Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 6/19/24

Episode Date: June 19, 2024

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports including the Edmonton Oilers forcing a Game 6, they hear from Elliotte Friedman on what's next for the Canucks signing-wise, they talk the Hronek deal with Canucks Central's Satiar Shah, plus the boys tell us what they learned.  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. What a brilliant piece of work McDavid to Perry And it's 4-1 You're not feeling deflated A little grumpy Why are you so pissy?

It definitely was important for us to get locked up But it wasn't really safe You have holidays in two days I think what happened in Vancouver Did a number of things to me I think it pissed me off First and foremost Good morning Vancouver 6-0-1 on a Wednesday Happy Wednesday everybody It. I think it pissed me off, first and foremost.

Good morning, Vancouver. 601 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. It's Alfred. It is Brock. It is Sportsnet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintex Studios in beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning.

Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Alfred and Brock for the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver Honda is Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help you with anything you're looking for,

be it sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in Hour 1 of the program. Hour 1 is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. Northstar Metal Recycling. They recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the kintec studio kintec canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star google reviews sore feet what are

you waiting for kintec that's what i'm waiting for i'm also waiting for this show to get underway because we got a lot to get into today guest listest list begins at 6.30. Jeff Merrick's going to join us. Well, well, well. Look at the Edmonton Oilers. They dragged Florida back to Alberta. There will be a game six in the Stanley Cup Finals after a big, big win by Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers last night.

Jeff Merrick will join us to talk about that at 6.30. We're going Stanley Cup Finals heavy today, folks. I know the Canucks landed a deal with Philip Hronick and we will talk about it, but at 7 o'clock, we're going to be joined by David Dwork from Florida. We'll get a sense of how these Florida Panthers are feeling. Do they

match the emotion shown by their general manager, Bill Zito, who was caught on camera chucking a water bottle in anger after they lost game five. He's now a meme. He is a meme, which is great. That's what the kids say.

That's a meme right there. You with the hand claps. Immediate meme. Yeah, exactly. Zito, Bruff, both got memed. David Dwork's going to join us from Florida at 7, 730. We're going to go to Edmonton. Jason Greger, 1440 Sports Talk Radio in Edmonton.

The Oilers have to be over the moon and how the last two games have gone and how unbelievably good, unbelievably good Conor McDavid has been in elimination games. A cool eight points in two elimination games. Is that good? Is that good?

Seems good. That's pretty good. Jason Greger is going to join us at 7.30. 8 o'clock uh that's where we're going to dive deep into the philip haronic contract extension an eight-year deal in case you missed it yesterday satyar shah who was on the air during canucks central when the news broke uh he will be joining us at eight so we can go through not just what the deal means for the canucks but what's going to come next and possibly what it means for uh going after jay genzel when

free agency opens on July 1. So working in reverse on the guest list, 8 o'clock, it's Satyar Shah, 7.30, Jason Greger, 7 o'clock, David Dwork, 6.30, Jeff Merrick. We've got a loaded show. We've got a lot to get into. 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? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? You missed that? 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. Connor McDavid had four points again, second consecutive game, and the captain led his team to a second consecutive victory. 5-3, the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Well, well, well.

All bets are officially off. The Oilers have forced a Game 6 back in Edmonton. That game's going to be on Friday. And in Edmonton, the Oilers will be the betting favorites to tie the series at three. And if they can pull that one off, we'll have ourselves a game seven back in Sunrise next Monday.

Yes, there's two days off before each of these games, assuming there are two games and not just one. This game reminded me of a lot of things. It was reminiscent of game three, except with the teams reversed in that one. Don't forget. Yep. The one that put the Panthers up three, nothing

in the series. The Panthers got out to a four, one lead and they held on to win four to three. The only difference in game five, besides the teams being switched, is that the Oilers added an empty netter last night to make it a 5-3 final, but they got out to a 4-1 lead and then the Panthers got a couple of them back, made it

a little bit nerve wracking for Oilers fans. But then Connor McDavid scored into the empty net after a brilliant recovery by Matthew Kachuk that went for not. And a less brilliant recovery by Oliver Ekman-Larsen. Yes, although OEL did score last night, and he could have had two. For Canucks fans,

it might have been more reminiscent of Game 5 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, when New York was all set to celebrate at home at Madison Square Garden. The Canucks spoiled the party, though. They got off to a 3-0 lead in that one, and then the Rangers tied it,

and then the Canucks scored three more. Dave Babich scored the game winner in that one. Quite strong. The Canucks went home to win games. He is strong. He is strong. The Canucks then went home to win game six, which the others are going to try to do.

Alas for the Canucks, they went back to New York for game seven and lost to the Rangers. It's natural for our brains to compare and contrast the present with the past. Our brains are designed to recognize patterns. So we're like, this reminds me of that. But really, there's no telling how this one will play out. There are two teams that have fought back from a 3-0 deficit in a Stanley Cup final

to force Game 7. Happened a long time ago. One of them won Game 7, the 1942 Leafs against Detroit. The other one lost the 1945 Red Wings against the Leafs. That was back in the 40s when the Leafs used to win Stanley Cups because there was only six teams, so it was a lot easier. A few things have changed since then.

