Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 6/25/25

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they talk the Hockey Hall of Fame induction announcement, including Alex Mogilny finally getting in, plus they discuss the latest 'Nucks news with Canucks Central host Satiar Shah. 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. And a high fly ball to deep left center field. It's gone! A grand slam for George Springer. Ronnie at center ice. Moves it ahead for McGillie going down low. Cheers!

It's a sick society, isn't it? It's a sick society. Good morning, Vancouver. 6 o'clock on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. It's Halford and his bruv at eSportsNet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintec 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. It's a sick society, Halford. Halford and bruv for the morning is brought to you by sands and associates BC's first and trusted choice for that help with over five three thousand five star reviews visit them online at sands

Trustee calm we are in our one of the program our one is brought to you by North star metal recycling Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal North star metal recycling they recycle you get paid He's the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 11th and 70 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. Big show ahead on a Wednesday, first hour,

all uninterrupted, Halford and Brough. Gonna be talking a lot of hockey hall of fame, folks. Get ready for it, that's the first hour of the program. Our guest list today begins at seven o'clock. Nick Kiprios is going to join the program. He, of course, the host of Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet's Fan 590. Kipper's Trade Board 2.0 dropped yesterday. Marner, Robertson, Pedersen, all the big names are there.

We'll talk about it with Nick at seven o'clock as we get closer and closer to the NHL entry draft. And of course, we are now just six days away from the start of free agency. Now, 730. The Canucks have done. Nothing, nothing yet. A lot of prep work. So just getting ready.

They're biding their time. They have everyone where they want them. David Amber is going to join us at 730. He'll be joining us live from Los Angeles at the 2025 NHL entry draft. Although it is a decentralized draft this year, we're still going to be there. Sportsnet still showing up, doing our thing. The draft goes on Friday, as I mentioned. Also, as I mentioned, the Hockey Hall of Fame inductions happened yesterday.

So we'll go over a very compelling 2025 entry class in the first hour of the program. And with David, that's coming up at seven 30 eight o'clock. It's Satya Arshad, host of Canucks Central right here on Sportsnet 650. What are we hearing out of Canucks land just six days ahead of free agency? What's the likelihood of Vancouver moving the 15th overall pick at Friday's draft? We will answer or at the very least try to answer some of these questions and more with Sat at 8 a.m I have a question finally to end this whole thing off as we move along on the show

Have you bought your tickets for the sports net 650 Jays care 5050 for challenge your baseball yet? If you haven't you have you bought your hundred dollar. I am just as guilty as the people I still haven't done it Okay, and I need to do it. You're right to call me out. Yeah, I have not done it. I am just as guilty as the people. I still haven't done it. And I need to do it. You're right to call me out. Yeah. I have not done it. I have not fulfilled our wager. I have not given to charity.

I have not supported. That happens today. Challenger baseball or tomorrow. Uh, I will however, do it. And I implore all of you to do the same. Buy your tickets now at jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. It's a great cause. Challenger baseball is a worthy endeavor.

We've talked about it a lot on this show. jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. Buy your tickets now. This entire thing is supported by Tile Town. Proudly Canadian owned and operated since 1971. Visit them online at mytiltown.ca. Okay, working in reverse on the guest list. Eight o'clock, Satyar Shah, 730 David Ambers,

seven o'clock Nick Kiprios. That's what's happening on the program today, laddie. Let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I'm moving. We know how busy your life can be.

What happened? You missed it? 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. Yesterday the big news of the day, the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame entry class was announced and the biggest story of them all without question is that Alexander McGillinley's long wait to get in is finally over.

Hell yeah. After being eligible for selection 16 years in a row, he finally got in on the 17th try along with a star-studded cast. Joe Thornton, Zdenino Ochara, Duncan Keith. On the women's side, Brianna Decker and Jennifer Botterill. It was a very, very newsworthy day from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Okay, I'm gonna start with A-Dog.

Why are you so excited about Alex McGillin? He was one of my favorite players. He was one of your favorite players? But also it is ludicrous it took him this long. I mean his stats should have gotten him in much quicker than he got in. And of course his defection story, which is just incredible.

It's like a movie. Yeah. Like he was heroic and his family could have been killed. And it was just this incredible story of him getting over to the NHL and paving the way for so many more Russian players and Eastern European players.

And it's just this incredible story. He was one of the league's best goal scorers for many years, even though he was an enigma at times, sort of an Alexei Kovlev style. You know, some nights he just wouldn't show up. But when he did, man, he was one of the best players in the league.

And like, he was just an absolutely machine of a goal scorer when he was on his game. And I know he only had really one great year in Vancouver, but he had many great years on other teams. And yeah, he should have gotten in a long time ago. Yeah, well said. Yeah, I wanted to put it to you first, because I know you've been kind of one of the voices

that's been like, this guy should get into the Hall of Fame. You're so good. He is so good. That's why, yeah, I mean, he was. He is. He was so good. Just watch his highlight reels, man. Supremely talented.

Incredible. Supremely talented player. And yeah, now he's finally in. Yep. Supremely talented player and Yeah, now now he's finally in yep, and it was It was the story of the class which isn't necessarily a shame But it does overshadow a lot of other really compelling narratives about the people that got in and because it was such a loaded class The people that didn't get in as I mentioned Jumbo Joe Thornton who I think everyone assumed was gonna be a first ballot guy and the other two Zdeno Char and Duncan Keith. Is there anyone out there that's debating whether or not they should have been

first ballot guys as well? Not really. So who gets left on the outside looking in? Well, the two most prominent ones were the other two guys that were first time eligible that did not get in. Carey Price and Ryan Gatzlaff. Also, Henrik Zetterberg is left waiting and wanting on the outside for the fourth consecutive year. But we can we can there's a lot to get into with all of these stories.

