Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/27/26

Episode Date: May 27, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they discuss the latest around the Canucks coaching search with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli & 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. One of the most dominant regular season teams we've ever seen in NHL history is out. The Colorado Avalanche swept out of the playoffs last night. Mark Stone scoring for the second straight game and the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to another Stanley Cup final with a 2-1 win over the abs in game four. Yeah, four games sweep in the Western Conference final in Vegas on Tuesday night. Okay, Halford. We all know what happened in the... series I'm going to give you a bunch of names and they all wrote compelling storylines in this series and will going forward and you pick one you pick which one you're thinking about the most after this series okay john torterella Mitch marner Mark stone Carter Hart Nathan mcannon kale McCarr

Jared Bednar. I want to pick two. And I want it to be the first two, but I'm just going to go with one. Okay. It's torts. All due respect to Mitch Martin is dark times. It's, it's torts for me. What has happened here is such a remarkable story.

And quite frankly, the most improbable thing that I think he could have told me going into this season. If you had told me that John Tortorella with eight games left in the air was going to take a 39, Yeah, 39 win Vegas Golden Knights team and blast through the playoffs. They won 11 of their last 13 games. That's the thing that gets me the most.

They're not scraping by. They're not scratching and clawing their way and winning every series four games to three. Yeah. They have turned into an absolute dynamo behind John Tororella who 22 years after taking the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup.

finals now getting another crack at it with the Vegas Golden Knights did you see what he said about the most impressive thing about yesterday and he was just saying like we checked our asses off yeah was was the quote and it is funny because you know this is this is classic media like we are we are the worst we are we are terrible and I'll explain why okay how many times have you heard me on the show over the last few years talking about the Canucks defensively and going like they don't they don't know how to check i've heard it lots they don't know how to check they're terrible defensively how many times have we made fun of the edmonton oilers for their defensive breakdowns and the fact that sometimes they can just look clueless right like Evan bouchard comes to mind right

just absolutely no idea and then there are two teams right now in the the Stanley Cup playoffs who might meet in the Stanley Cup final and we're like, oh, they check too well and it's boring. Boring. Right? I mean, it's, it's, it's classic nitpicking, but it's important that we recognize

it because what Vegas did to a high power team like Colorado. It wiped them out. And I know McKinnon and McCar were hurt. I know that. But what they did

was a checking and shot-blocking masterpiece. And it's the same sort of thing that Carolina is doing to Montreal. Was that series less entertaining to watch because Vegas was in it? Checking the hell out of Colorado? Probably. But man, you just don't win much in hockey when it comes to elite-level hockey without being able to check and commit to defense. And that's what Torts has done with this team.

And it is very, very impressive to see what they did to a Colorado team that at times this season could score at will. And they just looked like they were out of juice, out of answers, because of the way that Vegas played them. They got wiped out. They got absolutely wiped out offensively in this series. They couldn't figure out Carter Hart. they look like they never found their rhythm.

They never really figured out a way to break down everything that the Golden Knights were doing. And here's the thing. And I want to play Laddie, that second clip that I sent along last night, the late night clip from Torrella, he really goes a little bit deeper into talking. And it's not like reinventing the wheel on defensive analysis, but talking about how everything that it takes to play really good, stout, resolute defense in the Stanley Cup playoffs,

the Golden Knights did over the course of four games. games in this series. And then he goes on to talk about the abs as well. It's about a minute long clip, but I want to play it anyway because Toritz was very good last night in talking about his team in that series, which will be remembered for a long time as one of the most improbable sweeps in Stanley Cup playoff

history. Here's John Tortorella on how and why the Vegas Golden Knights are so good defensively, with a little bit of talk about the abs as well here. Following the sweep last night, here's John Torterella. We checked our ass off. That's what stands out to me. And that's how you win in this

league is by checking. And when I say checking, not body checking, but checking, being above the puck, winning the battles, gaps. I mean, I could go with it. Checking is a heading. There's probably 30 things you can talk underneath that heading. By far our best game. It's something we have been concentrating on, and I think we've gotten better and better through

the rounds. But tonight's game was our best checking effort. And that's a hell of a hockey team. We played over there. And I know people are crawling up Bedsie's ass about this, that, the other. He is one hell of a coach. He's got a great staff there. We knew, I was very nervous.

We knew how we had to play because it's such a potent team. And I thought it was our best game. So, and again, I want to, from Joe right on down, that's a great organization. That's a great team. We found our way. And I think Bedsie said it the right way. It was such a close series. We just found our way to make another play.

