Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 4/16/25

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they discuss the latest hockey news & notes with Daily Faceoff NHL insider Frank Seravalli, plus they preview tonight's final Canucks game of the regular season 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. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Into the back post, something score! Johnson, he ties the game! 20.9 seconds to go! And the win of that four! From the Stanley Cup Playoff match! Passing it's a one-timer score! Kent Johnson! Carter scores! 100 points!

Oh no, it's in! It came out so fast! Good morning Vancouver, 6.01 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. It is Halford, it is Brough, it is Sportsnet 650. We are coming live from the Kintec studios in beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning.

Good morning. A-Dog, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough for the morning is brought to you by S you by sans and associates BC's first and trusted choice for that help with over 3,000 five-star reviews visit them online at sans dash trustee.com We are in our one of the program our one is brought to you by North star metal recycling

Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal North star Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. Well, it's a Wednesday, it is the final game day of the Vancouver Canucks regular season. There's just two days left in the NHL regular season.

So we got a lot to get to on the program today. Our guest list today begins at six 30 David Amber sports net hockey night in Canada. NHL host is going to join us for Scotia Wednesday night, Scotia bank Wednesday night hockey. Here's what you need to know. It kicks off with Montreal hosting the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. All the Habs need to do is get a single point and they're in the playoffs. But if Carolina wins in regulation, those pesky Columbus blue jackets control their own destiny tomorrow night in

their final game of the regular season. Also the Canucks and Golden Knights are playing this evening. So we'll talk to David Amber about that at six 37 o'clock. Frank Sarah Valley from daily faceoff is going to join us. Lots to talk to Frank about today His reporting on Tom Willander the latest on Rick talk it we can also get updates from the rest of the NHL coaching carousel Which I imagine should start spinning pretty quick here because the NHL regular season will end on Thursday And it could mean Black Friday, which is also good Friday, but Black Friday for a lot of NHL head coaches

Yeah, I don't even know if Peter Levyialette's going to show up to the office. I'll just leave my key card here. Well, he's got some stuff there he's got to get. Yeah, he's probably already got it already. Yeah. What are you doing, coach? Just cleaning up my office. Oh, for the off season? Uh-huh. Yeah, that's it.

Somewhere. Spring cleaning. Eight o'clock, Randy Janda is going to join the program. Canucks Golden Knights, seven o'clock from Rogers Arena. I was passed along a note yesterday that puck drop is going to be a little bit closer to 722 PM. So set your watches accordingly. It is the final game of the season for your 20, 24, 20, 25. Vancouver Canucks putting an end to one of the most dysfunctional and disappointing

seasons in recent memory and maybe franchise history, we'll talk to Randee about all that at 8 o'clock. So working in reverse on the guest list, 8 o'clock it's Randeepe, 7 o'clock it's Frank Zarevalli, 6.30 it's David Amber. That's what's happening on the program today. Ladi, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened?

I missed all the action because I was busy. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed that? You missed that? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed that? You missed that? What happened? What Happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. Let's recap everything that happened in a busy Tuesday night in the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames, well, their playoff chase

will come up just a bit short. The Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention yesterday after St. Louis whipped on the Utah Hockey Club 6-1, and more excitingly, the Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night. The Ducks actually clinched their playoff spot with the goal that Laddie played in the intro. It was the Joel Eriksson echo with about 20 seconds left in regulation with the goal he pulled.

That was it for the Calgary Flames. The Flames needed to win their final games of the regular season, including last night's over the nights, golden nights, which they did. But that win was ultimately rendered useless because the flames are out, the wild are in. So too are the blues. The wild clinched the first wild card in the West and will now face the Vegas golden nights in the first round. The blues dropped to the second wild card and will take on the Winnipeg Jets. Quick note on the St. Louis Blues. After the Four Nations face-off was done, they were out of that playoff spot by eight points.

They made up eight points from the end of February on to rather impressingly make that final wild card spot in the West. So all the playoff matchups are set except for we don't know who Washington's going to play. It's going to either be Montreal or Columbus, right? Could be decided tonight. The Battle of Ontario is on between Toronto and Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina,

New Jersey, and as you mentioned, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Dallas, Colorado, Vegas, Minnesota, and LA Edmonton. So some pretty good matchups. I'm really looking forward to LA Edmonton because I think the Kings might be the favorites in this, although I noticed Connor McDavid is getting a little defensive about everyone calling the Edmonton Oilers, you know, injured and not healthy. And, and he was like, you know, everyone's acting like we're kind of like the walking

wounded here. Like we're fine. We're fine. I'm like, you seem like you're being kind of defensive. McDavid says- Is that part of your injury? McDavid says they're ready to roll. They're ready to roll. Yeah. Okay. Well, he doesn't like-

He doesn't like- They have to be ready to roll. The quote was, I don't like the theory that people are counting us out. We're a great team here. Yeah, we've had bumps and bruises along the way, but we're ready to roll. They're ready to dig in. Some playoffs. And losing six to the Kings.

