Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 3/4/26

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they preview tonight's Canucks matchup versus the Carolina Hurricanes 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. In terms of rebuild, that's obviously direction of organization, has said. And, you know, when you're 32nd place, it's pretty self-explanatory. It's true, but I shouldn't say it. McDavid over to Bouchard, the shot. Good morning, make you for 6-01 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

It is Halford, it is Brough, it is SportsNet 650. We are coming you live from the Kintech Studios in Beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adaw, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well.

Hello, hello. Halford and 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 your debt by up 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in Hour 1 of the program. Hour 1 is brought to by North Star. Metal recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal.

North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to live from the Kintech studio, New Year, New Opportunity for Comfort with Orthotics from Kintech. Got a lot to get into on the show today. It begins with our guest list. Better known is the Duick Morning Drive brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. It begins at 630. David Amber, Hockey Night in Canada.

SportsNet NHL host is going to join the program. Busy night last night in the NHL, 11 games. Five more tonight, including Scotia Bank Wednesday night hockey, Leafs and Devils, followed by your Vancouver Canucks hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. David is going to join us at 6.30 to break it all down.

7 o'clock, Frank Ceravalli's going to join the program. Our NHL insider from Victory Plus, lots of trade deadline material to get into with Frank today. Nashville, the big mover yesterday, swinging a pair of deals. Will it Canucks be out? active today or tomorrow or Friday? We'll get some answers from Frank at 7 o'clock this morning.

7.30, speaking of the St. Louis Blues, Jeremy Rutherford is going to join the program, covers the Blues for the Athletic. The Blues have become something of the main character heading into Friday's deadline. Trade rumors flying around Robert Thomas, Jordan Cairo, Jordan Minnington, Justin Falk and Braden-Shen.

What do we make of all these rumors? Who's going to be on the move? Jeremy joins us at 7.30 to break it all down. 8 a.m. Randipe Jan is going to join the program. Canucks game analyst for Sportsnet. Canucks are back in action tonight, 7 o'clock from Rogers Arena. Tonight, the visitors are the Carolina Hurricanes, as I mentioned. They will most likely win tonight's hockey match.

Randeep can explain why at 8 a.m. Not going to work in reverse on the guest list. We got a lot to get into on the program. So without further ado, Greg, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last? last night, though. No. What happened?

I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies a best in tools, resources, and safety training.

Visit them online at BCCSA.ca. So yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks did not play an NHL match. However, there was lots of hockey news as it relates to the club. The team practiced the head of today's game. against Carolina. And more importantly, for the purposes of this show and entertainment, they were embroiled in numerous trade rumors flying across the internet yesterday. But they actually haven't made a trade since sending Kiefer Sherwood to the Sharks in January. Who scored his first goal as a member of the San Jose Sharks last night and the winning goal.

That was a wild, wild game between the sharks and the Canadians. Yeah, Connor Garland out yesterday, I suppose, became the main player of focus with reports that both the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins were interested in his service. Garland has always been one of the more marketable assets for two good reasons. Firstly, he's a pretty good player, even if his production has fallen off lately. What else is new with any member of the Vancouver Canucks? The rest of his teammates aren't producing much either. Secondly, he doesn't have any trade protection until July 1st when his contract extension

kicks in. I'd be curious to know if the Canucks are still working with him on potential destinations almost acting like he's got a quasi no move clause just because when they signed him to that contract extension the expectation is that he would be a member of the Vancouver Canucks for a number of years. Yeah. And oftentimes

when that extension includes a no move clause it would be like well, okay, we're still going to work with you. And people say, like, why? They should be ruthless. It's like, you know who else can be ruthless? Agents. Yep. You know?

There's only 15 of them. Yeah, right. So we'll see what happens with Garland if there's a deal to be made there. Meanwhile, Tyler Myers is still in limbo. Drans texted me that he was going to use this phrase. We've got a real quack. Meyers with Tyler Myers. Plural?

No, well, what? It's a pun. It's a pun on his name. There's a quag Myers. Oh. It's early. It's early. Well, yeah, I didn't pick that one up.

Clearly. You didn't emphasize the quag Myers. He kind of did. Well, yeah, I did. We were in a real quagmires. Oh. And then when I, and then he's like, plural. I'm like, nope, that's Tyler Myers.

Now I get it. I get jokes. All right. If we had to guess, what's going on right now. I mean, it's my fault for bringing up a Dran's thing. No, it's okay. Yeah.

