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

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they discuss the Canucks' road loss to Quinn Hughes' Minnesota Wild that saw Vancouver clinch last place in the NHL, plus the boys get a 'Nucks update from 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. Former Kanox Captain Quinn Hughes gets the last laugh. His Minnesota Wilde defeat the Vancouver Knox by a final score of 5 to 2. That was a good effort there. We had a great effort, especially back-to-back, against two good teams like that. Big heavy team in here. The guys competed until the end.

You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never. We try. Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend. Good morning, Vancouver. 7 o'clock on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Sweet, sweet Friday.

It is Halford and his broth. It is SportsNet 650. We are coming live from the Kintech Studios in beautiful Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Ad, good morning to you. Good morning.

Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Do you have payday loan debt? If you do. Sands and Associates could cut that debt by updating. 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands dash trustee.com.

We all already an hour two of the program. How did that happen? This hour of the program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more your money, then don't let Jason shop around. To find the perfect mortgage for you, visit them online at jason. com. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio.

Step Strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. It's Ask Us Anything Friday. So get your ask us anything's into. the Dunbar Lumber Text Line at 650, 650, trusted by contractors and DIY champions across Metro Vancouver. For generations, find them at three convenient locations or visit Dunbar Lumber Online today. So it is a holiday. We're only doing a two-hour show here, which is why we're starting at 7 a.m. We've got a lot to get into on the program.

A reminder, if you're listening to us on this holiday, as Jason mentioned, Dunbar Lumber Text Line 650, 650, show us a note. Just say, hey, what's up? How are you guys doing? How are things? I'm listening. I'm here. We do have a lot to get into. It's a very busy day in the National Hockey League yesterday with 14 games. Our guest list this morning, our Dewick Morning Drive, brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. Just two guests today. Brent Wallace is going to join us at 7.30 this morning. He's coming up next. Co-host of the coming in hot Ottawa Senators podcast.

Yet another eventful day in Ottawa yesterday. It began with a lot of attention paid to the remarks made on the Kachuk podcast. And then it ended with the Sends getting a big win over. Buffalo and moving back into a playoff spot as a result. Brent Wallace is going to join us at 7.30 to break it all down from Ottawa. At 8 o'clock, Rick Dollywell is going to join the program. Intrepid Canucks reporter, Donnie and Dolly on Czech TV. We're going to talk about Quinn Hughes.

We're going to talk about Patrick Alveen. I'm going to ask, should the Canucks get a tough guy on July 1? Can't wait to hear what Rick has to say about that. We'll get in some other things as well with Rick at 8 a.m. Also at 8 a.m. We're doing a giveaway today. Vancouver FC kicks off its CPL campaign tomorrow. We're giving away a four pack of tickets to the opener.

It is Saturday, April 4th, 4 p.m. from Willoughby and Langley. Caller number 5 at 8 a.m. this morning, 604, 280650 will get the tickets. Also, because it's Friday, we're still doing ask us anything Friday. So as Jason said, get your AUAs in. Hashtag him, AUA. Put a pizza emoji into your text. We'll read them throughout the show. and the winner will get a $100 gift card to AJ's pizza on East Broadway.

Okay, we got a lot to get into on the program. Without further ado, Laddy, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I'm losing. We know how busy your life can be. What happened?

Missed it? You miss that? What happened is always brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Okay, we got a lot to get into yesterday. We are going to begin with the Vancouver Canucks, who have officially clinched. Dead last. and 32nd place in the NHL. Hey, and they did it with seven games to go.

That's quite an accomplishment, guys. It came after a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild and former Captain Quinn Hughes at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Will there be a banner? There will not be a banner. I don't think they're going to do a banner. There will be no banner. If they win the pick, maybe. Ooh.

Yeah, it was, I would say it was another good effort from the Canucks who came up a, came up against a better team than them, and the better team won the game. But if you think about this road trip that they went on, they went into Vegas, and they had a pretty solid first period, and Vegas looked nervous, not because they were playing the Canucks, probably because they were playing their first game with John Torterillo as their head coach. But Vegas took over that game in the second period, but the Canucks, you know, they hung around. Then they went out to Colorado, and they beat the abs.

In a wild game, 8-6 win for the Connox. The very next night, they got to go to Minnesota and play a wild team that was rested, had a bunch of practices in. And again, like, they're trying to dial in for a very important playoffs. I'm talking about the wild, not the Canucks. And the Canucks hung in there. I thought they played fine. There were some mistakes.

Like, there were some outside of P.O. Joseph, who is a veteran player, who made a big mistake early in the game, there were mistakes by the young defenseman on the Canucks. Zeve Bouillon had a puck hop over a stick at the blue line, gave a breakaway to Matt Boldie. 40 goals on the air for Matt Boldie. Yeah, man, he's a good player. DPD had a pass to nobody that didn't help and caused a goal against. And then Tom Velander, in what was expertly broken down by Ray Ferraro on the broadcast,

he just couldn't make life uncomfortable enough for a pretty big dude in Ryan Hartman, who tipped a point shot home. And that has been an issue, I think, for a lot of the young Kinnuck defensemen is like, what do you do when you got a guy in front of you in front of the net? Do you try your best as VLander did to just move them out of there?

