Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 5/8/26

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they get a Canucks update from Donnie & Dhali's Rick Dhaliwal. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Stoll, across for Chadfield, and he's going to Chadfield. Against Carolina, I told you you got to hit singles. And we hit singles in the first year, and then we started trying to hit home runs. I'm good. Are we going to talk young boys or what? Oh, yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend.

Good morning, Vancouver, 6 o'clock on a Friday. Happy Friday, sweet, sweet Friday. It is Halford and is Brough at SportsNet 650. We are coming live from the Kintech Studios in Beautiful Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adaw, good morning to you. Good morning.

Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought you by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt? If you are, Sands and Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands. We are in Hour 1 of the program. Hour 1 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 live from the Kintech studio. Step Strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. It's Ask us anything Friday on the Halford and Brough Show. So text in your AUA's into the Dunbar Lumber Text line at 650, 650, trusted by contractors and DIY champions across Metro Vancouver for generations, find them at three convenient locations or visit Dunbar Lumber online today.

All right, let's get into the morning guest list. It's our Duick Morning Drive brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. It begins at 7 o'clock AJ from AJ's pizza is going to join us. As Jason mentioned, it's Ask Us Anything Friday. The best ask us anything gets a $100 gift card to the best pizza place in Vancouver. That's AJ's. Get them in now, 650, 650, hashtag. at AUA and a pizza emoji.

705 Patrick Johnson is going to join the program. Pige, as he's affectionately known on this program. Sports columnist for the province. Whitecaps talk this morning with Pige, who recently wrote about the club's financial problems. The revenue gap, yes, the revenue gap that remains. He'll join us at 705 right after AJ at 730. It's Ian McIntyre, Kinnock's and NHL reporter for Sportsnet.

IMAX back on the road. He's a working journalist. He's covering the Aves Wild series, which is now shifting to Minnesota after the abs took the first two in Denver. That series got a big three-day break in the middle of it. Yeah, that was a weird one. Yeah, and they won't get back on the way until Saturday.

So we can talk about that series also. The still ongoing Canucks GM search. We'll talk about that with IMAC at 7.30. 8 o'clock Rick Dollywall is going to join the program. He of Donnie and Dolly on Czech TV. It sounds like, according to my sources, which was Rick, we're going to talk about some Canucks stuff

as it pertains to the GM search. but also some stuff on the white caps that Rick might have up his sleeve. Rick's going to join us at 8 o'clock this morning. That's the guest list. That's what's happening today on the program. So 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 was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? 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.ca. We will begin with Vancouver Canucks and maybe, just maybe, we're getting closer to the finish line with this search for a new general manager because the name Evan Gold seems to be gaining some serious momentum this week, Jason. Yeah, that was the latest buzz around the team

and we're going to play some audio from 32 thoughts. Elliot Freeman talking more about Evan Gold. He's currently in the Bruins front office, Evan Gold, not Elliot Freeman. That's right. The Canucks could be going back to the well in Boston for another general manager. I'll wager that Evan Gold has a pretty different style, though, compared to Jim Benning. He is, he has, he's a lawyer.

He got his law degree, also his MBA from the U of T in Toronto. I think he did his undergrad at McGill. Started out with the Washington Capitals, found his way to the Boston, organization. He's done everything, according to the Bruins website, day-to-day hockey ops,

salary cap analysis, contract negotiations, roster planning, player salary ARB, CBA compliance, and pro scouting. He is also the general manager of the Bruins

AHL team in Providence. Now, Ryan Johnson is the general manager of the Canucks. HL team in Abbotsford. And we all know that Ryan Johnson has been a candidate, but for some reason not a slam dunk in Vancouver. Now, I don't, I obviously have not been part of the interviews.

I don't know the day-to-day operations of the Vancouver Canucks can, so I can't speak to Ryan Johnson's abilities. everyone seems to think he's a very good guy and a good hockey guy, but I'm happy that the Canucks went out and interviewed all these people. And even if Ryan Johnson went into this as the frontrunner or the recommendation initially of the departing Jim Rutherford, it was always going to be possible that someone was going to come in, interview very well, and impress the Canucks to the point where they would get

him the job. Now, he doesn't have the job yet, right? We've kind of gone down this, we've gone down this road before where we're like, oh, it sounds like this guy's going to get the job, and then he doesn't. Now, maybe the Pierre Dorian thing was a little bit different because it was like, I think he's going to get the job, said Grig Wyshinsky on our station in the morning, and then there was such a firestorm that they're like, I've never even heard of Pierre Dorian at Rogers Arena, right? Like to that point. that all happened. So, at any rate, let's play

the 32 Thoughts audio right now because Elliot and Kyle also talk about the situation with Ryan Johnson. Well, Providence got knocked out of the

HL playoffs on Thursday night after a tremendous regular season. So Evan Gold, who is, is definitely on their radar and I believe was in there this week to be interviewed. He's done his responsibilities. The only other thing I'm still waiting to figure out here is what they're doing with Scott White.

