Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/14/25

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

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

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na A-skid it, holds it in, right side, one-timer score! It's Mikhail Granlin! A hat trick! Let him fly! Halliburton gets rid of it. Far corner, Turner, DANGER! Orders should be able to play the sport that they're reporting on. 100% agree.

I think that it's a greas. Yes. If that's a word. Good morning Vancouver, 6 a.m. on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody, it is Halpern, it is Brough, it is Sportsnet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studios and beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning.

Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning. And Lydie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halpern Brough of the morning 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 them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver Our one of this program is brought to you by sands and associates

We got a lot to get into on the program today Jason though very quickly is gonna tell you about Kintec We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. We got a lot to get into on the program this morning. Guest list today begins at six 30 David Amber hockey night in Canada sports net NHL host is going to join the program at six 30. We got two games tonight on the slate, the Pan and the Leafs It's game five from Toronto at four o'clock our time then the nightcap Oilers Vegas 630 puck drop our time the first elimination game of the series for the Oilers We'll talk to David about that. We can also look back on the lone single solitary game from last night Vegas now or sorry Vegas Winnipeg now up against it against the Dallas stars after dropping, dropping both games in Dallas.

So we'll talk to David Amber about that at six 30 seven o'clock Frank Sarah Valley from daily faceoff is going to join the program for what feels like. I don't know the 18th consecutive week. We'll try and get some clarity on the Connex coaching situation and the NHL coaching situation at large. Uh, who's in line to be behind the bench for Vancouver next season? Where will Rick Tauke end up? All of the questions we'll try and answer with Frank

at seven o'clock this morning. Eight o'clock, Jesper Sorensen is gonna join the program. That's right, the manager of your Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps are back in action this week against Austin. Weird scheduling, courtesy MLS. This is the second time that the Caps have played Austin in basically a month. They whipped Austin back at BC place on April the 12th, 5-1. That was the four goal performance from Brian White. Now they're back at it again on Saturday. Jesper Sorensen is the first coach in MLS history to record 27 points in his first 12 games.

I've heard the Austin coach is telling his team, hey watch out for that guy, Brian Wright. Take a number, mark it down, keep an eye on him. Maybe we'll put two guys on him. Yesper Sorensen at eight, Frank Sarah Valley at seven, David Amber at 6.30, we are also giving away tickets today. Every day this week we're giving away a pair of tickets to see the Who at Rogers arena on September

23rd, caller number five at eight 15 this morning. So right in the middle of the Esper Sorensen interview, the phone number six Oh four two eight Oh zero six 50 that number again, six Oh four two eight Oh zero six 50 tickets are going to go on sale on Friday, courtesy ticket master, but we'll be giving them away every day this week. And I will remind the listening audience later in the show about the giveaway. That is what's happening on the program today.

Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because of our movie. We know how messy your life can be. What happened? You missed that?

What happened? What happened is You missed that? You missed that? What happened? What happened? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca.

We will start briefly with the Stanley Cup Playoff game singular from last night before we get into some of the Canucks stuff. But the Dallas Stars swept it in Dallas yesterday. It was a Mikhail Grandlin. Yes, Mikhail Grandlin with the Attrick for the stars. They pushed the jets to the brink last night with a three, one win in game four of their second round series. Uh, it was a case of yet again, goaltending, being the story,

although with a slightly different lean Connor Hellebuck, not great, but not awful. But Jake Ottinger, a heck of a lot better. The Jets just couldn't find a goal. And couldn't find enough goals in Dallas, just three over the two games. And now they find themselves down three, one in the series and on the brink of elimination. Do you remember the Michael Grandlin trade to Dallas getting any real attention? I kind of remember people raising an eyebrow at the price paid,

but I don't really remember it being anything other than like, Oh, that's a tidy little pickup for the stars. In what way? What would the price? I don't remember the price. Uh, it was because I got CC at around the same time as well. Right. It was sort of like, it was that deal. And I think there was a first that exchanges. Okay. And he was actually playing well for the sharks, but? It was sort of like it was that deal. And I think there was a first that exchanged. OK. And he was actually playing well for the Sharks. But the caveat was, but it's with the Sharks, like, you know, a point again, producer with the Sharks.

What is he going to do in a real NHL team? Well, he's a pretty good player, though. Yes. And I think although he is kind of bounced around the league the last few years, some stops didn't work out. He played in Pittsburgh for 21 games. I had like five points. Uh, and, and yeah, you're right. Wait, he did?

Yeah, he did. And I don't remember that either. I remember that. I was just looking at the stats here. Um, but, uh, he's a good player and I know some people have been wondering in Vancouver, right? Like, Oh, could he be a guy that the connect could pick up in a free agency?

I don't know. I don't know. The Canucks have said that they don't really love the, the UFA list anyway, but yeah, he, he's been a nice pickup for the stars and all of a sudden you're looking at their lineup and, um, I mean, not all of a sudden, but because Heisken and returned last night and he didn't play a huge role in the game, like Harley is still their top minutes guy.

