Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/11/26

Episode Date: May 11, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at a busy weekend in sports, plus they discuss the latest around the Canucks GM search with NHL.com & In Goal Magazine's Kevin Woodley. 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. It's over. Jepts and Blake wins it. They have talked to the Sdeans about taking a larger role, and they were pondering the idea. Good morning, Vancouver, 6 o'clock on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody.

This is Halford, it is Brough. It is Sportsnet 6th. 50. We are coming you live from the Kintech Studios in beautiful Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Was that the Siddine's music? I don't know. I just heard. Abba, by the way. It's Abba. Adag, good morning. Good morning. And Lattie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. They're open seven days a week and open late to help you get debt free. With no judgment or upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands dash trustee.com. We are an hour one of the program. Hour 1 is brought to you by North Star.

recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal recycling, they recycle you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We're coming live from the Kintech studio. Step Strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech if you want to text into

the show today. The Dunbar Lumber text line is 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. Got a lot to get into on the show. Let's begin with our

morning guest list. It's the Duick Morning Drive brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. It begins at 7 o'clock. You heard his voice in the intro. Chris Cuthbert's going to join the program. Sportsnet NHL PXP man on the call for Habs Sabres in which the Habs went ahead two games to one last night, thanks to

a 6-2 victory at San Troubel. Habs are now just two wins away from the Easter conference final. We'll talk to Chris Cuthbert about all that. It's 7 o'clock this morning. 7.30. Here's an interesting one. We've got an investigative reporter on the program. Kenny Jacoby, who's an investigative reporter for USA Today,

writing about abuses of power in sports, higher education, law enforcement. Recently, his coverage is focused on the financial exploitation in the business of youth hockey. It's a big story in the U.S. right now. The youth hockey circles in America, there was an article that he wrote about an investment firm that has taken over a bunch of youth hockey teams in the U.S. and how families are paying the price. Very interesting story. We'll talk to Kenny about it at 7.30 this morning. 8 o'clock Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Ingoal magazine is going to join the program.

We will talk Canucks with Kev. Is this the week we finally learn who the next general manager and president of hockey ops will be for the club? We can also talk Stanley Cup playoffs and all the goaltending stories. How about Jakob Dobesh in Montreal turning into a folk hero? although he says he's not. We've got the audio. We can play it later. Sounds like a guy who's a folk hero.

Yeah, I think all my full hero questions will be answered by my shirt that says I am not a full hero. Anyway, we'll talk to Kevin Woodley about all that and more at 8 o'clock this morning. That's the guest list. That's what's happening on the show. Greg, without further ado, 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 was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? Normally this is the part of the show where I tell you what happened

is brought to by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, but they have now moved to a full hour sponsor of the program. They like us so much those good folks at the BCCSA. So this is also a reminder that if you've got a business out there and you're looking to get in

for this is the longest running segment on the Halford & Breff Show. I think we've been doing what happened for forever. Yeah. If you want to get in, get a hold of us, 650, 6.6.50. You can text right into the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket.

Anyway, let's get to the Vancouver Canucks. This is like what happened, but also what might be happening. Is this the week, Jason? Is this the week? We finally get answers on the GM search. Well, let's go back to last Friday when we were last on the air. And it was reportedly down to Evan Gold and Ryan Johnson for the job of the new general manager. But there were some who wondered over the weekend if maybe both could play a role in the front office together.

Since then, we've heard, hey, Moj, that maybe Jamie Land, and Brunner could come over from the Bruins organization with gold. So there's another name to add to the speculation. But we are still very much in the dark when it comes to how the front office will be structured. And who will report to who? Will there be a president of hockey ops or senior executive equivalent? Or will Jim Rutherford play the mentor role from a distance? because he is stepping away from the team

and is not expected to be in Vancouver full-time. Well, let's add some more names to the list. And this is courtesy Elliot Freeman, the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. And we wondered at times, what are the Seneen's doing? What are they up to? They could maybe help.

Team needs some character. Sedines have character. Sure do. The last culture that this Canucks team had that was worth a damn was built and headlined and lead by the sedans. But you know, it was my understanding. And when people would text into this show, they would ask, what are the Sadiens up to? I was like, I think they're pretty happy just being player development guys.