Are they waiting to interview him in person? I don't have clarity on what they ask for permission to speak to him. That's for sure. but I don't know exactly what they decided to do in terms of do they bring them there or do they just do it by Zoom how they're handling it. That's the one thing I'm not sure of as we record this pod. I'm still waiting for clarity on what they're doing with him. But gold is, I mean, I heard all the noise in Vancouver today. I don't have reason to believe anybody's wrong.

I believe he was there this week, and also his team is now out. So if it is going to heat up around him, it's really going to start to heat up now. But I'm still waiting for clarity on White. Is Ryan Johnson still in the mix? He's still in the mix, but I don't know what to make of this. If they're going to hire Evan Gold, who has a really bright representation, it would seem that Johnson's really being passed over.

It's just the whole thing is a little bit strange to me. They extended his contract. They said, you're here and you're not going anywhere else. And now they're, if it is Evan Gold, they're basically passing them over for somebody with a similar skill set, right? so we'll see but if that was the case it wouldn't be good for Johnson no and just another strange handling of a situation in Vancouver yeah that's a bizarre one the only thing I would just say Kyle is that I hope that they wouldn't pass over him simply because he's tied to

the regime that they're starting to move out. I don't ever think that's a good reason. If you don't think the guy can do the job, that's one thing. But I don't like the idea of, okay, he was with Rutherford. He was with Alveen. You know, Alvine's out. Rutherford is moving to the advisory role. We just want to make the fresh change. I don't agree with that. if they, I would just wonder why it's gone from, boy, we think super highly of this person a year ago to this. It is a little unusual. That last question really hangs in the balance and very well trimmed whoever cut that clip because to end with that one is a pretty interesting question.

And I don't know if anyone has any really good answers for it. Yeah. It hung in the balance the way it was clipped. What did change if they were high on John? Is it just the fact that other candidates came forth that they were more impressed with? Is it the shiny new toy aspect of it all? Is it? And Frege also posited this in the clip.

Is it that if you're going to have a regime change, then you got to have a regime change. So it can't just be half measures. It's got to be the whole thing. Could it be they were looking for a different type of general manager? I think that's a very fair question as well. Evan Gold would represent a departure from the past couple of GMs who were more in the tradition of hockey men than some of the new breed of management. And Ryan Johnson, he's a former player. Jim Benning was a former player.

Patrick Alvin played. None of these guys went to the U of T to do their law degree and MBA. Right? So maybe they're returning to. Now, Mike Gillis was a bit of both because. He was a pretty good hockey player. Drafted very high. Didn't have a long career because of injuries, I guess, but was also a lawyer.

I actually had a friend of mine reach out to me. He was like, I went to law school with Evan Gold. He's a nice guy. Oh. You know, and I was like, oh, yeah. Like, what's he like? He's like, he's a nice guy. Nice guy.

And apparently his dad is a pretty famous criminal defense attorney in Ontario. So he doesn't, like, he's not a. former player. Yeah. Died in the wool hockey man. He's the son of a lawyer, right? And he is a lawyer himself. And it is possible, I suppose, that that's what the Canucks are looking for.

And it's interesting because we actually had this conversation on the show a few weeks ago. And we were talking about, I think I put it out there. Remember really carefully, I was like, listen, I don't want to sound like a snob or anything. But like, do you think that they should go for? someone with a little bit more of a I guess like a thinking background. Do you know what?

As opposed to like I played the game, I know the game. Scholarly. Intellectual. Maybe just a different viewpoint entirely. Not one is good and one is bad. Just different. But that's the new breed of not only hockey execs,

but pro sports execs. Yes. You know? And a lot of teams have had a lot of success. They've realized that like it doesn't really matter. if the general manager or whoever your head of operations, like it doesn't really matter if he played the game before. I mean, it might help in some respects, I suppose.

But like what you really want is a strategic thinker. Yeah. And someone who can plan things out and think about issues and know how to weigh them properly and measure evidence, measure data, that sort of thing. and yeah. You know, now, I think this leaves a bunch of other questions if in fact, if in fact it is Evan Gold that they go with.

