Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/13/26

Episode Date: May 13, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they discuss the latest news around the Canucks GM search with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli and analyst Randip Janda. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Flew ahead with a power play goal. It's going to be Ryan Johnson with the Cedees. Actually, I'm not even mad. That's amazing. Good morning, Baker, 6 o'clock on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

It is Halford. It is Brough. It is Sportsnet 650. We are coming you live from the Kintex, studios in beautiful Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Ada, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford in 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're in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's Premier Metal Recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle you get paid visit on 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We're coming to you 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.

Our guest list, it's the Duick Morning Drive. Brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. It begins at 630 this morning. David Amber, Hockey Night in Canada, SportsNet, NHL host, is going to join us two playoff games last night. Buffalo made it a best of three with the Habs, three-two win in Montreal. Vegas one step closer to the Western Conference final

with an OTA win over Anaheim. We've got a game tonight. The abs can close out the wild. David's going to join us at 6.30 to talk about all that. 7 o'clock Frank, Sarah Valley, our NHL insider from Victory Plus. He broke the big news out of Edmonton yesterday about the coaching fiasco there.

Can also ask him about the ongoing GM search here in Vancouver. she took a bunch of twists and turns yesterday. Frank's going to join us at 7. Then at 7.30, Jesse Granger, Golden Knights beat writer for the athletic is going to join us. As I mentioned, pretty exciting game last night is Vegas beat Anaheim. We could talk about torts, Marner, and everything else about the Golden Knights with Jesse at 730. Finally at 8 o'clock, Randy Jand is going to join the program. Canucks analyst on Sportsnet 650. As I've already mentioned, Canucks GM searched.

A lot of news yesterday. we now appear closer to a group comprised of the Siddins and Ryan Johnson and a group without the services of Evan Gold. What does Randi think about it all? We'll find out at 8 a.m. So we got a big guest list. We got a lot to get into. Without further ado, Laddie, to 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? You missed that? I just got to say that my Craven and soulless attempts to sell

this segment. They're heating up. No longer sponsor, but only for a limited time only because it sounds as though there's some hot interest on the streets, Jason. The streets are talking. Joe's taxidermy? If you want to get in on the ground floor. Chico's bail bonds? That's right. They called yesterday.

If you want to be a part of one of the longest running segments in Halford and Brough show history, uh, contact at Sportsnet 650.ca is the email address. Bill's Crematorium. You could sponsor what happened. Does anyone get my Chico's bail bonds reference? That's a, well, you know what, that's not even an old movie reference because they rebooted

Bad News Bears. Oh, did they have Chico's bail bonds as the sponsor? I don't, I doubt they did. I doubt they did. Okay, look, let's not waste time. We waste a lot of time on this show. I'm selling. It was another wild day of fuzzy reporting.

and rampant speculation on Tuesday is Ryan Johnson, and down the stretch they come, Ryan Johnson overtook Evan Gold as the favorite for, well, I don't know, whatever job he's going to get with the Canucks, because in addition to the developments around Johnson, there was newish news on the Cedines as well, as it looks like the twins may be more than just helping hands in the Canucks front office.

they might be in charge of everything. I don't really know where to start with all this. I have so many questions like what happened with Evan Gold. Did he overplay his hand, as some suggested? Did ownership bach at some of the changes he was suggesting? Was it going to be too expensive to put his plan into place? Or, and consider this, was Evan Gold just a ghost that we all conjured up in our imaginations, has it always been Ryan Johnson's job to lose?

Does he actually exist as a fair question? Did he ever exist? Even fairer question. I've never met him. I don't know anything about him. Never seen him in person. Nope. Could be.

He could be what the kids are calling, well, AI. The kids call it AI. The kids are calling it. The kids are calling it. The kids are of acronyms. As for the Cineans. It was originally reported that they would not be the primary decision makers in hockey ops, Elliot. But either that reporting was off or something changed because it now seems like they can be named co-presidents of hockey ops or the big bosses,

which would be a weird title to have, but I don't know. I'd allow it if it was the Cedines. Here's Elliot Freeman on Oilers Now. yesterday talking about I guess the upgrade in the Cedine

speculation So I think it's going to be well it's going to barring a complete collapse it's going to be Ryan Johnson with the Cadines and I'm beginning to think that maybe even though I said

the Cadines were going to be taking on a bigger role I still might have understated it. I just assumed it was going to be like Chaka Sundin in Toronto where they're together, but Chaka has the final say. Not so sure that's going to be the case here. I think it's possible the Siddings could be above Johnson on the food chain.

