Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/29/25

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports including the Panthers booking a spot, yet again, to the Stanley Cup Finals, plus they discuss the latest 'Nucks news with Canucks Talk host & The Athletic Vancouver's Thomas Drance. 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-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Best in the West. MVP, SGA and Company say we will OKC you in the NBA Finals baby. They dominated the game from the tip. Can't do nothing but tip my head to those guys. They came ready man so good job by them. Some coach wanted to get on camera. It was the only thing I could figure out. Right? And it was the only one I could shake when he rescued Santa or something. I don't know why it changed but I don't think it's right.

Good morning Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. It is Halford in his breath. It is sports net 650 We are coming live from the Kintec studios and beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver Jason. Good morning. Good morning Hey dog. Good morning to you morning laddie. Good morning to you as well Hello Hello Halford and brother the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first entrusted choice for net help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com.

We are in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We're coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step.

Big show ahead on a Thursday guest list. Today begins at 6.30. David Amber, Sportsnet Hockey Night Canada host, is going to join us live from Dallas ahead of Game 5 of the Western Conference Final between the Oilers and the Stars. Speaking of Game 5s, last night, Game 5 of the Western conference final between the oilers and the stars. Speaking of game fives last night, game five of the Eastern conference final Florida dispatch to Carolina and the Panthers will advance to their third straight Stanley cup final as a result. Will tonight be the night we book a cup finals rematch? Uh, David joins at six 32 discuss that seven o'clock adnan Burke MLB network.

Our MLB insider is going to join us. We're going to talk about Beau Bichette's heroics last night. Juan Soto's struggles, Shohei Otani's pitching and all other things baseball. It's going to be at seven o'clock with Adnan. 7.30, our good buddy, Vancouver's very own Mike Kelly is going to join the program. He's now an analyst for NHL Network and Amazon prime. We'll look back on Florida's five game ouster of the Canes, what to expect from the reigning cup champs as they get back to the final look ahead to tonight's game five between the oilers and the stars. I do want to ask Mike about his theory. He's got a theory on why Stuart Skinner is so much better against the stars than

other playoff teams he's faced. So we'll talk to Mike about that at 7.30. Eight o'clock, the Drancer, Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk is gonna join us here on Sportsnet 650. A reminder on the Canucks front, the Abbotsford Canucks begin their Calder Cup West Final tonight against Texas in Abbotsford.

You can hear the game and viral internet sensation, Brandon Astle, he'll be on the call tonight. Hopefully no chairs flying his way. That's all right here on Sportsnet, since it's 6.50 this evening. The chairs have been removed from the Abbotsford Arena. Safer for everybody. Yeah.

Did you see the New York Post picked up the story? Brandon is an internet sensation right now. Crazy. Yeah. Reminder about the sensation right now. Crazy. Yeah. Reminder about the Sportsnet 650, Jayscare 5050. We're on a mission this morning, Jason. We're gonna see if we can raise $2,500 for the aforementioned Jayscare Sportsnet 5050

presented by Tile Town. If we hit that goal during the show, Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance will do a random draw during Kennox talk for a pair of tickets to the aforementioned Abbotsford-Kennox game versus the Texas Stars tonight. 50-50 tickets start at just $10 with bundles available for more chances to win.

Yeah, I got the 10 pack, 10 pack for 50 bucks. Look at you go. Yeah, yeah, well I'm gonna win this thing. Maybe you'll win tickets to go see Abbots Fritz. Wait, we're allowed to enter too? Anyone can enter, Andy. Anybody can enter. Here's how you do it.

Going down, bro. It's a 50-50, buddy. Yeah. It's not rigged or anything. Grab yours now at jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. If that was too much for you, pick up your phone. Do it now. Don't do it while driving. Text the word MONEY, M-O-N-E-Y to 650-650.

We'll send a link right to you so you can buy 50-50 tickets. It's just that easy. And it really is. I mean, we joke about everything on this show, but Challenger Baseball is an awesome, awesome endeavor and it gives a lot of kids who wouldn't normally be able to get out there and

play baseball the opportunity to participate just like every other kid does, the opportunity to get outside, play a game, meet friends. It is, your brother coaches it and I'm sure it's very rewarding for him. So let's make sure that these kids can keep doing this. Okay. Let's raise some money for them because this is an

important campaign and it really is on behalf of the Halford and Bruff show. If you can help out and be part of this 50 50, we'd really appreciate it if you could. Jayscaregolf.RaffleNexus.com or text the word money, M-O-N-E-Y to 650 650. You must be 19 plus and in BC to buy 50 50 tickets. Let's do some good together.

