Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 3/6/26

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they discuss the Conor Garland trade, they chat what to expect from today's NHL trade deadline day with Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, plus they chat if there might be any more Canucks moves before today's deadline with Donnie & Dhali's Rick Dhaliwal. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to Halford and Brough. In a move and a move of significance that was done late last night, the Vancouver Canucks traded winger Connor Garland to the Columbus Blue Jacket in exchange for a second round pick in 28 and a third round pick in 26. It is Columbus's pick this year and in 2028. So the Canucks are able to get the third round pick back this year that they did not have.

They move off of the Garland contract. And they move out yet another veteran with term, Jason, ahead of Friday's deadline. Of course, today's deadline at noon, art time. So what was your immediate reaction when you saw the return? Little light, but overall, I was not going to be that guy on social media who was complaining about the lack of moves. And then when the move started to happen,

complaining about the way the Canucks did their business. I believe I put it succinctly on Twitter. Got this thing like a GD. Fish. Right. That was quite aggressive. A little graphic. Right. Poor fish.

Yeah. And for the people that thought that, well, if you didn't have that contract attached to them, they'd get a first for sure. Really? Garland is a rental. Have you seen his production this year? Like a lot. I know we know in Vancouver that Garland,

is a pretty good player. But look at his production this year. How many goals does he have? Not the best. Not the best. And I don't think it would have made a difference if he had... I look at that contract and I'm like, it's not a terrible contract.

It's not horrendous. I mean, I look at Brock Bessor's contract and go, I'm not sure if I'd want to be part of that. It's closer to horrendous, but not quite... I think Garlanders. is just a good, he's a good play driver. And by the way, the Canucks this season have, you could argue, have traded away their two best, frankly, two only playdrivers. Because Quinn Hughes was obviously a play driver tilted the ice when he was on it, or at least influenced it. I don't

know if anyone could tilt the ice for the Canucks, but he influenced it. And how many times over the last, what, couple of seasons when we say that Connor Garland was the Canucks best forward or most effective forward in terms of getting the puck from one end of the ice to the other. Which was a statement about how bad the...

And this is meant as no disrespect. It's going to sound like it, but how poor the forward group was as opposed to how great Garland was. No, no, absolutely. But I'm just saying, like, and they were two undersized guys that, you know, had...

When they were at their best, they had some fight in them. and they again, they won puck battles they they got the puck where it was supposed to go

and Garland was often the one that would get moved on to a problematic line and he was the guy that would often get paired with Pedersen and he would end up doing a lot of the work like Pedersen had a pretty good game the other day. Who was he playing with?

Hoaglander and Brusk. Wasn't he with Garland? Was Garland out there for a bit too? I remember, I know Hoaglander for sure. I thought he was with, I thought he was with Holglander and Garland. Anyway, at any rate, Garland and Hughes are now gone.

And I'm like you, I'm not going to sit there and freak out over the return because, you know, I think both you and I have said there is also value in doing this quickly. Uh-huh. You know, a lot of people are like, wait until the, like,

wait until the, think about asset management and like, you, Yeah, that's somewhat important, but also expedience. This thing is going to take a long time. And, you know, it's, I realized it. And my eyes, you know, they have that saying, we're going into this with our eyes wide open. I wonder if everyone's eyes are completely wide open on this

because the Canucks have not exactly piled up first round draft picks the way a lot of rebuilding teams have. Look at what some teams have done to kickstart their rebuilds. Like, look at Chicago and how many first round picks they had. And they got lucky, and they got the right year to get the first overall pick, and they got a guy like Connor Bedard.

And the Blackhawks still stink. They're still not very good. They've got a long way to go before they're a good team. The San Jose Sharks got a guy like, McLean Celebrini, who's incredible. But they've still got a long way to go. They've got to completely rebuild their defense and their blue line. Now, at least it's been interesting for those teams.

At least it's been fun. But they got Badard and Celebrini. And we'll see if the Canucks end up with a guy like that, if it's Gavin McKenna or Stenberg or maybe they get a really good player. They're going to get a good player with the third overall. pick would be disappointing, but I don't think they're going to get a guy that's going to make an immediate, you know, impact like Badard and Cellibini did, certainly on the market and the excitement for the market. But you never know. But are we realizing, are we understanding

how long this is going to take simply because the Canucks and the way they did business has led them to this point where they are the most asset. poor team in the league by a mile. I know some of you like some of the young players on the Canucks, and so do I. I like some of them. I don't know if any of them are going to become superstars, or even stars. They're definitely starting from scratch.

There's not a ton that they're building on right now. Yeah. It's going to take a long time, and hopefully it's going to be interesting and fun, along the way as they build this team up, and hopefully they have the patience to stick with it. But you know what? When I say that, I also, like, I'm like,

they don't have any choice. They've been dragged kicking and screaming to this point where they are left with no choice but to go through this. Because what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? Are you gonna make a massive trade? You don't have any assets.

You know? The only thing they could do is trade this year's first or next year's first, which would be so insane that, God, maybe they're going to do it. But free agency isn't an option anymore. There's talk that Nick Schmaltz might get resigned in Utah. There's going to be no one in free agency. Free agency is dead. Free agency is, I don't know if we'll ever come back, but it ain't what it used to be. And as the cap goes up, it's going to be easier for teams to, it's going to be easier teams.

for teams to keep players so they don't even get to free agency. And if there's expansion coming, that's fewer players then. It's just fewer players. So I hope all our eyes are wide open right now going into this because it is going to take a long time

and there's no guarantee. And none of us said who pushed for this rebuild, none of us said this is a guaranteed way to turn the team into a Stanley Cup contender. what we did say was what they were doing was guaranteed to not work and not turn into a Stanley Cup contender.