If we had to guess, actually not bad. He's probably hoping the Canucks get another good offer from a team that's like not Detroit, so he doesn't have to consider leaving for Detroit. And, you know, for those people saying, like, well, why doesn't you say,

I'm not going to Detroit? Well, the team could, in theory, say, well, okay, that's fine. You're not going to go to Detroit, and we couldn't find a better offer. But July 1st comes along, your no move clause goes to a limited no trade protection, and then you might go somewhere worse than Detroit. Another quagmire's, if you will. Yeah.

But the ruthlessness that you're talking about in the... Well, there's two situations there where they could either be like ruthless or, you know, Let's use the word like, it took a lot of class. Classy. Don't make us send out the high tunes, Tyler. We have a high-couver Canucks. It's a worthwhile conversation to have.

I don't know if we necessarily need to have it now because we need to get through some of these things. But very quickly, don't forget, this is all the Canucks doing. They're the ones that put these deals to paper. They're the ones that included the no-movement clauses for both players. And they're the ones, and especially in the case of Garland,

who made the commitment to him months before pivoting quite aggressively on the direction of the franchise and are now left to make a real, really important choice. And it's do you put the player, and I honestly think this is what it comes down to. Do you put the player ahead of the business in the organization? Or do you acknowledge while kind of maybe doing the player wrong that this is about the franchise and the future

and the direction you need to go in because I think there's a very valid case to be made that the deal that they hypothetically or potentially are getting for Garland right now, it might be the best one they ever get. And if that's the case, you almost have to put feelings

and residual effects aside and try and capitalize on this. I also think it might be a non-issue ultimately because I don't think any team that acquires Connor Garland with that length of term left on his contract. Like I don't, I don't think they're going to, they're going to pull the trigger on a deal that he doesn't want to be part of.

I really don't. Sure. Sure. I get that. You know? At the same time. They'll find out. Are you okay with this?

Are you okay with this? Somehow they'll find out. Yeah. But I also think at the same time, like there's probably preferred destinations and less preferred destinations. It certainly sounds like there's a lot of interest around Garland. Yeah, which is why I'm saying. If it's a less preferred destination, I think Connor Garland will make it known somehow that he doesn't want to go there. Speaking of guys making it known where they want to go and where they don't want to go,

we should probably play this audio from Jake DeBrosk right now. So it was odd yesterday during the show when actually mid-show, an article came out, it began with Ben Kuzma of the province and quickly gained steam throughout the internet about Jake DeBrask essentially saying that his game wasn't fit, wasn't tailored for a rebuild, which is a very interesting thing to say because the team that currently employs him is going into that rebuild.

and we are getting closer and closer to, you know, the trade deadline. Apparently, DeBrusk either didn't remember making those comments or felt he didn't explain himself properly. Yeah, they were to Ben Guzma. He was like, I blacked out during that interview. I remember the question was so long. I don't really remember what I said in response. So, Jake DeBrusk met with the media yesterday.

Here's what he had to say about his playing future in Vancouver. You know, that's the reality of our situation. I think that there are some things that have gotten out there. Sorry for laughing, but, you know, I'm a competitive guy. I like competing games that are meaningful. We all do. I've been around for a while. I played probably 80 playoff games, so, you know, I got used to it.

And in terms of rebuild, that's obviously the direction of the organization has said. And, you know, in your 32nd place, it's pretty self-explanatory. And, you know, that's their right to do that. And, you know, as a player myself, my job, my job, job is just to hard, be myself, work hard every single day. And honestly, be there for my teammates and just be myself. And I think some of the things I've been reported were, you know, I think I didn't actually clearly extend my intent.

I think five days ago I said something that pretty much summed it up is, you know, I still believe in this group. I would sign my deal if I had a chance to now. And I still believe in this group. I signed a long-term deal for a reason. And, you know, I can defend that. That's what I believe. I don't change my mind that fast in three or four days,

but in saying that, I got to take responsibility for certain things, and I just wanted to, I guess, clear that up. So if you want to just cut through all of the words and get right to the essence of that, that was a guy saying, I may have made it known that I don't want to be a part of a rebuild, but if I don't get moved, I can't be the guy that is like,