A lot of rust on old mirror Heiskenen. Yeah, and not surprisingly, right? But man, this team, it's hard to find a weakness on. The Stars are another example of a team that's absolutely loaded up front. We've talked about them over the last couple days in context with the Vancouver Canucks and the lack of both high end and overall talent depth wise

that the Canucks have forward. And again, you go down the list and you look at the guys that are doing the business. When it's not Mikhail Granlin carrying the load for Dallas, it's those other guys like Miko Renten, Rope Hintz, Wyatt Johnson, Matt Duchesne. I mean, Cody Cece, not Cody Cece, sorry, Tyler Sagan and Jamie Ben are still doing the business for this team, right?

Yeah, they were able to move off a piece like Logan Stankovic to get Miko Rand in the door. These the very high end, the very, very high end teams. And look, if you're if you're looking at it right now, the Western Conference, the odds are that it's going to be an Edmonton Dallas Western Conference final. Right. Yet again, Edmonton's Western Conference final, right? Yet again. Edmonton's up 3-1 in their series. Dallas is up 3-1 in their series.

What do those two teams have in common? The answer, they're incredibly, incredibly deep at forward. They're not reliant on a single entity or a single line to do all the heavy lifting for them. They're getting scoring up and down the lineup and it's reflective of a group that has been built over time and understands that you can't just have one or two play drivers. You need more if you're going to get to the upper echelons of the NHL. Well, the Jets all season. The Jets are in that conversation as well. The Jets all season,

getting depth scoring. But the focus right now is they can't win on the road. And a lot of that has, has that to do with Connor Hellebuck, the goalie that was so brilliant during the regular season, but seems to have really lost it, especially on the road and in the post season and you know, goalies, what are you going to do?

What are you going to do? But he wasn't, I mean, I guess he should have stopped the first one last night, but he wasn't, uh, I mean, I guess he should have stopped the first one last night, but he wasn't like awful, but he just hasn't been brilliant. Well, he also hasn't out-dueled anybody. Yeah. And when, and when, yeah, exactly. Right.

And, uh, you know, this is an interesting matchup with Autinger because it's two American goalies and you've heard the crowds go back and forth. You got Winnipeg chanting at Ottinger, US backup. And then you go to Dallas and Dallas is chanting Otter's better. Right? I mean, it's fun. It's actually like, you know, that's a fun part of the series as a neutral observer here. And it might determine what, you know, the Olympic goal.

There's a race on. There's a very, I'm sure that your Demko would love to get back in that race next season for who's going to represent the United States at the Olympics, but Connor Hellebuck, even in the games where like he had a shutout, but I feel it even feel like he wasn't the story in that one. You know what I mean?

Like the story was more like, is this the return of Connor Hellebuck? Not necessarily. This was a banner performance. He was very good in the four nothing shadow of course of course he was yeah I got a shutout, but He certainly hasn't gone on the road and stolen a game. I hasn't gone on the road and won a game the Jets So I don't know if everyone is what there's a couple stats Courtesy Sportsnet stats that were passed along last night and this one blew my mind The Jets road playoff losing streak right now

is at nine games. Just take a minute to let that soak in. They have lost nine consecutive road playoff games. They have not won a playoff game on the road since 2023 back when they won the opening game of their first round series against the Vegas Golden Knights is having a goalie who melts down on the road that see now you bring up a good point. It's chicken or the egg. Right.

Is it Hello Buck that is the reason that they're losing on the road or are they losing on the road because Hello Buck can't make a save? Like which one is there? Right. Like I don't know. Well, they've only started one goalie throughout this whole process. I understand. One way to find out. I understand that his numbers on the road have been bad, but I look at the last two games they lost in Dallas. And if I'm a goalie, I'm like, you guys gave me three goals

of offense in two games. Like it's it's tough to win in the playoffs when you can only muster that much offensively. Now part of this had to do with his counterpart at the other end, Ottinger. But if you look at the advanced metrics from last night, they outattempted the stars. I think it was like 72 to 46.

If you were to look at that game just on possession and shot metrics and everything else, you'd say Winnipeg had a good game. They were more than capable of winning that game. We played well. Yeah, played well. So the difference comes down to goaltending and your guy, Hellebuck, is consistently on the wrong end of that. Even if he doesn't play terribly, like he's. That first goal against Grandland, like wasn't great.

Should probably stop that. Hellebuck has allowed, this is also courtesy Sportsnet stats, 11 goals this postseason from 30 plus feet or deeper, which is, now I understand all these goals aren't created equal. There are screens, there's tips, there's all this other kind of stuff. But you talked to me earlier in the St. Louis series, Greg,

about like the book being out on a guy. And like if you do your you do your you know, you study your tape and you do your research and you get your scout on them. I do wonder if the scouting it's the art art or see lobby and scouting report. You're just fired from deep. It's a little surprising that that's the stat because when you think of Hellebuck's weaknesses, to me it's the lateral plays.