You know, I'm still very much prepared for them to say, it's Ryan Johnson, sure, right? If in fact, though, how will Evan Gold's lack of experience as a general manager in the NHL be addressed by a team that has reportedly been loath to hire another rookie GM. Do they just say, well, we liked him so much that we were willing to trust that he's going to be able to handle the spotlight, handle the media stuff, handle the responsibility of setting out a clear direction for this team because that is very important when you're selling

to the fans and it does matter from a business perspective and a team perspective? or do they say we're going to bring in someone to be the public facing, you know, whether it's like Matt Sundeen in Toronto or, you know, Trevor Linden here before. No, it didn't work out, but it doesn't mean you can't try again. Will they do something like that? Everything for me just remains very much in the air. And that includes Ryan Johnson, who if he doesn't get this job, I wouldn't be at all. surprised if we hear an announcement out of Nashville.

It's like we got our guy. Yeah. There's a text into the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket unsigned, but I'll read it because this is a sentiment that we've heard a lot of over the last little while. The volume of media people dumbfounded why they haven't hired RJ yet, Ryan Johnson, is astounding. Maybe it's because this organization has been a joke for 15 plus years. He might be a great guy and a solid candidate, but it's totally valid to want an external candidate, given how things have gone. Two answers or two points to that.

One, I think there's some validity to just going entirely outside the organization at this stage. I've said it with the player group. Don't bring back anyone. Got as much of it as you can. So if that logic applies to the player group, maybe it applies to the executive. Jamie Dodd has said it multiple times. I don't know if the right word is dumbfounded why they haven't hired RJ yet.

I think curious is a word. like what is going to happen to Ryan Johnson and I would actually put it in the same department as Mani Mahotra. Like I don't think anyone among the media group is going to be like, how dare you for not hiring Ryan Johnson if it doesn't happen? What will be curious like, why? I know, because it might represent some guidance for us as to what the thinking was from the Canucks organization.

What if they were all set to hire him? and then Evan Gold was just such a good interview. Is it going to be, maybe, is it going to be like maybe there is an element within the Canucks Ownership Group that does want to cut ties to this previous regime, even if it's unfair to a guy like Ryan Johnson. You know, maybe.

Or maybe they like Ryan Johnson, but they don't think he's right for the job. I mean, that's possible. Sure. There's lots of people that I like and I think are you know smart people but then I you know

I imagine them in certain roles and I'm like I don't know about that I don't know if that's right for them I don't know if that suits their strengths I will say with the current regime and I say current because they haven't exactly severed ties with all of it like yes Patrick Alvin was relieved of his duties as general manager but apparently was offered

some sort of demotion slash alternate job within the organization and Jim Rutherford's going to step away as the president of hockey ops, but he's still going to serve as the alternate governor and a senior advisor. You know, the cut isn't as clean as one might think with this regime that got them to where they are right now. Now, the only other thing I'll say with Ryan Johnson, why I read that text about media being dumbfounded,

is this show in particular advocated for Johnson to be the general manager. We set it on countless occasions. We had our dream triumph, which doesn't sound like it's going to come to fruition. and I've often stumped for Johnson, and I will continue to, for this singular reason, something that he brings to the table that I don't think any other candidate can bring.

He knows... Good looking, handsome? He is good looking. Two things now. No, what? He knows how the organization works. And you can infer as much as you want and read as much as you want into that comment.

I don't think I need to expand on it that much, but if you want me to, I can. But he knows how, the organization works. All of it. And I think that is a valuable trait. And I think for an ownership group and executive that maybe is done a little bit of inward looking,

I don't want to call it soul searching, but having that inflection moment after how badly things went, maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to have someone around that you think highly of that also knows everything about your organization. I think that matters. The amount of times that I've heard about someone coming to the organization being like, I didn't realize that's how business was done around here.

There's a lot of those anecdotes floating around. I'm going to be dead honest. All of you have gone through job interviews or first dates or something. Everyone's putting their best foot forward. Everyone's trying to make it sound nice and neat and shiny and new. And in a lot of ways it is. But there is inherent value in having someone that knows how things work. And I will leave it at that.

There's also inherent value in a fresh perspective, though. There is. Right? But I'm just responding to that one text. No, I know. Right? Where it's like, why would you be dumbfounded? Well, I'm dumbfounded because it feels like they've got a very good candidate in-house

for the following reasons. But hey, if you want to go outside the family, you're more than one within your, like, powers and everything else. But also, there's nothing wrong with getting a fresh set eyes on something. Absolutely nothing wrong. So I'll admit it as a media guy. I have a lot of trouble, you know, really, really going to bat for one candidate over another because I don't watch them work.