I want to be out of here, and I'm not out of here. That's all that is. I still believe in this group. You know, you have to say these things. You have to say these things. 32nd, only way they can go is up. Yeah. When someone asks me how work is going,

and I'm like, not bad, brother. They can see right through that, okay? They know it's not, okay, brother. There's something fundamentally wrong, but you've got to say it. Because I don't think there's a real great chance that DeBrest gets moved by the deadline. And if that's the case,

then you're talking about a guy who is vocally and openly said that he doesn't want to be a part of a rebuild, playing out the string of the first season of what's been a very painful rebuild. and the future, looking ahead, just means from the end of the season till the most important dates the draft, July 1, all that,

he gets either asked the question or it's out there, are they going to move off Jake DeBrusk? Well, Jake DeBrusk was signed in Vancouver to play with Elias Pedersen. And the Elias Pedersen conversation continued yesterday after Patrick Johnston was able to sit down with him for a few minutes. And I mean a few,

because the conversation apparently, at least the way Pige wrote it up and told me, ended pretty abruptly. And it was a very empathetic piece from Patrick Johnson. It was very nice. I mean, he's another one of the like nice, thoughtful beat reporters that everyone acts as like, I was like, these guys are jackals.

Like, go have a conversation with Patrick Johnston. He's like the night, He used to be a teacher, didn't he? Not a mean bone in his body. He's not a mean bone in his body. Just like so thoughtful. And I guess he had three or four minutes with Elias Pedersen. And Pedersen, you know, said, you know, it's not fun.

You know, I can't look at the past. I can only focus on my future. And then P.J asked him, well, what is that future? And he said, Pedersen said, I want to do everything to help the team win, be a good teammate, play for a team, play for the crest. Trust me, I'm just trying to find my game, every game. I haven't been my best for some time. Trust me.

No one wants that more than me. And then Pige writes, and it was there where our conversation ended. He got up and left. The emotion was raw. And the way that Pige, you know, told me about it, it was just like, he said something like, I felt at that time that he was either going to burst into tears or punch me.

You know, and, and, and, and, like, maybe both. Maybe both. Yeah. And, you know, it's, yeah, the old cry fight. We've, we've been obviously critical of his play. But I, at the same time, I think this show, as much as we're like, Pedy, hey, you guys just hate Pety. It's like, no, we're, we're, we're, we're, we're, we're, we're, we're, yeah, I'll push back on that. And this is an internal pushback. Because I'm the guy pushing back against myself and our, our understanding of it. The frustrations have boiled over on numerous occasions.

Probably like the player, right? Our frustrations have boiled over. How many times have we said it's like having a kid that's going through some challenging times? A lot. And you love the kid, but you're also just like, why can't you accept feedback? Like, why can't you, why don't you just listen, accept feedback? I would, I would suggest that a large part of the frustration is that like many parents with children, when the children don't have the answers,

the parents don't have them either. We've gone through a laundry list. Going down the road of playing armchair psychologist at times trying to figure out exactly what's going on here. I have no option but to do that. Because it's baffling and it doesn't really make any sense. Now when you hear the player say the exact same things, it's not comforting or it doesn't give you any sort of closure.

It doesn't make anything easier. and it certainly doesn't give you any explanations. It just makes you wonder what the hell has happened. And I get asked that question more than anything else. When anyone asks what the hell happened to Petey and you have no idea. And unfortunately, and perhaps most distressingly, neither does the player. I will say this, just to put a bow on this one. Oftentimes, when there's no other option and no other avenue to go down,

the fresh start is the way to do it. You know, you're like we've tried everything else. We've exhausted every other option. Maybe you just need a fresh start. Peach finishes this little part of his story with this. He's as lost for answers as we all are. Fans come to me and ask, what's changed? I don't have the answers, and he clearly doesn't,

though he's been looking for one. Yeah, so that just continues on. The Canucks practiced ahead of tonight's game against Carolina. Oh, right. There are still these pesky games to be played. They just, I mean, they really, they really, you know, interrupt us from our trade talk. This is true.

This will be the last one before the trade deadline. And it comes against a very strong Carolina side that is once again hoping to get over the hump in the playoffs. The hurricanes, by the way, are one of the handful of teams that we still here linked to Elias Pedersen. They had strong interest before. That was before ditching the Canucks to get ranted instead.