We'll find out for sure. They're taking a much bigger role. But Ryan Johnson was offered the job, and I think he, just looking back over the last day, I did have someone who said to me this afternoon that they think Johnson was offered a job over 24 hours ago. Like it's been, I think they've been working through it and how it's all going to work. But I think there was most of yesterday, he was kind of in position where they knew it was going to be him. So that was the latest from yesterday and everything could change again today.

Elliot said though that would require a complete collapse and don't rule it out Yeah All I know is Halford I cannot wait for the press release To come out Because my brain is tired of trying to connect the dots

Just tell me who's hired And what their jobs are And then we can go from there But We also need to know who's in charge of who And who reports to who Yeah there's where I mean if all the conflict that arose yesterday with who's getting hired knew who's not getting hired

seemed like there was a real back and forth between the role that the Siddings were going to play in the prominence of it at times it sounded like Ryan Johnson was going to be in as the president of hockey apps but then as Fridge put in that clip it's possible the Siddins could be above Ryan Johnson on the food chain how can you be above the president of hockey ops on the food chain? Johnson reports to Daniel Daniel reports to Henrik and Henrik reports to Johnson So how much of that confusion or how much of the confusion in the last few weeks is bad reporting? And how much of it is chaos behind the scenes at Rogers Arena? Okay. The first part's fair.

It has not been a banner seven plus days. Someone would say seven plus years for media locally covering this story. Well, nationally too, I think. Everyone's, uh, like we're not, we're not blame. It's hard because I think, I think, I think, the Canucks have been keeping their cards pretty close to their vest. I think especially

after the Dorian news leaked out. And everyone went crazy. Unless. Unless that was intentional. Yeah. In which case mission accomplished. What if Evan Gold was just a leak in order to get Ryan Johnson to lower his price? What if it was all just a game? Or as Jason pointed out earlier,

what if Evan Gold never actually did exist? I'm still willing to allow that. The Canucks actually made him up Yeah. Just so Ryan Johnson would work for cheaper. Is that what you're suggesting? Yes. What do we call him?

I don't know, Evan Gold or something. That's a good name. Strong man. Yeah. Ryan Johnson is like, I don't like the son of that guy. He sounds smart. Yeah. Say he has an MBA and a law degree too.

That seems gold, though. That's first. That's best. I expect, it's a power name, Evan Gold. Ooh. I expect we'll have a press conference at some point this week. And I can't wait to learn how this all played out and how it's going to work going

forward. Will we ever find out what really happened with first Pierre Dorian and then Evan Gold? Does it matter? I think it matters. You know, some people will say, well, why do you care? If they go with the Seneens and Ryan Johnson, just focus on that going forward. I'd like to know, honestly, just out of curiosity, the process the Canucks undertook to build their new front office. I'd like to know the deciding factors. Was money one of them? I'd like to know that. What was the main focus of the people doing the interviews and the people doing the interviews were ownership and Jim Rutherford?

Because the way it looks right now, the main focus has been fixing the culture and trying to return it to what it used to be when the Siddins were in their primes as players. Anyone who listens to this show knows how much respect we have for the Sadiens. they were brilliant players super competitive super hardworking high character people who epitomize something the connects are going to need a lot of over the next few years and that is resilience it did not come easily for the sedans after they were drafted they had to work extremely hard at it and they had to deal with a lot of criticism in this market they will have to deal with more criticism as executives because that's the nature of the game that they're about to play.

I cannot wait to see what kind of tone they'll strike in their first press conference. I cannot wait to hear their answer to the most obvious question. Why are you guys doing this? I mean, I think, I thought about this a fair bit last night, just trying to figure out exactly how could they make this? what was at times a very convoluted, quite frankly, confusing job search. And with the structure they have, how can they make this simple and straightforward and make it work? That's all we want.

We just want it to work, right? I don't care how it works, as long as it does work in the end. And I think, I think, you know, when Jim Rutherford said, it'll all make sense in the end. Again, I'm a lot of optimism here, but what I think is going to happen is that the Siddines are going to come in and they're going to be, I don't want to say like their title is going to be like directors of culture or anything like that. But they are going to be prominent. Actually, that's not bad. Directors of culture isn't terrible.