Well, that's easier said than done when it's Ryan Hartman. Do you try and tie up a stick? You know, that's also easier said than done, sometimes without taking a penalty. So these are just learning experiences for the young defense. offenseman, puck management, boxing out.

Hopefully, as we've said, a number of times that these are experiences that are going to pay off down the line. These guys on certain teams would not be in the NHL. They'd be in the HAL. I think, you know, even Booiam, even Booiam could possibly on a really deep team spend some time in the HAL, not full time, but maybe they're going to send you down for a few games. If you're on a really good team and you got a deep defense, but definitely DPD and VLander, but they're hanging in there and they're battling. And I do want to say one thing after this road trip has been completed. What's that, Jason? I am starting to enjoy watching the team play. I know that I have been very hard on this team. And,

I don't feel badly about that. I think it's been an abject disaster for the last couple of years, and there have been numerous mistakes made. But this younger group of players has played with the type of enthusiasm that I've been looking for. It's full of mistakes, but there is that enthusiasm. Don't forget, I started watching the Kinex when I was a kid in the 80s, and they were horrible. but I still had my favorite players on those teams

and those teams, you know, they were, again, dreadful, but they had their gamers. And then they eventually, after a few years, they had some good draft picks. They picked up a guy like Pavel Burry and Trevor Linden and they turned into a pretty good team that nearly won the Stanley Cup. I don't even know if guys like VLander and DPD or again, as Drans puts it, part of the next great Canucks team.

But I don't, it doesn't matter in this context because we're still going to have to watch these games. And all I want to watch is a group of players that's going out there and playing with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the right word. And wanting to win and some pride in the jersey and understanding that the fans are invested in in them and they should be invested in their own careers and the young guys what i've really liked is they seem to have whether they were told or it was just obvious to them they had a choice am i going to join the rest of the veterans in team pout or am i just going to say hey i'm in the n hl i've got an opportunity here this is a pretty cool job even though um you know we're not on a

very good team. Let's go out there, try to get better, embrace the process. Remember that we're in the NHL, living our dreams. Let's play with some enthusiasm. I feel so full of, what's the opposite of shame? Pride? No, not that far from shame. Less shame. Yeah. Yeah. Less shame. It's nice to watch your hockey team and feel less shame. And honestly, another one would be less rage. Yeah, I don't, I'm not, uh, you're not choking on your rage as much as you used to. I'm not, I'm not choking on my rage as much.

Like I barely have, I don't, I don't think I choked once on my rage. Nice. Last night. You know, I have, I have not cared for this team. Yeah, I have. You made that abundantly clear throughout the year. I've, I still love this team. but I have not liked this team for frankly the last couple of years

or a few years before then that I didn't like it. I'm glad that I only kind of liked the team. I only kind of liked the team when they had that good year. Because I think, you know, we were still like, oh, is this, this still feels off. And it was interesting that Quinn Hughes had an interview with Drance for the athletic. Yeah. And he kind of said like, man, even when we were winning games,

that year, it still felt fractured. I think that came across. I think that came across to the fan base. We're like, yeah, this team's good. And we're having fun. We're having fun. We're having fun. I think we're having fun. They might not all be in it together, though.

They're not because you had contract uncertainty. You had, you know, it's just, you can feel it. You can feel it as a fan. And it was almost like, when is this going to fall apart? And the types of personalities that were involved, there was some volatility there. and it just felt like it was going to fall apart and maybe not to the extent that it did

because it fell apart so spectacularly. But anyway, back to the positives. I am liking what some of these young players are giving. I don't know if these young players have it in them to be part of big parts, big parts of a really good team. I don't know if they can improve that much. But right now, like, I'll take this. I am enjoying watching the games again.

I think it's way too early to tell. I mean, we're still in the infancy of the rebuild. I mean, the rebuild part isn't even really underway yet. So I get what you're saying. Like, you're optimistic and you're happy about what you've seen recently. And if you don't know the future, I think that's okay. I think it's okay not to know exactly what these guys are going to be right now and just kind of live in the moment and enjoy it.

And try and find the positives where you can. For example, Tom Vielander got his 20th point of the season last year. That's no small feat. for a guy that is now. If you look at it, fifth in the NHL, him on rookie demand scores, and he's the first Kinnok defenseman as a rookie to hit 20 points since Quinn Hughes did it all the way back in 2019, 2020. So there are some very small but important building blocks along the way here and personal marks for guys that are important. Speaking of Quinn Hughes, just another night for him last night, plus four, set a Minnesota wild defenseman record

with his 46th of the season. He spoke with Murph. after the game talking about how it was a little weird, maybe not as weird as it'll inevitably be when he has to face the Canucks in Vancouver. Here's Quinn Hughes and his walk-off interview with Murph yesterday after a win over the Vancouver Canucks. Wild win 5-2 and Quinn, after a few days off of your team, it looked like you guys were ready to start on time,

not just second and third. Yeah, I mean, I think two lucky bounces are on the first. Crudson, them, they played hard. Like you said, we had four or five days off that we needed, and hopefully that'll propel us in the playoffs. You said it wasn't going to feel real, until the puck dropped. So what was it like for you out there

against the former teammates? Yeah, I mean, definitely a little weird, but I think that you move on and I'm happy to be here right now. And probably being in Vancouver would be a little bit weirder than this. But yeah, like I said, it was nice. We got the win and we got a big weekend coming up.