You're allowed to pass the puck forward. Goalies wear masks. Right, but aside from that, same thing. Which is a good idea idea i think we've all agreed uh of course we've seen a couple of other teams overcome three nothing deficits in the earlier rounds uh 75 islanders the 2010 philadelphia flyers against the boston bruins who bounced back nicely the next season and most recently the 2014 la Kings who did it to the San Jose Sharks so we know it's possible and I said it Monday and I'll say it again today wouldn't it be remarkable not necessarily

enjoyable if you're a Canucks fan but remarkable if this is the way the Canadian drought gets broken if Connor McDavid arguably the greatest talent we've ever seen in the game, text in if you disagree with that, I don't really care, puts the Oilers on his back and wins the whole damn thing. Yep. Eight points in his last two games,

as Halford mentioned. Eight points while facing elimination. We have not seen a player put up these kind of numbers in the playoffs since the days of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. It is truly remarkable. McDavid's assist on Corey Perry's game winner last night

could go down as one of the most famous goals in Stanley Cup final history. And I say could because I think it'll be even more famous if the Oilers come back and win this series. On that goal, he beat practically the entire Panthers team out there, allowing Corey Perry to be like, well, nobody's watching me. I'm just going to sneak in here and get open for a brilliant cross-ice pass. That's one of the best goals you'll ever see in a big game. And I was thinking last night, I was watching Connor McDavid. I was like, it'll be nice to cheer for

him when we finally see him suit up for Canada and best on best competition only time it'll ever happen I'll say this so earlier in the week I when I believe it was after the Oilers were down to nothing in the series is the day of game three so they were facing the possibility of digging

themselves a really deep hole and I use the phrase like referendum this is going to be a referendum on McDavid because up to that point he had been quiet he wasn't producing offensively and I said you know people are bending over backwards to trying to figure out why you know what's going on with the Oilers and how can they reverse this and to me it was simple McDavid was either going to lead them and pull them out of this or he wasn't and that was going to be the referendum and you push back I think rightly so might not have been the right terminology,

but I think the point stood, and I think it's even more illuminated now because what he's done in the last two games is kind of exactly what I was talking about. If guys are banged up, and you're not getting production from your depth scoring, and you need someone to make a difference, everyone in the room

is going to look at 97 and be like you do it yeah you get us out of this and he did it which is a remarkable thing eight points and two elimination so good man he's just like i don't even think he looked bad early in the series he just the puck wasn't going in for him and things weren't happening for him he was still very noticeable out there but he's taken it to another level in these last two games. And the way you push back against my like referendum point was astutely pointing out that, you know, well,

Gretzky and Lemieux in their first Stanley cup finals, it didn't go great. They learned from it and they moved on. McDavid learned from it after three games. He's like, okay, none of that. That is why this is actually been a referendum in the positive form.

He has cemented whatever. There was no overratedness. There was no additional hype. Like everything that you can say about Connor McDavid as being the best player and one of the greatest, maybe if not the greatest players of all time, is happening and unfolding right in front of our eyes on a game-by-game basis now. Because I've seen guys, I've seen heroic performances before in playoff series where guys will their teams. Sure.

I've never seen two games, elimination games, down 3-0, when mentally you're beat, you're deflated, you're seemingly defeated. And he comes up with otherworldly performances where the staunchest defensive team in the National Hockey League, I would say, the Florida Panthers, have no answers for him right now. That's crazy. Because this series was done and dusted at 3-0. There was no signs that they were going to be able to,

I mean, they went from being down 3-0 in this series to scoring nine consecutive goals in this series. One of the biggest things that we've talked about on this show for the last few years is that Connor McDavid, for all that he's accomplished in the NHL, has never really played in a big game. He never had. You know, the conference finals is, I mean, it's a big game. We're talking about like the biggest.

And there were two reasons for that. The others had never reached the Stanley Cup final. And best on best hockey was on ice. You know, the players weren't going to the Olympics. And, you know, we don't count that World Cup. Was he on the young guns team that year? He was a young gun. He was a young gun, right?

Like that's not big hockey. That's not like everyone's not big hockey. That's not, that's not like everyone getting nervous about it. This is, that's not where legends are made and your legacy

is written, right? Team North America is legendary. I don't know why. Okay, never forget. Yeah, you guys have way too much Team North America

slander going on right now. But this is, this is what he's doing right now is going to go down in the history of the NHL, especially, especially if the Oilers come back and win the series, which is totally possible. So I'm not going to sit here because I want to talk about the Panthers for it. I'm not going to sit here and say that all the pressure is on the Panthers now, because that's a dumb thing to say. The Oilers will still be facing elimination in game six,

and the Panthers will not be. But I think it's fair to say the pressure is about equal now. The Panthers were supposed to be the veteran team that learned their Stanley Cup lessons last year. They were supposed to be the 1983 Oilers. Or no, they were supposed to be the 1983 Oilers or no, no, they were supposed to be the 84 Oilers this year that learned from 1983 and they seemed to have such confidence about them as

they built that three nothing series lead. They had a swagger to them. Now, I don't know if that confidence veered into overconfidence. Maybe that's unfair to the Oilers because all of a sudden you're not crediting the Oilers for what they've done and Connor McDavid for what they've done. Maybe it's just all about the goaltending. I don't know.

Bobrowski looked unbeatable for the first three games and now he looks very beatable. I was thinking about Paul Maurice during last night's game. Here's a coach who's been in the league for a long, long time. And he's never won the Stanley Cup as a coach. He lost in the finals with Carolina over two decades ago. That was back in 2002. He lost in the finals last year with Florida. He gets back to the finals.