So I have a tremendous wrong respect for Bedsie and that staff and that organization. 11 of their last 13 games they've won now. And I got a feel like I know Colorado was banged up. And like you said, there was a lot of different things that went into this. But this was about as dominant as you can be defensively in a series to, absolutely wipe out a team that averaged, what, 3.7 goals per game during the regular season, one of the highest scoring teams we've seen during the regular season in the salary cap era. And a team that really, through the first two rounds of the playoffs, didn't have many

issues going along, right? The abs were rolling going into this Western Conference final. They looked fine. And I know, you know, Kael McCar's injuries were obviously more significant and, you know, he missed the first part of this series. But the way that they got just absolutely flatlined offensively was it was wild to watch and it, I think by, you know, the turning point of series clearly was when

the abs were down 2-0-0 in the series and they got out to a 3-0 lead and you thought, okay, they figured it out. They figured out a way to get to the golden rights and they figured out a way more importantly to get to Carter Hart. And that was the game where Torrella said that, you know, we showed

the real big balls and in that one the element of the defensive. defensive prowess that Torts was talking about. That was the goaltending. That was where he mentioned several times that when it got to three nothing, Hart just wouldn't allow that fourth goal. And it gave them a chance to get back in the game. And you need all those different things firing to have the kind of defensive performance at the Vegas Golden Knights have.

Are they the cup favorite regardless of who comes out of the East right now? I think it's a toss up. If it's Carolina and Vegas, I think it's a toss up. Really? When you talk about, when you talk about form and I'm talking like, who's got it rolling right now. I would say that there's not a team that looks more complete than Vegas did in that series. How many games has Carolina lost in the playoffs? No, Carolina is fine.

One? Carolina is a good team. Carolina is a good team. But Carolina, I don't think, has that sort of suffocating element to the degree that Vegas showed against the best team in the NHL. I don't know about that. Yeah. I don't know about that.

I think Carolina can suffocate with the best of them. But I do want to talk. I think we might find out. I do want to talk about a few other characters in this series. Sure. Quickly, I just want to say that I think Mark Stone might be my favorite player in the NHL. Like, if someone were at, you know, I don't get asked that. Why?

Because you're the same age? He's a little bit older by it based on his looks. I just, I love his story. I love the way he plays. He was a sixth round draft pick and a big reason why. It was like his skating is not good. A little funky. But he just is one of the smartest, most, you know, like he's a fierce competitor.

He does all the things right. And he continues to just score goals. And I just think, I mean, just his look is hilarious. like we said the other day he looks like Ernie McCracken. He made fun of his own hair in his walkoff interview with John McKenzie yesterday. Yeah. He said that while your head coach is referred to you as a grizzled veteran player. And he's like, yeah, oh, my hair definitely fits the bill.

Yeah, he looks like a guy that you would definitely not pick up hitchhiking. Yeah. Like if he was on the side of the road with his thumb out, you'd actually like veer into the other lane of traffic just to avoid even the idea of picking him up. Not today, sir. Not today. Have you seen Have you seen the knob on his stick? Have you seen the knob on his stick?

You mentioned that he... We're still talking hockey, yeah. He's talking tape. You zoomed in on pictures or what are you doing? The tape job. Have you seen it? No. You really like Mark Thorpe.

No, no, no. You alluded to it the other day, but you didn't follow up. Just, just, just Google a picture. I don't think I'm going to do that. Not at work? Just good, just go putting... No, I'm doing it. No, I'm doing it.

I'm doing it. I'm doing it. Mark Stone's knob, and you're going to find, you're going to find some crazy, he's just like, I don't know how much tape he uses on it, but it is massive. Quite the knob. It is, it is massive. Do you have to turn safe search results off or do you keep it on? You know what?

I encourage you to do it. It's safe. Nothing bad is going to show up. It's insane. Do it insane. Listen, just do it right now on your phone, especially if it's a company phone. I don't know why he does it. I don't know what the story is with his massive knob, but I don't know.

It's big. Yeah, you're right. It isn't. It's got to be a story. Okay. All right. The other guy I wanted to talk about, there's a few other guys I want to talk about, but on Vegas, I want to talk about Mitch Marner. Because Mitch has been terrific in these playoffs.

He is certainly a Kahn-Smite trophy candidate. Yep. Maybe the leading candidate right now. He's been awesome. He's a leading score in the postseason. He's been productive. And not only his play, but his quote last night is going to say, Toronto into an absolute furor.

Because it was a classic Mitch Marner. A special moment. Like I said to Sean, I mean, there's been some dark times in hockey for myself, honestly. Thankful for my family, my brother, my mom and dad, my wife, all my friends around me. So, yeah, you know, that was a moment just express, you know, some drawing and some, you know, some fun there. And I'll enjoy it for the night. and then, you know, be ready to go to work. Dark, dark times.