Sure. It's the stuff off the rush that have historically given Hellebuck trouble. I think that's the concerning part. Yeah, it might not be his typical way that he gives up. I'd have to talk to Woodley that knows the numbers. Right now his weakness is shots on net. Yes.

Right, they're all a problem. Right. My weakness too. And there's another weakness, shots on net. Yes, right. They're all a problem, right? And there's another weakness kicks on net Which although that didn't even go on net technically that was more like a center. It's toward the net Like a corner kick. Yeah. Anyway, the Jets are now facing Elimination that series returns to Winnipeg. So we'll see what happens there. Let's get into some of this connect stuff Okay Because we got a lot of news yesterday as it pertains to the connects vacant coaching gig according to multiple reports from

Rick Dollywall Thomas Drance and Patrick Johnston It sounds as though the head coaching gig is gonna come down to either Adam foot or Manny Malhotra now that tracks with a lot of what we've heard over the last few days. It seems as though those two guys have emerged as the leading candidates. That being said, if you start reading and listening to podcasts and checking around the league,

it does sound as though they've left doors open in the form of interviews with a variety of guys. So Elliot Friedman yesterday was on NHL Network and he believes that the Canucks have already interviewed another candidate, Mitch Love. He of course is a long time assistant coach and an AHL coach. He's currently with the Washington Capitals.

He's a 40 year old from Quinnell in BC I might add. And he has a pretty good standing and has interviewed for other jobs. NHL head coaching jobs in the past. Elliot also believes that the Canucks might have interviewed Todd Reardon. Now, this is an interesting name because Reardon is one of the aforementioned

Pittsburgh mafia, right? He was there for a couple different stints and Rutherford actually specifically hired him back. I believe it was in twenty twenty after Reardon was fired as the head coach of the Washington Capitals. Now, if you go back and you look at Reardon's body of work, he's actually in the two years that he was the head coach in Washington

was a really good regular season coach. They just got you know, they did not fare well in the playoffs. They got bounced. They were upset in the first round twice. They didn't look good in the and Then he was gone out of that position. So the interesting thing here is that you kind of assume that Malhotra and foot are the leading candidates, but it also sounds that I don't know whether it's due diligence or they're just bored and they want to talk to people. Canucks brass is talking to other candidates as well.

Yeah. Do you have, like, is there, is there a coach in your mind that you're really excited for and you want to advocate for? Really excited for, I hate putting it this way. No? Yeah. I think that of the guys, Malhotra is the most intriguing because of the unknown. Because he's shown that he's done a good job, granted in a small sample size in Abbotsford, but you he's shown that he's done a good job, granted in a small sample size in Abbotsford, but you can't argue that he's done a good job. I don't think anyone would push back on that notion. So it's intriguing.

It's like, are you getting the next really good coaching candidate on the rise? But with that, it's fraught with a lot of risk. It's a first time NHL head coach. Those guys tend to make mistakes while they're learning on the job. Is this the right job and environment for a guy that doesn't have the in-game know-how,

the experience, working at that level, everything that goes into being an NHL head coach? I wonder how much has been complicated by the Habits for Canucks still being alive in the playoff race. I think it's a valid point. I don't think they want to kneecap Manny by saying, like, also, could you spend a lot of time focusing

on your next job? Yeah. Sometimes you just want to leave a guy alone, especially during a playoff. Hey Manny, I know you're preparing for Coachella Valley, but what do you think about forwards we need next season? And Manny's like- Hey, I brought that up in the group chat

and you guys shot me down. Yeah, no, and then we stole it. Yeah, geez, give a guy some credit here. Andy mentioned it once. Yeah. Bro but was like I don't know about that What well well what did you say? What did you say? No, no what you said is they haven't announced Manny yet. Yeah, well, he's still busy with Abbott's first It's the same thing. No, it's not the same man. They haven't announced him You're like you were You were talking about conspiracy theories.

They haven't announced him yet because he's still coaching. Well, no, because they're also interviewing all these other guys, too. You can call it a sign, call it whatever you want. But the reason Manny isn't the Canucks head coach presently at the moment is because the Abbotsford Canucks are in a playoff run. Yeah, and I disagree with that. They just learned about Rick Tauke at a couple of weeks ago. They're going to have to go through all these interviews.

Yeah, but he's their guy. How? Oh, you know. Yeah, I know. Oh, you know. Oh, I know. He's their guy, for sure. For sure.

What about Adam Foote? Is he their guy? I feel like we need a show bed here. Because apparently it's between Adam Foote and Danny Mochoc. Adam Foote's operation, keep Quinn Hughes happy. You know that lunch that Brough owes you from that bet that you guys had a while? Because apparently it's between Adam Foote and Manny Molotov. Adam Foote's operation, keep Quinn Hughes happy. You know that lunch that brothos you from that bet that you guys had a while ago? You should double down on that lunch.

So I could win another lunch that I didn't ever get paid for. Now you have two lunches hanging in the evening. But that doesn't mean you're right. You're basically saying that if Abbotsford wasn't in the playoffs, Manny would already be the coach. Correct. And I disagree because they barely had any time to do all these interviews.