That is the rundown. That is the show. Without further ado, 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 I'm moving. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you? What happened? 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. As I mentioned, in the rundown, the Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third count-um, third straight season with a 5-3 win Over the Carolina Hurricanes in game five of the Eastern Comforts final at the Lenovo Center Which is now closed for the season like a laptop They slammed it shut and that's it for the Carolina Hurricanes Florida advances to its third straight Stanley Cup final. Yeah looked like the Canes were

Gonna force a game six, frankly, early on. Sebastiano got a couple of goals and Bobroski did not look sharp. And then the second period happened and the Florida Panthers just scored three times real quickly. And it really did suck the life out of the Lenovo Center and also the Carolina Hurricanes. And that's just what the Florida Panthers do. They've scored way more on the road than any other team in the NHL this season. They go into buildings and they just hurt the fans basically.

I mean, they did it in Toronto. You saw what they did in games five and seven. This team is taking care of business. And there were a lot of remarks about how, you know, a couple of years ago, when they went to the Stanley Cup final and they booked that spot. Wow, what an accomplishment for the first time

since they went to the Stanley Cup final in the 90s. You know, and the franchise had been through so much and so much failure and so much really irrelevance. And it was a big celebration that they were getting to the Stanley Cup final. It was incredible. Now it's just like, yeah, that's what we do. Third straight Stanley Cup final. The Tampa Bay Lightning did that a few years ago. And then before then you got to go back to, I guess, the Edmonton Oilers who went 83, 84. That's it. 85.

And then before then lots of teams used to do it. It used to be just, yeah, go on runs. The Islanders, the Montreal Canadians, but the league has changed a lot since then. But we've got one of these, I call them kind of mini dynasties. That's what the Florida Panthers are right now. Tampa Bay qualified for a mini dynasty. Chicago, LA, we saw that consistent excellence really. In a short period of time.

Yeah, over a short period of time. I think it's next to impossible now. Well, we'll see, maybe prove me wrong, Florida Panthers, but it's really hard to, you know, we won four Stanley Cups in a row, like the Islanders and the Habs did in the seventies and the eighties. And then the, the Edmonton Oilers won four out of five, and then they added a fifth in 1990, that's really tough to do in a league with a hard cap where the spending is kind of pretty much the same for every team and there are 32 teams. So it really is an accomplishment to get to three Stanley Cup finals in a row and the Panthers don't feel like they're done.

I know they're probably going to get the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup final. And honestly, as much as it worries me that the others might win this, I think this is going to be a fantastic series. Yesterday it was Carter Verhege scoring the game winning and series winning goal, which begs the question, is Carter Verhege, the greatest clutch player of our generation? Consider these stats for a moment, dear listeners. Since the 2022 postseason, which is when Florida started this aforementioned mini dynasty,

Carter Verhege has now scored 12 game winning goals since 2022. Very short window, a lot of game winning goals. He's also scored three series clinching goals over that time. If Justin Williams was the Mr. Game seven and the clutch player of his era, Carter Verhege has now become the Justin Williams of the modern era It's remarkable and he would be the Canucks best forward. I don't care what Thomas Drance says Yeah, I was just gonna say we got Drancer on the show and every time

Right back in his face every every time Drancer comes on the show Carter Verhege the night before has had a big game I'd say it was cuz Carter Verhege was out to prove Drantz wrong, but he has no idea who Thomas Drantz is. So that was an impressive stat for the, for the Florida Panthers. The goal then for Hagee scored was 90% park off. You got to be in the right places at the right time. Okay. Okay. But look, we need to, we need to appreciate what Barkoff is. You know how we were talking yesterday about how good teams just have individual

players that can make big plays and they can get to the middle of the ice through speed like Connor McDavid or in Barkov's case, I think it was a combination of power, size and skill. Um, Orlov tried to take him one-on-one, Orlov failed. Orlov stinks. But then Barkov, okay. But then Barkov was also able to, I think Eric Robinson was out there trying to reach and poke

check the puck away from Barkov and he was like, nope. Here's to you, Eric Robinson. And he fed a perfect cross crease pass to Carter Verhage. And Verhage, you know him, he's clutch. He's not gonna miss those. Never. And I, you know, Barkov is somehow still underappreciated.

I think it's because he's so quiet and they have so much depth. I think that is the two things. Like, I bet if you were to ask the casual who the captain of the team was, most of them say Kachak to be honest because bark off is I don't want to like make this about like being understated and quiet and Finnish and the sort of like Prototypical like just goes out there and does this job, but he is all those things and now here's the other thing though Florida right now

Is playing at such a high level? Florida right now is playing at such a high level with so many different guys going on a nightly basis that they become and this is where we're gonna play the Rod Brindemore audio from last night they become the bar at least in the East Eastern Conference and I don't mean bars in a place to go drink like they're the standard right now because of the way the roster has been constructed, the way that they play hockey, the way that they're coached, the culture that they have among the players. I have a self-loathing Canucks fan question.