I was really hoping it would have been like, thankful for my family. They're obese. Especially my formerly pregnant. Hold on a second. I want to get down to this. So, yesterday, and I don't think the cameras caught it, which is why he kept getting asked about it. Apparently Mitch had a really demonstrative,

exuberant emotional celebration when Vegas won. And then he said, I said it to Sean. He did his walk-off interview with Sean McKenzie, SportsNets very own. And he asked him, about, you know, the sort of typical questions, who are you thinking about in this moment, you know, hearkening back to your times in Toronto. And he said on the ice, I had some pretty dark times during my career in Toronto. And then he reiterated that remark

to a larger assembled media at the postgame scrum. So I know where you're going with this. And it's, you know, it's an eye roller, man. It's an eye roller. Dark times? Dark times? Like, it's just, it's melodramatic. And I've had some really, dark times and it's just you know tough times will be better i've had some tough times in my career and it's nice to but dark times takes it to that level of like rolling your eyes a little bit like dark times you play in the nchel and i think this is just it is in a dog i know you love this phrase in a vacuum it's it's it's it's fine but over the era of Mitch Marner saying these things that you're just kind of like,

okay, buddy, like a little perspective, a little perspective, dark times, all I'm saying is that that comment is going to be replayed a lot in Toronto, and it is going to make people lose their minds because there is this narrative of Mitch always playing the victim in Toronto. Yeah, that's fair. You know, like, it's just like... You mentioned it twice. It was always about like, you know, like, all the, you know, like all the, you know,

how hard it is and everything. And I think some people were just like, dude, you're a professional athlete in Toronto. You make millions of dollars, you know, I get that you've had some losses, right? And I get there's been some criticism. But maybe it's comments like that that make people... frustrated with you. Okay, so to put some backstory and context into this,

and some people have texted this in too, when you talk about the things that Martyr said, the things that Martyr put out there, like, for example, when he said at the near the end of his Toronto tenure,

that he had to hire security to watch after his house after some of the playoff losses because of how ugly things got in Toronto. And then the leaves sort of clarified it and they're like, well, a security team that works constantly

and monitors social media and all these threats for all of the players not just Mitch and there was always this sort of thing where it's like did Mitch Martiner face any more criticism in Toronto than any of the other players that were getting skewered for what happened in the postseason? At times

I'm sure he did because of one, the fact he was from Toronto and it all of it hit a little closer to home and two some of that was brought on himself with what was a very contentious contract negotiation. And I don't know, the fact that he now has like double the amount of goals in one

playoff run with Vegas. And he had over the last three playoff runs with Toronto. There was a very, very visible and tangible bit of evidence you could point to that his production and his efforts and his intensity and some of those chases that Toronto had didn't match up to anything he's doing in Vegas right now. What you're talking about is going to be the talking point. in Toronto. And I think in a lot of other markets for the next few days,

because Marta went up there once and talked about this dark times thing and then went back and said it again to make sure that more reporters heard it. And it's going to stick for sure. Yes, Greg? How sad do you think he was that the cameras didn't catch his exuberant celebration? Yeah. Oh, man. I got to go around telling everyone.

I only saw the... You see how exuberant I was? Yeah, I only saw the tail end of it. But, I mean, hey. to put it in and to get off the like drama and the off ice stuff just to put it in on ice context i've probably been as critical of marner as anybody i'll give him full credit for what he did on the ice this he's been he's been he's been fantastic like if you're gonna do the consmite winner for the first three rounds marner's a real easy choice for me can we just gaslight leaf fans now

he's like ah yeah he's always been great what kind of team would give up on a guy like marner that's what we should do yeah we've always loved you giving up on Mitch marner yeah Wild. I mean, at least they got something back for him, though, right? Well, that air game, nothing back for him? When you talk about, when you talk about, when you talk about managerial legacies,

and you talk about Bradtree living right now, you're the guy that basically let Marner walk to free agency before you got a 11th hour deal for a bag of peanuts when he was out the door. That's criminal. In this era and in this age of asset management in the National Hockey League, the tree living was a

not allowed but the tree living did that was allowed to continue to work and that's where the Leafs are at right now having lost that fundamentally important part of the team to get virtually nothing in return and I know they ended up flipping you know parts of the deal

to get other stuff but I mean that is a criminal criminal bit of mismanagement there. I do want to talk a little bit on the Colorado side and I know we'll talk further with Pat Graham later in the show. But what a year for Nathan McKinnon. Yeah, a terrible year for Cal McCar too.

But Cal McCar didn't miss a wide open net in the gold medal game. That probably would have won Canada gold. And then Nate was the guy that everyone was looking to to break through the Vegas Golden Knights. And he blocked a shot in game three that hobbled him and that of course

affected him as it would and it was amazing that he was out there competing. Yeah. And it was amazing that he stayed in that game the first game like it we all know McKinnon is a warrior but I mean we've talked a lot about McDavid not being able to have that

crowning achievement yet in his career right? Like the four nations doesn't count right Stanley Cup or gold medal you know yeah okay it counts a little right just a little bit, right? But Nathan McKinnon, this was supposed to be a year where he was going to go over and play

international best on best hockey. He's going to win a gold and he's going to win a Stanley Cup. And he was going to win a Stanley Cup. Yeah. Right. And that's the way it was trending. And then it all went pretty horribly wrong for Nate. I mean, we all remember, we all remember the picture of him or the images of him when they gave

him that stuffy at the Olympics when they were all. handing out the silver medals. Can't believe they did it again last night. They got, yeah. Wow. Shocking. Yeah. Torts gave him one.