He's got a 3-0 lead in the finals, and now he's at risk of becoming that coach. Let's hear now from Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice after his team lost two consecutive games and now has to go back to Edmonton for a very pivotal Game 6. Paul, if you go by home ice, it's supposed to be 3-2. I know it's not what you wanted, but it's supposed to be 3-2. Is that going to be somewhat, I don't know, definitely not comfort, but it's supposed to be hard.

I'm not pumping tires. I'm not rubbing backs. I don't think we need that at all. Everybody feels probably exactly the way I do right now. So there's a, I don't, I'm not feeling deflated. Neither is the hockey team. They're not feeling deflated. A little grumpy. I think the, for teams that are in this situation, the best thing to do is to lean into the situation and don't try to lie to yourself.

Sure. Like say that, wow, like we, you know, like, yeah, we're angry about this. Nothing about, you don't have to be like, the one thing I always hate is when like people will say like, well, if you told us in September that we'd be leading the Stanley Cup final three to two, I think we'd all be happy about it.

Yep. Oh yeah, well, what if we told you in September that you'd be leading the Stanley Cup Final 3-2. I think we'd all be happy about it. Oh, yeah? Well, what if we told you in September that you'd be leading the Series 3-0 and then you'd go on to lose the Series 4-3? Would you be happy about it? Just be honest with yourself. Just be like, hey, it's gut check time for us now. They'd be the third team in NHL history to do that.

Is that correct? Okay, so no one's done what Edmonton's done in a Stanley Cup Final before. No one's gone on the road and won Game 5 after being down 3 Okay, so no one's done what Edmonton's done in a Stanley Cup final before. No one's gone on the road and won Game 5 after being down 3-0. No one's done it before. So we are talking about, there is an unprecedented nature to this. With Paul Maurice and the Panthers,

I don't really put stock in anything they say because no one's gone through this before. My point is that if you're the Panthers, own the situation. It's kind of reminiscent to the Canucks at the beginning of this before. But just my point is that if you're the Panthers, own the situation. It's kind of reminiscent to the Canucks at the beginning of this season. They didn't make excuses for things that hadn't even

happened yet. You know, like they weren't, how do I put this? They just said like, yeah, there's pressure on us. So let's meet pressure with pressure. And like, I think that was absolutely the right way to do it. It wasn't like, hey, we can't put so much pressure on ourselves that if we get off to a bad start everything's gone just be like yeah we need to get off to a good start okay but you know

just own it my counter argument to that would be that i think that they are genuinely shook right now so say yeah but i think say within your room just like, yeah, we're a little bit shook now. You don't necessarily have to say it to the media. Just be like, hey guys, but just own the situation. I think what's happened over the last two games is that if you want to use a boxing analogy is the Panthers landed so many blows that they thought they were on the verge of a knockout and then the others came back and threw a counter punch that didn't just land but really like maybe made him take a knee or a standing eight count and they're like wait a minute this fight isn't over yet and the punch is mcdavid right i mean yeah there was a lot of people that were saying this is awesome i mean this is awesome yeah for

sports fans it really is there's a couple people i know i'm a little worried about the oilers are going to win this thing, but this is fascinating stuff. Oilers have to win game six. They have to win. This has to go to a game seven in Florida. I mean, I know a lot of people listening don't want to see the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.

I know a lot of people listening would be terrified at the prospect of them going back to game seven, having won three games in a row. I don't even care. This has to go to seven. And the others have to lose. Yeah. Well, good try, guys, but you still lost. Do you understand what game seven would represent

from a historical standpoint? We will never see a game seven of a Stanley Cup final like that maybe ever again. Yeah, this is good for the game. This is, and I know people are like, I don't care if it's good for the game. This is – and I know people are like, I don't care if it's good for the game. I want the Oilers to lose as soon as possible. Gary Bettman's looking at Adam Silver right now.

He's like, ah, we got one up on you guys. See, our teams don't fold. Sorry, we talked about it before. So Edmonton would only be the second team to ever do this if they do this. The last team and the only team ever to do it. In the 40s. 1942, Toronto. So if they'd be the second team in NHL history to win

a cup after being down 3-0 would be bonkers. It's not even apples to oranges. It's apples to bowling balls. I know. It's a completely different era, but I'm just saying that's an incredible... Yeah, the Leafs did that one in the second round. Yeah, like those guys were taking off their day jobs as plumbers. You know what I mean? It would still be

absolutely insane, though. Of course it would be insane. All the goalies were nicknamed Tiny. Three players died of dysentery in the offseason. I respect the both comebacks. We're going to need him. Yeah. They had to take trains everywhere.

I mean, come on. What are we talking about here? This is going to be... Can we also talk about, because West End Mike said, Maurice and the Panthers aren't feeling deflated because they have an experienced tire pumper on staff. A-Dog, you were the guy that was like, aren't you excited to see this for Luongo?

Can you imagine? Oh, man. Can you imagine Roberto Luongo right now? Now he's going to be like, well, I'm not on the team. I'm not one of the players. If they're smart, they'll make a Luongo cam for game seven, and you could switch your channel, and the entire camera's just on the Luongo.

No, I just want Zito. I want Zito. That was the guy. In your reaction cam. He stood up. It came right after the game, right? Or after McDavid scored into the empty netter. There's still time left on the clock.