You know, with watching players on the Canucks, I'm perfectly confident in my abilities to watch hockey and kind of understand the game that I'm willing to put my opinion out there on players. but I don't know how these guys interviewed I don't know how you know all I hear is like I've heard these guys are nice guys good guys sharp guys right I don't talk to them I don't know it's the same thing as prospects right like you and I I think frankly gives us a little bit of credibility

that when it comes to prospects we're like yeah I don't know maybe this guy our lack of credibility gives us credibility but we don't pretend to know no I've got hard opinions on the guys on the Canucks and the guys in the league because I watched them. I watched them play hockey. Sure. I don't watch these guys work. So when you say like you've stumped pretty hard for Ryan Johnson or we've stumped pretty hard for Ryan Johnson,

we've stumped for a general idea about the type of group. Isn't it Stan? Standing is also acceptable. What's stumping? Stumping is just like what older people say. Okay. Yeah. Not this young generation.

Never heard of it. I think standing is even old now too. The stand video is like 20 years old, isn't it? Like, I feel like that was the thing of the past. Arpin texts in and it says, lawyers need to have analytical skills and the ability to communicate. Don't think communication skills will be a problem for gold.

Arpin. How many lawyers do you know? Because I know a lot of them and half of them cannot communicate. Just because you're a lawyer doesn't mean like you're this incredible communicator. A lot of them are like, yeah, I don't want to go to court.

I'm just perfectly happy to be in my office and working on contracts on that sort of thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, like I don't think you should read. I mean, look, I think if you can go to law school and pass the bar, I think that's a signal that you're pretty intelligent and that you can, you have executive function and that you're able to analyze things. but like communication skills, you know, I wouldn't,

I wouldn't assume that of every lawyer. Yeah. And honestly, I can't wait for this thing to get buttoned up and done. This has been a long, protracted process. I can't even imagine.

I mean, the nice thing. That's good though, right? That's what we wanted. Don't just be like, this is our guy and they hire him. They actually like looked for guys. Yeah.

I would agree with a thing that they did the thing that people wanted them to do. I'm not saying that I just wanted to be done. Well, sure. Yeah, like I'm not saying the process is wrong or flawed. I'm with you. I'm glad that they're talking about it for a long time. But it's very difficult to talk about a job search with the limited amount of information.

With the limited amount of information. Other than the candidates, right? And again, I think there's probably an inherent bias with a lot of people that the reason that you like Ryan Johnson is because he has been around and you've spoken with him and you know his track record. You know they want a Calder Cup in Abbotsford together. And you know that he's got a lot. lot of playing experience and different executive and advisory roles that he's played. Like, there's a lot of

familiarity there, as opposed to Evan Gold where we're reading off the Boston Bruins website from three years ago about his CV. Could be a great candidate. He did co-write super bad. It's important to note. And that's good too, right? He's got like dexterity. He knows what he's doing out there. So

again, this thing also doesn't sound like it's coming to a conclusion. I'm praying that it does, but, you know, part of that clip that Freed brought up was like, what's going on with Scott White? There's another candidate that they would either like to talk to or, you know, is thought highly enough across the National Hockey League that he would also be a viable candidate. I will go back to our original point on this, which was at this stage of the rebuild, you need to get a lot of things right. So if this takes longer and you need to, you know, go and overturn some more stones and really dig deep on a lot of

different things, then do it. You know, don't listen to the two guys on sports talk radio. Take your time. But it will be nice when they can put this part to bed because the other part of the early stages of the rebuild is there's a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of things that need to happen right now, including who's going to be your head coach, what is the rest of your front office and executive going to look like preparation for the draft? Who's going to play on the team next year? And you'd like to see those decisions starting to be made under the vision of the new general manager relatively soon. You're listening to the best of Halford and You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.

Rick Dolly Wall Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. 8.04 on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford, Braves, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt? If you are, Sands and Associates can opt to reduce your debt by up to 80% with no our upfront fees. Visiting today at Sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program.

Rick Dollywall is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 3. Hour 3 is brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. Find out why nobody beats a duik deal and why nobody. has since 1926. Visit Duick GM on Marine Drive, visit them downtown, visit them in Richmond, visit them online at the Duick Auto Group.com. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Step strong

with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. Rick Dollywall is waiting patiently on the ABLE Auctions hotline email sales at A, BLEAOctions. dot CA to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. Let's go to the ABLE Auctions hotline right now. Our next

guest from Donnie and Dolly on Check TV. It's Rick Dollywell here on the Halford and Breft Show on SportsNet 650. What up, Ricky D? Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's go. Let's go. I have been told, brackets, by you, that you want to start with the Vancouver White Caps.

So take it away, Rick. Yeah, absolutely. And then we'll get into the Canucks GM search. You know what? Look, I really wish someone steps up and keeps this franchise in Vancouver. Yeah, the original white caps, we all know, started in 74. And you guys know a little, Ricky remembers the 79 soccer bowl win.