And of course they're gonna do some interviews. Now, it being the Canucks, it's kind of funny. It's like, oh weird, it came down to the guys that were like closest. You know, Adam Fodor, Marty on the payroll. Still working here. Not super expensive either, is probably part of it as well.

But I also think that they were always gonna to go out there and talk to other coaches if only to see number one what's out there and number two you guys got me like, gee, what do you want to talk about? Like that kind of thing. But regardless of all the other interviews, they're probably looking at their guy and like, okay, well hopefully this works out. We'll interview some other guys just in case, but I don't know. I just think they've like Manny's like

It feels to me like Manny is the guy that they really want. Okay. Okay. We'll see if I'm right point point taken It's on the ledger. We've written it down Adam foot this one I know a lot of people are still holding the brief time that he was a head coach of the Kelowna Rockets Against it because it obviously didn't go very well. If I'm not mistaken he got fired the same year that they were hosting or headed to the Memorial Cup so that's obviously not a great reflection when you hand in your resume or like what happened here and you're like don't talk about it. He doesn't have a ton of experience as a

head coach either so in that instance it's why I say I'm not super excited about either candidate because there's some trepidation there. But here's the thing. I don't know if there was one coach out there outside of maybe Mike Sullivan, even that was a bit fraught with risk where you said like, I'm really excited about that guy. I'm really keen to get that guy.

And that guy seems like the one for this job. Now, part of that has to do with this job because I think this is one of the trickier jobs, one of the bigger and riskier vacancies that's in the NHL right now. Don't you think if you're Manny Malholtra, too, you're thinking about that as well? Yes, I think every guy, when they get in the running for an NHL head coaching gig, they're going to be like, this is a great opportunity because there's only 32 of these and they don't come up all that often, even though they kind of do. But, but at the same time, yeah, like if,

if you want it to be your first job and there are some redeeming qualities as a first job, but you're right. You know, you would probably have a little bit of trepidation given where the team is at currently, May 5th, or sorry, May 14th, 2025. Like it's not a great situation that the connects have right now. Nelson in Kelowna with a text,

Foot should be the coach. He has more NHL experience and has the Tocket system. Well, I think that's a question you want to ask if you're the connects. Do we want the Tocket system back? Right. Because according to all the texts that I get into the Dunbar Lumber Text Line, the system

broke Alias Pettersson. So do you want that back? Um, I, I, look, I, I, I liked Rick Tocket as a head coach, but I'm okay if the message changes. I'm okay with try something else. The one thing I like about Manny Mahotra is that he's been allowed to bring a few ideas of his own in the AHL and not that foot wouldn't be

allowed to do that. It's not like be Tauke it. Sure. You know, but I also like just the idea of an entirely fresh voice for that room. I really do. I am big team change when it comes to the Canucks. No, that's fair.

Because, you know, last season, let's not hold onto the stuff from last season. Like even some of the good stuff, I know we're going to talk about later in the show about who the Canucks might entertain trading from the roster in order to help their issues going forward. And I know Connor Garland was on with Donnie and

Dolly yesterday and actually let's play some audio from Connor Garland right now, because he was asked a question about whether he wants to extend in Vancouver. And just in perfect Connor Garland fashion, man, he kept those feet moving and he, he did, did, did not answer the question. You know, I love Vancouver.

I think it's a great city. I, you know, I really, you know, warmed up to it last year, obviously winning helps, but this year, you know, I just really enjoy the city. I love living in it, you know, having a son this year and having a place where I can take him and walk. And it's just, you know, I find it a lot, you know, like Boston, just on the very, you know,

opposite side of the continent. But, you know, I got a great agent. He does, he handles that stuff. I just play hockey and that's what I love doing. And I enjoy doing it. And you know, that's, you know, that's, that's all, that's how I look at it. That's up to him. So does your agent control where you want to play?

Maybe. Tell me where to go. That was some very deft, keeping feet moving from Conor Garland. He never said he wanted to stay in Vancouver. There's a lot of people that are like, yeah, I love the city and I want to be here for a while. Conor Garland did not say that. And I think it's important for the Connects to at

least have conversations with Conor Garland this off season, see where he's at. He's got one year left on his deal. Then he's UFA. And I think his value around the league could be pretty high because he had an impressive season. A lot of people were talking about him in Vancouver. Um, he was probably overplayed in Vancouver and

over relied upon with the Canucks because they had so many holes in the top six that they were like, all right, Garland, give it a go. You're, you're one of the few guys that's driving the line at the end of the season. Though you look at his numbers and 19 goals, it's not many. I know he, he doesn't have a great shot. Um, and I think, I think his game is limited. I think let's put it this way.