Their path could be pretty tough as it should be to get to the Stanley Cup final if they want to do it again, because the Kings, again, the Kings are going to have home ice advantage in this series and the Kings are a pretty good team. Um, and then I imagine I'd be shocked. I think this might be actually, uh, might be the biggest mismatch.

I think Vegas and Minnesota. Um, yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. I'd be shocked if Minnesota upset Vegas. So then they'd probably have to get Vegas and then, you know, you're looking at either Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado.

I suppose St. Louis could surprise, but I don't think so. Tampa Bay, Florida is another series I'm looking forward to. And then again, the Battle of Ontario, which we haven't seen for a long time. Lattie, you remember the battle of Ontario as a, as a kid growing up in Hamilton. Well, what was that like? A lot of hatred, honestly. There's a, I grew up kind of in the middle of,

you know, Leafs land essentially, but, uh, there's still a lot of senators fans and yeah, it was, uh, I remember those days and it was exciting to have just like a local rivalry like that it's what I imagined the Canucks and Kraken could eventually be one time, you know, in the future. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe, maybe.

We're still hoping for that, but yeah, there was some genuine hatred, you know, and the Lilleam stuff where the Leafs picked on him, the goal from Neuendijk along the wall, the Sundine clapper from the blue line off the post and in, there's some memorable moments between those two teams. Patrick Lilliam. Yeah.

I think Patrick Lilliam might be on the broadcast on the French language. I think you're right. Broadcast of the Sens. That poor guy. Yeah. Had to wear the goat horns so many times. It was always this sort of like Achilles heel

of the senators, him, right? And he wasn't bad. It was just the goals at the worst, worst moments. There were big Dan Cluchuj vibes where it was like great regular season goal. They can get you to the playoffs, but as soon as the playoffs start, it's going to go bad. Yeah.

Well, it's funny. There are still some connections to the battle of Ontario because Max Domi is on the Leafs and his dad, Ty, played for the Leafs in, I think, I think played every game of those battle of Ontario, which just also shows how the league has changed a little bit because Tiedomi was in the lineup.

And I mean, he was an okay player, but he was mostly known for dropping the gloves and being pretty tough. And then, you know, Max Domi is no, it's not like he's a super, he's not like a soft player by any means, but he's not like his dad. Travis Green played for the Leafs in at least one of those battle of Ontario's.

So the 2002 battle of Ontario, that year was the last time the Leafs really sniffed a Stanley Cup final because they beat the Sens in seven, this is how long ago it was, thanks to a couple of goals by Alex McGillamy. And they reached the conference final where they lost to Jim Rutherford's Carolina Hurricanes. Paul Maurice's Carolina Hurricanes, if I'm not

mistaken. I was actually looking back at that 2002 playoff series or playoffs overall. Yep. And the Leafs-Keynes series in the conference final went six games. Okay. Six games of hockey. Some of it went to overtime.

Guess how many goals were scored total in those six games? In six overtime games? No, no, no. They weren't all, they don't go, they just went to six games in those six games. In six overtime games? No, no, no, they weren't all, they were no goal. They just went to six games, just six games. 14 goals or something? Yeah, it was 16 goals. 16 goals. Each game featured three or fewer goals.

Four finished with a two, one score line. The NHL at that time, there was, there was hate in the NHL, which there isn't as much of today, because you had, I mean, the Battle of Ontario, which Laddie just talked about, but you also had the Red Wings, Avs rivalry around that time, and, but there wasn't goals. There wasn't, there, there wasn't goals.

It was, it was different hockey. So, um, anyway, I can't wait to see Brady Kachuck in this one. And, and is he going to be the guy that's going to bring the, the hate and spirit into this series? So if you're going to power rank the series in the first round. You can push back on this if you like, but I think it's the battle of Ontario.

Then there's a gap between the rest of them. And then there's like the other series. Like I think that this is got all the theater you could possibly want. I know we're a narrative driven show. And I know Bruff and I especially really lean towards crafting certain narratives. In this one, there's about five or six

that are worth paying attention to, that are really gonna drive the emotional energy behind this. Like Brady Kachuck on his own, getting to go to the playoffs for the first time. Having it be one of those make or break seasons where it was like, remember we were talking to Wish yesterday, like the Rangers were sniffing around trying to get him out of Ottawa.

You really got the sense that with his brother's success, he was longing to get over the hump and get into the postseason. And then when you get there, be a Kachuk. So he's going to be able to do that in the best rivalry. Historically, that we've had one of the best rivals we've had over the last 20 years. Now it's been dormant for a long time. But when it was going, it was great. And who better to kick this thing off than the

guy that goes out of his way at every big moment to make it a bigger moment, like the Four Nations face off. So that's great. You know who's also going to secretly be, or quietly, not secretly, quietly going to be under the radar? This is a weird one. Okay. Leafs fans.

Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. I know exactly what you're talking about here because they kind of sitting all season waiting for this. Leafs fans in general. I just read an article, I think Myrtle wrote it in the athletic, just about how Leafs fans are so quiet and they got called out by their players earlier in the season. They mentioned a number of times this year.