So I'm glad at least they've given themselves a chance. Well, I think the, when you ask the question, like, are we prepared? Do we fully understand? Do we know how long this is going to take? I think it's contingent on everybody, fans and media alike, to prove that there is knowledgeable and is savvy a hockey market as they proclaimed to be when the Canucks weren't rebuilding. This is the time to understand.

understand that what's going on right now is a fundamentally important part of the rebuild. Phase one, tearing it back and moving off guys with a sense of urgency and, as you put it earlier, expedience where you don't keep waiting and you don't keep kicking the can down the road. You don't say maybe we'll try this later. Maybe we'll do this later. You do it now and you move and maybe you don't get the maximum extracted value. You don't squeeze every last bit of juice out of the orange, but you move and you get your assets and you continue to stockpile draft picks

and then you set yourself up for what's going to be a lot of losing next year and you do the same thing. And then you go into the season after that and there's probably a lot of losing that year too and you continue to do the same thing. It's the only way. And if you're going to complain along the way, which is why I consciously made no complaints about Garland yesterday.

Garland yesterday, that trade was a stepping stone. to something larger, which is why I said, like, get it like a fish, keep going, right? Use this as motivation and energy to continue to move guys out and stockpile assets. Make the 2026 and 2027 entry drafts, the draft of the Canucks,

get as many picks as you can in the door, and just keep going. Don't take shortcuts. Don't be dismayed by the fact that you're going to be a lousy hockey team on the ice for the next few years. And it's like... Embrace it somehow.

Embrace it. Well, for shows like ours, it's contingent on, like, at a certain point, you have to stop complaining. I know it's kind of baked into the recipe of what we do, but at a certain point, you got to stop complaining when the team delivers on what you want, right? And if they're, you're going to, what you said earlier is 100% spot on. Their asset poor, they don't have a bunch of first round, or first round picks right now, high-end picks. There are some flaws in the plan, but they're going about it the only way. that they can right now. Yeah.

They're limited by what they can and can't do to a circuit range. They've been forced into this. There's no question about it. And they're still in cleanup mode for a lot of the mistakes that they made. Garland was cleaning up the mistake that they made. They had to get off that extension.

They signed them to nine months ago. Well, I think they had to get off any extension. Bad. Yeah. Except for maybe Philip Horonick. Colton in an Imo, do you guys trust this management to do a rebuild because I don't.

Not particularly. I mean, Jim Rutherford's not going to be around for the entire rebuild. I think there's a, I mean, this is clearly the path they're going down. I think the succession plan needs to start, you know, after this deadline, if it hasn't started already. They have to, they have to get an architect for the rebuild. And I don't think the right man is Jim Rutherford. I mean, if only because of his age. this is going to take a long time

and I don't think Jim Rutherford intends or wants to spend the next five or six years working in hockey I'm like what don't you go enjoy your retirement you know and also this is there's going to be not much winning

like you're going to have to bring in someone who's has a lot of skills that have to do with drafting player development and team building I mean I was reading Drance's piece this morning

and I noted that he said in the Canucks plans that you know initially the Canucks were kind of hesitant to trade some of their veterans and then he wrote like something happened something

changed where all the sudden they were not like desperate to get off these contracts, but they were a little more proactive in saying, like, we're actually going to move some of these veterans with term. And then he made a note later in his piece, he's like, there's been an acknowledgement that the culture of the room needs to change. Well, yeah. Good. I mean, that was obvious to everyone, I thought, a couple of months ago, like, this thing needs to change. Everything, everything needs to change. And I think that does include management,

especially at the top. I'm sure there are some good people working for the Canucks. And you're going to need to keep some people with some knowledge of the franchise and what's happened and what's going on. But I think the architects of this team need to change because they are charting a new path.

So find a new leader. Yeah. So when Colton asks about, Trust is a funny thing, right? Because there was a time where I would have had a lot more faith in this management group for the work that they've done in Vancouver than I do now. Here's what I'll say. I think at the first sign, and if there is a first sign,

but the first sign where there's a deviation off the plan where you see some idea thought nod to accelerate or jumpstart or whatever other buzz phrase they use to corners. The first moment that you see it, collectively, again, as a savvy hockey market, everyone should be jumping all over it and the critiques and the knives should be out in full force. The moment that you see it, because that's an indication that they haven't really got it and they're not going to do the heavy lifting and the hard work that it takes to go all the way to the bottom and climb your way back up.

That's where I'll say the trust factor will really come in, is that first sign. And maybe it won't come. maybe they truly have learned their lesson. Maybe they truly understand what it takes. This is some naive optimism that I'm spitting right now, but I'm going with it. But I think, you know, Colton and Naino asks, I would say, reserve giving all of your trust or giving them of your trust

until you see that first moment if it comes when they decide to hit on the accelerator and they want to speed up the rebuild. Because that's what's going to kill them. If they somehow decide that they want to turn a couple of these second and third round picks into a failed prospect or a guy that hasn't worked out somewhere, for example, with the Garland trade yesterday,

I'm glad that that trade did not include Kent Johnson. Yeah, I thought it was. I thought it was going to be for Kent Johnson. I'm glad it didn't. That's no disrespect to Kent Johnson, who might turn into a fine player. But I'm done with the reclamation projects. I'm done with the recycling program.

I don't need to see it anymore. They've tried it plenty of times. And more often than that, we've seen how it worked out. Actually make the draft picks. draft people. Even if he came back and maybe it worked out, I'd still have a ton of trepidation

about it. And I don't even think it'd be fair to Johnson, to be honest. And then you don't get full value on contracts either. You're like, all of a sudden, oh, we've got to pay this guy because he succeeded right away?