It's got a great tradition of soccer in the city. Now, we are told that a new local group has stepped forward. They've showed interest. I do not believe that group has talked to Caps owner, Great Curfurtt yet. Curfut's owned the team, what is it now, 20 years? He has invested hundreds and millions of dollars to save and sustain the Caps. Now, Donnie got some good information, Donnie Taylor, this week. Kerfoot's losing a huge sum of money per year.

We're not talking about a small number. We're talking about a pretty big number. Those people that say that Kerfut's lost $300 million as owner of the caps, that number's too low, way too low. The number's way higher in that. Kerfoot, to his credit, is still trying to build a stadium somewhere on that P&E site. He's looked at multiple sites in Vancouver over the years, and we all know the city shot down his proposal in downtown many, many, many years ago.

Now, he could sell it to the Las Vegas group for $500 million. He could cash out. There's no question. We all know he could. That would be a last resort if he can't get the help that's required locally to get a new stadium. And by the way, he's not a billionaire. This pro sports now, guys, it's not a millionaire's game. It's a billionaire's game.

And he's not a billionaire who can afford. all these massive losses per year. The corporate environment of Vancouver and British Columbia is dead. So many companies have got up and left BC because this government isn't good for business. It's not good for pro sports teams. Instead of helping, they make things worse. The companies that are left are pouring their money into the Canucks first, even though the Canucks are 32nd dead last.

Canucks can be 32nd and dead last for another three years. They're still going to get the corporate support. Miami FC had 100 million more in revenue than Vancouver this year. Think about that. Well, last year. Think about another team in your league having $100 million more in revenue. Until that money comes out of your pocket, you'll never understand Kerfut's pain. We can expect in order to stick around.

We can't expect in order to stick around and lose huge amounts of money forever. No owner does. It's not reality. He's got rising costs. horrible corporate support. It's not a good combination. Rick, Rick, Rick, what happened to the guy that I was listening to on Donny and Dolly? He was yelling about the owner's got to come out and have a press conference and he was all over the owner.

I'm still there on that. He's got to step up. But they are saying that the ownership's not going to step up. That's not them. Kerfoot's never done an interview in his life. He's not going to start now. So I've been told just to stop that nonsense. They're not, the Nash ain't going to talk.

Kerfoot's not going to talk. We just have to accept that fact. Yes, I would like him to come out, step up to a podium and say, this is what we need to stay in Vancouver. This team means a lot. Look, I'm telling you, Donnie got some good information this week, and my mind has been swayed a little bit. This government doesn't help. First, they tax everyone to death in the province, and now they don't help sports teams. They don't. And, you know, all governments in Canada really don't help.

Go look at Kansas City and what the state did for the chiefs. You think that would happen in Vancouver, or in a Canadian city? No. Do you think it should? No. Well, okay, have you seen the gas prices, the food prices, the rent prices? Probably not. I think a government's first job is to take care of the population, make sure there's jobs,

make sure there's, you know, low cost of living. I get that. what happened in Kansas City with the Chiefs and other major cities in the U.S. That's not going to happen in Vancouver. It's not because this government doesn't help anyone, never mind pro sports teams. I need to tell you something, Rick, the more information that gets

out about this potential sale, especially if they do relocate to Las Vegas, I think one of the unintended consequences is going to be that the MLS financials and where these clubs are at, all of them financially, is going to come to the forefront. And I'm not sure that's a great thing for Garber

because you brought up how the revenue disparity between Miami and Vancouver, that's way too big of a gap to have two teams playing in the same league. And a matter of fact, two teams that met in the final last year. Like, that's what's hilarious about it. And I do wonder these franchise valuations that are going around as opposed to how much money these teams are actually bringing in, or more specifically, how much money other teams are losing, not named Miami in L.A.

really, truly is. Look, you and I lose a hundred bucks in our wallet. We're going to cry, right? This guy's losing millions and millions and millions. It's not a small number. It's just not. Look, his business of the white caps. Do you think he's going to be okay?

Hey, hey, would you be, are you okay? If you own the white caps today, Brock, would you be okay losing what he's losing or would you get out of town? I'm not sure, but I think it'd be okay because I owned the white caps. I'd be like, this is awesome. I have a lot of money. Well, and hey, and he could tax out. Like he's not going bankrupt over this.

No, okay, but he's, He could cash out. Yeah, he could. He could. What, what, what, every, but everybody in the city wants him to stay.

Nobody wants the way. This city's already lost the Grizzlies, the, the golf tournament, the PGA left, the Moulson Indy left. It's, it's about time.

Team stop leaving the city. Maybe it's not a major city anymore. Maybe it's not. Or it just has different, it just has different, um, things that it, uh,

believes in. You know, I mean, I just think, I mean, I think you make a good point to illustrate how we treat professional sports differently in Canada than certain parts of the United States. California is more what we do, and California has lost some teams. But it's, it's just, you know, some people don't want the government to subsidize pro sports. Yeah, I get that too. And the price you pay sometimes is you lose your teams. Absolutely. But look, look, this soccer's got a really good, you know, history. The white caps and the BC lines go back decades and decades and decades.