And media and fans and players. Yeah. You know, I was actually reading an article also in the athletic I've mentioned a number of times this year. And- Media and fans and players. Yeah. You know, I was actually reading an article also in The Athletic and Patrick Laleem was saying that he remembers sitting in his home dressing room and the Leafs fans in Ottawa were drowning everything out. There was like a, he was sitting in his home dressing room and he could hear before the game,

the Go Leafs Go chant. And he was like, God, we're gonna have to, we're gonna have to score early so we can get this crowd out of it. And it was like, ah, this is a home game for us, right? Like, so, but Leafs fans at home, you know, whether you want to believe it's because there are all the suits and all the bankers and all the rich people there that don't make enough noise or whatever it is, they need to be there and they need to provide some sort of atmosphere. in all of the NHL, if there is a fan base that has a reputation for not being good,

it's the least fans. Montreal fans, on the other hand, have a great reputation, but are the Habs going to choke this thing away? I watched the Columbus game last night, where they played Philly, and that was a buttoned up Columbus team. They went into Philly and they played a very solid game. They played like fundamentally sound. They beat a Flyers team that is already out of it, really had nothing to play for. And it showed.

I don't know, I thought the Flyers, like there was effort there. But I mean, they didn't score a goal because I think the Blue Jackets played pretty well. They played a solid game. Montreal is going to host Carolina tonight. And you know, we had Wish on yesterday. He was saying, oh, the Hurricanes aren't going to give up.

Like they're a Rod Brindemore coach team. They're probably going to see an opportunity to come into Montreal and be like, okay, well, what a great time to warm up for the playoffs because we're going to be playing a very desperate team. So let's use this as a warmup for the playoffs and let's play really hard. You know, the Montreal crowd's going to be into it. So this is going to give us a bit of a warmup for the playoffs.

So let's say Montreal loses this in regulation. All they need to do is get it to overtime, but let's say Montreal loses this in regulation. All they need to do is get it to overtime. But let's say Montreal loses it in regulation. Columbus can get in with a regulation win over the Islanders. Correct. And I'm like, that's like going into Philly to play the Flyers. They can do this. So there is a possibility that there is, you know, unlikely, but certainly possible that the Habs could blow this and they will look back on it and

go like, we can beat Chicago at home. With the chance again to the playoffs, we lost to the Blackhawks and frankly got outplayed by the Blackhawks. Did you know that the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Skyler Brindamore from their AHL affiliate. He of course is the Skyler. That's Rod Brindamore's son, Skyler Brindamore.

Former Chillo Act chief. 25 years old, might and I think will play against the Habs tonight. So I don't know what kind of lineup Carolina's gonna be icing. You have seen teams across the NHL rest. Yeah. You guys going in.

Now that is true. That is true. But I think they're gonna play hard. Can I just say this, and I will apologize in advance to all of you Montreal Canadiens fans out there. I kinda wanna see the Habs lose tonight, cause I wanna see what happens tomorrow if they do lose. Having the door open is good theater and good drama.

I'd rather the theater be in the playoffs. I want Montreal to be. Think it's gonna make the playoffs. No, I know. I mean, ultimately what- This isn't cheering for the Habs not making the playoffs. This is just cheering for the drama to come down to the very last... Yeah, but then you run the risk then. I know, that's the thrill Andy. That's the chase.

Here's the other thing. Halford, do you really want to see... like you want Montreal to be in the playoffs, right? Yep. Okay. Do you really want to see it play out like Columbus has a chance... Columbus, poor Columbus, has been through so much this season. Yeah, I think it'd be great. But then you want them to lose. I don't want them to lose.

I want the universe to unfold in whatever way that it might. I just want that dynamic there where a team has the opportunity to control its own destiny on the last day of the regular season. It's very philosophical of you. I want the universe to of the regular season. It's very philosophical of you. Thank you. I want the universe to unfold as it will. If it's, the Columbus Blue Jackets are meant to do it, then they shall do it.

And that means that even though I would love to see the Bell Center faithful and Ivan Demidoff in the playoffs and all that stuff, if they don't get the job done tonight, then I think there is some sort of like cosmic energy where you're like, you blew it against Chicago and you blew it against Skyler Brindemore and the rest of the Carolina. Well, to be perfectly honest with you, if Montreal

loses in regulation tonight, I might flip over to cheering for Columbus. No, seriously, because while Montreal, you don't deserve to be there, it's not your time. Your time will come. Let's go Blue Jackets because. Blue Jackets have won five in a row down the stretch. They're getting shout outs from a guy named

Jet Grieves who Laddy loves. He's a tiny little guy, isn't he Laddy? Well, he's listed at six feet, but he's one of those guys where it's like. Is that a UC Saros six feet? Yeah, it's a UC Saros six feet. Okay. I want to quickly talk about Rick Tocket because