But McDavid scored into the empty netter, and then Zito got up, and he was like, all right, I'm going to try and maintain my cool now. And then that water bottle looked at him and went like, weren't you up 3-0? Recycle me. What the hell did you just say, water bottle? So we've just spent 20 minutes of the opening segment

talking about this series. I think everyone listening right now knows about the Philip Hrononic news from yesterday. The station, uh, had plenty of hours to discuss that topic, but it is still one that we want to talk about. Um, there was an order of things that the Canucks wanted to get done in the off season and Heronic was number one clearly and I remember talking on the show and going like they need to get some sort of answer on this before July 1st before the draft

because you can't go into the draft and be like we don't really know what we need or free agency and be like we don't know if we're gonna be able Hronik. And if you get past July 1st and you haven't signed him and you haven't replaced him, then all of a sudden Hronik's like, oh, I really got you over a barrel now. So Hronik's deal, an eight-year extension with a $7.25 million cap hit. That means the Canucks have locked him up until he's 34 years old. Let's hear from Patrick Alvin now, because Alvin laid it out quite nicely about how this was a priority, a pecking order, if you will, for the Canucks,

and getting Hronik's deal done was atop that priority list. This was something that we have talked with Philip and his agent, Alan Walsh, for quite a time here. And I think, although that we had his rights for not a year, I think this was important for our team and knowing his contract number leading forward and also a younger defenseman on the right side that we feel that we can continue to work with.

And I think there is more to come there. So it definitely was important for us to get Philip locked up here. And when he expressed his interest of wanting to stay in Vancouver and be part of this group for long term, we were extremely pleased to get it over the finish line here. in Vancouver and be part of this group for long term. We were extremely pleased to get it over the finish line here. So reading between the lines, they knew

they had to get this deal done ASAP. It was important to get it out of the way early. It's the first domino to fall and it gives them a lot of clarity heading into July 1. That apparently is of great significance because jake genzel's name is now being tied to the canucks from every major insider that works the game and the league yeah um so do you like the deal it's fine yeah i just

wish we knew that he could carry his own pair well but here's the only thing that that in the back of my mind like i'm glad they signed him. And I think the deal was fair based on the season that he had and his fit with Quinn Hughes. And if him and Quinn Hughes stay together next season, it's not the end of the world. It means the Canucks will have one of the best defensive pairs in the league. But if you're committing that long to a player at that money,

I just want to know that it's possible that you can move him to another pair and he can help carry that pair. Because he's getting paid at least like a number three defenseman. The similarities to the Devontaeves extension in Colorado and the situation are pretty eerie and pretty similar. It's a very similar situation where he's obviously the number two. In this case, Taves would be the Heronic

to Makar's Quinn Hughes, right? Mm-hmm. The number's very similar. The age is very similar. The term, all of it. So it makes sense. And I think sometimes we forget that Heronic was almost a perfect,

near-perfect complement for Hughes on that pairing. Like, they were great this year. Oh, they were incredible. There's no denying it. I think sometimes we want more. It's a natural thing with anyone that follows sports is you always want more. You don't ever want to be satisfied. He was hurt at the end.

I know. There was a reason he uncorked, like, a grand total of one shot from the point. That was at the very end. Yeah. I mean, I was I was hearing things that obviously I can report, but like he couldn't even lift his arms above his head. Right. Because his elbow was and he couldn't shoot. And, you know, maybe that got better by the end of the playoffs, but probably not.

Right. Like, I mean, you're in the playoffs and, you you know i know he denied it and quite forcefully right but but he was hurt um now i'm just looking forward to you know some other stuff happening for the canucks because haronic got done um so there's like two main things that they really really wanted to get done i think resign haronic and go out and find another winger. So we might have to wait until July 1st. They're certainly putting the news out there that they're going to be willing to back up

the Brinks truck for Jake Gensel. Gensel will be like, oh, I was reading Daily Faceoff today. I heard Elliot Freeman on Sportsnet 650. Sounds like we should take Vancouver's call on July 1st. Can we call them earlier? That's some good. No, that's illegal.

That's some good old-fashioned light tampering, though, and I respect the hell out of it. So good job to the Vancouver Canucks for getting all that done. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. So after the Heronic deal was signed, sealed, delivered, and announced, Sportsnet 650 was busy on the analysis front. BIC had Elliott Friedman on shortly after the news was announced,

and they started looking forward to what comes next. And what comes next might be Jake Gensel. So here is about a minute and a half, two minutes, of uninterrupted Elliott Friedman thoughts on what the Canucks might do, how they might do it and why they might go after Jake Gensel. I think right now, we should all understand how the Canucks do business. And at least under the Rutherford-Alveen regime. and that is that if they want something they will try to get something and if they have to do other work around it they will do other work around it so the way I look at this now is they get Roanoke in for a number they're very comfortable with they know what else they've got to do and in terms of cap

room and you know what else they're interested in so like the way i look at it is let's just say like there's all the conversation about ganso let's just say for argument's sake they think they can get ganso my history with jim rutherford is if he if he really feels the ganso they a he him, and B, he makes that much of a difference, then he'll get him. And then he can go 10% over the cap in the summer, and he'll deal with it after. And that's kind of the way, or he'll deal with it at the same time. Like, I just think that's the way Rutherford operates. Here's what I want. Here's what I think I can get.