Running. They love running. But work-wise, they were happy working out in Abbotsford a lot of the time. and, you know, for example, they put in a lot with Linus Carlson, and Linus Carlson took great strides, and I think they liked that. They liked working with guys that wanted to work on the ice, talking about skills, talking about development.

But now it seems like the Siddins have been asked if you want to do something bigger, and here's Elliot Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. So I think Monday could be a big day, Dave for the Canucks, maybe not necessarily in terms of an announcement, but in terms of a decision and internal decision being made and possibly an idea of how the structure is going to work. And the answer to your question is yes, Kyle. And I don't think it is because Toronto did it.

I think it is something in the works even before Toronto made their decision. But I do think the Canucks have asked the Siddins if they want to take more. of a role and how willing they would be in taking a greater role. If it happens, Kyle, I'm going to call it the Swedish startup. And that is Toronto, where John Chaka has the ultimate authority, but as we know, Matt Sundin is there in a major advisory role with a vice presidential title. I don't know what the titles would be. in Vancouver if this is accepted,

but I do believe that they have talked to the Sadiens about taking a larger role, and they were pondering the idea. And I think there's a hope that there will be clarity in addition to who the new head of hockey operations will be. And I know a lot of us have been talking about Evan Gold and Ryan Johnson, but I think the Sadeen's role in this, could be important if they decide to accept the mission as it's been presented to them.

So I think we're kind of awaiting two decisions here. Number one, who the head of hockey operations will be, and number two, are the Siddine's willing to take a bigger role. And you know what, now that they've seen how it might work in Toronto, you know, Sundin had to move from Sweden to Ontario for it. The Sudines are already there. It's not like they would be uprooting their families.

So I think it just comes down to time. How do they feel? And I think it would be a great thing for the Canucks if they did it. Obviously, it's their decision. So both of them work in player development as it stands right now. So I guess from what you're understanding

is the ball's kind of in their court of like, is this something we want to do? And then the next steps from there? I think so, Kyle. I just think that they were asked and presented with the opportunity. I think that's probably the best way I describe it. It's just that it's such a moving target. And also, you have so much respect for them.

I don't want to put words into their mouths, but it's something along those lines, yes. Excellent. Excellent. So obviously this is, this is, this is, this is big news. And there's a lot to discuss just when it comes to the Cedines, you know, being involved in what role they might play. I mean, the way Fridge is hinting at it, it's the senior executive's role, president of hockey ops, co-president of hockey ops. I don't know.

Who knows? Who knows? Who knows how it'll be. You know, someone texted in. Well, maybe. if Ryan Johnson gets promoted, they'll take over in Abbotsford. It's not the sense really I got, that they were like the big news was going to be that they're going to take over in Abbotsford.

I think, you know, they've been looking for maybe a senior executive. And they talked about bringing in a guy like Shane Donne. And I know he got an interview. And, you know, the role for him would have been, you know, not taken over Abbotsford. It would be a senior executive. that was providing a public face,

but also, you know, a high character guy that could turn the culture and the team around. Yeah, I did think it was interesting. Okay, hold on, hold on. Oh, hold on. Okay, I'm still going. Okay.

But before we get to all that conversation, the big question I've got is, when did this start? When were the Siddines asked if they wanted to play a bigger role? Did they go down the road of all these interviews and be like, nothing really stands out to me. Did you think it was interesting that Frege mentioned twice that this had nothing to do with the fact that Toronto

gave Matt Sundeen the role he was given yet continued to reference the role that Matt Sundeen was given by the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a matter of fact, the clip started by saying like, this isn't because Toronto did it, is if we needed to refute that Vancouver was somehow copycatting the Leafs. I just think it's interesting. The response to the Leafs decision was so positive, we should do something like that. Like, is there another shake out there?

We can hire? I wonder if this is, if this is part of what we've heard from a couple different insiders that everything was up for reassessment in this organization after the season that they had, that every level and every position and every executive and even down, you know, we're talking about the.

might be major changes in the scouting department. I wonder if everything, everything was up for grabs. And that's why this has been such a wide reaching, such a long and lengthy search, because they are trying to sort of rebrand and refill the positions of almost every significant level of this team. Like this is, remember when I kept saying, and I'm not saying I'm the one that started the charge for this, but remember when I kept saying, like, they've got a real opportunity here to completely reinvent what they're about. as an organization. I think we all said that. Yeah, I didn't think that it would go to the lengths of, you know,

bringing in the CDE, like bringing in significant players at every different level. But it sounds like it might be going that direction. We could have entirely new general managers, entirely new assistant general managers, an entirely new vision and representative at the president of hockey ops level, and maybe there's going to be an overhaul to what the scouting department looks like as well, which I think is a great thing. But aren't you very curious?

to learn or to know when the Canucks went to the Siddings with this offer? Like, has this been going on for a while? Or did they go through this process and be like, geez, like, what are we going to do here? I mean, we're into May 11th today. And we're just hearing this stuff about the Cedines. That surprises me, right? It feels almost like it feels, which is good journalism.