Maybe a little bit easier with No Myers or even Dempco or Garland out there? For sure, for sure. I mean, it's a lot of, I mean, a lot of those guys over there and they played with for a couple months. So obviously still some close friends over there, but definitely a lot of change. The numbers would say you've assimilated well, 50 points now in 43 games.

Are you more comfortable now than you were in mid-December? Yeah, of course. I mean, the more time you have with the guys, you're going to be more comfortable. And I think, you know, that process isn't done. I think it'll continue to grow. And I'm just trying to hit my stride for playoffs, and I think the whole team's trying to do that too. That's the last question. You guys kind of treaded water in March.

Do you feel like the next couple of weeks now is to try to hit the ground running for where, you guys are playing against Dallas. It's really important because, you know, you don't go in. If you go on limping, it's hard to turn it on. But it's also hard when you have eight, nine guys with the Olympics, too. I mean, it's a lot of travel, a lot going on, you know, the emotional highs and whatnot. So, I mean, try to have some grace of their group, but also now that we have, you know, eight games off, seven games off, it's really important to make sure that we're playing our best.

Best luck down the stretch in the playoffs. Thank you. Appreciate it. So, you want to weigh in on Quinn Hughes at all here? No. It's been a pretty crowded space. I don't. I don't either.

I'm over with it. I'm over it. It'll be interesting when he comes to Vancouver next season, but I didn't think Quinn Hughes was a factor much in the game. He played well. I think he was plus four on the night. He was. He was good.

That's a good team. They've got a good team. I'll be curious to see what they've done, what they do in the postseason. It's going to be a tough road if they want to get, geez, just out of the first round. Okay, then we should definitely move on to what happened in the National Hockey League last thing. Who were the big winners last night? Ottawa was a big winner and San Jose was a big winner.

Are those the two biggest winners? They were a big winner too. They won their fifth in a row and they are now tied to top the Pacific Division. Now they're not there because they have more games played so their points percentage is lower. But they're tied on 87. I believe it's 87 points with the Anaheim Dex. We got to start with Ottawa though. Yeah.

We have to play this audio. So we played the initial audio yesterday of Keith Kachuk getting a very difficult get for the show, I imagine, on his kids podcast, Brady and. Matthew Kachuck on the Wingman podcast. I'll paraphrase as quickly as I can. Keith Kachuk started going on about the modern NHL players not playing hurt. And, you know, whenever they have an injury, they don't play through it. And they're taking nights off in the second of a back-to-back.

And he said it was disgusting. Now, when we played the audio on the show yesterday, we were trying to figure out exactly who he was talking about. And us, like a lot of different outlets, thought that Keith Kichuk was talking about Brady's team, the Ottawa Senators, because he talked about players not playing in a back-to-back because they're tired and then it spun off into a conversation. We mentioned he was also talking about the Panthers.

We mentioned that maybe it was Evan Rodriguez's finger injury. Sure. I think a lot of people, though, thought that he was talking about the Ottawa senators because what was going on with Linus Olmark? Sure. Right. Well, it's when he brought the goalie. Correct.

That was right. I think it was less the senators than Allmark by himself. Exactly. So Brady Kachuk, after a very important, important win yesterday, which we will get to in a second year. We'll talk about this with Brent Wallace at 730. Brady Kachuk was asked about the comments made on the podcast. And he answered it thoroughly.

I believe there was three questions asked. I'm just going to run the entirety of the media availability because this was a big deal, both in Ottawa and really everywhere yesterday, Daily Faceoff, TSN, the hockey news. They all wrote and covered this stemming from the Kachuk podcast. Here's what Brady Kachak had to say about what his dad said on their podcast. prior to that win over Buffalo. Here's Brady Kachuk. Yeah, I mean, being a part of it and rewatching it,

I mean, I think it was pretty clear he was talking about Florida. But, yeah, I just, I don't know how that got turned. And Mr. Shrewd, but know what happens. But, I mean, I know in there I thought it was clear as day. He was talking about Florida, but all that other stuff and just people taking it and twisting it, just nothing I can do about it. So you don't think your dad made a shot at Linus at all? I don't think, and I talked to him after.

There was not one shot, so, yeah, I don't know how that got twisted. I have to talk about it now, but I thought it was clear as day. He's talking about the Florida Panthers. Or any of the clips about ice time? Yeah, I mean, I've answered twice now, so, I mean, it's nothing I can say that what people twist and say, I know what I was a part of it, and all. those things didn't come out of my mouth. And I mean, I completely respect my dad.