But they could still use a quality second line center. At least that's the thinking behind Sebastian Aho as Logan Stankovin, who's the current 2C, and that line has actually been playing pretty well in the last few games. People are like, do we really need to go out and get a TC? There is that thought that he may not be able to cut it in that space. spot and Jordan Stahl who can sometimes move up there but is usually their 3C he's 37 years old I do wonder though if the canes would absolutely insist on retention in any deal because if they were

to trade for Pedersen with his full cap hit he would be the highest paid hurricane yeah like he'd be making more than Sebastian ahoh and that could create issues if he went and continue to underperform. The Canucks, meanwhile, have been very clear that they are not going to retain on any deal. But we're going to see another very good side in Rogers Arena, not the home team. The visitors, the Dallas Stars, came in on Monday

and really took care of business against the Vancouver Canucks. They also kicked the crap out of Calgary last night. They won 10 straight. Yeah. Sometimes our rage and disappointment with how the Canucks season has gone is overshadowed. Some of the less notable teams that have done, like, remarkably well. I still don't believe in them.

Yeah. I still, like, I still think of their an afterthought to me. Now, it could be proven wrong. Prove me wrong, Dallas Stars. Look, prove me wrong. Look, it's going to happen eventually. I'm going to be wrong about something. It's going to happen eventually.

Don't talk like that. But I still look at Colorado and I'm like, I don't know if anyone's beating them in the Western Conference or overall, really. Well, I watched what could be. could be a Stanley Cup preview last night between the Minnesota Wild and the Tampa Bay Lightning. And Minnesota looks really good, really deep, really talented, obviously goes to those saying the addition of Hughes

and just the confidence that Hughes is playing with right now at this particular moment, given everything that's gone on over the last week and a half, two weeks, they're flying. I know there's a report out there that any, now this is interesting because my geography got tested here. Vincent Trochec reportedly has told the New York Rangers that he won't accept a trade to anywhere in the West.

Minnesota technically plays in the West. Yeah. But Minnesota is more like flyover country. It's more like I'd almost classify it as Central America. Not that Central America. It's like it's flyover country. I wonder if they're like, people call it the Midwest, but you could also call it the mid-east.

Sure. Or just the mid. Wait, don't call it the Mideast. Don't call the Mideast. That doesn't work either. Don't call it Central America. Don't call it the Mitty's. So I'll be curious to see if the Wild,

because of that division where the Dallas Stars, despite having won 10 consecutive games, we're still not 100% sold on, and the Colorado Avalanche are in there, one of those teams is going to be out in the first round, which is wild to me. One of those teams will be gone in the first round, and that's one of the top five teams in the NHL gone straight away.

So I get why everyone. Everyone's in this sort of de facto arms race to try and, you know, bulk up going into the deadline and make yourself as strong as possible. But the grim, grim, grim reality of it is one of them's going to be gone. But I'll be curious to see if they can orchestrate that trocheque trade. I'm kind of setting this up now because as we dive into the rest of the NHL stories, here's one thing about this trade deadline that I've liked as opposed to previous trade deadlines. Oftentimes, by this date, a good chunk of the business. has been done, but it's been relatively quiet so far.

Well, I'm really looking forward to chatting with Jeremy Rutherford, who covers the St. Louis Blues, because they could be the ones that dictate this trade deadline. There's a lot of buyers, too, that really traditional buyers were the teams that, you know, are always getting after the deadline that haven't had any business yet. And you've also got the new blood in Buffalo and Detroit, who have missed the playoffs for so long. I would say Utah, too.

Utah feels like they're kind of lurking in the weeds waiting to make something happen. So in light of all of this, like I'm actually kind of excited for the next few days. I probably spoiled it now. All the deals will get done today and tomorrow and then by Friday. We'll be like Robbie Fabry's on the move again. No, I think Friday is going to be, at least for Canucks fans, it's going to be the day. It's definitely shaping up to be that way, which is great, right? By the way, on the subject of Vancouver Canucks before we go to break, we should mention there was some paperwork taking care of yesterday. So Thatcher Demko got moved to long-term injured reserve season-ending LTI.

I guess what that means without getting too far into the financials of it is that with the additional cap space, the Canucks, and this was according to Thomas Durantz in the athletic, would have over 11 million in cap space at the deadline. So I suppose that gives them another wrinkle and another option to do something else with all of these deals that they have out there, right? Right now. Do you think they're going to go for it? Should they buy? Yeah, they could. take a bad contract back, in theory. All it really does is give them more flexibility

to do more things at the deadline because right now you're talking about Connor Garland being right in the smack in the middle of Boston and the New York Islanders trade plans particularly. You still got all of the UFAs. You still got no resolution on what's going on with Tyler Myers. Brock Bessler's name

continues to be out there. So there's a lot of different pieces that could still be moved. The big question is going to be is if Brother Ferdin Alvin have the gumption to do it by Friday, or if we get the classic organizational, you know, can kick down the road where you're like, we'll just try and revisit this stuff in the offseason when we have more time. Honestly, that can has been kicked a lot.