Prominent, front facing, important day-to-day front office employees who are going to be buffers between the players and management. They're going to be around the players all the time. And they are going to be, I think in a way, not necessarily doing player development stuff like they were in Abbotsford, but they are going to be around players. I would imagine a lot. I would think so. Because sometimes the execs, it's like the president of hockey ops. Sometimes, I mean, I don't think Jim Rutherford was around the players much. Yeah.

Maybe it'll be different with the Seneens. But I think that's the reason for bringing the Sadiens in is like, I mean, having Rutherford around the players is a hell of a lot different. Yeah. I mean, that was the whole thing with the Sondine hire in Toronto, was they were talking about he's going to come in and be that, and they called it a Buffford. I like they call like a liaison where you get exactly what's happening in that

room and you've got a connection so that the front office and the managerial staff understand exactly what's happening. Well, I have to say that in the odd conversation that you and I would have with Jim Rutherford, we were kind of struck at how little interaction he had with some of the players. Bingo. And what happened in the last couple of years in the Canucks locker room? Like I didn't... Not good things.

I didn't love that Rutherford was always like, oh, I've never seen anything like this before in my days. I always thought, I'm like, well, did you not see this coming? Yeah. Were you not tipped off or any sort of awareness that these issues were looming. Are the subpoly? Are the sedans going to be the babysitters? I mean, yeah, maybe, right?

So would you guys be okay with the Cedine Johnson hiring? Would you be like that combination? Yes, I would. I would. I struggle sometimes to provide a, either a full-throated endorsement or a full-throated, like, I hate this. like I think it's not a full throat guy I think it's ridiculous I'm a half throat guy

this was going to be the video but I guess it's not now not anymore um stop trying to stop trying to stop trying to make content by the way oh sorry stop trying to be the producer

you always trying you always trying to like here I'm going to ask something about Elias Pedersen and to make the video sorry we're trying to make content and everyone on the line is like everyone on the online is this is all these guys talk about it's because we've got a producer It doesn't shut up.

I genuinely just wanted to know what you thought because I was kind of like you, Bruff. I was sort of in the middle. I am the same way with executives that I am with prospects. Okay? I have no problem telling my opinion on players that are playing for the Canucks because I'm watching them. I don't know what Ryan Johnson does on a daily basis. I don't know what he's like to work with.

I don't know how smart he is. I don't know how he thinks the game. How could I know? I don't work with them. I don't watch him work. It's the same with the prospects. So I like the idea of Ryan Johnson and the Siddins, but I'm also, I also kind of liked the idea of Evan Gold.

I like the idea of a guy who was a professional thinker. And that's what he was, right? Like when you go to law school, you get your MBA, when your dad is a famous criminal defense lawyer, you can kind of think about what his upbringing might have been. And, you know, he probably is good at focusing on problems and trying to, trying to work that stuff out. I was curious about that, you know. So, you know, when you talk about Ryan Johnson, he's got a lot to prove to those who

were excited at the prospect of Evan Gold taking over. Johnson doesn't have a law degree or an MBA. He's not one of those new school executives that some in this market were hoping would get the job. He's a former player who's paid his dues in player development and as a general manager in the HAL. And a lot of people in this market, not everyone, but a lot of people, are like, eh, doesn't really excite me.

I wanted something new. I wanted a fresh perspective. I wanted an outside perspective. Someone who comes in from outside the organization and says, what you guys have been doing in this organization, you don't even know what you don't know. And this is what I'm going to do. Does that answer your question?

But I don't know. So let me, so this is why I keep saying, I can't wait to hear what they say at the press conference, right? Because then we'll actually have something to do. judge not like he seems like a good guy. Well, everyone seems to like him. You know, like I don't know how the Siddins' executives are going to be. They were great players, but running a team is a lot different than being a player.

And this comes from a guy who is now old enough to say, I remember when Wayne Gretzky was a head coach and he was terrible. Yeah. I like the idea of the Sadeen's being in a more prominent role in the organization. I think that they are, two and the. the best people that have ever come through the Kinex organization period over the last 50 plus years of Kinex hockey. Right. And that ticks a lot of

boxes and goes across a lot of categories how they conducted themselves away from the ice. Right? How they conduct themselves now. All of the things that we've lauded them for. Being humble, the humility, also while being Hall of Fame caliber

players. Working in skills development in Abbotsford. And let's be honest, when you think about it, that was a relatively minute role for two guys that probably have a lot more to offer, or at the very least, should have the opportunity to offer a lot more. You know, when Toronto released its press statement in hiring Cheika and Sundeen, they classified Sundeen's role as following, a strategic advisor that will provide support across hockey operations.