We've probably seen the best of Connor Garland Yeah, that's fair. Like I don't I don't expect Connor Garland to like break out. He's almost 30 God played a lot. I'm just playing a lot. He played a lot for a guy that never averaged more than like 17 minutes a night in any of his previous NHL seasons He played 1839 a night. I think his, what was his average ice time the season before, was it like 14? 1432. Yeah, he played almost four minutes more.

He was a bona fide top six forward with those numbers on that team. Ice time. Yeah. Ice time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was deployed as one. Right, but not gold.

With regularity. But not like the gold numbers, right? And he got power play time too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. player, but it doesn't mean that you want to lock in to players like Garland because, you know, I'm not blaming Connor Garland for what happened last season, but the Canucks need to chase upside. The Canucks, and they probably need to chase it somewhat, not recklessly, but they, if they want, if they want to get back to the playoffs next season, they're going to have to make

some big, big bets where there's significant risk. And you look at Washington with some of the bets they made, especially on Dubois. There's going to have to be a few of those. And it doesn't mean they have to bring in a guy that has a big contract like Dubois, but they're going to have to make bets on maybe some players that they feel haven't been given a chance because the team they're on is too deep. And then you're saying, okay, well, you were a third liner on this team, you're going to have to be a top six guy on this team.

Like Philip Heidel was a bet like that. Because he was, and they're going to have to make bets. And the thing when you make bets, when you make high upside bets, it's like, you know, there are certain stocks that are growth stocks and you're betting on them and other ones that are kind of like, well, you know what you're getting with this stock and they need to bet on the growth stocks. Right. And Connor Garland to me is, you know, what you're going to get.

Yeah. You know, so like why lock in with another one of those? Yeah, in the case of Dubois, like Dubois was the opposite of a guy that was being blocked somewhere while we were an underappreciated value guy. He was a distressed asset. He had a big bloated contract. He was Boeing stock.

Right, it wasn't like the railroad, like the nice safe railroad, you know, invest in the railroad, that's the way to go. But he was, it was very much a guy that when Washington took that gamble, there was the potential for that to turn out very, very badly for Washington. Cause they were taking on the full freight

of a long-term, big money deal that was in year one and another team had already punted on it. And by the other team, I mean the Los Angeles Kings. So it turned out great for Washington and it'll go down as one of the sort of great high risk, high reward moves in recent memory to get a team back on track. But you're right, high risk is high risk.

There's a chance that it goes badly. And if it goes badly, the damage could be, you know, even more than what the connects have already suffered over the last calendar year. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Sarah Valley, Sarah Valley, Cera Valley, Cera Valley, Frank. Cera Valley, Frank, Cera Valley, Frank, Frank. 702 on a Wednesday, happy Wednesday everybody.

Halford, Bruff, Sportsnet 650. Frank. Halford and Bruff in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3000 five star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program. Frank Sarvali from Daily Faceoff is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuck at Jason.Mortgage.

If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason.Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Our next guest is of course Frank Ceravalli. He joins us courtesy, the hotline powered by Power West Industries. It's Frank Ceravalli from Daily Face Off

here on the Haliford and Bruv Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Frank, how are you? Good morning, boys, good, how you doing? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. So we wanted to start this hit by talking a little coaching with you. The Vancouver Canucks coaching search continues on

and we've heard countless names in line for the job. Let's see if we can run through them real quick. Manny Malhotra, Adam Foote, Todd Reardon, Mitch Love. Is Mike Volucci still in the mix? I can't remember if Mike Volucci is still in the mix. I think that's five. What do you know about those five, Frank? And feel free to throw any other names in the mix. You might've heard that I might've missed. Is Marco Sturm in the mix? Marco Sturm, there's six. Yes, perfect.

And should we throw Jay Woodcroft's name into the mix or no? Sure. You tell us. I mean, look, this search, the best way I can describe it is it's progressing. The Canucks are continuing to talk to different people around the league. I've seen some reporting that suggests that they have narrowed in on a group of finalists. I'm not totally aware that that's the case, not saying it's wrong, but I don't get the sense either that they're necessarily at the finish line with one of these candidates and

are ready to move forward and name their next coach. Are there any complications with any of the other vacancies around the league? Like are any of the guys thereafter also candidates for maybe a job in Pittsburgh or Seattle or Boston or Philly or wherever? Well, I think there are, there certainly are other guys that are candidates in those other

markets. That said, I think there's maybe not necessarily as much for the Canucks, but for some other teams, they're wanting to talk to some coaches who are still actively involved in the Family Cup playoffs. And look, a lot of people view this entire coaching market as one that, not necessarily from a Canucks perspective, but on the whole is being held up by Rick Tocket. He has three to four, I believe, offers pending that it's taking some time to sift through and process. And with that being said, I think once you see him go off the market, that you're gonna see a run on coaches pretty quickly

with jobs being filled up in 48 to 72 hours after that. Is there a leader for Rick Talkett Services right now? And if there is, what team is that? If I could handicap, I would think it's the Philadelphia Flyers. I think according to sources close to the team last week, they were, after having initial discussions, were in the process of preparing

what they believe to be a massive offer. You know, how that relates to the other things that Rick Tocket has on his plate, I think probably would be difficult for me to speculate because I don't know what's out there from Boston and Seattle and some of these other teams that have been in the mix. So that part is tough to weigh out, but I think on the whole, I would expect that the flyers have put together a pretty strong case. Um, without knowing the details financially, it would talk it be in the Mike Sullivan neighborhood in terms of a massive deal

with regards to salary. I don't think quite at the Sullivan level cause I was told that he stretched into the sevens in AAV, um, which is not necessarily a huge shock because he was in the fives with Pittsburgh, I believe. Um, and with that, you have to give them a pretty significant raise or else Pittsburgh, you know, they're still paying him. They're still on the hook. They don't want to be paying full freight for Mike Sullivan to be coaching in their division