A lot of dense. Like it's barely a can anymore. I don't know what it is. One more thing. Congratulations to Nathan McKinnon, who became the second player in the NHL this season to reach 100 points. Connor McDavid has 105. Canucks leading point getter has 35 points. That is wild.

They're on the precipice of two really gross marks. We were on a text thread with Martinago last night talking about this. So the worst team that I remember seeing in the post-lockout shootout era in terms of points was the not too long ago, the 20, 3, 24 San Jose Sharks. And if you go and you Google them, there's a lot of articles like, is this the worst team of all times? is this the worst team of the modern era. They add 47 points. The connects are going to be incredibly hard pressed to get there, I think, just based on how the last couple of months have gone,

where there's just wins are so, so rare. The leading points score. How many points did San Jose have? 47. The Canucks have 43. They'll get there. They're not as bad as that shark's team. That shark's team was minus 150 in terms of goal differential.

Oh, they were terrible. one of the worst teams I've ever seen I think the... But that was... The thing with that Sharks team is that that was after they got stripped down. Yeah.

They were designed to be bad. You know, someone texted and said, why is everyone so angry? Like, weren't we happy a couple weeks ago when they finally said rebuild? It's like, yeah, there's... But they might be stuck with some of these guys and that's frustrating.

That's why people are angry. The Sharks, when they arrived at training camp that year, it was like that scene for Major League where the Cleveland Indian guys signed up and they're like, who the hell is? this guy. Are you guys trying to move to Florida or something? What's happening? Why is your team so bad? And then it was actually, dare I say impressive, they were somehow worse than everyone

expected to be. That's why they fired David Quinn. They're like, we can't be this bad. Like, we can be bad and we can finish last, but we can't be that bad. So, but to your original point, I'll, whoever leads the Canucks and scoring this year, it's going to be an all time low for the organization in a full 82 game season. There are not many 82 games. There are not many 82 games. seasons where your leading score doesn't crack 50 points and that's not, I don't think that's going to happen. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're

listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Brandeep Janda joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. What up, Brandeep? Good morning, gentlemen. How are you doing? We're well. We are eagerly using that word and it's do a lot of heavy lifting, eagerly anticipating tonight's

Canucks Carolina Hurricanes game. Actually, you know what? The one to watch tonight, brought to you by Limitless AV. I picked the entire new look first line of Nils Hoaglander, Elias Pedersen, and Connor Garland, because with only, with no goals in his last 13 games,

Elias Pedersen has the shortest goal scoring drought of any of the guys on that top line, which kind of underscores how bad things have been for the Canucks this season. But maybe, just maybe, they'll get it going tonight as we try and look for things

going into tonight's game against Carolina. Yeah, this is not a official betting advice, but there was a stretch where I had the shtick on Reach Deep of hey, this guy is due. Well, this entire line is due, boys. You'll look at, you know, Elias Pedersen, we've seen the struggles,

no shots going off. Connor Garland, as much as he tries, can't get anything going. And Neil's Hoaglander, just you know, first the injury guys, and then when he's been back, seems in and out of the lineup, maybe not being able to find that rhythm. And in the last game, he played well. So if you're at him,

you're saying, all right, you showed me some energy, you hit a post, you had some initiative, let's see what this trio can do. Let's go back a couple of years. I remember not last year, but the year before, this trio did play together. They had a good stretch. That was the year that Nealz-Hoglander produced some goals,

and you're hoping maybe just even for one game, if you can get a little bit of that magic back. There has to be some level of improved play you would think at some point because the last couple of games have been especially grim. And I know even though that the team is fully immersed in a rebuild and they're designed to lose, we've had a lot of conversations

and so too have a lot of the people in the Dunbar Lumber text message inbox about you can lose and you know, you can finish 32nd in the NHL, but there is a way to lose and a way to play. And over the last couple of games, getting outscore, what is it, 11 to 2 collectively,

it feels like there needs to be a different style of play, maybe some more emotion, maybe a little bit more motivation, maybe even just harder to play against so that the guys that are in this rebuild, especially the young guys, are learning something and getting something out of this, and it's not a wasted effort. And I think there's a couple things going on here. The timing of this season is just, it's a strange one for this team

because the deadline is right there. This is the final game before the trade deadline. So you've got a lot of guys basically walking on eggshells. You've got, you know, I think the stress of the situation showing on a lot of guys' faces. I was at practice yesterday, and you see it every day because it's not a good situation to be in when you've lost this many games, guys. But on top of that, guys are wondering where are they going to be playing the next game? Are it going to be in Vancouver? Is it going to be elsewhere?