Yeah. How many Canucks would make the top six in Florida? So top six. So the top six in Florida is, I think this is the spot that would be up for grabs by the way. Evan Rodriguez, Alexander Barkov, Sam Reinhardt, Carter Verhege, Sam Bennett, Matthew Kachuk. But if you were to just hold on, if you were to do it the other way and just say, who are the six best forwards? Nevermind the line combinations.

Well, then you've got, you've got throwing, well, an Anton Lundell. Yeah. Or Uto Lustarainen who got hurt last night, by the way. But, but I think it's, yeah, Lundell and Marshawn who are on the third line. Right. In Florida.

They would be about, yeah. I think you'd probably have Debrecen Rodriguez's spot, maybe. Maybe, but if you were just going to do, or PD Bump. PD Bump to the wing or something. If you were just going to do the best six forwards, I'd still say both would have a tough time cracking that top six, fantasy top six. Now this is, with Pedersen playing the way he

has in the last year, you know, if he is playing the way he's capable of and has in the past, certainly you find a spot for him in that top six, even if you have to bump them to the wing. But I think, you know, the point is we kind of seem to be maybe overly driving it into people's heads is, is just the challenge of what the Canucks need to build in their top six right now.

You compare it to the bar and that is, that is the Florida Panthers and I want to play some Rod Bryndamore audio coming up because I thought there were a couple of interesting stories about the coaches afterwards and we'll get into Paul Maurice's handshake line. But you know, yeah, it's, well, I kind of agree with him. I don't know if he went about it the right way,

but I kind of agree with him. Sure. I first want to play, do we have the Rod Brindamore audio that is in the long? Okay. So here's Rod Brindamore's presser. Well, there's two minutes of him answering like three questions. And it starts out with, I think, a good question, somewhat brave

question from the reporters. It sounded like Eric Engels was asking the question. Brendan Moore's up there and I don't think he ever blinks. No. He never has actually. He's physically incapable of blinking. He was asked, Rod Brendan Moore was asked the same question that we've kicked around. You know, you get to this point Over and over but you can't get over the hump Do you need to change up the style that you play as the Carolina Hurricanes?

Rod I'm just wondering you've had unwavering belief in the way you guys play it in the style of game With the results being what they are over the last few years after successful first couple of rounds and it ends up this way again, do you think at all it requires some level of change in terms of the way you guys play throughout an entire season and into the playoffs? Like what? What do you recommend? I'm not making recommendations. That's how I think they play.

They're the standard now. And I see out, in, four check, hard, wait for your chance, try to capitalize. I mean, it's hard hockey. If anything, we've got to figure out how to get that much to our game. But that's the standard right there. And I mean, I feel like that's been our game for a long time

They've kind of picked it up the last couple years and made it that much better. So that's that's what we got to get Take a few more for Rod left side second row But you guys were really physical in the first period that seemed to wane a little bit as the second period went on Was that them skating? What was them getting that momentum? Yeah. It was a back breaker, I think, when they got that little run and they got another one. You could just feel it's just natural, the building, everything,

kind of sucked a little bit of life out of us. Left side, third row. Rod, given all the turnover in the off season and all the changes, how do you measure the disappointment of falling short with the achievement of getting to this stage? Thank you. That way it seems to,

like it's the craziest thing that we're this far and it's all over here is negativity from everybody. And it's, when I walked this summer and with the pieces that will left this organization, I was like, I don't think we're making playoffs. I was that worried about it because it was such a mass exodus of good players to free agency. And then we were able to find good players to fill in. And then I was like, I don't know if they're that good, but they they hung in there.

So I got nothing but pride with this group. And, you know, yeah, we didn't love how this kind of went this series. But again, that's the standard right there. That's you're not giving Florida enough credit. So much to unpack there. I mean, and let's start like question by question and answer by answer. And the first one, just to paraphrase, was Rod Rendemort saying, Florida plays the same way we do.

They just played a lot better. And that was pretty evident, pretty honest and pretty forthright from the head coach. I don't disagree with a lot of what he said. There's no secret sauce or secret recipe to what Florida does. And it's hard hockey, and that's what typically wins when you get down to it.