Yeah. Here's an unsigned text. How would you go about fixing the culture and ensuring the dressing room has the right mix of character moving forward? Lay out your detailed plan. Who would you trade and sign on July 1st? I'm not the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

I have a couple of thoughts on it. But like there needs to be someone who, like, I don't know if you know what I do, but I talk about the connects for three hours and then I, like, in the summer I golf or in the winter I take a nap. So, you know, I'm not the right man for the job. But like, there are people that know how to do that. And I would get input from guys like the sedans. And I would use my experience as a person that's worked in hockey before.

and I would make sure that for the next few years, any free agent that I bring in or any trade acquisition is a high character person. Yes. This is where you can value intangibles like... And you do have to make judgments on people. And some people seem to be very... They're like, who are you to judge the character of these people?

Well, if I was the GM, I'd be the GM. Yep. You know, like, the people I work with, I like to, like, I've worked with, like, I think you're a high character, an idiot, but a high character person. I think the dogs are high character people. High character dogs. That means they're going to get the job done. That means they're going to treat people the right way. That means they're not going to put themselves above the show or make themselves an issue, right?

I don't know about that part. It's, you do have some ideas. No, but like, it's important. And judging people is so important when it comes to even making draft picks. And it is really difficult when the kids are 18 years old. But like, do your research. Find out. Are they hard workers?

Yeah. You know, what motivates them, that sort of thing? It's so important. Talent, yes, of course it's important. And not everyone has to be the greatest person on earth and on their way to winning like citizenship awards. but you do have to have the general characteristics that make you a successful teammate and a successful player

and a lot of that just starts with are you hardworking? So there's a couple things that you can do here. I always point to two acquisitions that I think were really interesting over the last few years where players were brought in and provided something to the room that far extended their abilities on the ice. One was Luke Shen, and you'll remember,

Luke Shen, prior to joining the Canucks, was very close to being out of the NHL entirely. When he signed in Tampa Bay, he signed on a veterans minimum one year, $700,000 deal, and in that same season was logging time in the American League. Luke Shen's career was on life support, and he kind of went in and to a couple different teams, including Vancouver,

showed the attributes that went beyond, you know, traditional counting stats and box scores, and has now turned himself into a pretty useful defenseman. having gone through all this and showing some of the characteristics you were talking about. Another guy I think about a lot is Ian Cole.

And you could write books about the amount of anecdotes about the impact that Ian Cole made during his one year as of Vancouver Canuck, the amount of people that remember him, the amount of people that found his approach and his attitude,

like overwhelming in terms of positivity. And that was a guy that had a one year stop in town was his play on the ice the greatest? No, and at times it was a problem. But that's not going to matter over the next few years. You could mine this league for guys that are so grateful to be in it that are going to show the youngsters what a hard work is like, what it's like to survive, what it's like to be a professional,

all those attributes that this organization has often paid top dollar for sometimes, especially in the case. I mean, the J. Beagle one's probably the most famous. Now is the time to go target those guys on one-year deal, let them come in, and maybe, just maybe, they provide enough on the ice. So at the end of the season, you're flipping them at the deadline and making a little bit off of them in terms of like draft pick capital. And make sure your draft picks are high character,

especially your top ones, because they're going to lead the way and they're going to need to be leaders among the young players. And that is very important as well. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Elliot Friedman joins us now on the Halford. and Breft Show on SportsNet 650. What up, Frege?

I have to say there's something very fitting about me being sponsored by recycling. I really think that fits. Not just recycling. Also, Sands, which will deal with annoying collection calls. Oh, okay. Yeah.

We've got the Able Auctions. The bookies that are calling you all the time. The Able Auctions hotline, which you're speaking on right now. And then, of course, sports memorabilia. Okay, I know we're up against our time. We've got a lot to get into. When it comes,

don't gamble what you can't afford to lose. That's my only advice about gambling. Yeah, look at the Canucks. Like a position there in. Okay, we're going to start right there. The Vancouver Connects traded. Connor Garland last night to Columbus for a 2028 second rounder and a 2026, a third rounder.

What does this trade say about what the Canucks are thinking and doing or I guess hope to do, Friege? I mean, I'm not going to tell you anything that you guys as avid Canucks watchers don't know. The group that they put together and committed to, it just didn't work. And so they're dismantling it and they're starting all over again. And, you know, the one thing I really understand about the Garland trade is that, you know, right now they have control.

And there would be a point in July where they wouldn't have control. and it's better for your team to do it now. And you know what? I bet you Garland is probably relieved too. You know, as much as he enjoyed his time in Vancouver when it was good and signed a long-term extension, we all see the way this is going. You can see, you know, losing socks. It makes people miserable. And, you know, I think you reach a point where the Canucks have reached a point where they

realized this group has gone as far as it could. It's time to start over. I don't see anything wrong with for player or teams saying, hey, this marriage isn't going to continue. It's time to go elsewhere. I think the Knox really pushed over the last couple of days. And I think the agent involved here who's Judd Moldaver really pushed for it too. So I think everybody will be happy with the way that this one turned out. Is Teddy Bluger the most likely guy to be dealt today?

Yeah. I'd say probably. heard that there was, I mean, I heard the same thing that was kind of reported out there yesterday that interest was picking up in him a bit. You know, the challenge, Jason, is that there's still a lot of centers available, right? Like a guy of one of them was a guy like Eric Hall. I got a check-handedness of all these guys. But I wondered about Eric Hall.