So I think just from a trying to play the game, trying to win games, it's, you know, they're pro athletes, that's their job, but it is human nature to probably overthink a situation and be worried about the realities of life. Now, when you talk about energy and having more fights, I agree with you. You know, we talked about this on the post game show the other day of, if you're going to go down, you might as well go down swinging. As of right now, the way that this team is made, though, you don't have those types of players. And I, you know, I've seen Marcus Pedersen, you know, have fights well above his weight class this season. So it's not like guys aren't trying, a certain players have,

but the personality is the team, the way it was built, it wasn't, I think, in that personality. So that's going to require some potentially some changes here at the deadline, where you're bringing in some players to say, hey, we've got a young group here. If we're going to bring back players in a trade, maybe somebody should be a little bit more, you know, a player that can dish it out,

can at least provide a little bit of confidence to the young players, but certainly something in free agency where you're looking at cheaper players that are able to address, that aspect of the game, providing some fight, providing some energy. And I go back to the Anaheim Ducks. Remember that one year where Jay Beagle was the most glorified mugging, I think, in hockey history, where he kind of went after Trevor Zegris a few years ago when he was with Arizona Beagle was,

and it created an uproar in Anaheim of who's going to protect the kids. And then they went out to get Ross Johnston and some other physical players, Radco Goodus. I think Vancouver's going to need players, at least one or two of those types of players. in the off-season, just to add a little bit of, you know, you understand where the team is, you understand what part of the rebuild is, guys, but I just think in-season that's difficult to do. Yeah, I 100% agree with you. And a lot of it's based on expectations of your role. And I think that's why, you know, Jake DeBrask has, you know, has come up as a topic. And he said some comments maybe that he regretted or he thought that we're misinterpreted.

and then he tried to clarify things yesterday with the media. But like this isn't what he signed up for, this sort of thing. He signed up to play with a team that was supposedly on the up and up, and he was going to be online with Elias Pedersen, and the team was going to be competitive, like the one he came from in Boston. And I just wonder how difficult it is for some of those guys that, you know, throw in Marcus Pedersen as well. that didn't expect to be in this position.

And if you move those guys out and then in free agency, you bring in guys and you're like, listen, you're coming to Vancouver. We're probably going to overpay you a little bit because the cap doesn't really matter to us right now. But you're going to need to bring the energy and you're going to need to, you're going to need to know that you're going to lose more than you're going to win. but your energy has to stay high. Are you up for that? And I think that can make a difference, don't you? Absolutely, right? You've got motivated players coming in that understand the role,

and that's the most important part for me, where you've got individuals in this locker room right now, and you mentioned Jake DeBrusk. You know, he's a player that's a middle six player, maybe a second-line player on a good team, but, you know, he's got to play with strong centers down the middle on a winning team. And Jake has referenced that he hasn't been in this situation before.

it's tough when you're playing, you know, maybe a line opposite or just a line below the perfection line for a few years in your career. And that's the standard you have. You're not necessarily known as, you know, a player with edge or an energy guy. That's not Jake DeRuss personality. So Marcus Pedersen came to Vancouver thinking he'd probably be

maybe a third defenseman, fourth defenseman, and he's getting minutes like he's the second defenseman on this team. And, you know, on some nights, maybe even getting more than Philopronic left now, but a little bit early on, there's certain nights where he was playing more. So, you know, and getting in there and, you know, trying to fight guys,

which is not Marcus Pedersen's game. He's done it, a fair bit in his career, but that's not what he's known for. Now, in the off season, I think there's a couple of things you could really look at when you're talking about trying to attract those types of players, right? Whether that's a, you know, I'm going to throw a name out there, but like a Ryan Lomburg type, right?

That's a certain type of personality that is, it doesn't matter how big the opposition is. Lomburg goes at those guys. He's got that mentality of, I'm never going to back down, I know my role. And by the way, he is a UFA, early 30s. But that's the type of player that you don't have to really sell on, hey, I'm going to put you in this new role.

And the other incentive here, Jason, is you might turn into a cult hero, you might be somebody that extends in the city, or if you're signing short-term deals, it's also a way for that player to say, hey, I get another kick at this, and potentially I could work my way to a playoff team at the deadline. So there's an incentive for the player as well.