He's going to be a Hall of Famer. So, I mean, I'm not going to put words in his mouth or explain what he said. He's just, you know, if you know him, he's an outgoing guy, says kind of what he thinks. And I know it comes from a good place. Why did you look so uncomfortable then, Brady? Look, that would have been an interesting question.

Yeah, well, okay, there's so many different. sort of ramifications from this now. People are always just misinterpreting. He's like, I have a resting uncomfortable face. I don't like to talk about it. I think what we have to do those, you have to take him at his word. Sure, sure, sure, sure, right? I mean, that's the only way you can go.

You can't be like, well, he's lying. Then you're no better than anyone else that's just hurling accusations and unfounded claims of people. If he says it, he says it. What are you going to do, right? But there's still a very uncomfortable dynamic going on in Ottawa right now. Exactly. Regardless, it is uncomfortable for Brady Kachuck because he's probably feeling like he's been under the gun.

I know I've been reading the comments underneath some of his interviews with the Ottawa media and the fans are like, you're going to run him out of town. Yep, that's exactly what the sentiment is right now. Is that why you guys want? Would you say it's a fracture? And would you say that fracture is anything like the Canucks fracture back in the day? I don't know. We don't need to compare it to the Canucks, but I think there's something going on there.

I mean, you know, Sarmlock played well yesterday. I know Travis Green went to bat for him before and he said, you know, he's, he's our guy, but for how long? Yeah, he is their guy right now, but is he going to be their guy next season or did they bring in? He's also our guy, like our guy B, one A, you know, like, because Allmark. It's been a trying year for him. It's been really hard. Yeah.

It's been really hard. and then, you know, I felt, I felt good for him that he was able to go out and have a good performance. The Sends are, the things is, the Sends are a good team. Like, they should be in the playoffs. And they are right now by the skin of their teeth. Yeah.

But they might not be like tomorrow, right on the cusp. And there might not be a team whose future is dictated more by making or missing than Ottawa. I'd say they're in a conversation at a very exclusive club with like Detroit right now where there's so much riding on getting into this.

postseason or not because here's the thing. I know Andy alluded to Quinn Hughes here. You saw Quinn Hughes flee for an American market. You saw Matthew Kachuk, flee for an American market. And it's only logical to apply that narrative to Brady Kachuk. Now, I know he signed long term in Ottawa. Other guys have asked out, I understand, here's the thing. I understand when fans are piling on in the comment section about like,

they're going to drive them out of town. I understand where that comes from. Totally. Because it is non-stop drama in Ottawa. Some of the Brady Kachak's fault, some of it not. It's a very, very... The sons are still a soap opera, right? Very dysfunctional still.

I thought when their owner passed away... Eugene Melnick. That might, things might kind of calm down a little bit. With Handler in there. Yeah. But it hasn't. It hasn't really. Like, there's still a lot of drama around that team.

Yeah. And I don't know what it is. I don't know if there's something in the water. I don't know if it's bad vibes at the building, but you're right. It's not like a change in ownership just automatically solves everything. And to be the captain in the Canadian market, everyone will say the same thing. I'm not reinventing the wheel here.

This is no breaking analysis. It's at times a difficult thing to do. You have to answer a lot of questions. You have to talk frequently. There's a lot more pressures and a lot more responsibilities involved. And quite frankly, some of the smaller American market. There just is. I won't deny that.

Yeah. And I think what we're seeing in this player empowerment era is guys pushing back against that. Now, what I'm not sure of is if the dynamic will ever change because these markets are frenzied and they're passionate. And there's a lot of people very invested in the teams. I don't know if that goes away. You know what I mean? Like, here's the thing. I did not find the questions that Brady Kachuk was asked after the game yesterday unfair.

No, it's what all the fans were talking about. And he didn't do pre-game media availability. So they couldn't ask him before the game. So the only opportunity they had to ask him was after the game. They're like, how are you sullying a big win by the senators by asking about this nonsense? It's so disingenuous. It is. But these are the dynamics that are at play when a lot of people care about the team and there's a lot of media covering the team.

Okay, we'll talk more about the sons with Brent Wallace. But I do want to mention that the San Jose sharks have won four in a round. We left them for dead. I left them for dead. I thought, you know, they fell apart a little bit, and it's like, yeah, those guys are done. And it was one of those, that's fine. They had a good season.

It's probably best for them if they miss the playoffs anyway, or, you know, I don't know, get more prospects in there. Do they still have their first? Yeah, they do. They don't have their second this year, because that belongs to the Vancouver Canucks. Right. Okay.

So the San Jose Sharks keep winning. Yeah. And they beat the sad sack Toronto Maple Leafs four to one yesterday. The Leafs are just... I watched that game. It was super boring. Yeah. I mean, the sharks...

I don't want to say the sharks were all over them, but they just have so much more speed and, frankly, enthusiasm. Adam Goddette scored again. Yeah, he's on fire for the sharks. Yeah, he's on fire for the sharks. A couple other scores stuck out to me last night. The King's losing at home in a shootout to Nashville. That game was crazy.

That's a bad loss for them, though. They were down 3-0. They were down 4-1. They rallied to send it to get a point. So them, Nashville, and San Jose all now have 79 points. Okay. And Seattle's done.