I think things are happening behind the scenes right now. I've heard that the Canucks have given Rick Tocket an offer that they are pretty hopeful about. And, you know, if you, if you hear Rick Dollywall, he'll, he'll be like, ah, the Canucks know the price, the Canucks know the price to sign Rick Tocket or to get this deal done. Now, I don't know if they've met that price, but I

think they've given him an offer that's pretty generous in their eyes. And I think they've given him an offer that's pretty generous in their eyes. Um, and I, I think they probably want to get this wrapped up in the next couple of days so the end of season presser, they can have Rick Tocket there signed, sealed and delivered, and then get onto all the other things that they have to fix. Now, if they don't get Rick Tocket signed by this end of season presser, whenever it's going to be

Friday, Saturday, whenever, that is going to be a big thing and it's going to be tough for this management group that already has things to deal with. Like Tom Willender might be a back burner issue right now over the next couple of days, right? Like I'm not suggesting that they don't care about that, but they want to get this Rick

Tauket thing done. And part of the reason is because they really like Rick Tauket and they've come out and said, like, we want Rick Tauket here. And if they, if he, if he decides to say like, yeah, I don't really want it. Like even though you've given me a good offer, not really digging the vibes here or whatever,

sure. That's going to look awful on management, awful. And, and like, they'll have to deal with that. And then they'll have to go out and find another coach. They'll be like, okay, well, this is another thing we got to add to our list. And, and, and, and what is Quinn Hughes going to

think about that? Because Quinn Hughes and Rick Tuckett are tied together now because Quinn Hughes going to think about that? Because Quinn Hughes and Rick Tocket are tied together now because Quinn Hughes has gone out of his way to say, I want Rick Tocket back. And if Rick Tocket says no to the Canucks, he's also saying no to Quinn Hughes. And you know, Quinn Hughes is pretty important for the Vancouver Canucks over the next two years.

Yep. They have to show him that they've got what it takes as an organization to get things done and to turn this team into a Stanley Cup contender. If they can't convince their head coach to stay, what's that going to say Rick Talk? Or what's that gonna say to Quinn Hughes? Well, can I also just expand on why time is of the essence here? And that's because the NHL regular season ends on Thursday. Traditionally, the teams that wanna get rid of their head coach do not waste any time

in getting rid of them as soon as the regular season is done. So right now, if you wanna talk about Rick Talk, and could he go elsewhere, would he go elsewhere? Right now there are three interim gigs up for grabs. That's Brad Shaw in Philadelphia, Anders Sorsen in Chicago, and Joe Sacco in Boston. I would suggest, and we'll talk to Frank about this

coming up in about a half hour's time, that all three of those jobs, I mean, if they're not already conducting interviews, and I think that the Blackhawks are already down that road, they will be shortly. Then you've got to throw, it's almost 100% that Peter Lavillette's gonna be dismissed in New York, right?

He won't be the coach of the New York Rangers after Thursday. Maybe they wait a day or two, but I think they'll probably get it done right away. So then there's another job that opens up. Then you start looking around and you're saying, well, what other teams might make a change? Like I could be convinced that the national predators

would look at making a change behind the bench because it was such a disaster this year. The one that you always have to keep an eye on every year they don't make the playoffs is the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mike Sullivan. And I know that they love Sullivan, that the ownership groups love Sullivan and they respect him and I think

Kyle Dubas feels the same about him. But they're going in a direction that it's nobody's sure exactly where that direction is. Sullivan's been there for a long time. I think he's the fourth or fifth longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League. So you gotta keep an eye on all of these jobs because the more jobs that open up,

the more leverage it gives a guy that's looking for one. Right, if there's six or seven openings, you could always be like, I got your offer. Thank you very much. I would like to interview. And they could, you always play it off. Like, I just want to go through the process. Just want to learn, learn how to interview. Right. And everyone knows that's a lie. You're just out there trying to get the best deal imaginable, but Thursday, NHL regular season ends Friday, it gets really interesting for coaches because there's a very small window where jobs

open up and then quickly jobs get taken away. But would talk and be able to talk to them. That's the other thing that's hanging over this because we've heard. You can talk to some, I'm doing air quotes on the air right now. You can talk to someone. No, no, no. You can talk to some, I'm doing air quotes on the air right now, you can talk to someone. No, no, no.

You can have someone talk to someone. No, but if the Canucks, so I know Elliott Friedman reported over the weekend that the Canucks have kind of cooled on the idea of using that team option that they've got on Rick Tocket as this like, don't talk to anyone, right? Like you're staying, you're either, you're either coaching the Canucks next season or you're

coaching nowhere. You can go back to TV, right? Apparently they've kind of cooled on that idea, but I just wonder if this week is it. Cause Freach has also reported that you're going to get a decision one way or the other pretty quick. So is Thursday almost the last day?

D-Day? Where they're going to say, okay, look, we've made our best offer to you, take it or leave it. And if you leave it, you can go if you want. Yeah. Right. Because we're not going to be this organization that, well, we might, but we're not going to be this organization that says like, you have to stay, right? No matter what, you have to stay. And we're going to, you know, because that would be spiteful at that point, right? Just to be like, well, we're going to, we're going to wield the option.