So I think that's what this team is going to have to focus on. In addition to finding game breakers, which is the most difficult thing to do in hockey, you also need players that allow the young players to kind of pop out their chest a little bit and say, I'm a skilled player, I can take a chance, I don't have to worry about getting flattened in the middle of the ice because we got this guy in the bench

or this guy that's on the ice with me that is going to ensure that the opposition thinks twice about pulling something. I think so many people in Vancouver are hesitant to, you know, overpay and free agency for character because of the whole experience with, you know, Jay Beagle, who you already mentioned. But the issue with that acquisition wasn't so much Jay Beagle. It was the term they gave him. You know, I remember, I mean, we've told the story before on the show before,

but, you know, when Jay Beagle's name first came up and Halford and I were discussing, and be like, yeah, it's okay at two years. I mean, I wouldn't go to three years, but, you know, two years, that's fine. He's a character guy. He was a, you know, a pretty important piece in Washington as a depth player.

And then they gave him four years, and we're like, well, that's a mistake. You know, and I hope, you know, the overpayment, if you're going to bring in a guy like that, isn't term. It's just overpay them on the annual basis because, again, like the cap shouldn't be

an issue for the Canucks going forward. No, they shouldn't. And I think going back to that chapter of Canucks history, there's also a want to pay for Stanley Cup winning pedigree, which was a part of the angle for Jay Beagle of. He's going to be not only a veteran player, but this guy won a cup in Washington. He's going to

bring something for the Canucks that they need in the medium term. And what, you know, you overpay for So that, obviously, it was the wrong decision given, you know, Jay's a good, you know, great guy in the room. He was one of the players that I think you can go back to and ask about really anything. And younger players like playing with them as well. But in terms of skill, we know four-year deal, the four-year deal for a fourth-line center is not what you want to do. So part of the thing that I look at now with this team, though, is where are they?

They are fully acknowledging that this is a rebuild. So you don't have to make those types of deals. You have to be kind of, you know, ruthless when it comes to signing one-year deals. And I'll go back to a couple of players that did stuff like this for previous teams. If you go back to Toronto, they signed Daniel Winnick on a one-year deal, traded them, brought them back. He wanted to come back. Antoine Vermet in Arizona was another example where you essentially said, when-year deal, if we like the way you play and you want to come back here, we'll make it happen.

Those are the types of things. One-year deals have to rule the day for this team this coming off. and it feels like, you know, you're not going to get the skill players in the league on July 1st. And really, the Canucks probably should be shopping on July 2nd or 3rd as well, because if you really want to avoid that term, but you're going to get depth pieces, you're going to get, you know, second line centers, you're going to get depth defensemen, you're going to get guys that can play further down the lineup this offseason. Premium skill is going to not really be out there.

So it actually sets up well for the Canucks. If you're looking for depth pieces to, you know, take a, your time with these and try to find the right guys. So, you know, that Jay Beagle and Juan Roussel, that experiment, that era, I think was a team that did not acknowledge that, you know, they probably needed a rebuild at that point, but they wanted to get some winning pedigree. They wanted to get some certain types of players and personalities in the room. With this management group and what they've said, they fully acknowledge what is going on right now. They're the worst team in the NHL by 10 points.

And you have to take the slow road here and when your deals are the way to do that. And guys, PTOs as well, right? This is going to be PTO season for this team, and you're going to have to, I think, be very patient with the types of players that you pick up here, not giving up term. Are we going to be able to get an accurate read on Marco Rossi this year? The more he plays with Brock Besser,

that's the one duo I look at and say, okay, give it some time, let it cook a little bit, and see how we're looking at that duo, potentially a trio with Liam Ogren in a couple of weeks' time. I don't know if Marco was out. up to speed. I think it's been a difficult year for him from an injury perspective. You get traded for the first time in your career. There's probably a lot of things going on that

this player is not used to. And you hear that from players where even though he may have been expecting it based on his history with Bill Guerin and the conversation that was happening in Minnesota, once you get dealt, once everything is new and you've got new linemates and you're battling something with your health, it's top guys. So I think with Marco Rossi, I think in a couple of weeks, we might have a better sense of what type of player he is. I am intrigued by that duo with Brock Besser. They're not necessarily the quickest, but there is skill there. There's a, you know, can you develop some chemistry?