It feels. Yeah. It feels. No, no, but it does feel like they went through. this process and then and then they're like I see where you're going with this. I don't think that's a fair. Well, how do you think it went out? Maybe it just didn't get leaked until now. Maybe they've been

the Siddines and they're classy and quiet and guarded way kept everything under wraps but now eventually it finally got out. That's how I choose to look at it as a positive media member and not one of those savages and jackals suggesting that maybe after a lengthy search where they weren't all that

happy with the candidates. They're like, what if we ask the Siddines? How about we circle back to those two? Well, I choose to think of it in that. Why would you choose to think of it with the way that this team? Oh, it's classic sports talk radio, Jason. I choose one side, you choose the other. Yeah.

But I get what you're saying. I just think it's, it's curious that they went down the road with all these candidates. And a lot of candidates. And a lot of candidates. And they were like, oh, what if we bring the Sadiens back in? But, you know, or elevate them. Not bring them back in, but elevate them. Okay.

Yeah. First of all, I'd be happy with it. I think the Cedines make a lot more sense to bring in than Shane Dohn. And I had a lot of time for Shane Done and the idea that he could work with, you know, with the organization in a leadership role and a bit of a mentor role, not just for the execs, but also for the players. Because I think when you bring in players and there are, you know, when it comes to the Siddians first ballot Hall of Fame guys running the show,

there is a bit of an expectation there that, you know, you live up to the standards. Sure. Right? That they set. And I have all the respect in the world for the Siddins. And they are so competitive. And they, their habits are down, you know. And I think that's what this organization, frankly, has to get back to doing.

Now, are they going to be right for this role? I don't know. I don't know. You'd have to ask them. It's a tough role. You know, Trevor Linden was a hero in this market. And he did everything right for the most part. And then he came in and he just, you know, he was on board with Jim Benning and the ownership group for a few years.

Then things went a little bit sour on the ice. And he realized, man, you know, I think this. this is going to need a rebuild. And Jim Benning said, no, I don't think it's going to need a rebuild. We'll be good in two years. And ownership went with the guy that said they could turn around quickly. Now, Trevor Linden has since been proven, you know, correct.

But, you know, ownership may still have that bias towards like, hey, when are we going to get through this? Because I'd like it to be yesterday. Yeah, you just, I mean, I think the idea there, the one sort of fatal flaw with, in hindsight, with the Benning Linden thing, was that they hired two guys that weren't in lockstep throughout, right?

That Lyndon hired Benning, and I think hired him on the pretense that he was going to be the sort of traditional scout, draft and developed guy, but they just didn't, they never had the same alignment and vision when the going got tough. And that's a conversation you probably need to have way in events. Like, what happens if this doesn't go right? Now, to your point about, one thing I'll say,

to the question you're asking about when this all came about and if I'm intrigued by it. I was most intrigued by the fact that Fridge mentioned, again, a couple times in that clip, about Toronto and Sundin. Now, I don't know. I don't know what impact that had on the market at large, but I do know that there's a very clear vision to what Sundin represents in that organization now, right? And it is the past hero coming back to ensure. still a sense of culture and pride and leadership in the badge.

Standards. All those things. Matt Sundeen represents also important to note. Matt Sundeen, almost universally beloved by the fan base. Now, there's some people that didn't love the way that he wouldn't waive as no trade clause near the end, but almost universally loved. So there are some parallels there, which is why I think maybe Fridge worded things the

way that he did. But I do wonder if that Toronto decision later in the process maybe reshaping, shifted some perceptions within the organization where they're like, is this an okay mom? Now, the Chica thing was obviously a nightmare. But the Sundin thing, that higher, people are like, yeah, this is interesting. And if you want to take it a step further, they had to kind of lure Sundin back into the mix.