Like, I'm not talking about like the Trochecks and the Rob Thomases who are like a different zone. Or even Godry. Yeah, yeah, or Carrey. But when you look at it's like it's Hala, it's Bluger, it's like there's a bunch of guys like this. So I think it really comes down to what's the price, what's your preference? You have options. What do you think is going to happen? There's definitely interest.

There's definitely, that's my fault. I stop. There's definitely interest in Bluger. What about a vendor cane? I've heard it's just a tough market. Like that's, that's, you know, I, I've checked in, like there's been. where it's been rumored that it's been like, oh, two or three days away, I've heard from the Canucks, I've heard from other teams.

It's just been a tough market. There's, again, there's a lot of forwards out there, and you have choice. I know this is tough for you because there's so many names you have to keep track of, but Drew O'Connor is one of the few Canucks in some semblance of form, and I could see him being a useful player in the postseason. He's big, he can skate, and he signed for one more season with, fairly reasonable cap hit of two and a half million. Have you heard anything about him?

Yes, I have heard his name. I do believe that he's a, again, I think like there's a lot of guys get discussed, but they're probably looking, if you look at Sam Carrick, right? Look what he went for last night, a third and a sixth. If you're the Knox, you want to do that or better. So again, it comes down to price and it comes down to fit. But like people like O'Connor, I think I first mentioned him about almost a month ago before the Olympics that I think he was a guy that was getting some traction out there. Yeah, he's been good for the Canucks.

Well, honestly, he's a good, low-maintenance player. But again, like, it went wild a little bit yesterday, and it was a little bit crazy. And I know that, like those of us who said it was a buyer's market got mercily stomped online yesterday and probably deserved it. But I still think on some level it is in the sense that if you've got a guy you want, you pay your price. But there's still, like there's still a lot of guys out there. Yeah. There's product on the shelves for sure. There's product on the shelf.

You can steal that. You can steal that. Yeah. There's Whole Foods prices. Yes. And there's Walmart prices. And we've just got to figure out who's what. So, Fridge, I know you're focused on today, but a lot of people are texting into the show.

by the way, on the Dunbar Lumber Text line, 650, 650, that's more branding for you. And they're like, okay, so Myers and Garland are gone. What about Jake DeBrusk, Brock Besser, and Elias Pedersen? Are those going to be off-season moves, and in the off-season, do you expect, with the limited free agency pool? I mean, I think, was it you that reported that Nick Schmaltz

might be, resigned in Utah. Yeah, I heard that one's gaining traction. Yeah. So, I mean, are those moves going to be, I don't want to say easy, but are they going to be easier to do in the off season if the Canucks do explore them? Well, I think the thing is, like, first of all, I like lumber too, I should mention. You know, I think this, the Garland thing is a really good case study for how a lot of things go.

at this time of year. And it's like, I would say about coming out of the Olympic break, I didn't think there was any guarantee of Garland getting traded. And then over the last three or four days, like one of the things the Canucks have done is with Hughes,

they worked with the agent. They said, you make your calls, we'll make our calls, we'll see what we do. And it got to a point where it got done. And I think a lot of that happened with Garland. think the agent really pushed and it pushed the Canucks and the Canucks then pushed.

So over the last two or three days, I think there was a real double team effort to really try to get this done. And I think that shows you it can go from zero to 100 pretty fast. Now, Pedersen is the guy I followed the most. And when I was sending notes last night, I was getting told nothing really there. But again, like, I always get scared of making absolute proclamations because I've seen how quickly things can turn.

The biggest challenge with Petterson is, well, there's two, you know, like, it's a big number, they're not willing to retain. I think there are teams willing to gamble that Pedersen can go somewhere else and maybe find a different level or get closer back to his previous level. But, like, if you're the,

Canucks, you're not trading them at a discount. So I think it's a complicated deal to make. Besser, I haven't heard as much on. And DeBrusk, I definitely know DeBrasse name has been out there. I just, as of yesterday afternoon when I was checking into it, I just didn't hear there was a lot of traction. Again, it can always change. The retention thing on Pedersen is, like,

I completely understand why the Canucks would want, would not want to retain. And if I'm ownership, I'd be like, what are you talking about? I gave out this massive contract a couple of years ago that you guys recommended, and now you want me to retain for six years. I also understand why teams would almost demand retention. Like, Halford, you and I were discussing Carolina the other day, which is one of the teams that has been rumored to be sniffing around Pedersen,

and of course was interested in Pedersen before. If he goes to Carolina and the Canucks don't retain, he becomes their highest paid player, if I'm not mistaken. And does that not create some potential bad optics for a team like Carolina? Well, I think a team like Carolina, they're a pretty mature group. I think you handle it, right? I think that one of the other reasons, and this is what another GM, I was talking to him about this whole thing, and he said,

the other reason that Kinnach won't want to retain is that the last three years of his deal, the cap hit is 116, but the cash, I think, is 8-7 or 8-4. five. Right. So he's cash under cap. And owners, like, he says, you wouldn't think about this because you don't answer to an owner, but we would. Like, owners would be like, wait a sacks.

They're getting them for $3 million less than the cap hit over the per year, the last three years and were retaining. Yeah. Like, that's a big deal. Now, the other thing I would say is that I do think the Kinnock's thought about caught Kanyami, not in a Patterson deal. Okay. They were talking about a deal for him that didn't involve Pedersen.

And I think that's why he was in the lineup on Monday night. I just heard that it was kind of the one word someone told me was lukewarm, but we'll see if that goes anywhere. I know they had interest in he was in the lineup because I think they knew the Canucks wanted to see him. Is that the Canucks having legitimate interest in this guy or the Habs being like, we want to move off this guy to create suspense? You mean Carolina? Carolina.