And if you put Liam O'Grath on that line, which he currently is on, he's the injection of speed, he's the F1, he's the forecheck. Like that trio to me is something I'd like to check back in maybe a couple of weeks when we're talking about potentially the third week of March to say, all right, are they able to develop some chemistry here? And are they able to kind of get something going here because, you know, they are, I think there is some potential there. There is skill.

There's a guy that likes to shoot the puck. And hopefully with Ogrin, you're able to get somebody that can actually back up defenders or put them under pressure. Well, I hope they're better than they were against Dallas because... Yeah, that was tough. That was tough. Tough for the whole team, though. We're speaking of Randy Janda here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650.

Okay, the Elias Pedersen discourse and we went over this earlier in the show and I'm sure you've seen the article that Patrick Johnson wrote coming off a very brief and what sounds like a terse and emotional conversation with Elias Pedersen

in which Pedersen said he wants to do everything to help the team win he's trying to find his game. Every game he hasn't been his best for some time and that nobody wants to find his game more than Elias Pedersen wants to find his own game. This, of course, came after the scrum in which he said he knows and he's cognizant

to the fact he hasn't even been close to living up to his contract. My question is, and it's a bit of a weird one for talk radio. Is there anything left to be said right now given that we know the player isn't living up to his contract? The player is admitted he isn't living up to his contract. And furthermore, the player is openly sharing that this is a struggle and he doesn't know how to find his way out of it. Is there anything more really to be said here, I don't think there is because we all acknowledge that he's not playing to the standard that Vancouver expected, the management team expected, I'm sure ownership expected, and he himself expects now that doesn't solve anything. That doesn't mean that you essentially have,

you know, cracked the code and everything is right. No, obviously, when you are paid $11.6 million, there's an expectation that you're going to lead the team. You're going to be a, you know, a strong, and the driver, right? I don't know, you know, it doesn't solve anything, but in terms of the conversation, the player knows he needs to be better. And frankly, guys, even if he were to say, I'm going to work on it or I'm going to get better,

like it doesn't really matter what Elias Pedersen says at this point in time. He's got to deliver, right? And we've had a couple of seasons of this conversation of the player saying I'm working on it. It's a struggle. I need to get back to my level. I need to move my feet. We've had multiple coaches saying that.

So ultimately it comes down to can you or can you not? And for me, it comes down to that question and will he or will he not in a Vancouver Canucks Jersey? Because, you know, like the entire team right now, when you are struggling like you are, you're wearing it and you see it on their faces. But with Elise Pedersen, you want to get back to a point of enjoying the game. And when I see him play right now, there's certain moments when he maybe picks up a point, you're saying, all right, he's got it back for half a second. But in Vancouver, or the last little bit,

it doesn't seem like he's enjoying the game. And it's tough to be a productive, effective player when it feels like you've lost a little bit of that joy. So I think Patrick's article kind of references or at least alludes a little to that, that he's frustrated, that he's going through it mentally as well. But guys, you know, I think the two questions that come out of this is, will he find it and will he find it in Vancouver?

That's, I think, probably the only two questions that need to be asked. Let's end this hit with a little bit of joy. Tell us about your buddies at Bells and Whistles. All right, and that's exactly where I go to get some joy in my life because, yeah, it's been rough. A 6-1 loss is not great for anybody, but that's where you should go as well. Bells and Whistles is the place to watch live sports in the city guys,

hockey, football, soccer, and more with the sound on. We've got EPL matches going on today, Arsenal versus Brighton, Man City versus Forest. Go check out their awesome lunch special. Stick around for happy hour as well, which starts at 3 p.m. 3296 Fraser Street right in the Fraser Hood, bells and whistles. Is West Ham going down? Potentially.

I through there, for them, I hope not, because I would like to see spurs go down. Likewise. And spurs aren't going to go down. I know they're in the zone, but they're not going to go down. You don't want that. Do you really want that, Randeep? Are you that petty? I would respect it if you are.

Yes, he is. As an Arsenal fan, I'm going for the quadruple. And I know it's not realistic. I'm not realistic. but, you know, if you have a chance in it, but I would willingly give up one of those trophies that Spurs went down. That's how much I want them to go down.

I really respect that, and I love it. And also, I think, Lee, not leads, wolves yesterday with a huge result. Maybe. Massive. Maybe just maybe. No, I'm not even going to say it. Okay, Randy, thanks for doing this, but we appreciate it. Have a good one.

Cheers, boys. Take care. Randy Jan, a presentation of Bills and Whistles here on the Halford & Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Thank you.