Seattle's good. They're done. They lost at home to Utah by a score of 6 to 2. So I think throw the cracking in in the very interesting category to see what they're going to do this off-season, especially

especially as the return of the Sonics starts to heat up. That was a, they, that's such a disappointing team, the Seattle Cracken, because post-Olympic break, they have absolutely cratered. It was time to start winning some games in a conference where that race for that final wildcard spot is so wide open and anyone could have grabbed it.

Seattle absolutely flatlined and just never could come up with like two wins in a row. wouldn't string together wins. They couldn't get games into overtime or to the shootout. They've had completely cratered. They've had two, four game losing streaks. It's been awful. And right now they're on a three game losing streak.

That is after the Olympic break. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Joining us now, Intrepid Connects reporter, Rick Dollywall, a presentation of Basson Motors here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Rick joins us, courtesy of the Able Auctions hotline. Morning, Rick, how are you?

How's that new building? How's that new building? Can you tell it's going great. Definitely no issues. Boy, changing radio stations is absolutely one of the hardest things to do. Especially when they kick you out of the building, yeah. Oh, they kick you out of the building. There's phone issues.

We couldn't get on with Drans yesterday. But it's growing pains. There's so many wires. There's so many, you know, it's all that stuff, Halpert. You think it's easy? It's not. It's hard. No, there are a lot of wires, Rick.

You're right about that. Rick, what did you think of the game last night? I was saying earlier in the show that even though the results aren't always there and the young guys and, well, everyone, there's a lot of mistakes out there. I have enjoyed the Canucks a little bit more over the last little while because you can tell they're playing with a little more enthusiasm. I love the Denver game, obviously. I mean, who would have thought they would go in and drop eight goals on the number one team on the road? Absolutely great effort. And last night you saw the mistakes from the young D, you know, defenseman PD giveaway there, pretty glaring.

But people need to realize this defense is going to make mistakes. They're young. They're learning a very tough position. Bouillon and Willander, although they're showing a good promise offensively, they're going to have to be better defenders. That's going to take time. William's only 20 years old, and he doesn't turn 21 for a while yet.

Well, Lander's only 21. Mancini, I don't understand why he's not in the lineup, and they're playing Joseph. You saw the giveaway by Joseph. I don't, look, just play the hell out of the kids. What do you got to lose? What do you got to lose? There's going to be growing pains

when you play three, four young defensemen every time, but this team is going to be better off. when these kids figure out how to defend and play better in their own end. And then you watch in two or three or four years, all these young defensemen are going to be great. But it's growing pains. It's going to be like people always say, you know, they make so many mistakes.

Well, what other hockey club is playing three or four defensemen under 23 every night? Not many, right? Not many, right? Not many. And Boolean's going to be really good. Just give him time. He's only 20. And I'll tell you something else. Did you hear Chris Pronger this week say that, you know, NHT will defensemen sometimes take up to 300 games to really get the feel for the lead?

These kids at 2021, you saw Wallander the last two nights. You've seen now Wollander starting to pick it up. You love his skating, but some nice offensive plays. Is he going to be the guy that, you know, dazzles you with offense every night? No, but the other night, beautiful pass in Denver, goal. Last night, goal. You're starting to see the. young kids offensively, they just got to get better in their own end.

And they will in due time. I just like seeing that they're in the fight. Yes. Yes. And they're character kids. Yeah. Like off the charts. Off the charts, they're both going to wear a letter someday in Vancouver.

There is no question of mine that William and Willander are going to wear letters. They're just character kids. Off the charts. Both of them. Look, the future is bright on defense. We know up front there's issues, goals scoring. but let me throw this at you both. You hold Lander last, a healthy scratch last night,

six minutes in Denver, all on the 32nd place team. I will be very surprised if that guy's in Vancouver next year and his people don't have to be moved. He needs to get the hell out of Dodge. It is one thing to be healthy scratched on a top 10 team in the NHL. It is another thing to play seven minutes on the 32nd place team in the very next night, be healthy scratch.

I think it's time for Holdlander to get a change of scenery. It clearly isn't happening with this coaching step. Now, the other thing I want to say about last night, they clinched 32nd, right? If they don't get the first pick, what a kick in the, you know where it's going to be for these fans who have endured absolutely two horrible seasons.

They fill the rink every night, despite the worst record at home in the NHL. They deserve that first pick. I'm not sure anyone in this organization, I'm not sure anyone in this organization deserves that pick, the first overall, but these fans do. These fans do. What they have put these fans through in the last two years, and they continue to spend two, three, four hundred blocks every night at home games, like, it will be an absolute kick in the unilware if the Canucks don't get that first pick. Like they have now, they've lost the draft lottery, I think four or five times in a row. So it's time to go the other way.