Even though if you're, even though you're probably not going to come back and coach because you don't want to, right? Like at some point you just have to say like, here's our best offer, do you wanna be here or not? And if you don't, then buy, because we only want people that want to be here. That's valid. I think as an organization, that's actually the right way to do things,

because otherwise you just look kind of desperate and sad and spiteful. Can I just have this on the record though? If I'm Rick Tauke, this is just me speaking personally and entirely opinion-based, but if I'm Rick Tauke and I'm looking around and I want to continue coaching in the NHL next season so I take a look at other available jobs and other opportunities than what I've got here. The Vancouver Canucks job,

despite not being perfect, there's one thing that you've got. And it's, you would get to coach the best player out of any of the other options out there. And I'm confident in saying that, confident in saying it. You get to coach the best player in Quinn Hughes out of any of the other options.

So I think that's a tick in the positive column. Also, that player loves you. Yeah. That player wants you back. You have. Papa? Yeah, right. Are you leaving?

Yeah, you have the best possible relationship. I'm not going anywhere, Petsy. Right there, right there. That could tip the scales, right? It's like. Yeah, but he also has to coach Elise Pedersen. Does he though? You don't know which one I'm referring to though.

Does, ooh. To come around, but. Very well done, Andy. Okay. Do you think the Rutherford and Alvey, you know, would be like, uh, Quinn, make those puppy dog eyes. Yeah.

Go and talk to, go and talk to Tuck. Hands in his pockets. Uncle Rick. Yeah. Uncle Rick, you're not leaving, are you? No, no, no, not Uncle Rick, Unky Rick. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.

To the phone lines we go, Frank Saravalli from Daily Face Off, a presentation of angry outer liquor joins us here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Frank? How you doing, guys? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this as always, we appreciate it.

So we do wanna start with Rick Tauket and his coaching future in Vancouver or elsewhere. Jason earlier today, you guys can all watch the video, by the way, it's up now on social. Put out there that he's heard that the Canucks have made Rick Tauket an offer that they like, and that they're obviously hopeful that he will accept. What do you know and what are you hearing

on the Rick Tauket front these last few days? What do you know and what are you hearing on the Rick Taukett front these last few days? Honestly, haven't heard much new on that front. It's a situation where obviously this is something that the Canucks are hoping gets managed and handled in very short order so that they can put this to bed and move on. But I have not gotten to that point yet where I've heard exactly what that report has. What about the coaching carousel right now as it relates to potential jobs that Rick Tauke could look at elsewhere?

Obviously, there's three interim coaches that, you know, those jobs could be interviewed for. There could be other guys brought in. There's going to be guys dismissed at the end of the NHL regular season. We all know that. How does the coaching landscape look in terms of availability right now? It looks pretty healthy.

If you're looking for another stop on the carousel, this is going to be a way larger coaching class. There's going to be more turnover than I think a lot of people had anticipated even going back a couple months. So you mentioned the three interim teams, Philly, Chicago and Boston. Yep. But then you've got, well potentially if it happens, Vancouver. You've got Nashville as a potential, the New York Rangers, the Buffalo Sabres. A lot of people are wondering about Mike Sullivan's future in Pittsburgh. You've got Patrick Wa and Lou Amorella have been seemingly at odds for a while. Potentially the Seattle

Kraken even after one just one year of the Dan Bilesman experience. I mean, there's, there's a lot percolating behind the scenes at this moment in time that to think that there could potentially be six, seven, eight openings in a year after so much turnover is pretty surprising. Are you expecting that the Rangers are going to move on from Peter La Villette? I am, yes. Go ahead. Did I mention them? Sorry?

Did I mention them as part of the group? Yeah, you did. I'm just wondering as it relates to, let's be honest, talk it, I'm looking at the jobs that, if someone was to take a gig right now, and we were kind of, I was stacking it up as, what would it be like, the future in Vancouver, and what would it be like the future in Vancouver and what would it be like the future elsewhere? The thing

that's really one of those classic pro and con less. Yeah. And it comes to you look at Phil. I think the issue with Philly in Chicago is there's still a ways away from contending. Now if you look at Boston, that one is one where it's like they've got some good pieces there but they are getting old and this was a really forgettable year for them. The Rangers, given where they're at in terms of, you know, still have a lot of talent on the roster. Clearly Chris Jury wants to do some things to change this around. And I think it's fair to say that this was a very dysfunctional year for the Rangers. I'm having a hard time kind of balancing the pros and cons in terms of identifying that job as one that's desirable or not.

Well, first off it's the Rangers for one, so that instantly makes it desirable. Two, this is a team that to your point last year won the President's trophy and there's obvious talent at a lot of different positions. And three, I think not all that dissimilar to the Canucks, I'd want to hear from Chris Curie specifically, what's your game plan? How aggressive do you plan to be to remake specifically the defense personnel of this team? Because it's, that's the biggest question mark facing the Rangers for the last few years. It's not that they the biggest question mark facing the Rangers for the last few years. It's, it's not that they can't score or they don't have quality forwards.