And here's the kicker. A focus on team culture, player development, and leadership support. when you talk to, and I've said this a million times, it's an opportunity for them to reimagine and redefine what they are as an organization. Culture, development, and support are three, I don't know, call them pillars or building blocks or whatever of that. And sometimes, instead of just throwing out these sort of nebulous terms and talking points that you hear from a TED talk or Tony Robbins or whatever,

just sometimes you can just be like, you know what we want you to be? Young Canucks, when you grow up, those two guys right there, who are now in very prominent positions in the National Hockey League and are now in charge of setting the course for this organization. And I think that's what Frege keeps kind of dancing around here when he talks about this elevated role.

I think that there's going to be a certain level of symbolism with hiring the city's, but I don't think it's a token gesture. I think when you're like, well, what do you want me to do here? How do you want me to go about my business? How are we supposed to lead? How do we build culture? It'll be the old finger points. Like, these guys are going to show you the way here.

Well, also. huge responsibility, but I'm glad that these two are being tasked with it. Well, also, in using their judgment on, you know, these guys were not only players, they were teammates and they know what kind of players work and what kind of players don't. And, you know, I would trust their judgment on the type of players and characters and personalities that they would want for the Canucks to draft and to bring in to the organization. Can I also just jump in with one more thing here? When we talk about bringing someone in from the outside, and a couple of people have texted

in about this as well, Alvin and Rutherford came in from the outside. And there were some market lessons that they learned the hard way throughout their time as executives in Vancouver. And Rutherford's spoken about it, I think more candidly now that he's on his way out. that the Vancouver market caught him by surprise. Yeah. That it took them off guard how, I think how frenzied it is,

how much responsibility and pressure there is and how you don't really have the, you don't have the leeway to kind of make as many gaffs as they did publicly in terms of speaking, in terms of messaging. And there's a lot of responsibility that comes along with it. I like the fact that Johnson and the Siddins

and I know this market. And I think importantly, and I've mentioned this in the past as well, they know how the organization works. And you can take that to mean whatever you wanted to mean. But it does count for something when you know how an organization works. Because coming in and getting a fresh set eyes on everything is great,

but I think there's also a bit of naivete that you're going to come in and do things your way. And you're going to make, it's not the market that's going to dictate you. You're going to dictate the market. That's always a huge mistake. And it doesn't always work that way. It doesn't always work that way.

Also, they saw firsthand what didn't work. Yeah. They were right there in front of it. Well, Johnson Lessel, because I've used Navisford. But nevertheless, they were right there in front of it seeing what wasn't working. And I remember when Rutherford first came in and I'm like, this is great that he likes to shoot from the hip and he's candid and everything else. But even he said after all, remember there was that sort of infamous press conference where he was like, I need to talk less and I need to take a step back. Yeah.

That was a lesson learned while in Vancouver. And that's for a Hall of Fame builder. And a guy that's got a huge resume. He's still learning at the ripe old age of 70, whatever, when he first got on the job here in Vancouver. So, you know, was the search, did it leave us scratch at our heads at time? It still is for sure. But I am choosing to be optimistic around the fact that the three people that they have seemingly chosen

are all good people, good individuals, and understand how it works locally. When you and I have been hammering away at this team for, you know, culture and lack of character or, you know, character issues. When you, when you see that the organization has heard those complaints and agreed with those complaints and brought in, you know, three people that you admire from a character perspective, and you can have questions about, you know, whether or not they're, they've got the, they've got the skills to actually run the team. But when you see that they're addressing things,

you can't sit there and and freak out about it but I think you can just honestly say hey I'm curious to see if the Siddeans and Johnson can make this work because I think they're hard workers they're good people

and that hard worker thing is like important right like the Sidene's had to to work a lot on on their games and they had to be curious themselves about how to get better. So hopefully they're curious about how to get better as an executive. But my point is like,

I'm not going to rip the team for clearly addressing something that we had a major issue with. And it sounds, it sounds so general, but like my issue with the Canox is just how they carried themselves.

You know? How they played during games when they were down sometimes, how they were constantly, you know, bouncing back and forth between like, the vibes are good, the vibes are bad, you know, and how you, you know, watch the, watch the team and just be like, God, I hate your stupid faces, right? Like, just like, just stop, stop looking like such, you know, row after row of ugly, ugly children. Just like, God, just stop being how you are. you know and and I and I and I admire what the Siddins went through in this market and how they came out on you know how they came out of it.

