's a praise of Teddy Bluger, but also at the same time,

an indictment of Elias Pedersen, right? Which is saying, I got more trust in this other guy right now than I do. And you, the other aspect I would say is, you know, with the Olympics, you even, Adam Foote has not necessarily been that ease-in type of coach. He's saying... Bluger was in the Olympics, too.

Well, yeah, yeah, for sure. And he played probably one more game than Bluger did. So I'm with you. I'm with you on that. But what I'm saying is, you know, if that was an excuse, I'm not buying it either because Adam Foote has said, in the past, if you're ready to play, you're ready to players.

So to me, it comes down to, you know, if PD's got the juice going and if he's ready to go, he's getting more ice time. He just didn't have any. And Teddy Blugher, you know, it's a, I think, a pro for Teddy Bluger that he's creating chances. He had multiple looks at net. He had a great chance in the slot.

But if he's your number one center, that's a pro for him, a con for the other guy. How much longer can the Pedersen trade speculation go? I know it's paying the bills for our show, but we're tired of it. We're like, it's exhausting. And, you know, we're going to continue to point out things during a game, whether he plays well or he doesn't perform because he is such an important member still of this team. But I do wonder if the Canucks will get to a point maybe this off season where they either trade them or if they don't want to or they can't.

Do you just say like, we're going to take this speculation off the table? We believe in this guy or we're forced to believe in this guy. Is there a moment like that? or do you maybe just have to keep this going the way it's going? I think you do have to keep it the way it's going because we know players are individuals, they're people, but in the world of hockey and everything, their assets as well, right?

You don't undercut your asset by, I think, making that sort of claim unless you really truly believe in the player. And based on ice time, you know, the contract extension has now been a while since he signed that. And that name keeps on popping up in trade rumors. So unless you really, really believe that, Jason, I don't know if you can make that statement. And I think your point about the offseason is a good one because the off season is when, A, if you're a selling team and you're looking to get impact pieces back, that's when you do business. That's when all teams

may be interested, teams that fail in the playoffs, teams that are maybe upset in the first round, there could be a number of players in the off season. So I think at the very least we're talking about the off season, but I don't think you make a, you know, a declaration of sorts based on the fact that just to quiet the noise because you feel like you're, you know, you're going to be with this player and you have to, so you have to find a way.

This is not like a marriage, right, where you're going to compromise. It changes from month to month, right? Maybe the team forms up to it. Maybe the player does not. So I don't think a declaration like that really makes sense unless, you know, the player really shows you at a high level that they've come around and they've can reduce. I think that speculation will be there until that happens. If there was a team that was willing to take on the entirety of his contract,

what is the least you'd allow or at least you'd accept in a trade? The least you'd accept. Okay, so the connects are rebuilding. last time I checked, you know, over the Olympic break. I was an India, boys. So if there's any changes to that, please let me know. If there's any, I think there's no hybrid form right now. So we're still in the rebuild phase.

Right, right. Yep, you didn't miss anything. Okay, good, very good. I think your price still has to be, you're looking for a center back and you're looking for still, you know, younger pieces, right? Like, you probably still looking at the bare minimum, Jason. I think you would say you still need two quality pieces. and I mean quality in, you know, a middle sixth center at the very least,

and you're looking at probably, you know, a player that's developing into, you know, a good prospect or, you know, a pick at the very least. So I think two or three pieces, even though his value is not there, you're still going to need players coming back that can play at the NHL level and you need a piece for the future at the very least. So to answer your question, I'm looking at two pieces. And I know that salary is a big one, but at the same time, the league is really, I think, in a position where right now, teams are, they need skill. They're looking for skill. Every team is looking to retain skill. So in a normal year, we could say maybe that contract's an albatross. I don't think that right now because every team is looking for skill.

They're looking for talent. And you should be able to get at least two or three pieces back. I mean, Pedersen in Detroit makes some sense. play with a guy like Lucas Raymond maybe and then you would play behind Dylan Larkin and maybe maybe PD if he finds his game could surpass that and be the number one center

but you know if he went to Detroit and played behind Dylan Larkin he could have some success there for sure and I'm going to make a comparison here that I don't think player for player we know who the better player is before the tech store coming in but I'm talking about team dynamic.

Yvgeny Malkin, in my opinion, is one of the 100 best players in NFL history. He should have owned that list back in 2016. But he had an opportunity to go elsewhere if he wanted to, probably multiple times in his career, but he chose to be the best second-line center in the NHL for probably a decade. And there's nothing wrong with that. The guy won, what, three cups, he played behind Sidney Crosby, and he doesn't have to, you know, he doesn't have to control the ship there. He doesn't have to guide it.

That's Sidney Crosby job. And some guys are like that. And I'm not saying player for players are the same type of player. But Alias Pedersen might be an overpaid second line center in the NHL. But if it works in a team dynamic, if there's somebody else that's guiding the ship, you know, that could be a very, very successful team too. So whether it's Detroit, you know, whether it could have been Vancouver at some point. It certainly seemed like that a few years ago.

it's not the case right now, but, you know, Detroit, other teams across the league, I still think it's possible. When you look at that dollar figure here in Vancouver, it does feel like it's almost an impossible task. But I think if you're an acquiring team, you're looking at the cap going up, you're looking at what you have in house. And Alias Pedersen, you know, if he's a 70-point center somewhere making that money, but he's, you know, walking down that second line, guess what? You know what?

If that's on a successful team, I think it can work. If you're an acquiring team, I know it's tough to take the dollar amount out of it because we're in a cap world. But more important than that money right now is skill. And is there skill there for the right role and the right fit? And I think that Pedersen, that dynamic could work similar to Malcon, where you don't have to be the top dog, maybe just when called upon occasionally. How was India, buddy? It was intense. I hadn't been back in 24 years.

So I've been there when I was a kid. Last time I was there, it was a very long time ago when I was in high school. And going back, it was awesome. It went back to my parents' village, my ancestral village. It was just seeing something as an adult compared to a teenager. It just put life in perspective. So I really enjoyed it. And I'm glad to be back, but I'm not going to lie.

I kind of missed the weather. It was about 25, 30 degrees. Tell us a bit about the ancestral village that your parents are from. Yeah, so it's in a, for a lot of folks that, of course, there's a lot of South Asians here in the lower mainland, but Punjab is where my family's from, hence Hawkingen, Canada, of Punjabi. That's a state near the Pakistan border. And the district we're from is called Hasharpu, which is the land of the saints of the nickname. So we have a small village. It's only 10 to 12 houses.

It's called Jardu Janda, which is actually cool because my last name is in the village's name as well. And it's, I kid you not, there's like six. 50 to 60 people that live in the village. My grandfather built the house that we, my dad grew up in there. It's still, you know, the land is still there. The house has been torn down. We still have some land out there farm.

So just to go back and, you know, we live in like a metropolis here, guys, but to go back to a completely different way of life where it's all farming, you're walking through the fields. It was really, really cool for me to go back and just kind of slow down with life as well. You know, we don't play the game, but we cover it and it feels like it's going 100 miles per hour. So just to have that break within the season and just experience life in a different way completely was awesome, guys.

I don't know if we've talked about this before, but I remember, I think it was a couple of years ago, you did some interviews with the Canadian cricket players, the T20 players. Have you been watching any of the World Cup? Because the Willow Channel suddenly appeared on my cable box and I am getting kind of. Cricket guys now.

Yeah, well, there we go. We're close. We're in the Super 8 right now, Halford. So the semifinals are right around the corner. England is looking good. Obviously, I'm aware that we're in the Super 8. In India, India needs some wins coming up against Zimbabwe and West Indies. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.