Yeah. Here's Fuzzy Bunny. Yeah. And I know he wasn't made available for reporters after the game and, you know, they used the reason like he was getting treatment. And I was kind of like, treatment? Like, your team just got swept out of the playoffs. There's no more games for you.

It's not like the trainers are like, we've got to get you ready for game five, right? You know? Now, look, is there some stuff that he needs to get done after game? Probably, so I'm not going to make a big deal out of that. But I'm going to really look forward to what Nathan McKinnon has to say. Because remember what McDavid and Drysadle had to say after the Oilers were eliminated by Anaheim. I wonder, I'm not saying he's going to take that similar approach and like rip the team.

But Nate has said things before these pressers. Remember before he won the Stanley Cup, he was like, I haven't won, you know what, in this league. He had that quote. Like, he's not scared to make a headline. And I'm just going to be curious if he takes the approach of, well, that's hockey. We had some injuries. We ran into a very good team in Vegas. We're going to try again next year.

Or is he going to throw some punches? Well, I mean, can you throw a punch at yourself? Because prior to getting hurt, it's not like McKinnon was lighting up that series. I mean, here's the stat that blew me away. Avs averaged 3.63 goals per game during the regular season and had no problem scoring in the first two rounds. They scored a grand total of seven goals in that series against Vegas. And among the players without a goal, Nathan McKinnon, Marty Natchez, Brock Nelson, Arturie Lekinen, and Kail McCark. God, not Nelson was.

is not good. All of your best players. Sulkie trophy finalists. Yeah, all of your best players did not find the score sheet in that game aside from like a handful. But I mean, when McKinnon, Natchez, Nelson, Lekan and McCar, don't score over the course of four games,

you're losing. I think maybe there's something to be said about the style that the abs play and if they go up against, they really stout defensive team, if they have to adjust. Because they were kind of doing the same things over and over and over again. But how are you going to argue with a style that got you, what, 120 points in the regular season

and had you coast through the first two rounds of the playoffs? I'll be very curious like you to see what Nate has to say about this. I'll be curious to see how much of it he owns, right? Because at the end of the day, I mean, this will sound super harsh and super caustic, but when Canada needed a goal against the U.S., there was a lot of instances where he just couldn't pull the trigger. When the Aves needed a goal against the Vegas gold nights, he couldn't pull the trigger either. Does this take anything away from his talents in a lot? No, absolutely not.

But in those big moments this year, he just couldn't find the back of the net. And that's going to eat at him all offseason. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Sarah Valley. Sarah Valley. Syriveli.

Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Frank. Frank. 702 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Braves Sportsnet 650.

Free! Halverdnard number of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. They're open seven days a weekend, open late to help you get debt free. But no judgment or upfront fees visiting today at Sands dash trustee.com. We are now in our two of the program. Frank Sarvalley. Our NHL insider from Victory Plus is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 is brought to by Jason Homano.

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 them online at Jason down mortgage. We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio. Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech. Guests on SportsNet 650 call in on the ABLE Auctions. Hotline email sales at ABLEE auctions.ca to get your business assets sold and your building cleared.

Let's go now to that ABLE Auctions hotline. Frank Zervalley joins us now on the Halford. in Breff Show on Sports 9-650. Good morning, Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're well.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. We want to start with the coaching carousel. It's going on in the National Hockey League, specific Vancouver. Give us everything you know, everything you've got on the Canucks coaching situation as it pertains to Mani Malhotra. And I guess anything or anyone else that might be involved.

Yeah, I wish I had some new news for you. I think the best way to explain it is that the Vancouver search, such as it is, I don't know how deep it is, there hasn't been much noise from it. And I think part of the reason for that is I don't have any evidence that they've talked to anyone else outside of their own internal candidate at this point in time.

So is it just a negotiation that's going on right now with Manny Mahautra? I don't, that part isn't clear. I mean, I can't imagine that the negotiation takes five days or six days to do. I don't know what their thought process is, where things stand. What the vision is, is part of it. Mani Malhotra filling out his staff, as you know, a clean slate and bench. I mean, there's probably lots of layers to it. But I can't imagine that the negotiation part of it is what's holding this up.

Ivar Stenberg scored a spectacular. cutback and shoot goal over at the worlds in Switzerland. The second is that Rick Dollywall on his show, Donnie and Dolly, reiterated his belief or his understanding that the Canucks have Caleb Malhotra ranked ahead of Stenberg. Okay, what else happened? Who has eight points in seven games for Sweden at the tournament. That's it. Stenberg scored a goal.