You know, they had people making fun of them. They had people make calling them draft bus and they did need to put a lot of work in. They needed to get stronger. And now, you know, you talk about their fitness still. You know, you got people texting saying, you know, the president of hockey officer. are going to beat all the prospects up the grouse grind. Yep. You know, like, that would be hilarious, first of all, if that happened. So I, I am happy with this hire, but I have some things that I'm like not so sure about with this hire.

And they're going to have to build out their front office the right way to bring in the people with skills that the Seneens and Johnson maybe don't have. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Frank Zaire Valley joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What are you hearing about the Canucks? The latest reports is that the Cedines and Ryan Johnson will comprise the top of hockey ops in Vancouver, although we're not 100% sure about titles, reporting, structure, etc.

Yeah, I think the machinations are going to be interesting to see title and all those things, how exactly it's going to work. I'm not entirely surprised. I mentioned in my conversation with Sat and Bick earlier this week that the Sadiens were pretty big proponents of Ryan Johnson and that if they were going to have a larger say that he was their guy, that was their choice. with that I think there's so many interesting things to look at here because

Ryan Johnson has paid his dues he's worked his way through the organization he's been at this for 14 years now but he's never run a team he's seen how a team's run but he's only ever seen it from one perspective really I mean there have been regime changes

and everyone has a little bit of a different style but he hasn't sat in the chair before and that can be a positive and a negative I just wonder in the end for the Siddines having increased say who don't have any front office experience really themselves outside of jumping on the ice and working with players in a development role there's a lot to learn here and there's a lot of things to nail and that starts with the drafting so they've got some I think probably a head start on that spot with how they want to see things come together and obviously have a really good draft pick to begin the process. But I wonder in the end how valuable it would have been to have

an outside fresh perspective that hasn't been sucked into the way the Canucks do things. On that note, do you have any idea what happened with Evan Gold? I don't. I just think in the end he wasn't the winning candidate. I've seen lots of speculation about dollars or whatever else. I think there's been a tug of war the entire time. I think there's been a whole camp of Vancouver Canucks people that have been trying to champion the case of Ryan Johnson that ultimately just won out. And I think the Siddins were the last two to tip the scale. That would be my read of the situation. Look, in the end, are the Vancouver Canucks paying top dollar for Ryan Johnson to be the next general manager? No, they're not. And they didn't pay top dollar to Patrick Alvin. He was, by my understanding or estimation, if not the lowest, then one of the lowest paid general managers in the league. That also, by the way, they're not alone.

I don't believe the National Predators in their search process are paying a lot for their next general manager. To me, it's not really about money. It's about the best fit. And I have to say, and this isn't demeaning to Ryan Johnson or Evan Gold, this has been the least inspiring hiring cycle that we've gone through, I think, in this current GM cycle. I want someone who's going to come in and outthink everyone who's going to, you know, you don't have to reinvent the wheel, but there's so much that needs to change in my view in terms of processes, how things work, recognizing biases. Like everything, like I could talk for hours about front office structure and how this all

should work. But I just think this is a really interesting time to be making the hire. Well, I think that in theory was what appealed. to a lot of people in this market about Evan Gold, that he was a brain. You know, he, he was a lawyer or had a law degree, had an MBA, you know, brains run in the family. His dad is a famous defense attorney.

And I think that's what drew people to that. Was there anyone else that came to mind when you talk about this hiring cycle? I guess people are looking for the next Eric Tolski and maybe New Jersey's got that in in Sunny Meda. But maybe. Maybe. Like, who knows, right? There's a lot of things you need in addition to being really smart when you run a front office. There's, you know, I heard John Chikea talk about it and he was like, it's a leadership role.