Now, what do I need to do around it? So, like I said, I think they've given up on Lindholm. I just don't think they're going to be able to do that. I think they're still, I don't know, like the Sadorov thing, it doesn't sound like they're incredibly far apart, but I really don't know which way this is going to go here. I keep hearing different things it's it's pretty funny like at this time of year you hear a lot of crazy stuff but

so you just got to be careful what I'd say right now is that they're just not they're not there and we'll see what happens um um you know Myers I was optimistic I had some people say to me today maybe you're a little bit too optimistic. I mean, this time of year, it's so crazy. The guy who knows the best is the people who know the best, the people in the Vancouver front office. OK, so my line of thinking now is I wonder if they've had a priority list, like a to-do list, and it was very clear that first priority was get the Heronic deal done because we need to know what the rest of the summer is going to look like and nothing that can proceed this summer until we get that deal done.

They just made that the number one priority. That got ticked off yesterday. Ticked off in a good way, like ticked the box. Two, I wonder if number two on that list is we go get Gansel on July 1, and then we figure everything else out after that. So you know what else I'm thinking is, what are the Canucks saying to all the other pending UFAs, some of whom they still hope to bring back?

You're not the priority. Yeah, that's fine. But do you remember we ran out of time? Do you remember Tyler To out of time do you remember tyler toffoli being like well i gotta go i remember we ran out of time but i remember it almost being like this floundering thing where they didn't have a plan period if the plan is you guys are gonna have to take a seat because we've got two big things we want to accomplish and one is haronic and two is genzel well they said they said that to chris taniff and he was

like i just kept on getting told you know we got we'll get to you, we'll get to you, we'll get to you. And then July 1st came around, and he was like, listen, I've got to take this offer here. But that was a totally different management. No, I agree. I realize. Often known for its incompetence.

No, no, no, I know. But the challenges are still there, right? It's a balancing act because you are telling these guys we want you, but we can't commit to you quite yet because we don't know where we're at. The difference I would say here is that it's certainly, and Elliot's pointed this out in multiple different hits. He talked about it on the 32 Thoughts pod. There was another clip with Bick. He said, there's one thing I've learned about Jim Rutherford and dealing with him from Carolina to Pittsburgh to here.

It's that if he wants something, he's going to go and accomplish it. And then he'll figure out the secondary and tertiary parts later. The key is we make a list. We know exactly what we want to do. And then if there's other pieces that we have to deal with, those can be dealt with later and i kind of remember when they finally orchestrated the phil kessel trade was it had long been rumored before that they were going to try and go after phil kessel and it was like rutherford made up his mind he's like we're getting them yeah we'll

figure out the rest later but we're getting them and I wonder if this is the sort of 2K version with Gensel. It's like, you know what? Well, you prioritize top-end talent. I mean, and what if, you know, because the thing is with Hronik, it's like, yeah, this could have happened and that could have happened. But at the end of the day, we're keeping, we traded for him. We identified him. We want to make him Quinn Hughes' defensive partner,

our number two D-man for a long time. Bang, yesterday he gets done. Now I'm wondering, what's the other big hole we need to fill on this roster? We need to find a scoring winger that can play with Patterson. But I wonder if they've considered trading for Gensel's rights so they can get it all done before July 1st. So that's important to note, because Frege also threw that out there yesterday. Or sorry, Frank Cervalli threw it out on Daily Faceoff.

Because it's also, there's the risk of you get to July 1st and you've let other guys sit around and wait and maybe consider other offers. And then Gensel goes to you, I'm going to sign with someone else. And you're like, oh, we're really screwed then. Frank wrote yesterday, in addition to the advanced negotiating time that you're talking about,

the Hurricanes have also let teams know they are willing to work out a sign and trade so the team could get a maximum eight year term for Gensel and lower the cap. It's interesting in exchange for a mid round pick. I mean, all the signals that the Canucks are sending out there, like again, Freed and frank and everyone else aren't getting these things out of thin air like these are happening these things are happening for a reason this is what we refer to as light tampering in the business you just you

work around the edges and you find ways to put things out there so it's not tampering if you call up to carolina and say let's work on this together that's perfectly legal and it's a good strategy here's what I'm saying. Sometimes the most obvious solution is the one that everyone goes with. And I know it's the offseason and we walk ourselves down a bunch of different roads and can they keep this guy and would they like to keep this guy and what offer was made

to this guy. But at the end of the day, it could be our number one priority was to re-sign Filip who was our number two defenseman and we did that. And then our other priority was to get a top six winger, a guy that can play with Petey, and we're going to do that. You have said at the end of the day a thousand times, when is this day coming? July 1st.

Although possibly earlier if they trade for his negotiating rights. You know, and then you get a deal in there with Carolina. Now, by the way, the number that Frank threw out was at least 65 million, and it could be seven times nine and a half for Gensel. And sticker shock would be a thing there. That's a lot of money. And then Petey's going to be like, I don't really like playing with Gensel.

And the proof of concept is kind of there with Gensel, because the one question mark I would have had was, is he going to be as productive not writing Shotgun with Sidney Crosby? Well, he went to Carolina and was great. He scored over a point per game. He had really good chemistry with Sebastian Ajo. I know a lot of people have said Ajo would be the Pedersen in this scenario. And they have similar games where they can set the table for the guy.