Carolina, yeah. Yeah. Well, I think it's both. I think the player is unhappy there. I think Carolina knows it. I think Carolina would like to move him. But, you know, he's still a relatively young guy who signed at a workable number for a while. You know, I think the Canucks were like, you know, is there, is there a, like, this is your time to take gambles, right?

And I think the Canucks were like, is it worth doing that? And I don't, like I said, I heard the. answer was lukewarm after the game, but I know they were interested. We're speaking to SportsNets, Elliot Friedman here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. You mentioned the Patrick Alvin, Jim Rutherford, double team on some of these trades that have been done already and are still being worked on. Do you have a sense in speaking around the league, what other GMs think about how much longer it'll be the two-headed monster of Rutherford and Alveen in Vancouver, where at the early

stages of the rebuild, I wonder how much longer they'll be around to see this thing through because rebuilds take a long time. Yeah, they do. You know what? One of the things I've learned about, I've dealt with him for a lot over the years. And I understand all the rumors, and I've heard all the rumors about, you know,

how much, like, what's going to happen with him. The one thing I know about him is he can be pretty defiant. Like when the walls close in, he tends to push back. and I've been on the receiving end of that once or twice but the thing is I've always I kind of like that about him like that's just kind of the way he is like he's you know like you don't last as long

as he has as a manager in this game without having a lot of pride and a lot of like desire to be successful and that hasn't changed in him I think that the more kind of goes badly, the more he's determined to fix it. And so I don't know where this is going to go, but the one thing I can tell you is that from the limited amount of time,

I've had a chance to speak to him this year, like I always ask myself, does someone sound different? Do they seem different? He doesn't seem any different. And I just know, I've known him long enough to know that, like, it's not like he would want to walk away from something like this. So we'll see what happens. I know we've got to let you go, but real quick before we let you go,

I got to ask, how much did the John Carlson to Anaheim deal catch off guard? Like, you're supposed to be this great insider for Mike? No clue. Yeah. No clue. Like, I was about to go to bed. It was like, what, 110 Eastern? And I got the phone call, someone saying, what are you doing?

And I'm like, what do you think I'm doing at 1.10 a.m.? And they goes, well, John Carlson's just betrayed it. Like, what? and it was yeah it was a shocker a shocker to him too you know really tough situation too because um

like he was asleep and uh they had a they had a trade this earlier this week they traded nicked out to Vegas it was done the night before they said let's do the call the next day and then it got out because you know annoying reporters right so uh they were like

what do we do here it's a tough one uh he's that's a hell of a move though by Anaheim I really like Carlson it's a big swing We'll see how it turns out. Fridge, thanks for doing this today, bud. We appreciate it. Enjoy trade deadline Friday.

All right, guys. Take good care. Yeah, you too, thanks. Deliot Freeman here on the Halford & Brough Show. Rick Dollywall joins us now on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. What up, Rick? Gentlemen, how's it going? Good.

Let's start with the Conard Garland trade. What do you got for us? Well, no-Kinnock veteran this week got the interest that Garland got. Obviously, the no-trade protection helps. Last 24 hours, Columbus, Vancouver, talks increase, Columbus, Washington, Boston, right there pushing to the end. There were four series teams at the end, I believe. Other teams like Minnesota liked them, but they didn't have the cap space.

Some say the Canucks asked for Port Moody native Kent Johnson, but there's no way that they were getting him. That's wishful thinking. As many as eight teams in on Garland yesterday, I said a couple of days ago the Canucks were not going to get a first rounder. I did wonder about two seconds, but they ended up with a second and a third. those complaining about the return need to understand six times six contracts don't move at the deadline Columbus did Vancouver a massive favor kinnucks didn't retain they didn't take a contract back Columbus has got a player who's now got a no move for three years most playoff teams don't do this deal the guys got seven goals and 50 games quit complaining about the return and and the conucks

I think Columbus did them a huge favor. The Islanders who scouted Vancouver all week, they were poking around Garland and Bessor. New York would not do a deal unless Vancouver took a player back of return. Canucks didn't do that with Columbus, and they weren't going to do it with New York. Now, I do believe there was a big shift between the Conucks and Garland at the Olympic break. Connucks talked with his Asian, Judd Maldaver. Garland did not ask for a trade. but feelings were mutual from both sides about moving them.

The Canucks went from, we don't want to move Garland, to yes, we'll move them. Moldaver played a big part in this trade. He really did. And I think a lot of what happened before the Olympic break, the Canucks were saying, we'll listen on Garland, but we don't want to move them. After the Olympic break, we'll move them. I think there was some talks. I think Garland came back from the Olympic break knowing that his time in Vancouver,

was done. I think he knew it was either going to be done by this Friday or by July 1st. The Canucks have now traded Garland, Sherwood, Myers. All guys who played a leadership role. In the off-season, Garland took it upon himself this year to be a leader.

Top, top losses for this team. They don't have much leadership to begin with, and they just had three guys walk out the door this year that brought that leadership. I have no idea where they're going to find leadership. It's a major, major problem. for this hockey club.

Rick, has it felt like since the Quinn Hughes trade, things have shifted multiple times towards a full rebuild. Like, I'll just take you through it, okay? Quinn Hughes was traded. The Canucks managed to win a few games in a row, and the new guys, especially a guy like Zeebouyev looked pretty good. And that's when the, maybe it's a hybrid rebuild. That's when those comments came out.

and then they started losing and they were like okay maybe it's not a hybrid rebuild but maybe we'll we're still kind of hesitant to trade guys like Connor Garland because we like Garland and you're going to need players and then it seemed to shift again to we gotta just shed as much

salary as we can and the whole team needs to be remade is that an accurate representation of what's happened over the last little while 100% You're bang on. Alvin told the team a week ago, the veterans are available. He was looking to move two or three of these guys, not just Garland.