But Florida also has, I would say significantly better players than a lot of the other teams that they play against. And in that. But it's the type of players too though, like they're. Sure. They're big, strong dudes with skill. Yeah. And those are really hard to find.

And when you think about how they found them, this is the interesting part. They found them in all sorts of ways. Barkov drafted. Yep. Right? And it usually starts with the draft. Sam Reinhardt, how'd they find him? He was traded.

Traded, kind of like a undervalued player in Buffalo had kind of gone, he was on a bad team and probably wanted to change his scenery. Sam Bennett, how'd they find him? Trade. Trade, but they picked him up for pennies on the dollar. When you look at what they picked up Reinhardt and Bennett for, the Sams, you're shaking your head.

Well, and then Matthew Kachak was a trade, but it was a different type of trade. Why was he traded there? Because they made the Florida Panthers a destination place where people wanted to go. I mean, that is, we were talking, we kind of ran out of time after yesterday's show, right? And I think someone had texted in and said, you know, if you look at all the tear it down rebounds, so many of them fail and you're still dealing with it, you know, six to 10 years later.

And the most obvious example is Buffalo. How do you build a contender? Well, it usually does start with you being bad at some point. Yeah. That's usually where it starts and you get your guys like Barkov and Ekblad. I mean, Ekblad was the first overall pick, wasn't he? Where was Barkov? He was top five or I can't remember.

But like they were terrible. The Panthers were terrible. But they also made some really smart additions. I mean, forget the forward group. What about adding a guy like Forsling, which is basically the kind of same way they, well, not the same way they got Bennett, because Bennett was like a high pick.

That never. Forsling just fell into their lap. I mean, that guy passed the three different organizations. They got a little bit of luck too. Which you need. Yeah. And they gave them an opportunity. Um, and they've just made really good moves in all facets.

You know, Carter Verhage was a good pickup as well. But Carter Verhage, like the thing is, as you get momentum as an organization, then the nice thing about having these great core players is that it almost like creates more core players. Do you know what I mean? Like, I don't know what Carter Verhage would be like if you plunked him on the Canucks. You know.

Wouldn't be scoring as many series clinching goals. I'll tell you that. You see what Alex Burrows became when he joined the Sedenes, right? And that's what, when you get great core players, and typically that has come through the draft, it just When you get great core players and typically that has come through the draft, it just makes everything easier. People want to go play with those players so that

you become a destination and complimentary players seem to become more with those great players because Carter Verhage is sitting there going like, yeah, I score goals. Did you see that pass that Barkov gave me? Like I'm a professional hockey player. I can put the puck in an empty net. Yep. Now the other thing that you brought up there that is very important to the second half of Rob Bryndamore's audio, a destination and a place to play.

And Rod Bryndamore started out his answer talking about how many guys they lost last offseason Brady Shea, Brad Pesci, Jake Gensel was of course the big one that they lost out on. Kind of threw his team under the bus with the comment. I didn't think we were good enough for the playoffs. Second time he's done it this year and it's not the players he's throwing it about. Shanao was like, well I'm hard here. It's not the players that he's throwing under the bus.

It's definitely the organization. I, this is something to monitor now moving forward because it's the second time this season that Rod is openly and kind of frustratingly talked about guys not wanting to be there and guys leaving and them not being able to retain or attract the kind of players that you need to be a Florida. You heard it all. Everyone heard it, right? He's like, with the departures that we had, I didn't think we were even going to make the playoffs. Greg Wyshinski, who we're going to have, we had on the show,

or we're going to have on the show tomorrow. He kind of famously picked Carolina to miss the playoffs this year because of all the guys that they lost. Carolina does a lot of winning and goes to the playoffs with regularity, but they cannot get guys to go there and they have a hard time keeping guys there as well. And it's a very interesting thing.

And I wonder if this is the off season where something changes. I don't know if it's stylistically. I don't know if it's Rod getting frustrated. I don't know if it's them saying we need to try something different, but running it back right now feels like way too much of the same, not more of the same same but way too much of the same because they just saw Where the bars I mean that was the first thing Brenda Moore said when he went into that presser, but he also said like Like thank you for recognizing that we have achieved quite a lot here. I hate that part. I hated that part Acting so appalled that the negative you you've made the playoffs seven years in a row as a head coach, Rod, and you've won one single game in the third.