I'll say this. If it happens, mentally prepare yourselves for a long-term deal on a guy that's inching closer to 30. Yeah. And a lot of money. A lot of money. Well, they've already made their commitments. So when I look at this team right now, I'm like, yeah, go for it.

Next couple of years. JT Miller's in his prime right now. He's playing really well. You got Demko and Hughes on really good contracts. You made the commitment to Petey. Hopefully he comes back in just better shape mentally and physically next season.

Let's see how it goes. Whether or not you think the team has the ability to win the Stanley Cup, this is the best they're going to look. This is it. So just go for it. They took Edmonton to the dying moments of Game 7 of the third period.

Right. They might not be all the way there, but they're close. Yeah. And then you hope some of the young players take a step next season. And you just, I know I'm saying the word hope a lot. Just like I'm saying, what did I say at the end of the day? At the end of the young players take a step next season and you just, I know I'm saying the word hope a lot. It's just like I'm saying, what did I say

at the end of the day? At the end of the day, at the end of the day, you hope things work out. 8 o'clock on a Wednesday. Eurodance Wednesday here on the House of the Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. Dogs are bobbing their heads. It's

Santy Arsha. New theme song coming up. Another one. No. I don't know. I don't know. Sat loves his Euro dance tracks. You can't just do it for any random. It's got to be a...

Any random guy. Any random guest. Like Sat. Who works for the... Who's ever heard of that guy? The bedrock of Sportsnet 6. They have to be regulars. That's the rule.

Do you think Sat would win... Sat would never agree to that. Sat would win the Selkie trophy, right? If there was... Like, if he's just like... Oh, he works the hardest out of everyone here. By far. Yeah. By far.

No, by far. Okay. I mean, compared to you guys, at least. Halford would be the one that's just like, he's got so much talent, I just can't seem to pull it together. The ability is there. The fitness isn't. Yeah.

They'd be like, I've heard Brough isn't great in the room. Mental strength. That's the opposite of the leadership award. He creates divisions. He creates a show so toxic. He's polarizing. It's just a trophy that's all torn apart into pieces. It's very reflective of your leadership abilities.

8.01 on a Wednesday. Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. We are in hour three of the program. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. This entire show, the whole shebang, is brought to you by Pacific Honda, North Vancouver's premier destination for Honda vehicle sales and service.

They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Soar feet, what are you waiting for? Kintec. That read, I just like, I've read it so many times,

it's lost all meaning to me. I'm going to Kintec today. Are you? Oh, nice. You're going to get some shoes? I need new shoes. I need them to help me. What kind going to Kintec today. Are you? Oh, nice. You're going to get some shoes? I need new shoes. I need them to help me. What kind of shoes do you want?

Comfy ones. Just runners? Try some of the, what are they, On Clouds? Ons, yeah. Whatever's good for lots of walking. I do a lot of walking. What kind of shoes do you want? Comfy ones.

You're the guy that comes into the store and they're just like, oh, give me some comfy shoes. Looking for some spiky ones? Looking for shoes that cause me a lot of pain. Do you have any of those? Okay, everyone shut up. Sat tees off in eight minutes, so we got to go to the phone lines here.

Satyar Shah joins us now on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Sat. How are you? What's happening, boys? Well, I actually did tee off already at 6.30, and it's going about as well as Knucks off season in 2020.

Oh, wow. Where are you playing? Newlands. Oh, nice. Okay, good. Thank you for, one, thank you for doing this mid-round. I thought you had a tee time that we were going to try and squeeze a hit in before,

but this is great, so we'll try and not keep you for too long. Let's start. So yesterday, you're on the air at Canucks Central. Hronic News breaks. Your reaction is? Well, it's honestly the best move to get the Hronik sign. So I felt like when we started looking at

one of the options for the Cucks on the right side, especially if they want to get better and find somebody that's on the higher end, they weren't going to find that in free agency. The question just was, is Hronik willing to play enough ball, or is he really holding out for $7.5-$8 million? Because that was never going to happen in Vancouver. It's still a little

bit more than I had hoped. I kind of hoped the number would be at $7 million. But I think $7.25 million, considering where the cap is going, considering the scarcity of right-handed defensemen of that caliber to begin with, his arbitration case and the leverage that he had, I think it's a very fair number. And I think what it does is it puts away a big... The to-do list becomes a lot simpler now, because now you're looking at guys that fill roles in the back end, and you really can put your

focus on finding that higher end forward, because even if you made a trade with Phil Peronic, it's all going to be a futures based trade, and if you're looking at signing three agents, I mean, would you rather have Peronic at 725, or have to pay a guy like Matt Roy 5 million, who doesn't move the puck all that well either, and I think that's kind of what I felt

was the best case, was get him signed to a number that made sense. Maybe slightly more than people had hoped, but I don't think we were going to be able to find a player of his caliber for the same number, even if he traded them. So can they make other, could they sign other guys, their own UFAs right now before they know if they're going to land a guy like Jake Gensel? The only guy I think they could get done is probably Myers.

Because if the number is under three, let's say he does sign for 2.75, and it's just kind of hypothetically for two or three years, I think that number could make sense next to it. I don't think you can use a drop right now and really feel good about your chances of landing Jake Gensel. Now, you still have the money to get it done, but I think the one that's most realistic is probably Tyler Myers. But the Zdorov one is the one that I haven't really closed the door on completely.