And you need to be in charge of a lot of people and you need to empower people. You need to empower the right people. And I like what you said about, you know, recognizing perhaps your own biases and just the process. And I think if there's one concern about a Cedines and Ryan Johnson front office, it would, it certainly wouldn't be their character. It certainly wouldn't be their decency as people. It would just be more like, are you going to have the same thinking?

that we've seen in Vancouver for a long time now. Well, and to be fair, even the outsider that would come in, the first question that I would ask would be how long would it take for your outside view and approach to be beaten out of you based on how Vancouver organization has worked. I mean, look, like, let's be fair. This is an organization that for, all their pluses and minuses has an ownership group that is very intermingled and intertwined

into every single aspect that takes place or runs its course. That isn't the norm. There are other teams that that is the case, but it's not kind of like it is in Vancouver. And the fact that they decided to go with, in the end, three people who are familiar with that, I don't know if that's good or bad. I really don't. And I think we have to take a step back and let everyone work and let's see what changes are made. I could tell you nightmare stories from around the league as to how some of these teams are operated, that it really is like a toy chest, that almost none of these teams are run like a true business. There are communication gaps. There are sometimes zero processes at all. There are decisions being made in vacuums. There is no, like, I know a team earlier this year at the

trade deadline that was looking at lists on their board of players that they might target, that they didn't even bother to update that already included players that are on their roster. I wish I could tell you in full how much of a mess I believe some of these teams have been operated and it takes someone to come in

and clean a lot of that up. And I do think the one thing that Jim Rutherford had going for him at the start is that he began to reshape a lot of that. But I believe in the end, fell back on a lot of the same things that I just was critical of. Have any stories about Vancouver and how things work?

Look, I've heard stories about almost every team. And I'm just waiting for someone, and I don't mean in Vancouver, I mean somewhere to actually begin to run this like a business, where if you're the CEO of a major company, what you do is you go out and hire the best, people. You go out and hire the best amateur scout you can find, the best pro scout, the best

in all these different departments and the funnel and filtering of information you know, we could talk literally for hours about this. It needs to change. Randy Janna joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports 965. Do what up,

Randy? Thanks for charing us. I really appreciate it. No, well, I'll slide in two more ad reads while this hit is ongoing. And then we will close with another reminder about bells and whistles before we go to break. Oh, and don't forget the hometown heroes lottery, which we'll talk about in the

commercial. We got a lot on this show, Randy, but all of it takes a backseat to the Vancouver Canucks General Manager and President of HockeyOP search. What have you made over what's gone on? Let's just go to the last 24 hours and all the twists and turns and news and developments on the Connucks GM

search. Yeah, there's so much to think about this because, let's be honest, the way that information is filtered out. It's created confusion. And I think one thing we have to look at with the conducts organization is that for the most part, they've remained quiet. The leaks have been minimal right now through this process, guys. So there's been a lot of confusion. There's been a lot of, you know, I think a search for answers. And when things are quiet, you know, sometimes information gets out there that may be close to the truth, that may be a little further

away from the truth. So I think the process, the fact that they talked to a lot of people really created some confusion early on and I think some of the reporting was probably centered around that and some of the conversation. So, you know, over the last 24 hours with the Ryan Johnson

leading the race, so to speak, and with the Siddins looking like they're going to be in a senior role, a couple of things stand out for me when it comes to Ryan Johnson. We knew he was going to be a part of this conversation. I was on with you guys a couple of weeks ago. believe there's one listener that did not buy it. Well, I hope you're buying it now because it seems like he's, you know, in the front of that race.

And Johnson was always going to be a part of this conversation, right? Going back three or four years, he was being tipped as somebody to watch in the NHL for a GM job. Now, the Sadeen is the surprise one to me because if this does happen, which it seems like it will, what will this role encompass, right? Is this a helping leadership within the organization, whether that's executive leader, leadership and players, is that overall creating a better culture in the organization? And will there be hockey operations strategic direction as well because they have worked in a player development role?

So, you know, I think the last 24 hours have obviously provided clarity for some fans that they were maybe hoping for an outside voice to come in. I think that certainly could have been looked at as well. But, you know, when you feel like you've gone through a thorough process, when you feel like you have good people in the organization, you certainly. have to look at them. And I think with Ryan Johnson, it's certainly not a surprise that he's leading the race because if you go back two or three years, guys, his name was always there. Was there something to be said for bringing in a fresh view, a fresh perspective, an outsider's

view? I think there always is, right? And the fact that, you know, if this was a situation where they hadn't talked to people, Jason, that is where I'd be concerned to say, you know, you didn't even explore that conversation. There were a number of interviews. So I think bringing an outside perspective looking at an organization in a different way is really important but at the same time I think there was a bit of a maybe a situation where you're wondering okay you might have the guy in in the building just because somebody brings in a fresh voice are you essentially saying we really like you but this guy saying something different there's it kind of works both ways right like do you essentially limit uh you know the previous experience or maybe the the

shine on this individual just because you're hearing something different. So I, you know, I've talked about it before. I think having an outside perspective, somebody that thinks outside the box is necessary. But both of those things, you know, thinking outside the box doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be from the outside of the organization. Ryan Johnson, even though he's been a part of the organization since 2013, he has not had the top job. He's learned under multiple managers. And just because he's not necessarily an outsider, so to speak, It doesn't necessarily mean he won't think outside the box.