He was looking if you could get deals for Patterson, DeBross, Besser. Like, these guys were out there trying to. Look, Jason, I think management realizes there needs to be a change in the dressing room, a culture shift. There has to be the problem was for the Canucks, and we got four hours here. I mean, I'm not saying none of these guys still can't move. The problem for the Canucks is their players' value is sinking fast, they're 32nd. These veterans are overpaid underperforming. It's not a great combination to move players.

Canucks don't want to retain on long-term deals. Look, they had to retain on Myers deal. That's a small one, right? Can you imagine what the retention would look on a Patterson deal? If you've got to retain on Myers, what the hell would it cost to retain on Pedersen? And you only get three slots, too. If you retain on Pedersen, that's one locked up for a long time. Yeah, Jason, here's the other one for you.

If you're the owner of this hockey club and your management team is signing five guys to long-term deals and then asking for them to be moved within nine months to two years, I wouldn't be a very happy owner. I don't, why should he retain on these guys signing Pedersen for eight years? And then he's got to, is that good business? There's something the owner could do. What? Let him go.

Change management? I mean, how much of, I mean, you talk to a lot of people. How much is that talk heating up, is it? I haven't heard much of that. Okay, so we're talking about retention in the players. Well, let's talk about retention with management. Rutherford's got term. Elvine's got term.

Adam Foote's got term. So go ahead and fire all three. Jason, do you want to pay their contracts out too? I'd rather do that if I can bring in someone that I trust more, but I don't know where the trust level is with these guys. Like there's such a thing as throwing good money after bad, right? And the Canucks have done it a lot. It's not good business.

People don't get into business to pay people not to work for them. You know? But I will say one thing. And let me get this out of the way. Canucks have to be careful. Signing a bunch of guys to long-term deals and then getting rid of them nine months later, that's not going to help you attract players. Why should an agent say to his client, let's go to Vancouver, sign long term,

and then they're going to trade you in a year, year and a half. Look, it's not good business. They've signed a whack of guys here to six, seven, eight year deals, and then they're trying to get rid of them all, you know, within two years. How many of the players are kind of like, I wouldn't mind leaving? Well, that's what that, and you nailed it, and I think that's what happened during, I think that's what happened during the Olympic break. I think the Debrusks, I think the Bessers, I think the Garlands, they talked to their agents and said,

hey, you know, the agents may have talked to them and said, hey, like, I'm telling you, Garland didn't ask for a trade, but I'm also telling you it was mutual, you know, about his departure. I think the Olympic break, the Canucks did something smart. They got to a lot of these Asians said, hey, look, like, where's your headspace at? You know, which way do you want to go? Nobody wants to stick around on the 30-second place team and a rebuild that might take five, seven, eight years. Nobody wants to hang around for that.

Nobody. Can we circle back on the Kent Johnson thing here for a second? Did you say that the original ask or maybe one of the asks in exchange for Garland was actually trying to get Johnson out of there? Someone told me that in common sense, Port Moody Kid. Why wouldn't the Kinnock's ask for him, right? Well, I'll jump in. I think the one reason they might not ask for him is to get away from the,

let's take other teams failed prospects and let's just get drafted. You sound so hopeful there. Come on, boys. That's it, right? Tell me that's it, Rick. Take a new path towards the future. Well, yeah, he has struggled. He had a semi-decent year last year.

As a fourth overall pick, he certainly hasn't, you know, wowed anybody. But, like, he is a centerman, and, like, I don't want to even start getting into the center-age position with the Canucks right now. It's, I don't know how or how they fix this. thing for next year. I mean, they're paying $16 million to two centers who are 50-point centers. You know, I don't know who's coming in next year. They're not big and strong at the center-eged position, right?

They don't have any 6'4 centers. You want to know why McCarran at 6-6 went for a second-round pick. Roy in Toronto, 6-4, you know, they got a first. Teams won heavyset centers. Canucks don't have any heavyset centers. You can wear teams down in the playoffs with heavyset centers. they Canucks right now are not only weak at center but they don't have any size at center Yeah I don't want to make us about Johnson but like the one thing that concerns me now is that

They did the coaching change thing they got rid of Evanston they brought in and he's still getting healthy Scratch like it to me that's that's concerning right he's he's he's he's a he's a he's a very talented player but I don't think he's the type of player the Canucks need they they they just don't I mean it's I'd be shocked if they I'd be shocked if they didn't ask it it doesn't isn't hurt to ask. You can be shot down right away. You know what? I didn't think they get a first for Garland, and I was correct. And I was kind of hoping they'd get

the Sherwood deal two seconds. And, but, you know, okay, let's get on other guys. We had any chats with Danny Millions about a VanderKey. Oh, Danny Millions and I love Danny Millions. Okay, so Van der Kaine, every single day this week, I have texted Danny Millions, and I get the same, including 45 minutes ago, I get the same thing back,

quiet crickets, quiet crickets. They sent the memo three months ago. If they can't trade Kane in three months, how are you going to trade them in the next four hours? Look, one phone call changes everything, and miracles happen, but he's got a $5.1 million cap hit. That doesn't help.

Playoff teams don't have much cap space, and some of the teams that were after Kane have already allocated funds elsewhere. So I don't know. If there was still double retention, I think he would have been moved by now, right? But I think this is going to go down to the wire. But the greatest mystery is why was he brought here in the first place?