If they get him to under five, that can make sense. There is a way for the Canucks to make their numbers work with Jake Gensel, with Filip Proenik, and playing Zdorov five. It just means you're not going to be able to have a lot of depth on your wings outside of getting Jake Gensel. So in terms of getting it done, they can, but I think they want to have enough flexibility that not only are they

chasing Jake Gensel, but also another Florida defenseman as well. Do you think they'll explore sending something to Carolina in order to get a Gensel deal done before July 1st, just in case. I mean, the downside basically is like, what happens if they don't get Gensel? Are they going to be left scrambling then? What's their backup plan? We don't want to hear we ran out of time again.

Right. No, I don't think it's going to get to that. I think they already have a few plans. Like if they don't get Jake Gensel, I think there's a couple of guys they're going to take it to. I think we already have a few plans. If they don't get Jake Gensel, I think there's a couple of guys they're going to pivot to. I think we talked about this last week. It may not be quite as sexy if you're signing, say, a guy like Jason Zucker, for instance, to a shorter

term deal. So Foley would probably spit the mark of people would be pretty happy, but it's still really the long-term solution. So I think they feel pretty comfortable that they can find a couple of guys, even if they are stopgaps. So I don't think they're going to be running out of time, so to speak. But a pick to sign Jake Gensel,

I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility. The only question right now is, is the market around Jake Gensel hot enough that teams are clamoring for that eighth year and clamoring to get that deal done with Carolina? Because if that's the case, then you may have no choice. But that's the kind of thing I haven't been able to nail down quite yet, is that are teams interested enough that they're willing to go the extra year and trade the draft pick.

And so far, no team's really pushed for that yet. So I think the Canucks, if they don't have to trade the pick, I think they would prefer to do it and get them signed in free agency. It just kind of depends on where the market's at for him, given what Carolina's looking for. And I think they're looking for a third right now where they've settled for a fourth or a fifth. And I think that's kind of where some of these teams are at.

It's like, well, maybe we'll trade a fifth. I'm not sure I want to trade a third. Yeah, the Canucks are like, our third is our first actually this season. So we'd like to keep that one. They're not even going to the draft this year. They're like, whatever. We'll just do it over the phone.

Sat, is there a feeling within the Canucks organization that Philip Hronick can improve, take his game to another level? Like, I realize he played well this season, but can they coach him up a little bit more to the point maybe where he can carry his own pair? I think, I know Albin mentioned that, but from my discussions, I think they truly believe there's not a level

to Philip Verona's game. And I think just by watching him with our eye test too, you can see that sometimes his puck moving isn't quite as clean as it needs to be. Sometimes his decision-making isn't 100% where it needs to be. And for a guy who's really physical, he's not afraid of battling, I don't know if his stick is good enough

along the board consistently. and I think those are things that he can easily work on, and those are things that he's capable of doing better, and given the strength of his coaching staff and teaching, I think there are some real easy pathways for him to improve if he just puts that work in, and I would imagine he's going to put that work in,

considering they made that a commitment to him for years, but I do 100% see there are easy pathways for him to improve. I mean, how often do we see him, even in the playoffs, whether with injury or not, later down in the season, him having trouble making clean plays with the puck? And I think that's something that he can easily improve, given his skill set.

We're speaking to Satyar Shah, Sportsnet 650's very own. You heard him on Canucks Talk yesterday when news of the Filipronic extension broke. I want to circle back on Gensel. We played some audio from Freed who was on with Bic yesterday, and he made it very clear that in the time that he's covered Jim Rutherford from Carolina to Pittsburgh to here, it's that if Rutherford wants to land someone and has his eyes set on a particular player or plan, he's going to get it done one way or another,

even if it means getting the guy and then figuring out the rest of the pieces later. With that in mind, in light of all of these reports out there that the Canucks are heavily interested in getting Jake Gensel on the door, would you be able to put like a percentage or a likelihood or an odds on, you know, Jake Gensel being a member of the Vancouver Canucks,

given how driven it seems like they are to land him in the top six? Right. I mean, it's really hard to put. I mean, I'm somewhat guessing. I would put it at greater than 50%. I'm not sure I can give you an exact number. Like, would you put it at 55? We ask people outside of Vancouver and kind of talk to some agents

and people around the league. There seems to be a lot of buzz around Vancouver. So you can kind of, there's a feeling that perhaps Vancouver is the clubhouse leader. But like I mentioned before, all it takes is one team saying, you know what, screw it, we'll be willing to give them 10. We'll give up the draft pick and trade for his rights. So it's hard for me to put a real strong percentage on it. But I do think it's greater than 50%.

And when you ask people outside of Vancouver, there is this belief that Vancouver currently is the favorite to land him. So that doesn't mean you're going to get him on July 1st. It doesn't mean the country is going to pay for his rights. But given what Elliott said about Rutherford, their confidence, and how willing they are to pay a little extra to get a deal done, I don't want to keep saying something that's going to come back and haunt me, but I would say it seems slightly more likely than not they land it. Okay, Sad, I know you're in the middle of a round.

You've done yeoman's work by joining us this early in the morning. Go finish up. Enjoy the rest of the round, and thank you very much for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Well, you know, maybe I should stay on the phone because I just hit my best tee shot talking to you guys right now, and I've been absolute garbage. Who is this guy?