As for each said in the clip, there's not that element with the scenes. They're there working in the organization, but they're doing it strictly, as you pointed out earlier, in a player development role. What was if they were to take that role and make it more encompassing? and bigger and more prominent, more prolific. And do they want that?

That's the question. That's the question. D.K. on Squamish texting, he said, if they want the Sadiens an executive role, does it not seem like it makes sense that they would pair them with Ryan Johnson? They've worked together in Abbey, so it would be a familiar relationship.

Maybe. Maybe. And maybe, Mani Mahalja joins the fray too. Another text in, do the Siddins represent change from the last few years? Yeah, they do. I don't fault them whatsoever for what's been happening

with this team. They've been doing their jobs down in Abbotsford. They've been working with guys. They go on the ice and they put the work in. They do their jobs. Does it represent change? 100%. Because this team for the last few years

could not be more opposite than it was when the Seneans were at the peak of their powers as players in the NHL. I think some people right now, just based on the feedback that we're getting, and there is quite a bit. Dunbar Lumber Tech Line is 650, 650 if you want to weigh in on this.

Some people have some misconceptions about what the Sadiens are doing and how fundamentally different the role would be that Frege alluded to in the 32 thoughts clip. They are working exclusively. Basically, I mean, I don't want to simplify the role, but they're on ice

coaches. Yeah, yeah. The player development through and through. They're way closer to coaches than management. There you go. That's a good way of putting it. And this would represent taking everything that those two stood for, their ideas on the game,

their visions of what a franchise look like, not how a guy wins board battles in an American league game, but we're talking big picture, high level thinking organization and setting a bunch of the standards that this team's going to have moving forward and elevating to the role where their voices are two of the most

prominent ones in the entire organization. That's what we're talking about here. It's a big, big ask. It's a big opportunity. There's a lot of responsibility that comes with it. And I think that's why it's kind of like fairly seismic news on a Monday that this gets dropped. It's massive news.

Yeah. There, it's, it's, this is, this is a massive development in the Kinnock's search for new leadership. And, um, they got to, they got to, they got to make a decision soon. I, I don't know when the Senees were brought into this conversation. Maybe it was a month ago.

Maybe it was like Saturday. I don't know. All I know is there's a lot to get done in the next month and a half for whoever gets put in charge. The draft is June 26th and 27th in Buffalo. That's a month and a half away.

The new GM is also going to have to decide the fate of head coach Adam Foote. And Mani Mulhotra's future with the organization is also up for discussion. Maybe a new head coach will be needed for Abbotsford. Maybe a new GM will be needed. needed to since Ryan Johnson holds that position right now. Is there any way that Johnson and Malhotra stay with the organization in lesser roles

than GM and Canucks head coach respectively? Great question. They're high candidates elsewhere. You know this. Right now I think I'd be surprised if Johnson gets passed over if he remains with the team. Like if he, if they say like, we like you, Ryan. but we don't like you for the GM of the Kinex. We'd like to stay pretty much in the role that you're in right now.

I think he'd probably be like, I don't think you're ever going to really like me for the GM role. So it's probably better that I move on. And maybe I get the job in Nashville. We haven't really spoken much about Malhotra. We really haven't since the coaching job hasn't been on the front burner, like the GM job. But, you know, I mean, we're talking about Toronto.

Chica is going to meet with Barouba. Yeah. It might have happened over the weekend. Or if it didn't happen over the weekend, it's going to be in the next couple of days. Brubay now seemingly expected to remain the head coach, but Chica could always make the call. Chica is then expected to sit down with Austin Matthews and go over the plan for turning the team around. All sorts of speculation about what Austin Matthews really wants in Toronto. You know, all those sort of things are going to be on the new general manager's plate

and maybe the president of hockey ops, who knows? The management structure. I assume there's going to be a conversation with Elias Pedersen. You know, not in the same way as Austin Matthews, but, you know, they have to figure out what's going on with this guy. How does that conversation look at the Siddins have now risen to a role of prominence, Jason? Yeah. Do you want to talk to us now?