So that raise was kind of inherent But I had reason to believe that yes, Rick Tocket was certainly was going to be looking at a longer term deal, I think five years or more and Potentially reaching as high as as a six million AAV and potentially reaching as high as a six million AAV. What are expectations going to be in Philadelphia for this coming season? That's such a great question because when I've looked at all the different openings and tried to size them all up

in terms of where everyone's heading, that I think the Flyers have some of the most work to do among these groups of teams. They're not a quick flip, they're not a rebound candidate like a Boston or the Rangers, they don't have a superstar like the Vancouver Canucks and they don't really even have the skeleton of a team to be competitive in the very near future because you're still dealing in the abstract. They don't have a goalie, they don't have a defenseman, they don't have a center of franchise caliber.

And with that, that's where the long-term deal comes in and that's where I could also see the argument to be made in a strong way that, hey, the Flyers, this job is not necessarily as attractive as the other ones, but if you're willing to come in and do the work to add to the foundation that John Tortorella poured and then allow or accept or bring into the fold those other players that the team acquires and then drafts and develops like You got a squint hard to see it is the point Yeah So you don't expect them to be Do you expect them to be super aggressive this offseason and trying to add players because we all know that Vancouver is gonna try

And be super aggressive this off season to try and add players. I do expect them to add and try and be aggressive. And part of the reason just when you, you glean little nuggets and hints along the way, and you know, the Flyers brass was at the UA teams recently in Texas, and the conversations evolved around, hey, like, look, 2026 appears to be a really special class. Where, what is, you know, where do the Flyers, how do they see that draft shaking out? And they're like, well, we hope to not be in the lottery conversation. So when, when that's the case, and you hear that type of expectation being set,

they want to take a significant step forward and they think that a coach is a big part of that puzzle. Um, I mentioned that the connects are going to be aggressive this off season and Jim Rutherford has said, you know, we want to add three forwards to our forward group and he's not talking about bottom six guys. What do you think of Vancouver's chances of having a successful off season given, given all the other teams around the league that are going to have plenty of cap space and want to be aggressive themselves?

Well, I guess it depends on how you view the success. Is it immediately being a better team in October or is it being a better team two to three years from now? And the reason I bring that up is what happens with Pedersen? Are you operating under the assumption that they keep him and that they try and rehab his game and get him back to being the player that he used to be? Or are you cutting ties and saying we value the space and the flexibility

more so than the potential of the player and we're willing to be a little bit worse now and then get better in the future with the space that we have plus whatever we get in return. and then get better in the future with the space that we have plus whatever we get in return. I mean, that's going to be one of the biggest foundational, you know, direction, compass pointing decisions made. And outside of that, what are the chances to be successful? Well, what are the Canucks trying to solve for? The same thing that the Calgary Flames and the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks and all these other teams that are in the muck are trying to solve for which

is trying to add an impact center. Good luck. I'm not being flippant when I say that. You tell me what the market for centers is like outside of Brock Nelson. Maybe you want to throw in Matt Duchenne into the mix. Okay. Where, where are you going to get a top end center? I mean, that's my whole argument. They said we're going to try and be aggressive. And like, they've also said that they don't really

like the players on the free agent list and that Vancouver isn't much of a destination anyway. So my whole question is like, okay, well, how are you going to do this? What are you going to do with the 15th overall pick? I don't think that's going to get it done. I'm with you. You have to really be fortunate in your draft selection and hope that two or three years from now that that player can turn into one of those guys that you happen to pick in the mid first round that becomes that guy and doesn't even necessarily mean you're gonna pick a center there. We're speaking to Frank Saravalli from Daily Face Off

here on the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Okay I want to look at the landscape here of some other teams that might be making some fairly significant significant moves this summer. Oftentimes we point to those teams that lost in the first round of the playoffs. One of them is Los Angeles Kings and they've already had a big shake up. Obviously, Rob Blake is out as general manager. Ken Holland is expected to be announced as the new general manager tomorrow, Thursday, although multiple reports already out there that he's accepted the job.