That's incredible stagnation. That's incredible stagnation. But see, here's the thing. I don't blame him. I think that the, and I don't really, blame is a tough word, but like they tried this year with Randit to do the big bold thing. And I think what a lot of people miss is that

it didn't blow up in their face in terms of assets because they got stank open back and they managed to flip the piece. I think it did damage because everyone looked at it and said, why doesn't Rantanen want to be there? And then they're like, well, wait a minute, why didn't Gensle wanna be there? And it's all these guys that they go out and try and acquire

to put them over the top that don't wanna be there. And then it was these guys that they go out and try and acquire to put them over the top. They don't want to be there. And then it was like, well, wait, that's all thing and the ranted and things seem kind of different. And I know like the Gensel thing was they waited too long. It's different. And then the ranted and thing was like, I don't want to play this style. The process was different, but the end result was the exact same. And that's the worst part is it's like, you guys keep screwing this up. We had Adam Gold on the show earlier this week.

And he said that Dundon still learning how to deal with players across the board Which led me to believe that the mistakes are almost all different like he just he kind of keeps fumbling the bag and new exciting Don't get angry about the negativity like is that the bars clearly to win the Stanley Cup you're trying all these bold moves It's disappointing when you don't get to that point. Sorry Rod It is I think that yesterday was a guy that knew his team was limited and that it got exposed just in that round. And I think if you had got him in a,

if you got him in a, he should have been like, it's a miracle this far. Right? If you had got him in a, it's a miracle. You see what I have to work with here? Honestly, I'm the greatest coach in the world. You see what I'm getting out of Jalen Chatfield right now?

Like, Demetri Orlov can't defend, but we're still in the conference final with them. Like it was, it's very interesting. I'm very curious to see how this all goes because that's a team that really got unglued in that fight. I know that they want to get it. They did. They did early on.

They got very much unglued. I think that's a good way to put it. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. What we just have to call Thomas Drance Erotica. Thomas Drance Erotica. Corsi. Thomas Drance Erotica

Expected Goals Thomas Grange Erotica Doth Model Thomas Grange Erotica Regression Thomas Grange Erotica P.D.O. Thomas Drance, Veronica. P.D.O.

Thomas Drance, Veronica. 804 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. Halford, Brev, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brev of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. BC's first and trusted choice for debt help. With over 3,000 five-star reviews, visit Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are now in hour three of the program. Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers.

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Visit them at powerwest.ca today. They keep the lights on. Speaking of the Power West Industries hotline, let's go there now. Thomas Drance from the athletic Vancouver and Canucks talk joins us now on the Haliford and Bref show on sports net six 50. What up Drancer? Gentlemen. Good morning. Good morning to you. How much or how close attention you've been paying to the Abbotsford Canucks storybook run through these Calder Cup playoffs? Yeah. I mean, I've been paying not close, close attention

until the last couple of games, but certainly that's gonna change this evening. I'll be watching the game tonight and looking forward to it. I mean, it's been fun to see. Obviously, Manny Mojotra is something of a breakout star from this run. So a lot of the attention has been on the coach, partly I think because of the vacancy that did exist

prior to the Canucks hiring Adam Foote there at the NHL level, but pretty cool to see this franchise in their fourth or fifth year sort of put it together, especially given that this is not a team that sort of operates their American league affiliate like the way that the Toronto Marlies do, for example, where you've got, you know, some one million dollar one way guys. You know, like there's games where the Marlies, the AHL is not a capped league, right? And so there are massive discrepancies

in terms of overall spending in the league. Like there are games where, you know, one team's power play one will earn more annually than another team's entire team, right? Like it's, the NHL as it was in the late nineties, in the American league sometimes. And so, you know, when the Canucks first moved to Abbotsford, they had that season, you

remember the, like the Nick Patan, they had all those. Yeah, they had a bunch of one way contracts. A bunch of one way contracts and expensive American league team. Cause the franchise sort of tried to make a splash in coming to a new market in the Valley. And you know, under Rutherford, franchise sort of tried to make a splash in coming to a new market in the valley and you know under Rutherford that sort of changed like this team has

been younger this team has been run with a different level of like budgetary discipline sustainability has been top of mind on and on and yet you know they make the playoffs every year and they've had a fair bit of success and you know not only that, but when the Canucks have needed injury call-ups from Abbotsford, right, consistently, they've sort of got very high level contributions from XYZ guy.

I mean, we saw it this season from Carlson and a variety of other guys, but you know, in that dream, like 2023, 24 season, you know, you had like no Juleson and on and on. You know, in that dream, like 2023, 24 season, you know, you had like, no, Juleson and on and on. And so they've found a way to sort of integrate the American league team, the team in the Valley, uh, in a way that's like served the NHL team. And they've sort of done it intelligently and in this sort of.