Yeah. Maybe a few other veteran. players are going to have that conversation. You know, we talked a lot about what Jake DeBrusk, for example, was really thinking. He made those comments about not wanting to be part of a rebuild and then quickly walked them back. You know, I forgot about that. All I'm saying, if anyone wants to be traded or is open to be traded, the connects

will want to know before the draft. So they're going to have to have all these conversations. Plus, you know, I don't know how much work is to be done with the scouting staff. I don't know if they can kick the can down the road until after the draft and figure all that stuff out. But there seems to be some stuff in flux with the scouting department. And remember, you know,

I think the one thing that a lot of fans and media, for that matter, forget is that being the GM of a team, it's not like you just like, okay, I got the job. Let's talk about the roster. Yeah. Right? Like it's so much administrative stuff. A lot of paperwork.

You got to organize, you know, know, meetings, you got to organize, you know, they're just like you've got groups. You're, you know, the one thing I will say about John Chica is like, I don't know how he's going to do in Toronto, but I liked his answer when they asked him, you know, what have you learned about, you know, what did you learn in Arizona about being a GM, etc? What have you learned about the league? And he said, I learned that being a GM is a leadership role. Like, you're, you're basically empowering others to do. their jobs, but also making sure that those people do their jobs.

And that's, for example, why when people say, do you think they should get an analytics guy in? I'm like, yeah, they could. But as long as that person knows how to lead other people, because you can also just have a GM that generally understands analytics, respects analytics, and then you go to the analytics team and be like, what have you guys got for me? Come up with your ideas, and I will consider them, right? You know, that's the job of a GM. you are in a leadership role, but right now, we have no idea how the leadership structure will look in Vancouver.

And the reason I think the Siddins have been brought into the fold later than you're giving, you know, like later than you're suggesting is because it sounds like they've been asked a question recently and they have to come up with an answer. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Kevin Woodley here now live on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Kev, how are you? I'm glad that my White Rock Hyundai is a hybrid. I'm getting 800 kilometers per tank because I have a feeling I might be headed to Rogers Arena, maybe more than once this week, okay?

Oh, nicely done, Kev. Okay, we're going to start right there, not with your Hyundai, but with the news of the morning. I do like that you appreciate how I worked it in, though. It was very good at it. It was good. It was good. It's every week flawlessly. There's no stutters.

There's no stammer. It's so clean. It's so good. And it's so improvised. I love it. Okay. So this morning, we got in here and we had audio from 32 thoughts, which we played in the first half hour of the program from Elliot Friedman where Elliot reported that Monday, today could be a big day for the Vancouver Canucks. Not that there was an announcement, but there's an internal decision looming regarding Daniel and Hendrick Sede.

and whether or not they'd be willing to take on a more prominent role in the front office, a greater role within the organization from their player development role they currently hold. What do you know? What are you hearing? What do you think about this development, Kev? I know little. I think that the Siddine's being involved more is never a bad thing, and yet I have questions. And again, maybe as Jim Rutherford teased us at the end of his,

availability that include announcing his moving on when this all comes to pass and we see what it looks like it's all going to make sense and it's going to be really easy to buy in there is a little part of me knowing some of the moves that have been made and like like I think there may have this is starting to feel more like a complete regime change no yeah it is like for sure You can say what, you know, Jim Rutherford moving on, whether that was completely his decision or a gracious exit presented to someone whose resume deserves such, this feels like a regime change, top to bottom. And, you know, that includes, like, there may have been other moves made already in terms of, you know, people that are there being told they'll be moved on late last week. And yet we don't have the answer. So I would hope and assume, despite what Elliot said, that there's more of a plan in place, given how far along they've moved down this than waiting to hear back.

Do you know what I mean? Like, that's the part that concerns me a little bit. Like, you know, how nebulous is this role? How, you know, how firm and how well structured is this complete change if you're this far along in it and you're waiting for answers on what type of role, two people, people that would presumably have prominent roles to take in it are willing to take and take on. Now, the other part, too, is we've heard a ton from young players about the value of the Sidene Twins on Ice. We've witnessed it at Rogers Arena post-practice. I can't tell you how many times I've gone back out into the bowels, into the arena area,

after the coach speaks on a morning skate to watch the visiting team, which they typically come on at 1130, the Canucks have the ice 1030 to 1130, then the visitors come on for their morning skate, and the twins, or at least one of them, are still out there with Jason Kroeg, working with the young players, because as these young players have taken on more prominent roles

and gotten more opportunities, there's more guys willing to stay out late. It's not just the healthy scratches out there late working with these guys. And when you see that coaching, when you see and you hear about the work they do down in Abbotsford and you hear how valuable it is to these young players, I do worry a little bit about losing that too, right? And so the other part too is these are two guys whose moral compass is so strong. And so having them for an organization that, and I've said this before, the culture problem does not exist just in the locker room.