I think, you know, getting the top job in any market allows you to have more freedom, more flexibility. And you can put that imprint on the organization yourself. So, yes, an outsider, I think a fresh face sometimes certainly brings in, you know, more optimism because they're not linked to a previous regime. But we've got to remember that some of these GMs and some of these first-time GMs, they're working in more junior roles compared to, you know, their experience. now and if you get a job in a senior position, you're able to think outside the box. You're able to put your ideas forward more freely. So if Johnson does get this job,

I think that is something that we should probably look at and say maybe he can still be that type of thinker. It's not necessarily that he's going to do it the old way that everybody else did it. Are you as fascinated as I am to see what kind of tone the three of these guys strike in their first press conference? Because on the one hand, they could go in there and just be like,

we're not going to spend too much time on the past. We are optimistic about the future. We've got an opportunity here, you know, positive stuff. On the other hand, they could say, what has happened here over the last few years is unacceptable and that will not continue on our watch.

What tone do you think they'll strike? Yeah, I think with Ryan Johnson, because we've heard him speak in that role, at least with the Abbotsford Canucks, we kind of have a sense of his style, right? Like he doesn't seem like a guy that's too fiery in front of the cameras. It's a pretty chill, mild manner individual.

Does that change when he gets to the top level? I'm sure it will at some point. Introductory, probably not. The one that I'm intrigued about guys is the Sadiens. We know these guys are quality individuals. They stand for what being a Canuck is, but this will be a different temperature. This will be a different job altogether.

And you guys have had the opportunity to interview them. I have. And very personal individuals, they've dealt with plenty of criticism before, but management criticism is different. And even that introductory press conference of if you are no longer the players of the hockey development coaches, you know, what's that tone going to be like? Is it going to be a little bit more, you know,

setting the culture right away, taking a bit of a hard line? Or is it going to be a little bit more of a, hey, we've got to rebuild. There's a long path here. But one thing is for sure. The Canucks certainly need to make sure that the organizational culture is addressed. And how big of a role will they have on that front versus hockey operations? Like that balance of hockey operations meets, you know, making sure that leadership and making sure that, you know, individuals act a certain way and, you know, represent the shield a certain way.

I think you'll get that right at the front because that's where something, you know, right at the beginning, because that's something that the Siddins were known for. They've been known for representing the city. So that pride, and I think you'll see that and hear that right away. Now beyond that, in terms of, you know, how much they step into that role. And whatever that role is, I think that's a big question, right? Like, we still don't know technically what that role is. That's going to be a part of that conversation.

Is it going to be more of a culture setting role? Is there going to be, you know, Ryan Johnson reporting to them? What is that going to be, you know, that dynamic? And that's a big question because I think the assertiveness and the tone will be set a lot by what roles they both have. Are you also as curious as I am to see what their dealmaking ability is? And I'm talking about the Cedines and Ryan Johnson. You know, it's one thing to be the general manager of an HL team. It's quite another to be the general manager of an NHL team.

and the ability to make deals and to be creative enough to make deals and to sell deals because there might be a few veterans that this team still has to ship out this offseason so the test of that deal-making ability could be put to them like in the next month and a half

even before the draft or at the draft yeah a couple of things on that front with Ryan Johnson this kind of goes back to the outside the box thinker right Like when you're in a position at the at a lower level, you know, I'm sure you have your thoughts. Well, now you can flex them. The other thing here is Jim Rutherford's going to be there for strategic advice, right? That's what we've heard.