Realistic budget minded pragmatic way. And so look, I think Ryan Johnson, obviously the general manager there this sort of realistic, budget minded, pragmatic way. And so look, I think Ryan Johnson, obviously the general manager there deserves a ton of credit. Obviously this group of players deserves a ton of credit. Arthur Shilovs for a third straight year stepping up in a tournament, right? He had the Worlds, he had the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, and then he had the,

he's had this run in the Calder Cup playoffs this season and so clearly establishing himself as a big game goalie if only he could be a little more consistent on point shots and there's you know an element to which I sort of admire the work that's gone down there and also just sort of wonder it's like well if you guys can do it down there, like where is that level of pragmatism at the NHL level guys? Yeah, I know. I know.

Well, I did want to ask you about something that's beyond the Canucks. And I think it's, I think you're a good person to talk about this with, because you've been on both sides of wanting access as a member of the media, but also doling out access when you were in PR with the Florida Panthers. Keith Pelley, I thought made some really

interesting comments the other day, both in his press conference and on a podcast, a 100% hockey podcast, and he percent hockey podcast. And he talked about connecting fans with the players through media. And this is kind of unusual to hear out of Toronto, but he thinks that there should be more access to the players in Toronto.

And we hear usually it's about protecting the players and making sure that they're in a safe environment and you know, in Toronto and we hear usually it's about protecting the players and making sure that they're in a safe environment and you know, in Toronto and Vancouver, they're often kept in a bubble and any access is in-house access, but he seemed to be making the argument that there are good stories to be told about the players and it can actually help the players when they're connected with the fans and vice versa.

Just to get your thoughts on that as someone who's done the jobs that you've done in hockey. Yeah, I think there's no question that that's correct. I think the idea of sort of safety as it pertains to player privacy, as it pertains to player privacy, as it pertains to not having to deal with the media, as it pertains to the idea of being focused on winning at all costs, I think that's kind of a panacea, like a false promise, right? I think the truth is, is that when you play in any market

where the community views the hockey team as vital, crucial, right? Something to obsess over and discuss and cherish, right? The way that Vancouver Canucks fans cherish the Canucks, the way that Toronto Maple Leafs fans cherish the Leafs. And and granted the word cherish is being thrown around lightly here because there's an element of two in both markets where the franchise and people's long-standing loyalty to it is also viewed you know as like a generational curse but you know that's trauma. Yeah, but that's with fondness, right? Like there's a level of fondness that you have to be beloved for fans to care enough

about you for your sort of sorted or unsuccessful history or the disappointments of the past to resonate, right? For shared trauma to be in fact shared, right? So like there's a positive side of that coin. It is a truly a double edged sword. And so I think the idea of safety or a safe environment for players is like, I think you're chasing your tail in trying to create it. Like there's always going to be pressure that comes from it. There's always going to be a tension that comes from it. There's always going to be a tension that comes from it. There's always going to be a Yahoo on the street, um, saying something to a guy.

And. You know, so I sort of think like, um, like one of those finger traps, right? The, the, the more you try to control, right? The more obsessive you are about, you know, like, Oh, we have to find that leak. Um, that's a more, you create a environment where. Like players feel sort of a sense of, you know, I don't want to use a word like entitlement, but, but an idea that like, Oh, Oh, yeah. Yeah.

The more, the more you feed into that, right. I've used the phrase siege mentality. Right. Yeah. Like everyone's out to get you. Yeah. What you're doing is you're building up a boogeyman that's or, or, or effectively like lending power to a thing that ultimately is just like, people really like you and care about what we do, you know?

Yeah. And lean into that. You lean into that. Like it's not a negative thing to be paid a lot of money to play a game in a market where people care about it. Like that's not a negative. And I think franchises create, make it, some franchises can make it a negative, right. And, uh, like lending it too much power or stressing too much about it or

fearing too much about it. And so, you know, I, I do think we've like gone well over a line, well over the line, like I think the pendulum has swung far too much in terms of what level of sort of quote unquote privacy or control is exerted in terms of media interactions with players or like what players versus media are entitled to know. Um, you know, injuries, for example, in the NHL are like very closely protected relative to the other sports. There's no real reporting protocols. You know what I mean? And I think that's bad for fans. I think it's

bad for players because you also end up in situations like with Pedersen's disclosure at the end of last year where it's like, oh my God, like is he hurt? Is he not hurt? You know, you end up with that. I think that creates stress. I think that creates stuff, sort of pressure. You know, I think it's ridiculous. Like just from a fan enjoyment perspective. And I don't, I still don't know the full story and I don't feel entitled to know the full story. And I don't think fans are entitled to know the full story, but the fact that like, thank the Vancouver Canucks is best forward just left the lineup

for 10 games across the past year. Right. That that departure appears to be connected to the club, materially changing the direction of the franchise and like at the time nothing was said right it was just personal right there was no confirmation whether or not he'd entered like the PA protocol that deals with sort of mental health issues and on and on and it's just like, that's a level of, that's sort of a level of like, a opaqueness, a lack of disclosure,

a level of control that I just don't think serves fans and frankly doesn't serve the team. I mean, no one wanted to talk about anything else in this market for six, eight weeks as opposed to like, what happened with Miller? What happened with Miller's absence, right? Like that was it. That was such a weird time to be in media.