But look with the Islanders last year, 10 to 1, get a franchise defenseman. That stuff never happens in Vancouver. They never go 10 to 1 and get a franchise defenseman like Schaefer. That never happens here. All you're asking for is here. We are 32nd. They deserve the first pick. If they don't get it, anything other than the first will be a.

massive, massive disappointment for me. Deserve ain't got nothing to do with it. That was from a movie. Okay. Rick, we are hearing one thing from Drager, another thing from Nick Kiprios. Tell us what is going. We'll just pick one name in the front office or behind the bench,

and that is Patrick Alvin. What is happening with Patrick Alvin? Well, what are we? Okay. started with the story that Elvin was telling people in the hockey role that he didn't think he'd be back as GM of the Canucks. He was telling fellow GMs and scouts who are asking him, hey, Patrick, what's going on in Vancouver?

Are you going to be back? And he was telling people, no, I think I'm going to be fired. I did hear the same as well as Kiprios, that he was telling people that. Kiprios was bang on. Maybe Jim Rutherford has told his staff that they're all being evaluated until the end of the season. There could be a flurry of reasons why Alvin was out there telling him. people that he wasn't very confident he was going to be back.

But every single buddy should be under review. This team's in 32nd place, Jason. Now, now we got reports that Alvin is going to be back. So what exactly happened in four days in between Tiprios and now we're hearing he's going to be back? It's all over the map. Some still believe I was making phone calls last night this morning. Some still believe Alvin is not out of the woods.

Like, this is going to boil down to this. It's very early to be announcing who's going to be back, who's not. We will not find out until the season's over and they hold their news conference. I will say this. I have not had one person tell me that Rutherford's not going to be back. I don't think he wants his legacy in Vancouver to be that he left this team in 32nd place. I would assume he wants to leave Vancouver in better circumstances. Now, it doesn't matter what the media thinks.

What matters is what is ownership thinking. that's the big one. They are not happy. Like they are not happy and cannot be happy. Two years ago, you go to Game 7 against Edmonton. Two years later, you are in 32nd place. They shouldn't be happy. They're not happy.

And it doesn't matter right now who's sending out messages this way, who's sending out messages. All that matters, what is ownership thinking? That's the key. And have they made up their mind? I'm going to assume that there's two weeks left here, I think, in the season, they got time here to make up their mind. Yeah, is it possible they don't even know yet? Is it possible that they're just going to have like a big meeting after everything is

said and done and then make a decision? It seems like that happens a lot. Like with the Leafs firing of true living, it, you know, it happened. It happened, I don't want to say suddenly, but it was just like something finally forced the decision. and the decision hasn't been forced in Vancouver yet. No, no. And I think the owner is still thinking about what to do.

And I'm going to bring this up, and I heard you two ripping me on Tuesday morning. So listen, if the key decision makers are brought back and they're in 32nd place, if they do come back, don't think for a second the owner hasn't played a role because here we go. He's not going to pay three guys to not work for them. So, Brough, before you start ripping them into me, let me say this to you.

I know you hate it when I say this. So let's say Brough owns a business, okay? Brough's ice cream trucks. You've got five trucks, six drivers, but you've got to pay a sixth driver not to work for you. What's going through your mind, Brock? Well, is that here, Dolly, can I ask you a question? Is the six driver setting fire to all my ice cream trucks? Because if he was, then I'm going to.

I'd probably be like, well, if I have a choice between allowing him to keep setting fire to my ice cream trucks or paying him to go away, I would take the latter option. My point is, it is so easy for you and everybody else to say, fire them all and pay them out $6 million. Then you've got to pay OEL. All of a sudden now, you're paying $11, $12 million. Welcome to owning a professional sports team in the modern air. Look at, you don't think, you, I'm going to use, I'm going to use some, some dollars. You think, you think the Cleveland Browns like paying Deshawn Watson, all that money to not play for them? You think they like that?

You think the, the Raiders like paying Gino Smith, not to play for them, like it's, it's like decisions get made and then other decisions get made. and sometimes it's just about sucking it up and moving on and not throwing good money after bad. Yeah, I just, I think that economics will play a decision. I think these guys, they got term left. Rutherford-Elvine and foot, they all got term left. They're all making, they're not making $40,000 a year. They're all doing really well. And guess what?

I just don't think, I think people, unless that money ever came out of your pocket, Jason, I think it's easy to say, just fire them all, pay them out, and I just don't think that's reality. I don't think, I just don't think it's as easy as you guys saying, fire them all, pay them all out. It's not fun paying employees not to work for you. I don't think it is. Well, it's not fun, but there's the right decision and there's the wrong decision.

Yeah, I get that. Let me put it this way. Let me put it this way. Let me put it this way. Let me put it this way. When you're seeing this, are you endorsing this move? Are you saying that is the right move? Are you just saying this is the reality of the situation?

I'm not defending the owner. I'm telling you that if he keeps the key decision makers, that money plays a role in it. But you're kind of defending the idea that you would keep someone just because you have to pay them. You are defending that idea. I'm telling you why they might not get fired. He's got to pay OBL next year, Jason. 4.5 million not to play in Vancouver. Yeah, but that's a decision that they made.

That's a decision that was made for the betterment of the hockey team. So? Okay, well, so if you're owner of the Knoch's right now, Jason, you're firing everybody. Yes. Is that what you're saying? I am a multi-billionaire that wants to chart a new course for the Canucks, and I want new leadership in there. Am I happy about it? No, but I would be excited about charting a new course.