A nice, really nice goal. Laddie, how was that goal from a goaltending perspective? I didn't like it. It was a nice move. It was a nice move. It's a tough play. Like, I cutting and shooting like that. It's a great shot, but I expect a professional

NHL-level goaltender to make a good goal. It was a nice shot. It was a nice goal. So Stenberg scores a goal the most NHL goalies can save. And then what? Look, okay, you're going to make fun of it. But I will say. Dahlie says that he's thinking that they might take Stemberg over Malhotra.

No, no, the other way around. Malhotra over Stenberg, even though Stemberg might not even be around when the Kinnock's pick. Okay. You said, you said your piece. Okay. I think it was an understanding. understandable reaction from a fan base that knows how important this draft is going to be for the Canucks. We may need to take a deep breath as a fan base because Ivar Stenberg may not even be available when the

Canucks draft third overall. It's very possible that he gets picked by either Toronto or San Jose. Who else was watching that game? Matt Sundyne. And if Stenberg is available, the Canucks might draft him. We have certainly heard the reports that the Canucks really, really like. like Caleb Malhotra, but the Canucks are watching this tournament too. In fact, Daniel Sinan went over there to watch with his very own eyes. But unlike Halford, I understand the reaction. We have seen the Canucks make some big draft mistakes in the last few years.

Jake Fertanum went six overall in 2014. Oliu Levy went the fifth overall two years later. Both were busts. They should have taken Neeland. or Eelers instead of Vertanin, they should have taken Matthew Kachuk or Clayton Keller instead of Ulevi. And there were a lot

of fans who said exactly that at the time of the pick. The Ulevy pick was especially criticized because the Canucks drafted for a positional need. Now there's a concern that they're doing it again. Stenberg is a winger and Malhotra is a center. The Canucks need help

everywhere. But top centermen have proven especially hard to find in the current NHL. Now, I'm not a prospects expert and I don't pretend to be one like Adog does, but I do think it would be a mistake if the Canucks took position into super serious consideration with this pick. The Canucks have years to build this team. Right now, here's what they need. Difference makers. they need to hit home runs at the draft, not singles or even doubles.

They need guys who can make things happen on the ice, like Stenberg did yesterday. Did you like the goal as a goalie? No, but he went out there, hit a one-on-one, made a nice move, made something happen. You know, winger, centers, D-Men, doesn't matter. They need forwards who can one day drive a top line in the NHL or defensemen who can carry a top pair on the blue line. Now, if they think Mahotra can do that one day, and that's their belief, even if people disagree with them, then by all means pick him. If they see him as a future Selky candidate in the mold of Nick Suzuki or Patrice Bergeron or Jonathan Taves, pick him. You don't win cups without guys like that down the middle.

but if they see him as more of an all-around middle sixer, even though he might have the highest of character, then they need to think really hard about picking either Stenberg or one of the many quality defensemen in this draft. And it leads me to my final point on this, which most of you are like, thank God. One thing I do want to discuss is the idea of over-correcting for past mistakes. and I'll give you two examples of things that people have said about the Canucks.

Not enough character, not enough Canadian players. Can we all agree that we've heard that? Those criticism of the Canucks? We've discussed plenty on our show. And I don't even disagree with those assessments necessarily. The Canucks have lacked character in leadership. And I would like them to have more Canadians. I think we're pretty good at the game.

But you can't overcorrect. You can't pass on Stenberg at third overall because you've already drafted a bunch of sweets. And you can't get overly enamored with a high character player because you've lacked leadership. At third overall, you need to pick a player that can be an elite performer in the league. The Canucks haven't drafted third overall for a long time. Long time. Last time they did it, Henrik Sidene. You know, that's a home run pick along with his brother.

Now, obviously, you can't overlook character. If there's a player that you think is an unbelievable talent, but you also think, I don't know about this guy, then you have to have a long and hard conversation about it. Just don't overcorrect and miss the forest for the trees. I love that phrase, but a lot of people don't understand it. But this would be the classic. Like, big picture-wise, you need difference makers.

Don't get too hung up on position or intangibles. It's important and you need to take it into consideration, but you don't want to, again, just I think, you understand what I'm talking about the notion of over-correcting. The draft should never be about trying to correct past mistakes or write past wrongs. It should be about getting the best player

and most amount of talent that you can. Overcomplicated is another word. Don't over-complicate it. Just take the best player. It's not complicated. That's why he's the expert. Pick the best. But they might honestly think,

that Malhotra is the best player. Okay. But then that's their decision. Yeah. If it is wrong. Man, they better be right then because that's going to be a franchise defining decision and might cost them their jobs if they're wrong. If you take Malhotra at number three, I don't

want to hear like them say, well, we think it could be like a number two center one day. If you're drafting a third overall, top line players, elite, elite skill, or you know, top pairing defenseman,

a number one defenseman, frankly. And number three in this draft has to be a big time difference maker. Like even a guy like, like I think, like even if you got a Bo Horvatt out of it, I think at number three, that's not enough.