And to me, it's not even about the idea of moving on from the contracts of the Banajad and Crider as they continue to age. It's how does this team find a way to defend better? Because this has spanned multiple coaching staffs. Now you've got one of the best goalies in the world in New York, says Terkin, if you can't get better personnel to defend, you're not going to have an opportunity to win the Stanley cup and that's, I think ultimately the message that emanated from that team losing to the Florida Panthers

last year in the conference final. They've got a decent group, but they need to defend better. And they tried to start that last summer by moving on from Jacob Truba, who, by the way, the Anaheim Tucks got a lot better. If you look at their record after Truba arrived, um, they need, they need personnel changes. Okay, Frank, what's going on with Tom Willander? Okay. So I did get a little ahead of myself the other night in the phrasing of my tweet

that they have an agreement in place. They do not and they did not. So that was an error on my part. But I'm very confident in speaking to multiple sources that that will be the case at some point in time. Now I know, okay, that sounds vague. Great job, Frank. The point is, I believe he's leaving Boston University.

There's no rush. He's finishing out this semester in classes. He was back in the classroom earlier this week. Will Ender is gonna leave BU, and obviously the Canucks play their last game tonight so he's not going to be able to play an NHL game this season but the Abbotsford Canucks down in the AHL, they finished their regular season on Saturday. They got a pretty good team this year and they're going to be headed to the Calder Cup

playoffs. Could we see Will Ander play for Abbotsford in the Calder Cup playoffs? I don't think so. I believe the plan is to finish out this semester on campus, however long that is. I think there is no rush for him to turn pro and that the expectation is that he'll be doing it in time for next season. I do think that part of what's gone on behind the scenes

has been this back and forth in in a contract negotiation that for an entry-level deal is typically largely formulaic that that back and forth has been specifically I believe over some of the bonuses involved in that and that that's what is is holding, putting pen to paper. So no rush, no concern that this is a guy that will be making a big impact for the Canucks organization moving forward. It's just not going to be today. Let's get back to this talk it thing.

I know you haven't heard a lot lately about what's going on, but just what's at stake for the Vancouver Canucks and this Rick Taukett decision. They've, they've come out and said like, we really want him to be back. And I've heard that they've made a, a, an offer that they feel pretty good about. Now, whether it matches what Rick Taukett wants,

whether it matches his price remains to be seen. Um, but you know, if he signs good for them and good for Rick Taukett will get going on all the other issues that the Canucks have to face. But if he says no, how's that going to look for this management group? And how's it going to look, um, when it comes to Quinn Hughes, who has come out and said he really,

really wants Rick Taukett back. How's it going to look when it comes to Quinn Hughes, who has come out and said, he really, really wants Rick Tauke back? Yeah, I think the best way to answer that question is what's at stake is the, to me, in my view, the fabric of the Vancouver Canucks. Your culture, everything that you want to accomplish revolves around your people. And since Rick Tocket took over,

I think there's been a marked change in a really positive way of how that team, for the most part, thinks, breathes, acts, comports itself, posture, all those things that go into building a winning team. Now there's obviously been a ton of hiccups this year, a ton of issues that I think have, you know, had Rick Tocket had hair,

would have resulted in the loss of some, and certainly some sleepless nights. But when you think to the overall larger parameters and how it might impact this team moving forward, it would be a significant blow if they don't retain the services. And specifically in relation to Quinn Hughes. I mean, this is a player who has talked openly about how much he's enjoyed playing with, you know, not just under Rick Tocket, but under Adam Foote as well. I've talked about how players around the league have talked

about the quality of this coaching staff from top to bottom. This is a coaching staff that people talk about. They want to play for. They're energized and interested. And that's the exception, not the rule in the NHL. There's a lot of coaching staffs that people just, they shrug, or they say, okay, yeah, that's the guy, but will he be the guy a few years from now? This is a destination type coaching staff. It really is. And so not having that, it sets you back in significant ways. And so what does it mean for the management group? Well, I said it

before, I think the biggest thing that stands out is why wasn't this taken care of last year? I don't think that there was any disillusion about, hey, well, there's an option year, we're good, we can take our time. The process should have been, this guy won the Jack Adams, we have a great thing going, let's not let our top end coach, coach into the last year of his deal. And so these are the types of things that you open yourself up to,

especially after the way that this year gone and went off the rails that sometimes it's I can tell you I don't think that this is really hinging on money I don't think that this is all about every getting every last dollar to remain coach of the Vancouver Canucks I think it's finances are part of it sure sure, but it's about having a strong plan and concise plan in place as to what this team's gonna look like moving forward. That's what Rick Tockett's really interested in. Would the coaching staff,

we've had this question from a few listeners, would the coaching staff be tied to Rick Tockett? Like if Rick Tockett goes, Adam Foote's gone too, right? I would expect that staff be tied to Rick Tocca like if Rick Tocca goes, Adam foot's gone too, right? I would expect that to be the case, but I don't know that for certain. Right. Okay.