And as a multi-billionaire, first of all, I can handle that. And second of all, I want things to get better so that my massive investment in this team grows. All right. All right. So I will watch the postseason news conference, see who gets fired, who doesn't, and then we'll adjust accordingly as to what happens. I don't have any evidence. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm arguing against the idea that you seem to be defending that just because these guys have contracts and just because they're owed money, they should stay in their positions. And I think that is completely the wrong way to look at it.

and I don't understand if you are endorsing that idea or just explaining it that that is the way that ownership is thinking. I am saying to you if they are kept, that's going to be one of the reasons they're kept because he doesn't want to pay dead money. That's all. I'm not defending the guy. I'm just telling you that how would you feel if you signed all these guys a year and a half two years ago? I would feel like firing the guys that gave me these recommendations. Right. Well, and... Let's move on, let's move on, Dolly, because I don't think we're going to get in.

Okay, Mike Gillis. Absolutely. Tell me about Mike Gillis. Well, I'll tell you something about... I think he's got a really good shot in Toronto. I just, for a guy who has not worked in the NHL in 12 years, teams sure like calling Mike Gillis. Nashville, Toronto, two teams looking for a GM have interest,

not being in the NHL 12 years, as largely being Gillis's choice. Over the years, he's met with numerous teams, owners, decided some of those teams were not a perfect fit for him. He's well off and happy outside of hockey, so he doesn't need a job. He doesn't love a guy I think the Toronto job is unique. The last few years, he's advised for the Players Association.

He owned that Swiss team. Remember that guys? He's been involved with people who trust them and work for teams. It's not like he doesn't know what's going on. He also never stops learning, getting better, thinking outside the box, always trying to make players experience better. The biggest thing is he's a guy people want to work for. He attracts talent.

So many guys in his talent tree are in big roles and successful in the NHL. They keep him in the loop. The people close to Gillis are not surprised that he still gets calls from NHL teams. He's a pretty sharp dude. As appealing as the Toronto job is, it comes with many headaches. The media attention, social media, market. When Mike was in Vancouver, social media was just starting. It wasn't where it is today with so many psychos and the nut jobs on it. So that's going to be, it's not an easy place to be a GM or

president in the Canadian market. Gillis wasn't great with the media here. He's not a warm and fuzzy guy. You guys know that. But his results spoke for himself. Toronto, okay, so this is, this is interesting. Toronto's not a good place. When President Keith Pelley says, we didn't have the alignment, we didn't have the culture, we didn't have the structure to be successful. Lots of work to do. Didn't have the alignment means that the owner, president, GM, and the coach not on the same page. The word alignment, I believe, is a big reason why Rick Tocket left Vancouver.

The owner, president, GM, coach, not on the same page. When everyone's not on the same page, bad things happen. I've heard three teams in the last week use the word alignment. It's very interesting. Little story about Mike Gillis. There was a 50th anniversary event in Vancouver, and he had to go on the ice. It was the ceremony before the game.

He really thought that he might get booed, right? And he got a standing ovation. He got an ovation. He got an ovation post game. Lots of players thanked him for being the GM, and they thanked him for everything he did for them. A lot of players like playing for Mike. So it's interesting that that 50th anniversary event,

he thought deep down he was going to get booed. He didn't. And a lot of players came up to him in the post game and said, hey, thanks for being the GM when I played here. He's a player's GM. Like he's always thinking about the players. How can I make their experience playing for the Vancouver Canucks better, right? Remember, he came up with the sleep doctor stuff.

He came up with, of the second most troubled team. He came up with ideas on how to be jet lag, you know, all that stuff. That's outside the box thinking. That's good thinking. That's what you want from a president or GM. Is it not?

I agree. They should hire them. Well, well, somebody's got to leave here before you think about Mike. Oh, right. I forgot about that. I forgot about the term. They already got the term. Yeah, yeah.

So you can't keep those. never happens in sports. I do want to discuss and I don't want to just have like 30 seconds on this because Ryan Lynn is leaving the Vancouver Giants and I'm really curious how the WHL and the CHL is going to not survive. They're going to be fine. But it is very difficult when your star players are leaving for. the NCAA for their 19 year old and maybe 20 year old seasons. That's hard for business.

And I just wondering, you know, how are the giants reacting to this? What can be done? Are they, is there anything that can be done? Because this might be good for the players to have the freedom to say, okay, I'm going to play a few years in the dub. And then when I need a bigger challenge, and I'm not quite ready for the NHL, I can go down to the NCAA

and play against bigger and stronger players and I can use the weight room facilities that some of these big schools have. And I can just prolong my hockey journey, but I'm going to leave my WHOHL team behind. What's the reaction here from Ron Toygo? Yeah, great point. I feel for the Giants, that's a massive, tough blow.