A lot of them have Jonathan Taves, but scores more. Malholtra's like ceiling, whether he hits that, who knows. But I'm just saying like, that's the ceiling and you think you can reach it. And that is, Jonathan Taves with better scoring?

Yeah. Well, that's a future Hall of Famer. That's a first ballot Hall of Fame. A lot of the boards do have Malholtra at three. Like, don't forget that. Like, assuming Stenberg goes second, a lot of the boards do have Malholtra as the third best pick. So it's not like that's a reach either.

I think more people were just upset like if Stenberg gets there and they do that thing again like you were just mentioning. Randibe Janna joins us now on the Halford and Breft Show on Sports 9-650. What up, Brandeep? What's up, Brian? What's going on, boys? I was just patiently waiting over here, imagining, hockey players and our colleagues at 650

with a skull at Oscar, that's a great conversation you guys have there. Hey, before we get into anything hockey related, how much fun did you just have this last week getting to see Arsenal in London win the Premier League? It was, and you know, I'm not prone to hyperbole, but it was a

trip of a lifetime, guys. It was better than I expected, better than anybody could plan. It really played out like fever pitch. the call of the first movie, not that crappy one that Jimmy Fallon made many years later. It was cool because, you know, I think as North American fans, like we all appreciate when our team wins, but just to see it play out in a high-stress situation like that, and I stayed in Islington, which is in North London, that's Arsenal territory, and to have a village feel in a massive city and everybody,

and when I mention everybody, everybody's an Arsenal fan, the high stress of the Monday and the Burnley match, and then Tuesday, city drawing and everybody flooded that area, you know, unorganized, and 150,000 people just randomly show up in front of the stadium. It was, in a way, like, exercising demons because Arsenal had been banter FC, they'd been bottling it, there was nervous energy. It was unbelievable. And I'm not going to lie, guys.

It kind of made me think about if and when the Vancouver Canucks actually pull it off. Like the vibes will be like that where you're sitting with this energy for so many years. and finally you win, and it just feels like the entire part of that city just exhaled. It is a weird dynamic, though, when your team clinches without playing a game. It's like, what are you guys celebrating? Man City had a tie. You're right, but in the moment, it didn't feel like that. Like, you know what?

The coolest part of this was, I was actually watching the match in central London, and once the result finished, I jumped on, I went to my hotel, grabbed my arsul hat, jumped on the tube. And it was like every stop, 10 more people jumped on the train. They're all heading to, you know, to an avarit stadium. So it was really cool in the sense that nobody planned this. The club didn't send out a tweet. But, you know, you had over 150,000 people just say, they drew.

All right, we're going to the stadium. Okay. So while you were doing all that, you missed the discourse from yesterday, raging here on SportsNet 650 about Caleb Malhotra versus Ivar Stenberg. Now, how this all came to be is Stenberg scored a great goal

in the world's yesterday. Then shortly thereafter, if I got the chronology right, Rick Dollywall and Donnie and Dolly said that it was his belief that internally, the Canucks had Malhotra ranked ahead of Stenberg going into the draft. Now I'm not sure how much all this is going to mean

at the end of the day because if everything holds to form, McKenna's going to go one, Stenberg's going to go two, then the Kinex can take whoever they want on their board at three because the top two guys are going to be gone. But Jason astutely pointed out prior to going to break that there's a lot of old demons and a lot of old mistakes that the Kinecks have made on the draft floor

in identifying talent and having their rankings that is probably stirred up a lot of emotion in people. And that's why the conversation went the way that it did. As you were getting caught up with all this, Randy, what did you make of yesterday where the Malhotra versus Stenberg thing really took on a life of its own? He was like, oh, back to work.

Yeah, right. That's how I felt. So, okay, I didn't catch the Stenberg goal as it happened when I was still in Europe at that point. So I was like, okay, I saw that. But overall guys, you know, you guys have done the job for a long time. I'm hosted as well in the past. It

feels like if there's any development, you know, in a hockey mad market, you talk about it, you want to go with it. Now, the top centerman versus the dynamic winger, this is going to be if Ivers Stenberg is available, and that's a big F. You mentioned it. It could, you know, Matt Sundin was in attendance there as well. It's not like he was, you know, the Maple Leafs were shut out of that conversation or that viewing. Now, for me personally, it's always best player available, but specifically right now with how many pieces this team needs to add, right?

Like we're not talking about adding one player only. You need four or five impact pieces. But what you do need is you need game breakers. You need individuals that can really change the game for you. We saw that last year. The team didn't have game breakers after Quinn Hughes was traded. So I think the real question for me in this discourse of if that's where we're at right now with, you know, Caleb Mulhothra versus Ivers Denberg is the real question is the ceiling of Mulhothra.