We don't want to lose them. You know, we don't want to lose them. And it's not like I told you guys last week. It's not good for us. You work at an All-Sport station. You think losing a team helps you guys, brough? You know, does it help you? No, it doesn't help you. I know. I love how you always do this, by the way. You're always like put it on me like, I want the white. cap's to move.

I'm telling you why it's not good if they lose. If they move, it's not good. I'm giving you examples of why it's not good. It's not good for us either. It's not good for our job. I mean, that's why we're covering the story. I don't like it. Big time.

And frankly, if you go back, if you want to check the receipts, you can ask Halford when I was writing for the curtain blog, I thought BC Place was a bad idea to pour all that money into that. And it is proven to be a problem. Now, I'm glad we have a big stadium in our city that. can host things like the World Cup and the Grey Cup and concerts and all that sort of stuff. But I said right from the beginning, this is a bad idea for the CFL and MLS. Now, nobody listened to me at the time, and that's fine.

Nobody listens to me anyway. But, I mean, this thing you could have seen coming from a mile away. And I think part of it also is on the white caps who haven't adjusted to the business of the league, meaning they needed to get out there much earlier and be like, hey, should we deal with this revenue problem that we've got going? Right? You know, like, you know, why has it,

why has it all come to a head right now? Why wasn't it dealt with? Why couldn't they see where the league was going for years and years and to the point where they're like, we're losing $50 million a year? Like, really? Okay. Well, that's a problem then.

Yep. No, it, it, the owner's got to take responsibility for being in a business. where you are losing that much money and how did it get to that. But again, that corporate support in this city, a lot of businesses got up and left. Air Canada, all these big companies got up and went to Toronto, right? They got up and went to Toronto decades ago. When John McCaw was losing, when he was selling, that was an issue back then. McCaw was losing 25 to 30 million a year on the Grizzlies and the Canucks.

And one of the problems back then was core. and I laugh at these people that think Vancouver all of a sudden is going to be, get a major league baseball. If you can't afford the white caps, how can you afford the NBA or major league baseball? Explain that one to me. Oh, sorry, microphones. Let's turn our attention to the Vancouver Connects and the general manager search. Evan Gold, names out there quite a bit right now, including what you had to say yesterday.

Yeah, yesterday morning I said keep an eye on Evan Gold. I think he's the frontrunner, but I'm going to tell you right now this morning it's not done. And I'll get in R.J. Ryan Johnson in a bit. But look, nothing is done as of this morning. Gold is a candidate that is really impressed since day one. His first interview, he's a good young, sharp hockey mind. When I ask agents about gold, because they deal with this guy a lot. You know, a lot, your first call, the teams is the assistant GM to feel them out about a contract.

I usually get positive feedback about gold. I got one agent this morning to push back, wasn't impressed. One agent told me that gold is a tough negotiator. He's got an analytics background that teams desire. He's good with the salary cap. He's a lawyer, which apparently it matters now in the NHL being a lawyer. He has learned from the likes of Cam Neely about being the eye test guy, you know, making decisions with what you see. Yes, analytics is a part of it.

But you know what? What you see, the eye test guy, he's learned from a guy like, Cam Neely. By the way, the Canucks need a tough negotiator. Because the agents for Pedersen, Garland, Bessor, and Demko had a pretty damn easy time in their last contracts with Rutherford. All four of those guys got exactly what they wanted. It was ridiculous how easy those deals were for those agents. It's time to get a GM in here who won't give agents exactly what they're asking for. Now, as of Ryan Johnson, as of this morning, he is still in the mix. He has not been told otherwise. He has not been told he is out. Now, Rutherford, we know,

is a big fan of Johnson's, but we know that ownership has got a massive saying this higher. After he won the Calder Cup, the Canucks gave Johnson a new deal. They gave him a nice, big fat raise. They were under the impression that he wouldn't go anywhere else. That's how much they thought of him. Now it looks like, you know, the potential is there. He might get passed over. Now, sometimes when you do these interview processes, you fall in love with a new candidate. You fall in love with his ideas, his vision, his plan. That could have happened with gold. There isn't anything Johnson can say in an interview with Vancouver that they don't already know about him.

He's been here 12 years. They know him inside out. Now, lots of people you talk to in the hockey world wanted Johnson to get the Vancouver job. He's well-liked. He's well-respected. He doesn't have to impress Rutherford. He's got to impress the owners. And I don't know if that's going to happen.