So it's not like Ryan Johnson's going to be there on his own. I'm sure if he wants to get thoughts of Jim Rutherford, that's going to be there. So from a trade perspective, you're right. As a rookie GM, there are some very interesting conversations that could be happening. You know, obviously we've talked about Alias Tavis. Patterson, Jake DeBrus' names popped up. There's a bunch of others that have popped up in conversations. We don't need to probably go down that road again,

but we all know who we're talking about. The other aspect of this, and I think from a deal-making when it comes to contracts, July 1st, if the Canucks decide to spend some money, if there's any players left to sign on July 1st when it comes down to it, is the AGM conversation, right? When you make a change at the general manager position, senior management roles as the deans were coming in, assistant general managers, are they all

going to stick around? Are you adding? Are you subtracting? Emily Castong Day has taken a lot of contract work over her tenure when it comes to the cap and just figuring out contracts. You know, is that regime in its entirety sticking around? So I not only from a Ryan Johnson, like, what can he do in terms of his own deals and some big decisions coming here, but what kind of team, are they going to keep as well, or are they going to add to the position? If you're taking an AGM and making them GM, you're going to have to add somebody, but are there potentially other changes as well, or is it going to be a status quo? So, you know, I think on a couple of fronts, you've got some runaway until July 1st, no doubt

about that. But when it comes to the draft, when it comes to, you know, making deals right after the Stanley Cup final, if they're out there to be made, of course, the microscope is going to be out on Ryan Johnson and just seeing what kind of deals he can make. because, hey, the guys across the league as well, the GMs across the league, they want to find out as well. You know, it might be similar to, you know, everybody's fantasy football league when you're at least sending out feelers to say,

okay, what kind of deals does this guy make? What's he capable of? So I'm sure there's going to be some conversations had right after the Stanley Cup final. We're speaking to Randy Janda here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. A lot of texts coming in to the Dunbar-Lumber text message in box here at 650, 650, about the future of head coach Adam foot in light of these soon to be announced I guess hires we'll call them for now

and it's of course it's been a pretty busy morning in the world of NHL coaching in case anyone listening missed it earlier Craig Brubay is out as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs there's already some online scuttle that they could be interested maybe Mani Malhotra to fill the position there and of course the conduct

could be interested in that as well I guess my first question for you is the one that a lot of people are asking in the Dunbar number text message in basket Randipe what is this new hire or hires mean for the future of Adam foot behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks? Yeah, on that front, you know, a couple of things, right? You can say these are individuals that know Adam foot, which could be a positive and a negative, right? In the sense that if you are looking at somebody that has the knowing of their inner workings

and maybe, you know, the way that Adam, you know, coaches, I think that could be, A, you know, a positive in the sense that, that understanding what they had to deal with last year with the injuries, what kind of manpower that Vancouver Connects didn't have. And Ryan Johnson would certainly know that because his Abbottes team was essentially picked apart with call-ups, so he would know that. And the Sadiens were there almost on a day-to-day basis working with that coaching staff.

Now, on the negative side, it could also work against you, right? Because if you as elite players have seen the process play out and you're not fans of the process, then, you know, I think it works both ways, guys. So it really depends on, on, you know, the mandate. I'll go back to that. Last year, Adam Foote's mandate was make the playoffs win for Quinn, whatever you want to call it, didn't work out.

And less than halfway through the season, it turned into a different mission altogether, which was, hey, we're going to strip this team of parts, and we're going to essentially try to get a draft pick, and we know where this path is going. And you had to change your mandate as a coach. Now, developing young players, and the day to day of that, I think, you know,

Sadeens and Ryan Johnson will have a great grasp of, you know, where the strengths of Adam Foote were and where they weren't. So I don't have a conclusive answer if this is a good hire or not. Based on that experience behind the door, you know, behind the scenes essentially, because it really gets into the nitty, gritty of what's, you know, what that coach is doing, what their strategy is. Now, going back to the Craig Verrube Fire,

one real, you know, really, you know, you know, you mentioned Manny Malhotra. I also wonder the timing on this guys because the Bruce Cassidy rumor comes out yesterday with Edmonton. And if you're Toronto, you know, you hear that and you say, all right, we got to make a change if he's available if somebody else jumps on them too.

So like I found that timing quite kind of interesting from a Toronto perspective with Cassidy's, you know, links being out there with Frank Serra Valley. But from a Vancouver perspective, you have to go with, you know, you have to keep an eye on Manny because I've said this before. I don't think, you know, he's going to get a job somewhere. He's going to be an HL coach.

You talk to all of his, you know, current players, but even his former teammates will say, this guy is an NHL head coach. So you have to keep an eye on that asset because he is an asset to you. So, you know, whether it's Vancouver, whether it's Toronto, whether it's another market, the eyes are out there. You know, people are looking at them as a head coach in the NHL.

Now, it's just a matter of, is this the right time for him in this market going through a big rebuild. And I still think you know, you have to play that very carefully because what's your, what's your runaway? What's your long game with Adam Foote? Versus what's your long game with Mannyap and Mellotrop? You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.