It really was. Everyone was like, what's that about? And then when we were like, I have no idea, but you talk about it a little bit. And you'd also get like, why are you guys talking about it? They said not to talk about it. Okay, well, but that's what everyone wants to know. So I don't know what to do here.

I know. And so, and look, I don't know how you even handle that one differently, given that I don't know exactly what had happened, right? But I think there's an element to which you, again, create something larger, create like a golem as a result of sort of, you know, treating it as fearfully as it's been treated. And so look, I will say my experience on the other side of the island, Florida is very different in that I was seeking out as much attention as possible. I was trying to manufacture. Right, no, truly.

And like I remember. Yeah, yeah, yeah, publicity stunts. Barkov, go juggle. Yeah. You know what? That's not as far off as it should be. And, and, you know, I remember having, like, I remember having conversations, um, with players where, where I was explaining, like, if you get to where you want to get to, right. And you're playing the Maple Leafs in game seven, round two,

you know, you don't want the media attention to be a disadvantage for you because you're not used to it, right? Like you don't want it to be, so again, it's different markets have different challenges. I know there's a lot of talk gonna be talked today about like the taxes and on and on, right? People ignoring sort of all the other stuff

that goes into it or for example, the advantage of being able to pitch players on earning in USD but living in CAD in local markets. I mean, every different market has their own distinct advantages, challenges that have to be addressed. And I think this is another side of that coin. But I do think that just sort of relaxing a bit, chilling, and I do think really working to create an environment where

media obligations are explained to players as like part of the job, not something to be feared, try to have fun with it. It's not always going to be fun, but neither's playing a game of hockey in the NHL. Neither's a practice. Every job has things that are fun and not fun or good days and bad days. Really instilling that I do think would help in some markets where I think the pressure can get a little bit overwhelming. And as part of the reaction to that, I think organizations can become decidedly on chill and sort of empower their biggest detractors by obsessing over control, as opposed to focusing on relationship building. And I think that's what Peli was getting at.

And I think I agree a hundred percent. You know, when you were explaining that last bit there, you know, focusing on relationship building. And I think that's what Pelley was getting at. And I think I agree a hundred percent. You know, when you were explaining that last bit there, you know what kept popping into my head was Brad Marshawn and hearing Sean Gentile talk about him the other day. Cause we got, we had Sean on from Carolina in the middle of the Eastern conference final. And he said like,

Brad Marshawn is like the most amazing guy to talk to now because he's self-deprecating and he's funny, but he also gives thoughtful answers. And now he's become the guy that everyone goes to and likes. Like we're going to talk to now because he's self deprecating and he's funny, but he also gives thoughtful answers and now he's become the guy that everyone goes to and likes. Like we're going to talk to Brad Brad Marshawn is and I don't think it's like an intentional pivot for him. Like I'm going to consciously change my reputation among people. I think he's just maybe necessarily been evil in the past, but now with age it's become more lovable, but he's always kind of been the same guy. I think he's wiser. He's wiser for sure, but now with age, it's become more lovable. But he's always kind of been the same guy.

He's wiser. He's wiser for sure, that comes with age. But it's also like, you brought it up. He's not afraid to talk to the media. I think that's a big part of it. There's no fear there. Like if he says something that maybe goes the wrong way or goes parachuting.

He's not afraid to make a headline. Right. And oh well, you know? And by the way, that doesn't mean that he's not going to stand up for himself. I mean, he called for a reporter and or a radio host in Boston's job this season. Yes. Like explicitly. And that doesn't impact, you know what I mean? Like in part, he has the credibility to do so because of how he conducts himself. I'd add this, like you can tell, man,

you can tell when you watch some of these interviews when you see and interact or deal with Some of these players like you know a who's who of the best Guys at doing it whether it's Brad Marchand whether it's said whether it's Ryan O'Reilly whether it's Victor Headman whether it's the Chuck Brothers You know what I mean like some of the best big game players in the league are the best at doing this too. And I don't believe that that's a coincidence. I believe that it's just part of like having winning habits as a professional athlete, but I don't think that, you know, typically like you think about that

Toronto core four group and that, you know, certainly there's, um, like, uh, aside from William Nylander, who makes being an elite NHL player look actually fun. Yeah. Yeah. He's like, I'm going to take my shirt off. That's how comfortable I am. I don't understand why that's not more common.