Now, the Canucks aren't stupid. They know if they bypass this guy for the GM job, he's most likely gone. Can they give him something like vice president of hockey operations, another title? Can you do that to keep him happy? Does that keep him around? I don't know. But you could shift titles around to keep a guy like Ryan Johnson. So we'll keep an eye on that.

but I will tell you something right now. There's going to be changes. There's going to be changes everywhere. Management, coaching, scouting. I said a couple of days ago, keep an eye on the scouting department. Everything's got to be looked at, guys, when you finish in 30 seconds. Now, everything. One thing, Jason, on the scouting, I just want to get this in.

A new GM is going to want to bring in his own people. He's going to want people that he trusts, people he's worked for in the past. GM's going to want to hire his right. hand man. The relationship between a GM and his head scout is vital. Many head scouts have got GMs fired. He's got to be able to trust his head scout. Here's

the weird thing about the scouts in Vancouver. In the last six years, Vancouver management has traded eight picks in rounds one and two. They traded the first three picks in 2024. These guys are going to get fired and they never get to make important picks. Right. Yeah.

So you're going to overall, the scouting department. Meanwhile, your GM and your president have been trading three first rounders. Five second rounders. That's a lot of picks and rounds one and two. Do you want to know why there's not a lot in Abbisford?

Do you want to know why the prospect pool, the cupboard is bare? You keep trading first and second rounders. That's why. That's why. Yeah. It is. The drafting has been fine. The actual

drafting has been, for the most part, I think. Just have enough. Fine. They just don't have enough picks. They don't give themselves room for error. Like, you're going to have, you're going to have your picks that don't pan out. But if you don't make many of them, those become even more damaging. And I feel like they're putting that now on this draft. They're like, we have to nail this one.

Because next year, we're getting back to training away first. No, just kidding. But like, you know, and I actually wanted to ask you about this. Is it awkward? that the Canucks are going to employ all these scouts that are going to, you know, advise on this very important draft upcoming, and a lot of them may not be back. Yeah, I don't know, like, the thing for me is,

I don't know when the scouting changes, if they make them, and apparently they're going to, but do you do it now or do you do it after the draft? The intel is there. They've been scouting these players all year long. Patrick Elvin's intel and his feedback on each player. Like one thing about Patrick Elvine before he got fired, the guy was all over the world.

He went to Sweden, Finland, Switzerland. He went to go see Verhof in North Dakota. He went to see Gavin McKenna. He was in Ontario for a whole week to see Mahaltra. He was there to see Chase Reed. They got his intel. Like they've got his intel. So I don't know, like, do you make the changes, Jason, right away in scouting, or do you wait until after the draft?

They've got a pretty good read. They have to wait until after the draft, though, don't they? Well, yeah, but a new guy coming in, like I said, is going to want his people in there, too, right? That it happens all the time. Is it going to be able to hire them in time for the draft? Well. Next month, you know. Well, so when Travis Green got here, he got a bunch of guys from the Portland Winterocks.

When Willie Desjardin got here, he got a bunch of guys from the Medicine at Tigers. So the guys that get new jobs, they usually hire people they've worked with or players they've seen and worked with before. So, you know, it's going to be a GM if it's not, it'll be interesting if it's Ryan Johnson, because he knows everything. I don't know how many, but a new guy's going to want his own people. That just happens all the time. He's going to, he might try and bring some people over. If it's heaven gold, he might try and bring some people over from Boston, but you usually want your people that you trust.

And a new GM is going to want to be able to trust every single scout that is going to work under him because scouts can get GMs fired real quick. Hey, if Ryan Johnson doesn't get the job in Vancouver, is he on the next flight to Nashville? Because it sure seems like they're waiting for something in Nashville. Yeah, it's funny. You say that, Mike, really funny. I wonder if I've kind of had a couple of people ask me,

is Nashville waiting for Ryan Johnson? You know, it's been ridiculous. They've been looking for three months or something now. I mean, it's been, but they got very trots there. It's not like they need a new GM today. Barry Trots, he ran the trade deadline, he's going to run the draft for them. So it's not like you can, kind to see why Nashville is not in a rush.

And maybe, maybe, you know, we all know this. Ryan Johnson lives in the offseason in Nashville, right? I am sure human nature is when that opening came up. I'm sure he thought, oh, you know, there's an opening in Nashville. I live there in the off season. It's just human nature to think, okay, but I wonder if that, wonder if I'll get a call, you know, or invite to get an interview there. So, yeah, you know what, Mike?

people are starting to question that and wonder, you know, is there a fit for him if there's not a fit for Vancouver? Like the Canucks do realize if they don't give the GM job to Johnson, he's going to bold. That's why I mentioned to you guys, do you give him another title, Vice President of Hockey Ops or something like that? Maybe it's good enough, another title? Maybe it's not. I don't know. But all I know is that he's paid his dues in Vancouver. He's been here 12, 13 years, want to call the cup. He knows the organization inside out. He knows every player in Abbotsford, Inside Out. He knows the Scouts.