My first question is behind the bench. Do you have a sense of what Holland is going to do with that head coaching job in Los Angeles? Jim Hiller is still there, but I do wonder if there's going to be another vacancy opening up in Los Angeles. I expect that there will be. First off, the next GM always wants his guy. And I think if we've learned anything about Ken Holland over the tenure of his career, 27 consecutive years as general manager that he likes to surround himself with people that he's familiar with and that's not necessarily a security thing or a comfort thing but he feels like he works really well with people that he trusts and so I would

expect that given some of the decision-making process from Jim Hiller and also the structure and way that this team plays, like I get a real sense that the Kings are trying to do things differently here. The easy, comfortable thing to do would have been for Luke Robitaille as president of Hockey Ops to just hire his really close friend in Mark Bergervan who's been working for the team for three years as a senior advisor and was hungry for a second shot at being a general manager after a decade in Montreal. They didn't go that path. So it sounds like they're willing to do things outside of their comfort zone. And I would imagine that with that

comes free rein to make a coaching change, which you know, probably to the surprise of no one based on how the first round ended with the Kings being in the absolute driver's seat. I mean, so close from going up three nothing on the oilers in that series that that's part of the process as well. Too easy to connect the dots to Jay Woodcroft there? Not too easy. I think definitely would be on the short list. And you have to remember that the Woodcroft connection

doesn't just go back to Edmonton. His name is etched on the Stanley Cup near Ken Hall in Detroit when he was a video coach under Mike Babcock. So that's one connection. But I do think that Jay Woodcroft has been on Boston's list and is pretty, you know, I think has, has done pretty well to this point in the process, I'm told with the Bruins.

And if it doesn't end up being Rick Tocket in Boston, which I, again, we handicapped some of this, I think Woodcroft is a strong candidate there. Hey Frank, I was at dailyfaceoff.com and I know you've got your list of the top 50 free agents out there now and some estimates on the contracts that they might sign. I've got a question for you.

Who do you think is more likely to move teams? Mitch Marner or Sam Bennett? Mitch Marner. I think there's a mutual, and I think it's still too early to say that the die has been cast and that he's definitely going to market because I imagine there will be some sort of evolving conversation whenever this Maple Leaf season ends, whether it's four days from now or whether it's four weeks from now. But I do think that, I don't want to say it went to a dark place, but I think that there was definitely some frustration on both with the way the trade deadline played out.

The Leafs, I think were frustrated in that they tried hard to get him to engage on a contract extension and to get that done. And that didn't happen. And then in the same turn, they said, okay, well, if you're not going to negotiate a new deal with us, then will you at least waive your no trade so that we could move you in a package to try and get Miko Ranzen in? The Carolina Hurricanes were drooling to get Mitch Marner, and they actually tried hard on Mitch Marner in January before trading for Rantunen.

So they made that attempt, and then now you let the results of this season kind of speak for itself. I think a lot of things are just adding up to him going to market and him potentially wanting to do something a little bit different. Where do you think he might go? We were actually talking about Anaheim yesterday and we had a guest on to talk about the ducks and just how much it sounds like ownership there wants to step on the gas.

And they've obviously hired a guy in Joel Quinville that suggests that the rebuild is over. At least it should be. I could see Anaheim making a ton of sense for the reasons you mentioned. I could see Utah making a play. I could see the Blackhawks. I could see, I mean, you don't have to squint too

hard to think about some of the other teams around the league. I could see, I mean you don't have to squint too hard to think about some of the other teams around the league. Probably doesn't make a ton of sense with where their team build is at or even their cap picture, but like could you view a fit with Montreal? That would be amazing. I don't know, I mean I doubt that he'd leave one for the other, like I would think that if you're going to really change it up,

you're going to want to get out of the fish bowl. Yeah. You're not going to want to hear it in two languages. We've been getting it in one. But go go south of the border and and see what that's like. Yeah, I mean, it's it's a fascinating conversation about Marner, because you mentioned all these different potential suitors. And I think it's a microcosm of what the entire league is going to look like this summer, because there's so many different markets with all these different teams

that really want to make some noise. And obviously that has to do with the fact that everyone's got more cap space. But there's a lot of teams that weren't happy with where they were last year. And you can see it in personnel shifts like the New York Islanders, for example, Jordan and Van just texted into the number, number text message in basket at six fifty, six fifty. Can you ask Frank about the Islanders general example Jordan and Van just texted into the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket at 650 650 can you ask Frank about the Islanders general manager vacancy and there's another team that feels like it's at a bit of a crossroads and what where they're gonna go with regards to roster construction

and moving on from Lou Lamerello so what do you have on the Islanders and their GM vacancy? Yeah that's been a lot slower than I think they wanted it to be. I think the list of candidates was incredibly long and I think it centered at one point in time around Ken Holland and I think he was offered the president of hockey ops job before turning it down. You know, like look, they, I'm kind of surprised how long it's taken. And now as they continue to work through their list, we've heard lots of different guys that have experience.

Are they still looking at the two headed model where you've got a president of hockey ops and GM, or are you just going to go with an experienced GM? And then there had been a notion out there of, hey, what happens with, uh, with Lula Amorello in general? Will he remain as a, as an advisor in the process? Will he have any input? Um, it's been a really uncomfortable number of weeks for the Islanders as they've sort of been flailing, not in lack of interest.