He's golfing wildly. Did you just mute your phone while you hit it? I wanted to hear that shot. No, I have that voice, the noise canceling thing going on. So you guys can't hear anything but my voice. It's too loud around here for me to take that off. They have like these lawnmowers going off right now too and people are watering their grass.

You know it's an early morning round when the lawnmowers are going out. All right, Sat. Thanks for doing this, buddy. Hit it well, buddy. You got it. Thanks, buddy. See you, pal. Satyar Shah from Connects Talk here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Very, very kindly joining us from Newlands, where he's mid-round. Okay. I want to do some what we learned here. I want to do a full Euro learned here I want to do like a full Euro update because we've been obviously we're not going to talk about it in the first two hours of the show Stanley Cup Finals going on the Philip

Heronic deal gets done there's all these rumors about Jake Ansel but the last three matches in a row have been of the highest quality in terms of drama and intrigue and comeback so So it started yesterday. Again, no one in the

right mind was looking at the calendar and looking at the schedule when it came out with the groups and everything and being like, oh, you know what match I want to watch in the first round? Georgia and Turkey. No one was saying that. Yeah. And they put on a show yesterday. Sometimes you'll get these matchups

in a tournament where the two teams just stylistically and where they're at in terms of they're happy to be there or they're on the big stage for the first time and they want to make a show they'll kind of throw caution to the wind and that's what both of them did yesterday just end and back just trading chances back and forth so that was a great match the second match yesterday was the heavily favored portuguese against the czechs and all the drama that one happened in the final 30 minutes the czechs scored to go up one nil and you're thinking wow big upset on the horizon here portugal scores to even it up and then they score a very dramatic winner into added time so that's

a great match right very exciting all of that then you get to today's match and you've got croatia who was terrible in the first match of the tournament. They got blown out by Spain. They go down 1-0 to Albania. They come back and go up 2-1, and we're thinking, ah, there's Croatia again. You can never count them out of a major tournament. They always find ways, except they didn't.

And oddly enough, the Albanian defender, I think it's Gajsula, I think I'm pronouncing that correctly, Gajsula, he scored an own goal to give Croatia the 2-1 lead. He came back and scored in the 95th minute to get the draw for Albania, and the Croatian players collapsed onto the turf afterwards. Their tournament might be in serious jeopardy now. The guy who scored the own goal the other day,

what was his name? Oh, Max Wober, the Austrian. He should have scored. The guy who scored the own goal the other day, what was his name? Oh, Max Wober, the Austrian. He should have scored. He should have scored. That's the best, you know, instead of going up,

instead of going and apologizing after the match, you could be like, you know what, I'm going to make up for this right now. Yeah.

Even the matchup. He just goes forward like, what are you doing? I don't care about your apology, Max Wober. Go even up the score. Anyway, I bring all this up for a variety of reasons. One

is that if you want to check out tomorrow's England match, second match of the tournament for the English, it's a 9 a.m. kickoff. So a lot of establishments won't be open. AJ's Pizza on East Broadway has solved the problem. They've turned themselves

into a footy bar for the duration of this tournament. And they're going to open up extra early tomorrow, 9 a.m. And they are licensed to serve the alcohols. So if you're looking for a place to go, AJ's Pizza on East Broadway, AJ and the folks down at the best pizza place in the world are going to open up early. They're going to be showing that. They're going to be showing the Italy match. They're going to be showing the Canada match because tomorrow

is obviously a big day, not just for the Euros, but the Copa America kicks off. Canada takes on Argentina later in the afternoon. So if you want to check them out, AJ's Pizza on East Broadway, our good buddy. I think I'm going to go for the 9am England match. I think I'm going to do it. I think I'm going to take the flight. Against the Danes, that'll be

probably their toughest match of the group. It's a rematch of the Euro, the previous Euro semiffinal of course they sort of they took care of denmark they could they took care of denmark before famously losing to italy on penalties in the final uh the other two games today uh about to kick off in about 45 minutes germany and hungary germany was very impressive uh in their opening match and course, they're hosting this tournament. They smoked Scotland. And speaking of Scotland, Scotland will be in action again. Noon kickoff time, Scotland versus Switzerland.

One more tiny thing I want to do before we move on to the Euro stuff. So I think it was yesterday we were talking about Jude Bellingham and the English. And I was trying to go down a road. I didn't do a great job of explaining myself. And you actually were like, what are you talking about? I kind of said that England had never had a young emerging superstar of this caliber on this trajectory going into a major tournament like this. They've had young stars before. They have, absolutely. they've had young stars before like they have absolutely yeah yeah and i guess what what i was really trying to say was that um like they had michael owen burst onto the scene when he was 17

well i think about michael owen i think about wayne rooney i think about uh beckham i think about the beckham maybe wasn't as he wasn't it was it wasn't like 18 yeah yeah rooney and owen were 17 18 and they got shot out of a cannon in these international tournaments and burst onto the scene. And it was like they were young. Michael Owen is the greatest player of all time. He was younger. Scored at will. He was younger and faster and more exciting than everyone.

And everyone kept saying, just wait until he gets a little bit older and gets a little bit more mature and gets stronger. And then the results at tournaments were up and down, and he had a lot of injuries. And Wayne Rooney was very similar. His first international tournament, shot out of a cannon, scoring like a young, powerful, like a bulldog, but he could race and sprint. He was like the Mike Tyson version of soccer.

That's a really good way of putting it, actually. And he just came up with that on the spot, which is very good, very well done. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.