That's your captain. That's your best player. He committed to the university. Denver. Okay, so this is all about the elite kids who are so good at the age of 17, they need to play against older players to push their skill set. Playing against better competition pushes these kids to the next level. Bottom line, Lynn doesn't have anything left to prove at the Western hockey level. Then you throw in this, Jason, colleges in the U.S., less travel, less games, more time in the gym, better facilities. They got facilities there that 80, 90 million

that people spent to make in the NCAA. It's a top time for the Western Hockey League. It is top keeping these high bantam draft picks for more than two years. Now, I'm going to tell you this. Lynn had a ton of colleges after him, but Denver's got a good history of producing defensemen to go straight to the NHL. So let me ask you, Jason, who is the last defenseman out of Denver

to go straight to the NHL? It's a guy who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, Zee, Booiam. Lynn will be a first round pick in the NHL this summer. He was the captain, the best player. Look, the hockey landscape is changing. Now, the next one, everyone's got their eyes on, is Everett defenseman Landon-Dupon. He could go number one in the NHL draft next year.

DuPont has put up crazy numbers at the age of 15 and 16. He is another player who has, he needs to play against better competition, probably in his eyes. imagine the silver tips are having sleepless nights right now thinking about that kid next year. DuPont is like McKenna. The Western Hockey League drafted them. They played two years at age 15 and 16, but the NCAA is going to get credit. When they go up to that podium, NHL draft and draft day, it is not going to be medicine hat. It is not going to be Everett. It is going to be the NCAA who gets credit for that kid going first overall. These kids are so good.

at 15 and 16. They're too good for the league at 17. And I just, this is a tough time for the Western Hockey League, medicine hat. Boy, they lost a ton of guys last year. The Vancouver Giants lost their best player. Everett Silver Tips could lose their best player. Like the landscape guys is changing and it's changing. It's, it's affecting the BC Hockey League. It's affecting Junior B. There's a ripple down effect. But boy, oh boy, I don't think the Western Hockey League saw these days coming. I just don't think four or five years ago this would have happened. Hey, Rick, I know this wasn't on our scheduled list of topics,

but are you hearing anything about the new Surrey arena and whether the Giants could move there? I have not heard. First of all, can you tell me why Surrey needs a rank? Like, can you tell me, is it 10,000 seats? Like, didn't they propose to make a 60,000 or a stadium a few years? years ago. But that was never going to happen. That was never going to happen. That was never going to happen. My point is, does the city of Surrey have money to burn?

Like, why are you building a 10,000-seat arena, a, a, a, a, a, a, A, without a hockey club, and B, how are you going to have enough nights to, like, first of all, the Giants are happy, what I've been told. And Ron Toigo does a fabulous job out there in Langley. You know, I'm told they're happy out there. Like, what team do you honestly think, Jason, could play in a 10,000-seat arena in Surrey. Like, I explain that to me. It can't be for minor hockey. Like, I mean, they built a,

Surrey built a new rink out by the Patelah Bridge there a few years ago, which has helped, because, you know, ice time is tough. Surrey Miner is one of the biggest associations in Vancouver in terms of... Well, it's not for minor hockey. I think it's for concerts and maybe a team,

maybe a team of some sort. But what sort of? Like, I don't get it. Like, you need me one team that could play there. Could they be getting an expansion team? Yeah, that, boy, I, well, look at the Western League, they can't even cut the deal in Chilliwack because the expansion fee money is so high. Like, I don't see enough.

The Western League can't expand to Syria because they got to deal with Chilliwack first. They still haven't got an owner in Chilliwack, right? They had to delay that by a year. So, like, I just isn't, I'm on any level, Jason, doesn't make sense to me why Surrey needs a 10,000 seat arena. I just don't get it. Like, unless you can tell me. No, I honestly haven't followed it that closely. I just wonder, I was just when I saw it, though, I was, you know, I'm looking at the capacity of the arena in Langley.

And there are teams in the WHL that draw more than that capacity. Well, I know Ron's doing really well there. he likes it there. That's good. Yeah, and so, and as far as, didn't they just cut a new deal with Abbisbury and the Canucks? So they're, they're happy there. So I just, I don't get it. I don't know. I get the decision makers out there, but I don't know who could possibly fill a 10,000-seat arena with, you know, with the team.

I just don't get it. Ricky D. Thanks for this, bud. We'll do this again next Friday. Hold on. What about Brough's ice cream trucks? What's going on, Brough? When are we going to see them?

I just, you know what, I got to pay some people out first because I got some guys under contract, but it's just part of doing business, right? It's why I'm a multi-billionaire. I've made those tough decisions. When we played road hockey in the 80s and we heard the ice cream truck, everybody threw their sticks down,

started looking for loose change, went, ran home to get money, and the ice cream truck guy was the best guy ever. always brought what was your choice I was a rocket ship guy you know the the red white and blue rocket ship that's it

yeah that was the one I wanted they were always out of those they were like you're going to have a revel-low I'm like I don't want a revel-o I want a rocket ship whatever they're called the rocket ship was the best one but I wish you best with your ice cream truck

business and I hope you never have to pay an employee not to work for you Jason I won't because I will never have an employee buddy See you, pal. Rick Dollywall on the Halford & Brough show. You're listening to The Best of Halford & Brough.