Um, Mark Bergevin has been mentioned. Uh, Yarmoukhek K Bergevin has been mentioned, Yarmouk Ekalainen has been mentioned. That said, you would think at some point that because it's taken this long that the Islanders haven't been necessarily as enamored with the process on the list. Frank, this was great stuff as always. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy the games tonight. They should be good. We'll do this again next week sounds good see you guys see you later that's Frank Ceravalli on Sportsnet 650 a

presentation of angry otter liquor May's heating up at angry otter liquor plus program members enjoy a member exclusive pricing on it ooh Corona 12 packs this month only $27.99 it's almost Corona season Jason I'm excited I love it yeah it is Corona season by the way mm- excited. I love it. It is Corona season, by the way. Already. Although I think we're going to get a bit of a stretch of cooler weather in the next little while. Actually, you know what you're right, because May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, that's officially Corona season. Yeah, exactly. Frank mentioned Lou Lamb. Did you see he was spotted at the Buffalo Airport?

Did you see the update? I saw that he was spotted at the Buffalo Airport. Was that actually him? Or was it just- There's a lot of guys that look like Lulam were all over the place. It was him and according to Darren Drager, he was just there to renew his Nexus. Aw.

Yeah. That's not as exciting. You have to go to the Buffalo Airport to do that? I don't know man. That's what Drager was saying. That's the kind of reporting that the real true insiders can get. I did see the Lulam thing and then a lot of people were obviously, I don't know if there was actual background reporting on this if people are trying to talk it into existence

but there was that Buffalo had long been enamored with Lou Lamarello and would love to have him in as some sort of advisor. Well now the important thing to remember about Buffalo is that in the Terry Pugula ownership era, they've never had a buffer between him and the general manager. They've never had a president of hockey ops or a senior advisor as the go-between.

Terry's always had a direct line to the general manager. He's never used that line though. Well, no, I think he has. He keeps forgetting that I own the Sabres. He's used it to fire like four of them, right? I mean, go back, because it was Darcy Regear, it was Tim, was it Tim Adams? What was his name?

The guy from Ottawa? Yeah, Tim Murray. Tim Murray, there you go. Tim Adams, I don't know who Tim Adams is. And then of course it was Jason Botterill and now it's Kevin Adams, right? So you've had a long list of general managers there and some have said this is an organization

that might benefit from having that extra layer of communication between the owner and the general manager, enter Lulam. Some people have suggested that the Buffalo Sabres could hire some good hockey people. Well, I mean, that's tough. That's tough. Yeah, he was a crazy top.

Kevin Adams was so inexperienced when he got that job. Kevin Adams not a good hire. I thought Jason Botterill was a good hire. I think they probably cut the cord on him a little too early. The other guys, I mean, who's to say? I think the problem is when you have an owner

that's on the phone with the guy who's making the day-to-day, it becomes less about having patience and more about getting results. And oftentimes, for general manager changes a lot. That's a lot. That's probably why Kevin Adams still has a job. Maybe he's there Jim Benning. Right?

Well, it feels like it right now. When you start making a lot of changes to either the coaching staff or the management, you don't want to keep firing. 100%. Uh, superintendent Steve takes in and predicts tonight is the last night the core four play together at home in Toronto.

Certainly possible. I love it. I mean, I asked Frank about Mitch Marner and I said, who's more likely to move Mitch? Mitchy, Mitchy, Mitchy. Or is it going to be Sam Bennett from Florida? And he said, Mitch. And like right away. Yep.

And he suggested, I kind of forgot about this actually, that Marner was asked to wave his no trade clause. For random. At the trade deadline, yeah. I don't know why I forgot about that. That was a big deal. Yeah, it was a big deal. And also if the Leafs lose tonight, or let's say they lose the series, you just have to switch it up. At some point, you just got to switch it up.

They said that in Playoff Failures Pass though. This one's just different because Marner's on the cusp of free agency. Now it feels like it's an easier move. I think Tavares is probably going to stay just because he wants to be there and he's had a terrific year and it'll be interesting to see if he'll take a significant. He'll take a haircut, he'll come back. The question is how big a hometown discount is he going to take?

Um, Marner's never seemed like the type that wants to take much of a hometown discount, even though he wants to be in Toronto or he used to. Um, but yeah, tonight I guess could be the last time we see that core four together, uh, at home in, in Toronto. Um, I'm still not convinced they're done in this series, the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think if they come together and defend really well, they could easily win a 2-1

game tonight against the Florida Panthers. I don't necessarily believe that momentum exists in series. I actually think more often than not, there's anti-momentum between games. Like a team will get comfortable, a team will get desperate and then flip the switch and it's the other team, one team's desperate and the other team gets comfortable. And I think that's very possible tonight. You know, the Florida Panthers played a very

good game in game four. They were very physical. And now I think we'll see Toronto respond.