Do we think it is higher than, maybe we thought a couple of months ago. And if so, and if that organization feels that way, you make that pick. Now, the pros, we know he's a great two-way player. We know he's got solid character. The cons, you know, it's a smaller sample size. And there's a valid question of whether the CHL is weaker than it's been in the past. Like those are things that I know if you watch day-to-day CHL hockey,

there's people in the market and the country that can answer that question better than I can. But, you know, I think those are two things you really have to keep an eye on. One thing we don't have access to is the Kudak's draft board. Now, it does come back to me, though. What in this conversation is game breakers. Who is capable of being, you know, a difference maker for a decade with this organization? And, you know, that's really the question. And what is that, you know, sealing with a Kalamaholta?

That's, those are the two things that really comes down to for me, guys. Yeah, I mean, I was saying something similar in the last segment. but is it unfair to assume that if the Canucks drafted Malhotra over Stembourg, that they were drafting for position? Yeah, and that's, you know, when you talk about the demons of the past or the mistakes of previous regimes, of course, you know, anytime you go from BPA, that's where available, you do wonder, but I think so.

I think anytime you go for a center or you go for a right shot, see in this position with the Stenberry. And that's one of the questions that will come up, right? The question is going to come up, but is it fair to conclude that? I don't think it's fair to conclude that because I think if you go back to, you know, the conversation we're just having, we don't know what their draft board is. They might have Caleb at number two legitimately. They might think he's the more NHL-ready player.

That's a big factor here. Or have the higher ceiling. You never know. I mean, we've seen guys in their draft year shoot up the board. And all of a sudden, you're like, yeah, you got to draft this guy. I think about Kail McCar. And he was playing in a lesser league than the OHL. He was playing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Right. If they see, if they believe that he has made this huge step going forward and that it's only going to be even more development after this, then like, I don't have a problem with that. And, but it's, it's a tough situation because, As you said, it is a fairly small sample size, but, you know, they're junior hockey players. You're not going to get like a massive sample size

because they're growing, you know? Like I'm sure Caleb Malhotra is a completely different player at 17 than he was at 15. And you don't want to say, well, it's a small sample size when it's possible that he just might have taken a massive leap this season. Jason, it might be a fair question to say or a fair statement to say he was a very different player in the playoffs than he was even in the regular season. Like he, you know, the stress went up and he became a better player in those stressful moments with the Brantford Bulldog.

So it really does come down to could the case be made? And I'm not, you know, we're not assuming that Canucks have that ranking, but there's other draft analysts that watch a lot more junior hockey, watch a lot more, you know, younger players than either of us do that have Caleb Mulhotra sitting at number two, right? Like whether Stenberg is number one or McKenna is number three, there are people that have that ranking. So I don't think it's, you know, it's one, you know, that ranking is obviously absurd or anything of that nature. My point is, if that's the ranking,

it's got to be based on that game breaking ability. It's got to be based on what that player can do individually rather than the position that they play because that's how you fall into mistakes, right? You go for the center when there's a defenseman, a certain left-shot defenseman. Sure. that's available like Detroit did

and then you go or you go for a winger or you go for so we've seen it play out but I think if you legitimately think he's got that car power he's got that two-way play he's got that game bring capability you make that pick I couldn't agree more with you though

about like whoever they draft and number three you need a game changer and I think when Stenberg scored that goal at the world so people were like there's a guy that made something out of a play that's usually goes to nothing, right? You go one-on-one with the defenseman. Yeah, you might get a shot away, but you're usually not going to score. And I think having watched the Canucks post-Quinn Hughes, how many times were we sitting there going like, okay, they might have a few nice young pieces, but are any of these guys a game breaker, the type of player that can make something out of nothing, the type of player that can make the players around them,

better, the type of player that it all starts with them. And that's the type of player that they need to draft if you're going to draft third overall. If you have the opportunity to take that player at third overall, and we've talked about what Toronto may or may not do, the Stenberg conversation is quite loud in Toronto as well. Of course, with McKenna, that seems like it's going to be a decision for them. San Jose, you look at the needed defense, and that hasn't changed in the last couple of weeks since we last talk, guys.

but whoever you get at number three like it's a good option for Vancouver it's not the ideal option you want to be sitting at number one but you're in a position right now potentially to be taking one of those two players that we mentioned in the forward group and even if you take a defenseman that might still be there with a chase read

or a different type of player or a Caleb Mulhothra but maybe not that same game breaking ability that we've seen at the top too now it makes it a little bit easier in the short term and in the long term right you've got from a business perspective you got the player that you can really rally around, center around, and build with.