He knows every prospect. You know, he's pretty hands-on, you know, with the prospects as well. He's hands-on down in the development of all these guys, you know. And I'll tell you this much. When you talk to people around the league about Ryan Johnson, you just, there's a ton of respect there for this guy. Like, I'll never forget Dakota Joshua's agent told me one of the big reasons why they signed in Vancouver was Ryan Johnson.

You know, he saw him in the American League. And he's got a lot of respect. He's a well-respected guy. Canucks lose him. You know, they're losing a really quality hockey guy, really quality hockey guy. Real quick here, Rick, because we've got to go. If you had to guess right now, who are the Canucks drafting at three? It's Caleb.

But I want to say this. Do you, if it's an organization, if it's a positional pick, it's Caleb Malhotra. But I got to quickly tell you this story. I want to go back to the 20-23 draft. Canucks are picking 11th, right? They take Tom Lander because they got zero right-shot D in the system, right? Two picks later,

Buffalo takes the kid from Chilowack, Zach Benson. Benson's got five points to seven playoff games for Buffalo right now. Played in the NHL right after drafted. Creates offense. He's got Bradmore shot in him, drives other team nuts, fearless, tons of grit. 28 minutes

in penalties in the playoffs. You win with guys. like Benson. Benson would look great in a Canucks uniform, but the Canucks would still have zero right shot D in the system. The big question for me, in this draft, you passed on Benson for position, are you going to pass on a game-changing defenseman to take a center when you just lost Quinn Hughes? Are you making the same mistake again? The biggest thing is, yes, they need a centerman. After Cooch, they got nothing in the system for center. Then we're talking about centers that have potential to play top six. Do you take Mahaltra because you're dying for centers

or do you take one of these defensemen that could be a game-changing defenseman? What if Stembourg is there at three? I mean, that would be, you know, like, that's a talent. He's a winger. He's a winger. I know. I know. But he's a talented winger. Yeah, I know.

We all know scouts love right shot D and center in the top of the draft. We know that. But he's a winger. but I'm just saying like, you know, how do you not love Benson? Do you watch the playoffs and watch this kid? Like, I mean, you see what Charlie McAvoy did. He drives teams nuts. He's skill.

He's got offense. By the way, the Canucks thought he was too small in his draft year, you know. Don't even get me going because they thought Logan Stan Covell was small. They thought Cole Coffeyer was small. They thought they didn't think much of Cole Hudson his draft year. It's time to stop with the, you know, these players are small. There's a lot of small players making a big difference in the, NHL playoffs this year. You can't pass up on small players when there's 32 teams anymore. You can't do it.

I think it would be insane to draft for position where the Canucks are right now. And I am, like Halford gets tired of hearing me talk about the importance of centermen and having a number one defenseman. He's been hearing this forever. But for the Canucks to draft based on position with what they've got right now in their prospect system would be the highest level of insanity. If Stenberg is there and they think he is the best player and that he is the most talented

and the most likely to turn into a star player in the NHL, they need to take him. But I'm going to fight back with you. Remember when if the Canucks got the first pick? Oh, you can't take Stembourg. You got to take McKenna. Now all of a sudden everyone loves McKenna in Vancouver.

So what happened there? If the Canucks would have the first pick, everybody wanted McKenna and not Stenberg. Yeah, but I'm assuming that McKenna's off the board. I'm a dumbest argument I've ever heard. I'm sorry. If McKenna's off the board, okay, well, if McKenna's available, they should take him. And number three, if they truly think he is the best player of ill.

All I'm saying is that if you are drafting by position where the Canucks are right now, I don't trust that they're going to be a patient enough team in this rebuild. That's it. Right. That's a good point. That is a point. And, you know, some of the candidates in the interview process did tell the Canucks, oh, it's not too far away. And some said, hey, you guys are looking at a long, long, long rebuild.

Go look at Anaheim, eight years. Seven times they're picking the top ten. Three times they're picking the top three. Now they're one of the best young teams in the NHO and they're going to wreak havoc on teams for years. If anybody in the Connox organization thinks this is a two or three year rebuild, they're out to lunch. This is going to be a lot of years. If they can do what Anaheim did and come out of it in seven, eight years looking like Anaheim, mission accomplished. Rick, this was great, buddy.

Thanks for this. Enjoy the weekend. Adios. See you later. Rick Dollywall here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650. He got to me again. It's got to me again. Classic Dollywall. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.