It exists right to the top. And then it's trickled throughout the organization. and having two people of their sort of moral character in higher roles, that's got to be a good thing in terms of addressing that. And yet they've always been lead by example guys as opposed to, you know, like all of this other stuff happen with them still involved in the organization. They've never been ones to tell other people what to do or how they should behave. Does that make sense?

They've been more lead by example guys. So I want to see more. I just gave you a five-minute answer without knowing, but I want to see what this looks like before you can really judge it, but I think it is fair to have questions just about the way this whole process has has sort of unfolded

and hope, again, hope that there's more of a plan in place given all the moves made already than let's see what they say. As much as, again, much like Rutherford, they deserve, you know, as much time as they need to make this decision because of who they are and because of what they've done

and because of how thoughtful they are, not just as professionals, but as people. Yeah. Did you hear any wind of the Siddines possibly being involved, anything behind the scenes that you heard that maybe couldn't report because you weren't sure? Because Halford and I earlier in the show, we were trying to figure out if this has been going on for a while

or if the Canucks got to a point where they were like, man, like, there's a couple GMs, we like, but we aren't sure about the senior executive, and we'd like to have a senior executive in there, talk to guys like Shane Done, but, you know, he wasn't the answer. Maybe we should talk to the Seneens, or has this been the plan all along? I don't know. I don't know. Like, again, like, the fact we haven't heard any rumblings until now, other than the insiders is a little curious, but genuinely, I don't know, Jason. And I think this organization, despite anything up in the news a lot, it's usually planned when we see some of the leaks.

There's usually a purpose to it. You can usually do the math on who has a leak and where it came from, to be honest with you, at the national level and try and sort of figure out what the intent was. I have not heard a sniff of this. And they have been better at that. Like I said, I think there's been moves already made around upper management that we haven't heard about. And I can't report on them because I haven't been able to confirm them. But I think there's a lot changing here.

but no, I have not heard any of that to this point. Elliot's report this morning on the 32 Thoughts podcast would be the first I'd heard of that. And again, you couldn't find better people, right? And I think the same way of Ryan Johnson, right? And it's not just because we in the media have gotten to know him. For sure, familiarity and the way you're treated by people like him affects how you think, right?

and had nothing but great conversations with Ryan Johnson formally and informally over the years when you run into them either at the rink or at Abbotsford. And so it biases your opinion a little bit. But I mean talking to other people from outside the organization, other American hockey league people about the way he's done things in Abbotsford. Adding those types of people to your organization, I had a similar conversation with someone who has the same things to say about Evan

gold through their interactions with him in the American Hockey League. So these are all good things. But I think what I maybe hoped for, and I've talked a little bit about I think there are maybe more voices involved in this decision. It's not just one person saying, this is my guy, here we go. And I think that's a good thing. Organizationally, right up to the top, it doesn't mean there's a complete shift. It just means there's more voices at the table.

That's the word. These are all good things. but I kind of hoped and they went out and they talked to whatever 17, 18 as Rutherford said, different people maybe I hoped a little bit as much as those are all great people and maybe this has happened

that they've gone beyond that right? Like that there's the way things are done in other organizations the way things are thought through the way things are treated from a hockey ops perspective like like it just I don't think there would be a bad answer amongst these groups because of what we know of them as people, but I hope they exhausted every option in terms of, you know, it's been a while since this organization went outside the box.

I guess that's what I'm trying to say. As much as these people would harken back to a time where, hey, listen, and I've railed a fair bit on community involvement from players for the last couple of years. Like you don't have any better examples amongst, you know, like, and could they, but they're not the type of guys, are going to tell players this is how we did it, you need to do it this way, right? So I'm fascinated to see where this all ends up. I'm curious. I don't have the answers. And I do think, given the history of the organization, it's fair to question it a little bit

until we see ultimately what it looks like. I hope this is more than just, you know, these people would be great spokesmen and representatives of the organization because they would. But you know what? I thought Trevor Lyndon was too and we saw how that ended and that's the other part that if you're the twins you've got to be thinking about that