And on the ice, it's going to be a couple of things where you're hopefully providing a piece on the ice that is able to, you know, hit the ground running. If it's one of those two forwards, they're expected to play relatively soon, if not immediately. And you're able to make those other players around them better because that matters too, right? Like if you are able to get a winger, a dynamic winger that's comfortable in the puck,

Jason, how many times did we see last year that it just felt like, Like, you know, power to Drew O'Connor, but he was carrying the puck a lot more than he probably should be on this team. Philip Heel when he was healthy. Like, there was a real lack of puck carrier. So just having somebody that's comfortable in the puck, that's got some pace. That's what this team needs in the short term and the long term. Now, it's one of those things that you can hope for it. You can certainly hope that McKenna and Stenberg around.

But even if they aren't, like I said earlier, you're going to need four or five impact pieces. So even if you got the third pick now and you don't get one of the first. of those top two guys. Over the next couple of seasons, Vancouver is going to be in a position where they're going to have to make smart picks and occasionally swing for the fences because you do need that game-breaking talent. When do we start getting a little antsy about Manny Mahotra? I'm not getting antsy.

You know, this organization knows the most about him. He knows about them. This takes time. And I'm not, you know, talking about specifics here because it's all silent on that front. but, you know, this sort of thing takes time because of whether it's assurance of our money or term or staffing. You know, that's the thing. If you're trying to build out a staff, that's a part of the negotiation. That's not something that happens after the fact.

You're essentially saying, hey, if I take this job, you know, who can I bring in? You know, what's our situation looking at it with the numbers and all of that? So those are, I think, really important factors to this. So I wouldn't worry because they haven't really discussed any other options, right? I know you guys have Frank Sera Valley on. He hasn't heard much of anything. These are Ryan Johnson, the Sadiens, people he knows very, very well. So all things being said, you know, it's not something that I would start getting antsy

because it feels like, you know, if there's, this was a rose ceremony, boys. Eye contact has been made and it's been locked in. Yeah. The conducts aren't looking at anybody else. So, you know, that being said, it's not done until it's done. But I'm not getting antsy at this point. I heard Mel Houcher wants Evan Gold on his staff. Oh, a little unusual.

A little unusual. You know what? One of the questions that Jason asked Frank was about how long it takes when a new regime steps in for insiders to kind of lay the groundwork and start getting a flow of information. Who's the blabber mouth in this organization? Where's the leak going to spring from this time? And I will say this. I've heard things that Ryan Johnson is not going to play ball like that.

Well, he's not going to, he's not going to provide off the record. commentary, that sort of thing. Maybe we'll wear him down a little bit. Let's take it a step further. We had Kevin Woodley on Monday. Kevin Woodley said that sometimes with the previous regime

that some individuals within the organization acknowledge that the biggest leaker of the information was at times also the president of hockey ops. Does he like to talk? Does he like to talk? Who's to say? How did Gary Mason suddenly become an insider

after years of not being one? Right? Like you just you start wondering these things. and you start wondering about how regimes are going to work. In early days for the Siddins and Johnson set up here, one thing has become abundantly clear, and they made this a talking point at their introductory presser. There's not going to be this huge flow of communication. And if there is, it's going to come directly from them in the sense,

like, we're going to sit down and talk, and that's how the information is going to come out. It's hilarious to hear the stories about all the reporters, like trying to be like, who can I get in touch with to speaking? And they're like, nobody. Yeah. Or we'll just talk to you. just like it's not going to be behind closed doors. And then we do the media threats.

And then we're like, okay, I guess we'll make stuff up. So it may be a brave new world here, Randy. It might be. And one thing for sure, guys, and you guys have interviewed RJ a lot over the years I have as well. He doesn't really shoot from the hip. He's very cerebral as a word that I'd like to use. I think he's an excellent communicator, but he doesn't let too much out. The Sedeans, they've got humor.

They're individuals. that I think are also cerebral in their own way. So one thing is for sure, the messaging, it will be, I think it'll be funneled properly. I think with Ryan Johnson, this is an individual that understands this is his first job in a Canadian market, but he's not new to it, right? This is a guy that's been in the organization from 2013.

He played here. So as far as shooting from the hip, so to speak, and having exclusives that are kind of just popping up everywhere, I don't see Ryan Johnson being one of those individuals. I think he's going to be extremely cerebral at the beginning. and we'll see maybe in year two or three as this build goes on. You know, that's a confidence thing as well where maybe there's some optimism with the organization, the team starts to grow.

But as we've seen across the league too, guys, some general managers stay that personality. Like, look at Steve Eisenman. He hasn't mellowed out at all, right? Like, there's a certain personality there. I don't think he's like that in his personal life. But, you know, when it comes to hockey operations, he's going to give you what he wants to give you. And with Ryan Johnson, I'm curious to see what degree.

on a scale of Jim Rutherford to Steve Eisenman, where does he land in terms of conversation? I think it's a little bit more on the Steve Eisenman side. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.