It hasn't been a fit from day one. But I just, every day this week, I have just been told it's quiet on Kane. It's a tough thing to do. Now, guys, I don't know which way Teddy Blugher is going to go. I'm not sure. I can't sit here and tell you he's going to be traded or re-signed. There is definitely interest, for sure. Minnesota had interest before they went after and got Michael McCarron.

I don't know which way this way. This one's going to go. People say, oh, you know, the Canucks are going to resign them. Well, one of the reasons they do want to resign them is they're weak at center. And, you know, I just told you they don't have any leaders left in that dressing room. So I'm not ripping them for trying to resign Blugher. I do understand why they would if they end up doing it. But he doesn't have to resign.

He's a free agent. The Canucks don't want to resign him by today's new. deadline. But if you're Teddy Bluebird, do you want to come back? Do you? It's up to you. A little bit, a tidbit on Lucas Reichold. Some teams have called. Hold on a sec, guys. One sec. I think the Knox have called up

Ty Mueller. So I want to check on there if that's out there yet. But I think Ty Mueller's been called up. That's good for that kid. And he's a centerman. Hold on a sec. And Mueller is a centerman. Could that say anything about what they might be doing with Bluger or Kopp? Beluger. Or even Ratu?

Where's Ratu in this whole conversation? Well, Ratu, there's no faith. There's no faith in Ratu. But anyways, Mueller getting called up, is that because... But anyways, I'll look into that after I get off the air with you guys. Let me get back to Lucas Reichel. Some teams have called, but the Canucks are trying to figure out. Trade Lucas Reichel or play him, take a look, see if he's got a few.

here because here's the deal. What have we had leave Vancouver? Sherwood, Hughes, Myers, Garland, a lot of bodies are leaving. So do the Canucks take another look at Reichel? Give them a look here down the stretch, right? Or do they trade them? But some teams have called on him, but very interesting.

I've got to look. I've got to get to double-check. Hold on a sec. I think Amon is on the Canucks roster too. Now it's going all over the place. Anyways, I'll look into that after. get off the air. Okay. I'm getting

500 tax, left, right, center. Don't get flustered. I think this is a good window into first of all what it's like on trade deadline day and just what it's like every day in your brain. Oh, okay. Which is, yeah, what else you got for us,

buddy? I do want to tell you a couple of things. It took Meyer seven days to waive as no move because Dallas was his number of choice, number one choice from the get-go. Most players take one to two days to waive a no move. Myers took a week.

Some agents and some teams thought that was very interesting. Will that start a trend? Not everybody liked that, okay? So I'm just telling you, Myers taken seven days. It was very interesting to teams and agents around. Now, the other thing on Myers is when the Kinnock sent out the memo, Myers and Barry, his agent, JP, were not in the move to wave. But circumstances change.

their 30-second rebuild. You talked about, you know, these guys, a lot of veterans talk to their agents. They don't want to stick around. And so I just want you to know, Myers was not three months ago willing to waive, and neither was JP, but when you plummet to 30-second,

it changes things. The other thing I want to mention to you is on Kiefer-Sher-Sherwood. I told you guys in September, he was going to get five times five people laughed at me, not anymore. He went from one-five to five-seven, but what I want to tell you,

how that deal came about. When the agents got permission from Vancouver to help with the trade, the agents told every team in the league it's going to take $30 million to sign them. Every team in the league knew the price on Sherwood if you're going to get them. Because Sherwood got a signing bonus, and $20 million in the first three years, the agents were okay with not hitting exactly $30 million. The agents also identified San Jose as a good spot for Sherwood.

They knew the Sharks had cap space, young team. if it was a Stanley Cup team, Sherwood might have been on the third, fourth line, they did their research on San Jose. I got a lot of text from agents who were like, hey, that Sherwood contract's going to help my guy. Do you see Bobby McCann in Toronto? Like if Bobby McCann's Asian is looking at a Sherwood's deal going, hey, holy, that looks good to me. Any guy, so Sherwood's career high is 19. any guy out there with 19 goals or plus is going to use Sherwood's 5.7.

Good on that guy. Good on that guy. Nobody worked harder in Vancouver. Nobody did. He was another leader. You know, the young guys at camp looked up to Sherwood. I don't know. This team, I like one thing, guys, on their to-do list has got to be get leadership.

I don't know how they're going to do it, but there's not much left in that room. They moved a lot of leaders. You mentioned J.P. Barry's. So I imagine you've been in touch with him during this whole Tyler Myers thing. He's got another client, doesn't he, on the Canucks? Have you had any conversations about that client? He wears number 40. Yeah, what a week for him.

And by the way, GP snaps to me all the time when he hears this, when I send him all these rumors from Vancouver about Pedersen. What a week for Patterson. Gets bench last Saturday in Seattle. The interview in front of the Vancouver Media, Monday was a disaster. The GM calls him out Wednesday. he needs more from Patterson, needs him to be better prepared and push himself more.

And he's hopeful he finds it. Why are we at a hoping stage with a 27-year-old? Alvin, you know, why are we hoping? Look, you wonder about Patterson's future. Can they revisit with the Red Wings this summer? The top centers out there, Robert Thomas, Trocheck, O'Reilly, Codry, they were the top centers. It wasn't Patterson.

His play at the Olympics didn't help the Canucks to move them. like if you can't move him all week, and I don't have any evidence that they've asked him to waive, what are we down to three and a half hours? Like, they're just going to have to, Jason, hope, and take a real hard look. I think Pedersen's got to take a real hard look at himself this summer and prepare really well, but I just,

I don't know what to say to you. Like, it's a very tough contract to move. Like, what teams out there right now, Jason, that's willing to take 11.6 without retention? Name one. I agree with you. I think if the Canucks could get off that contract for nothing, they should do it. Yeah.