Um, anything more on, is it, is the Brock Besser story in Vancouver? Is this going to be his last game tonight in a Vancouver Canucks uniform, or is there a still chance that, um, the relationship can be salvaged? I don't really know that there's a glimmer of hope for that. I mean, my guess would be not to put a number on it, but we're talking single digit percentages. So it's greater than zero, but it's the writing has been on the wall for a little bit. And I think those comments where it was already probably a tough situation

for a big chunk of the year with being limited contract negotiations, the Canucks essentially, you know, to unpack all this again, the Canucks essentially daring him to go out and have another career year and then not really coming close on terms for what a new deal looked like followed by the way Deadline Day was handled. As all of those things were swirling this guy that has been so loyal to the Canucks has been so ingrained in what they want to do that I don't think Brock Besser ever even looked around to see what was happening around him. Like this the way that this

year played out with with Miller and Pedersen and everything else going on I truly believe that as as there were some questions that he's probably asking himself about whether or not the team believed in him moving forward, for the first time ever, he probably in his own head was asking whether he believed in what's happening around him moving forward. Do you think we'll hear Pedersen's name in rumors this off season or do you think the Canucks will try and give him a vote of confidence maybe at the end of season, press her and put any off season rumors to bed? I think you're probably going to hear his name talked about.

Look, I don't know that you could say definitively one way or the, I mean, I guess if you're the Canucks, you could try and put it to bed and give them the vote of confidence. But if you could really, and I'm not saying you can, but if you could try and find a way to extract some value, I don't know why you wouldn't consider it. Frank, always fun with you. Enjoy the rest of your week. enjoy the start of the playoffs and we'll chat again next week, possibly post press conferences for a lot of teams and we'll have some more news then. Sounds good. See you guys.

See you buddy. Thanks Frank. That's Frank Ceravalli on Sportsnet 650. You ever get jealous of the studio that they have at Fan 590 in Toronto? Look at it up there. It's a nice studio. No, because people can see in from the outside. I't like that oh really it's a street view no not street view but the offices yeah the people walking by are you suggesting they have a window they do that must be nice it's like to have a window yeah

we're kind of in a vault here yep it's the bunker we get to see the dogs it's not really a window it's more like a glass partition. Yeah, you see it on yawning repeatedly No fogs up every once in a while from the yawning Okay, let's go to the phone lines Randy Janna joins us now on the haliford and brush on sportsnet 650 a presentation of I Lost my train of thought Bells and whistles. Thank you my god. Sorry Randy presentation of bells and whistles. Yeah, it's a professional I'm very good at what I do. I was like, what's the place again bells and whistles, thank you, my God. Sorry, Randee, presentation of bells and whistles. He is a professional. I'm very good at what I do.

I was like, what's the place again? Bells and whistles. He was watching Adog. I was watching Adog. How you doing, Randee? I'm doing well, and the way I like to term our studio is like it's a bunker with an interrogation room. I think that's out.

That's actually pretty good. That's actually pretty good. So Randee, I don't know if you've been listening to the radio. We just went through in the last segment, it was a very scattered segment just because of all the issues that are facing the Vancouver Canucks. And I suppose it starts with Rick Tocket.

I've been hearing that there is an offer for Rick Tocket on the table and the Canucks are feeling pretty good about that offer. Um, last I checked in, they hadn't heard back from Rick Tuckett on that offer. So, um, do you expect a decision to be made before this weekend or before the end of season press conferences?

Because man, they got so much work to do, but I think it probably starts with getting their head coach back. Absolutely. It's in a lot of ways, the most important business that they can do because he's the culture center. He's the guy that really changed not only the way they played on the ice. And I know there's critics out there, but defensively, um, they are much better than they were when he got, uh, before he got here.

So yeah, you need this guy locked in. And when do I expect that to happen? I would, it looks like the player availability will be on Friday. Management will speak after that. Hopefully it's done around that time, maybe when management speaks, but I'm optimistic. And we know negotiations play out this way,

guys, like as far as coaches are concerned, Rick talked it very particular about not wanting to do it in season. Are there other conversations, you know, maybe a dollar figure, I'm sure that is going on. The management team, as we've seen through player negotiations, does like to play hardball a little bit.

So, you know, I just don't see how you can't have the Jack Adams winner a year ago back. It's, you know, non-cap spending. So I'm optimistic about this. I think, you know, Jason, based on your reporting as well, obviously, the team wanting it to get done, Rick Tauke, it is a very, very important piece of this organization and has some pretty strong relationships with individuals that are star players on the team, most notably the captain. Taukett has a lot of leverage in this situation too.

Yep. You know, you mentioned the relationship he's got with Quinn Hughes and when Quinn Hughes comes out publicly and says, I really want this guy back and the Canucks want Quinn Hughes to stay long term with the team. If I'm Tocket, I might just be like, eh, I'll see what else I can get out of them.