because you like it here you've set a life here you like being a part of this organization and you know at that highest level of hockey ops you know take note of how things have ended for others how fascinating would it be to get the Cedines up at a press conference and just go hey

what have you thought of how things have gone the last few years I can't tell you how many times I wanted to ask that question, but the Siddines aren't made available to the media, and they go to work and they do their thing and they do a good job. But man, I mean, all those things you say, how the organization handles itself, community involvement, the way you treat people. You can think of so many examples,

and people will come up with different examples. examples. I would just love to be able to ask the question. Like, I mean, you've been with the organization. It's not like you're watching like Matt Sundin watched from Sweden. It's like, oh, the Leafs look like they're in trouble. They were in it. And I'd be very curious to hear their thoughts. I guess there's a chance we might get that opportunity with those, with the twins up, you know, made available to the media with a press conference this week. well here's what I can tell you is they're not going to bury anyone you know I don't know that you get and this and I say this

having had little glimpses here and there of what they think of different things that have gone on and not all positively but again this is kind of and then maybe this is what they're wrestling with if indeed everything that's reported is what's happening behind the scenes

you're not going to be able to just be like, man, I would have done this differently. You're going to have to be the ones that lead that. And there are some things that are done with the way things are done organizationally that come from the very top. And, you know, just behaving differently yourself isn't going to be enough. You're going to need to demand it of others. And setting the example isn't going to be enough. You're going to need to demand it of others. And are they capable of that? Of course they are. Like, just because they always led by example doesn't mean they weren't also vocal behind the scenes as well in that

locker room and the way things went. But it's just a different role. And I'm sure they've thought this, you know, I'm sure they're thinking it through if indeed this is what we're talking. I'm, I genuinely am very curious to see where this comes out. And I just, I don't have any answers other than my, my hunch, my gut says it would be a good thing. But, you know, we've seen great people come here before and the things around them don't necessarily change. They have to change and adapt to the way things are done. And so unless there's a willingness to really change some of those behaviors that you just talked about, I'm with you.

I don't know that they'd be able to answer honestly based on what I think they would believe compared to how things have been done. we're speaking to Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and In-Gole magazine here on the Halford & Breff Show on SportsNet 650. I do want to turn our attention to some of these goal-tending stories going on in the playoffs currently, Kevin. Are there goalies still playing?

There are. In a matter of fact, one of them, Jakob Dobesh is turning into something of a folk hero in Montreal, although he says he's not. Did you see that interview he did post-game yesterday? I think it was Eisberger asked him if he's what he thought about becoming a folk hero, and he's just, I'm just a silly goalie. Didn't we kind of make fun of him earlier in the season

when he cried. Yeah, we did. You did. You were like, you can't be crying. Put this on me. I was like, I was like, I was like, I think it's refreshing to see males showing their emotions so publicly. And you were like, it's weak. It's weak. You need to cram down the emotion.

I told all of their rivals to bottle his tears and save them for later. Okay. Dolbich has been remarkable, you know, outdueling Vasselowski in round one, been the better of the goalies in round two. the number that jumps off the page for me, 58 consecutive saves without allowing a third period goal in his last six games.

So locking it down when it matters in the third. And that extends to that Tampa Bay series where it felt like the entire series was either played Tide or one goal difference. How impressed have you been with Dobish through the early stages of this playoff? Honestly, I've been impressed with it. Like, the tools have always been there. Yeah. This is an interesting one too because, like,

Outside of the goalie world, a lot of people may not either realize or have forgotten. Montreal fired their goalie coach halfway through the season. Like in January, leading into the Olympic break. And if you look at their goaltending number since making that change, it's nothing against the other guy, who I got to know a little bit, Eric Ramon. But Marco Marciano came up from the American Hockey League where he's been for like 50. I mean, I remember going to see Marco and LaValle. It's got to be over a decade ago.

So he's been there forever. And the change in their goaltenders has been, you know, like notable, stark just from a performance standpoint. And what's interesting, what's really interesting about that is they almost lost Marciano to Detroit last summer. As a matter of fact, he turned down after going through the whole process and being offered the Detroit Red Wings goalie coaching job by Steve Eisenman. he turned it down. And that's the only reason he was available. So a little side note there. And by the way, hey, amidst all this stuff about the Cedine twins and everything that's changed with the Vancouver Canucks to bring it back to goal.