The fact the teams had interest because so many teams are weak at center, I mean, the Canucks should be very happy about that, very, very happy about that. One thing on DeBrask, he made those comments Monday that he doesn't want to stick around and then he backed off. Well, let me tell you why I think he kind of backed off, because he did ask for trades in Boston as well. some of the agents I know, hold on a sec,

some of the agents I know don't like their players asking for trades publicly. The players in a no-win situation then, the moment you ask for a trade publicly, your enemy number one. When J.T. Miller, whether he asked for a trade or not, his agent did a good job of denying that publicly. DeBrusk is not an easy contract to move.

He's underperforming a lot of term on his deal. The cap, it's okay, I guess. The cap-bets okay. I feel like that shouldn't be an impossible contract to move. No. He's got a good center. Yeah, but if he wants, if he's motivated to move, then he's going to be a little, you know, he's going to have to be a little more open to considering multiple teams.

I feel like with a good, with a good centerman and a good power play, you could do worse than for his cap head. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, don't you think? Yeah, I do, but here's the problem with him. He asked for trades in Boston. And if he comes out looking like he's asking for trades in Vancouver, it's not a good look.

It's very interesting that he made the comments and then he kind of backed off because agents generally don't like their players asking for trades. Like it's not a good look in any fashion. It was also curious that he made sure to make himself available and made sure to clarify his remarks. Like it was something that he proactively addressed and he was probably like, well, I'm never talking to Ben

Kuzma again. Well, we know what they think of the media sometimes. Talking about trades, I want to get this in because I think it's important to talk about Abbott's for players as well. JetWood did not ask for a trade. He never got

one NHL game with the Canucks in eight years. He was looking for an opportunity to get a chance in the NHL. If there wasn't a path from him in Vancouver, he was open to being moved. Most people in Abbotsford saw this move coming. He got called up by the Canucks. Remember that one road trip, and it was in Chicago,

but he didn't play. His parents were ready to take a flight, ready. They had the flight, ready to go from Winnipeg to Chicago at 4 o'clock to see their kid play. Never got the call to play. Look,

if the Canucks haven't given that kid a look in eight years, do you want to stick around another two years? Oh, good luck to him. Go, go, go, go, go, go, Try somewhere else. Yeah. I hope he gets a game. And here's another one for you.

The Canucks are at 30-second place. If you can't get Jet Wu a game when you're in 30-second, when the hell are you going to get Jetwu a game? Yeah. Rick, I want to ask you about one last question. Drew O'Connor. He's one of the few Canucks that you could say is in some semblance of form. He's a big dude.

He can move. He's got one year left on a reasonable cap-hit contract. and a half million. What have you heard about the interest in him and the Connucks' willingness to move him? Yeah, but there's another guy with trade protection, right? Why, I hate to say this, but they hand out trade protection like candy at Halloween, but yes, there's interest in him, and why not? Big body can skate. I love when he's in on the forecheck. He's one of very few Canucks that foreshacks the way he does. I love the player, you know, but Jason, at what point are weeks they get to rid of so many forwards here in Vancouver to the point what are you left with yeah they need more

picks though man they need more picks we we went through we went through all the first round picks that the black hawks have had over the last four years yeah i mean look at look at the black hawks trade history over the last five years yeah and then compare it to the canucks yeah like the connects have all these like they don't have many first round picks and a few of them look like they're not going to hit. Like, I don't know if Lecker-Mackie's going to be a player. Well, Leckermackie, I'm starting to worry, but he's going to turn 22. Don't be, look, he's got to find a coach that actually, you know, gives him a chance. It shows confidence in him. Every time that kid gets called up, whether it was talk it or

foot, he's on the first line for a week, then on the fourth line, then back to Abby, right? He's got the fight. Is that the coach's fault or is that the player? No, no, and Holglander's been the same. You know, he's got one goal, but they got, and this is a very, you talk about this offseason and finding leadership, that's one. The other thing is, we now know they got 10 picks in the first two rounds in the next few years. You better, with the influx of kids coming, you better have a coach who can develop kids, you better have a development team that can develop kids.

Because if you're going to have 10 picks in the first two rounds, coming to Vancouver in the next three years, you better have a coach that can develop these kids because if they start going backwards, because they lose confidence and they're not getting played, it is vital to have a coach and a rebuild that is patient with kids. It is vital to have a development team,

and they do have a good one with the Siddine twins. Like I do get this a lot from agents. They love the fact that these two Hall of Famers can talk to young kids, You know, the twins and Coots keep in touch quite a bit. They keep an eye on Coots quite a bit. Like one of them went to Saskatoon a few weeks ago. They used to go to Seattle. I do like the twins with an influxy young kids coming.

Your development team better be good. And your coaching staff better have the time of day for kids. Because if you're going to be bringing in, you know, Stenberg or McKenna or these guys, you've got to be patient with them. Rick, thanks for doing this, but I got to mention that Rick is, of course, a presentation of Basant Motors. And if I'm not mistaken, was Garland, not a Basant guy?

He's got, I'm telling you, their Basant's losing guys, left, right, center. Hold on a sec. I just heard of another car deal. I've had 500 texts in the last. Who's the defenseman? What's his name? Eli Spennerson's got a car deal for next year.

They haven't picked the car sales lot yet, but I'm just telling you, I was tipped off last night. But anyways, the Basant curse continues with Garland. Rick, you're the best. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. See you, buddy. Adios. Rick Dollywell here.

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