Just in the negotiations and maybe this management team that often plays hardball, maybe I'll play a little hardball myself. Because Randip, have you even allowed yourself to imagine what it would be like if Rick Tauket said thanks, but no thanks? Yeah, I've maybe thought about it a little bit just because obviously that's an option, but guys, that's not a, you know, obviously

it would be a bad look. It would be a bad move. And with Rick Tauket, a couple of things, you talk about leverage. You know, there's one way to maybe undercut that leverage earlier on. If you, you know, you sign them right after he was the Jack Adams, obviously it's at a high value,

but you know, the leverage is still, you've got a little bit of a runway there. You can negotiate and you have more than leverage. You have the situations under your control. You've got a lot of runway there. So for whatever reason, the deal was inside then, and then as you go on, the leverage starts swinging in the other direction

to say, hey, this is a guy that is very well respected in the league, not only for his playing, but now is coaching as well, going back to his days as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins. And I think there's always that thought that with Rick Tauket, of course, there's gonna be a lot of folks, whether you're, you know, the old school hockey crew that they love the way he played the game, and even the kind of his

communication skills with the new age athlete, he kind of is able to really work with both sets of hockey dudes, right? Like we're talking about an individual that is kind of bridging that gap between the generation. So yeah, with that there is going to be leverage. And we'll see how this plays out. Like I said, I'm still optimistic, but I think this is with all negotiations, it's you have leverage maybe early on, if you don't act, it could swing

the other way and it feels like it has. This is a conversation that we were having and a question that we threw out there. How much guidance do you think you could get from Quinn Hughes on what he's thinking about his future? I mean, Quinn Hughes himself, if he was being honest, he might say, I don't know if I'm going to be in Vancouver longterm. It's two years away. That could be an honest answer, but I just wonder if you could kind of like start handicapping the situation because it matters

so much if you're planning as management. It totally does. And you know, there's, he's such an important player on this team. Obviously the most important, he's a player that player on this team, obviously the most important, he's a player that's entering his prime. But I think Jason, a couple of things on this front, you kind of have to be careful

in how you strike up that conversation. Because if you started thinking of, hey, if you have an exit plan, we want to be prepared, it's not exactly the tenor of conversation you want at this point in time. I think you have to have that conversation at some point, but you want to induce confidence in this player to say, hey, we got your back. We are going to try to build you a winner as long as you're here, rather than saying, hey, if you leave us, could you let us know type of thing? It kind of comes

with a different energy. So I think at this point in time, obviously, if you're the management team, you're the ownership, you want to know that your best player is included in these conversations. You want him to be in the building for the future. And in a way, he's also an asset, right? Players want to play with other special players. We saw that play out with, you know, Connor McDavid, of course, and Edmonton players. It hasn't worked to help them win a Stanley Cup, but there are players that want to go there in free agency because they get to play with a special player. We've seen it with Nathan McKinnon to a certain degree, Sidney Crosby, obviously.

So he is an asset in the short term here as well. I think that conversation, no doubt it has to happen, especially if you don't get an extension when he's eligible. Uh, but you know, this is something that I think there's a danger in having that conversation too early because you start maybe getting the player to wonder aloud and say, wait a second, they should be prioritizing building a winner around me. Uh, why are they just worried? Right? Like I think, or do you come from a place of confidence or do you come from a place of slight

paranoia? And I think you want to avoid paranoia in this one. Do you think we're going to see some big, big trades and big moves league wide with the kind of like the handcuffs coming off a lot of the NHL GMs in terms of the flat cap? Flat cap is gone now. There's going to be considerable growth. At least it's expected over the next few years.

Maybe these GMs can finally overcome their conservative instincts and go out and make some big deals. Yeah, I think there's going to be, part of the reason I say that is the free agent class is not one that I'm highly rating. I think there's going to be a lot of GMs that are going to dip their toes into the water and maybe make a huge splash when it comes to signing players. I'm looking at them, Bennett, I'm looking at other individuals that are going to get paid. But if you don't believe in the free agent class and the ghosts of 2016 still haunt GMs, even if they're not GMs in the league.

That free agent class was a classic example of money was around the league there people were able to spend and they spent it on the wrong players and those contracts I don't have to lift off the Louis Ericson then the Milan Lucic is that the Troy Browers go through the lift, Kyle Ochozo you, that was an absolute mess of a free agent class. So you might have something similar where guys are making more money than they probably deserve because there's a scarcity of talent in the UFA, you know, class. So when it comes to deals, are there skilled players that might be available on their teams? And the reason I say that is, you know, there's going to be some disappointed teams.

I think Vancouver, Boston, Buffalo are three teams right off the bat that are probably looking to make a change and say, hey, last year what happened, that wasn't right. We gotta tweak this. But there's also gonna be other teams coming out of the playoffs. Like look at that LA Edmonton series.

One of those teams is going to be disappointed. Colorado and Dallas, one of those teams, you know, of those two teams that expect to be at least in the Western Conference Finals, is going to be looking at themselves and saying, hey, we got bounced in the first round. There's going to be players that are going to be available. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.