It's like, it could be really cool to be a really good hockey player in a massive Canadian market. You know what I mean? That's a very good point. And I like that William Nylander shows us that it's fun. But it's like you think about that core four, they're not known for sort of having that attribute. You think about this Canucks core and I think Quinn Hughes, for example, has improved a

lot. But I think the same thing, right? Like Pedersen was never all that comfortable. JT Miller was workman-like, I think, in doing his media obligations, but obviously inconsistent day-to-day. Demco improved a lot this year. Demco like clearly thought about it

and tried to be more open and transparent. You know what I mean? He can be thoughtful. He can definitely be thoughtful. No, but he made an effort this year. Like that was, he put some thought into it. He put some intention behind it and credit to him. But yeah, I think the, I think the fact that people like sort of escape or struggle to struggle with

because it seems counterintuitive and obviously with a media guy saying it, it sounds self-serving. But I do think there's a connection between the guys in a room or the guys on a bench who lead consistently and bring that energy that you need to win in the league consistently with also doing that with a microphone in front of your face. Isn't it just about being comfortable in your own skin? I think so. And some of that just comes, some of that's just natural. And obviously the players that are more comfortable in English, that's going to be easier for them. But I think a lot of it just has to do with your personality.

And I think it's important when players or teams make the decision on who's going to be their core players. Like obviously the hockey part is the most important thing. But I do think how you hold yourself and how you present yourself, because that's going to be how you present yourself to your teammates as well. I think it's really, really important. Well, don't you get the sense watching this Panthers team that, you know, and, and I don't know if this is because. And in fact, I don't think it is. I don't think it's because I like know some of the

people, but doesn't that team seem to like just absolutely love each other very much in like, in like sort of a, a unique way. Like I wouldn't have said that about the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had a similar stretch of success. In fact, more success, they won two cops over their three-year run. But there's a joyfulness in the way that this Panthers team plays. Now, granted, they have won so much that that maybe is the magic sauce there.

But there's an element to which, I mean, I think it all, it's one of those things, it all matters. It all sort of dovetails and matters and tells you a lot about a team or a group of guys. And, you know, I think you can tell when people are into it. You can tell when people are enjoying themselves, right? Period.

You can tell when people enjoy are enjoying themselves, right? It period. You can tell when people care. And I think what's been sort of difficult is when you're close to it or, or covering it or trying to explain what's happening and you're just like, Hey, look, like, I don't know why, but this team doesn't seem happy. This team doesn't seem to, which was something I bumped into a fair bit in the fall. I remember explaining the day before Miller took his leave, I went on Canucks talk and said, there's a sense of sneering joylessness around this team that I can't put my finger on. And, you know, but you say something like that and you feel like you're most likely to be called a hater, especially when you're a media guy.

Sure. But, but there's something to it. And it be it's something ineffable something that's a little difficult to describe but I but I do buy into that and I do think it all matters transfer this was great as always bud they'd combo buddy thanks for your thoughts excellent stuff thanks buddy oh my pleasure cheers see you later Thomas trans from the athletic Vancouver here on the Haliford and brush on sportsnet 650 before we go to break transfer my eyes didn't glaze over one Sounded genuinely shot. I complimented him. Wow that one. Oh, it was it. I only checked my phone

Really oh, thanks Genuine reaction was a nice. It was a nice change of pace transfer Alright before we go to break all serious listen now. he's a great guest and we love him lots. Of course. Yeah, and we have just a very funny reaction to his part. Greg's eyes just rolled out of the back of his head. We need to tell you about the Sportsnet 650 Jays Care 5050. We only have a half hour left on the Haliford and Brough show,

so we're gonna push real hard at the end here to try and get $2,500 raised today for the Sportsnet 650J's Care 50, presented by Tiltown. Can I read a text here? Yes. Matt the window guy texts in and said. What was I going to say? No, of course.

Go ahead. My sister was a participant in Challenger baseball and it's something she loved and looked forward to every week. It's truly a great initiative. Also shout out to the volunteer buddies. Absolutely. A lot of the times, um, these kids are, are

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And it's the obvious stuff, yes, like transportation, school, the list goes on. But the one thing that really stuck with me was when this parent said, when we went to challenge your baseball, my child finally made some friends. And I thought, wow, I'd never thought of that. Like for the child, it can be lonely when you have these disabilities that keep you away from other children and when you bring them together for

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