They got a decision to make there too. Right. Because when they told Ian Clark that, no, sorry, if you're not going to be the goalie coach, you're not going to be the director. We're going to take that out of your title and you're just going to be in scouting and a little bit of development. one of the things that was sort of stated or implied, well, no, I believe stated was we don't need a director of goaltending. We have Jim Rutherford. And so they don't anymore.

And so I'm curious to see what they do with that position in having a year left on his contract. And I believe, I believe Marco Terranius, the goalie coach being up, as much as the other coaches are waiting to hear their fate, I don't think he even has a contract for next season. So there's some decisions to be made in that regard and maybe a caution. tale out of Montreal, but what happens when you lose people who are good at their job? Montreal got lucky that Marciano was available and now Dolbush is rolling. I don't know if you guys noticed on the weekend, but Ben-Lah Lair retired from the New York Rangers

as the director of goaltending. That's a job that I know Igor Schohterkin would welcome any in Clark type. So, you know, there's some other options opening up from teams who have actually invested in the position. And not all teams do. So anyway, there's my aside. Jacob Dobish has an incredible athletic base. He's rained it in under Marco Marciano.

He's playing more within his post. There's still moments. Everybody's funny. Everybody, like, he's so aggressive. When he reads an open look, he'll come charging out. Absolutely. But watch where he does it from. What's changing his game is he's actually quite conservative with his initial depth.

Sure, if he reads a wide open shot in the slot, he will charge out. But where he's really rained it in is between the post, east-west. Everybody thinks of depth from a goaltending standpoint as north-south, how far you get outside the top of your crease. But what Dobish used to get killed with was getting caught outside of his crease east-west beyond his post. And for a goaltender of that size, that length, that athleticism, not having any of that massive frame in the net was a problem far too often.

And there's only been, I can count them on one hand, I think three occasions in these playoffs where he's really gotten caught like that. And so that's been the biggest change. personality-wise, I love that he's content being himself. I do think you're seeing goalies around the league. Think of Devin Cooley and the way the flames have allowed and embraced him to have his personality. Listen, those guys weren't allowed to be that way before. Like there was especially a backup like Devin Cooley.

We saw one get run into town here in Vancouver because he had too much personality and Eddie Lack. They want their backup goal is to be seen, not heard, right? And so that type of personality, like we've seen teams around the league try to drill it out of guys to the point where guys try to be something they're not. And that's a really, the position is tough enough mentally. But when you're trying to be somebody, you're not Eric Comrie. First five years of his career, he thought he had to be like Henrik Lundquist on a game day, game day situation of he's playing. Stoic, quiet, nobody talked to me. That kid never shuts up.

He's got the most bubbly personality I've ever met. But for five years, he actually tried to be somebody he wasn't. And guess what? His performance suffered. Now he talks all the time on game day. So I love that the Canadians have allowed Dolbisch to be himself. He works with a local goalie mindset guy, Pete Fry, the goalie guy. And I have been around when Pete Frye does these visualizations on the phone with his

NHL clients, like being a restaurant with him and he'd be like, oh, I got to, and it'll be like, you are strong, you are power. It's awesome. It's so cool to see. And Dobush has embraced that too. So as much as we see the emotion and the goofy moments post-game, he's learning to control it in the matters, in the moments that matter the most, and he's doing it actively by working with guys like Pete Fry to understand there are certain hype levels within his game and

within his personality and to be able to get him to that point, but not over. the edge of it. And so it's funny because, yes, he's the goofy goalie who goes home and watches Game of Thrones. We had him on the podcast for an hour last summer. And to me, the thing that stood out is the maturity of his decisions around his game, still being himself, but making really smart, the cliche would be he's a pro. And that may not come across in the goofy comments, but he actually is a pro. All the work he does, meditation, all the stuff off the eyes has led him to this point so that he is prepared in a third period. to just go out and play his game.

You bet you feel pretty bad about making fun of him. I shouldn't have done it. Yeah. I said it was great to see. You love a cryer. Yeah, I love a good cryer. Everyone should cry after games. I've got to skate at 11.15.

If you want to see a goalie in tears, it's three on three. Okay, Kev, in light of that, we'll let you go get your pregame cry out of the way. Enjoy today and whatever this week brings, we'll do this again soon. Yeah, thanks, guys. Appreciate that. Yeah, see you, buddy. Kevin Woodley on SportsNet 650. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.