The McGillin thing is very interesting for the reasons that Andy said. A lot of people spent the days leading up to yesterday in a weird conversation before the announcement that there seemed there didn't seem like there was a real wind of change blowing in the media, like I think I see this one coming, or oh, this could be the year, because one, the collective media had done that several times before, and two, there was a sentiment that the ship

might have sailed. Well, I also think there was a Russia factor at play. Now, this is an interesting thing that you've brought up here because people have spent and spilled a considerable amount of ink trying to explain why Alexander McGillinney took almost two decades to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

For those that are unaware with the process, and Hockey Hall of Fame is a secret society. We don't get any results following the votes. All of the members are essentially sworn to secrecy about what goes on behind those doors and what those conversations entail. So we had no idea where McGillinly was or if he was even close to being inducted.

He could have been, you know, several votes off the even the idea or the notion of getting in. The only thing I'll note is that Ron Francis was the chairman of the 18 person selection committee for the first time yesterday. So he, along with the outgoing chairman, Lanny McDonald, got to make the call to Russia at 3 a.m., 3 a.m., Russia time that is,

to tell McGillinney that he had gotten in. McGillinney got up, picked up the phone, thanked everyone, was very gracious, then went back to bed because it was in the middle of the night. The reason- His direct direct quote was do you know what time it is like a couple hours earlier come on so Andy did so annoyed like yeah come on it's like at this point like we made me wait this long

you're in like you call me at three in the morning I wonder if he actually do you think actually cares no I don't think so so probably just like okay. Whatever. Why why did it take so long? He's McGill me That's part of his chart. I was like whatever whatever just call me in the morning Yeah, some people were alluding to the Russian factor like you were talking about but then some people would counter that argument by saying like Pavel Datsuk was recently elected. Yeah Yeah, and there's been other Russians that have been elected over the course of time that McGill need gone in That that one didn't really hold water There was some thought that he might spurn the Hockey Hall of Fame because for a couple other honors that he's received

He either bypassed or just completely ignored. I believe one was the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Anyway, that one didn't necessarily hold way because he was inconsistent because like Kovalev's not in either, and some people say it's because of his lack of consistency, regardless of stats and his ability. Two authors in particular have spent a lot of time writing about this. One is Tim Graham from the athletic out of Buffalo, and that makes sense because McGillinley's best years were as a Buffalo Saber.

76 goals one year, was it? Yep, and the other one is Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun, who had covered McGillinley for a year when McGillinley was, or two years, sorry, McGillinley was playing in Toronto, and then I think just kind of turned this up as a personal cause. The general consensus from those two writers is that McGillinly's aloofness, enigmatic, mercurial, quirky, mis- however you want to say it, ways throughout

his playing career had a lot of people saying He left a lot on the table and there was always more that we thought he could have given and he did play with some very Prevalent and prominent NHL players was coached by Hall of Famers and was also managed by a lot of executives during the Hall of Fame And if you go back and look Not a ton of them had a lot to say about the player publicly. It was almost like it was a riddle of a player. Yeah.

There's also he suffered a lot of injuries throughout his playing career. The 76 goals and then I think he hit 50 twice after that. It was a almost kind of a Lindros. Like the star shined very brightly and burned brightly, but it was for a very short period of time. Do you think there was a cultural thing there? Yes.

Just like, when you think about, I know it almost gets to stereotyping when you start calling these players this enigmatic Russian. You think about Kovalev and you think about McGilney, but you also think about personality wise, Pavel Bure. I mean, did anyone besides Gino really get to know Pavel Bure in Vancouver? And he didn't exactly leave on the best note.

I just wonder, you know, I think I also think about, you know, you remember when Krutov came over, that was a long time ago, but he just, culturally, I think he... Like those guys were like, I don't really get it, you know? Vlad the inhaler. Well, even Tramkin.

I remember he came over and he was just like, yeah, I don't... There's blah, blah, blah, you know. Yeah. But it wasn't complaining. Being too smelly in Vancouver. Yeah, it was like a lot of people smoking weed. I'm like, yeah, there are, you know?

And it ruined his hall of fame trajectory, which everyone thought he was on. He's just like, this is awesome. So I'm happy that this story is now being told. You've always brought up this great point about the hockey hall of fame, that when you go there, it should be about telling stories in part, right? It's not the NHL hall of fame.

It's the hockey Hall of Fame. And it's a celebration of the sport and all of the central figures that have made it up and have told its story over time. And I think the hockey Hall of Fame is woefully incomplete without a trailblazer from the

former Soviet Union that took the risk to defect. Part of this is also the Soviet Union's impact on the game of hockey and how the players from that era in that generation really bridge that gap between international hockey and the NHL and McGillin was the first to do it. As for why it took so long this is one of the long-standing complaints of the Hockey Hall of Fame. I don't think that they're ever gonna change it I think that they enjoy being a secret society. I think that they are ever going to change it. I think that they enjoy being a secret society.

I think that they find the public's perception of it unique to in a good way, whereas a lot of other people see it unique in a kind of archaic way. Like this is, you've got every other Hall of Fame really transparent and public about who gets in and who doesn't and the reasons why. But the Hockey Hall of Fame really seems to enjoy

being shrouded in secrecy and not having everyone in like it's this inner club and we decide and that's how it goes. And they also don't have to be accountable. And there's no accountability in this way, right? It's easier. Like Ron Francis becoming. Accountability is overrated. The worst part is when they hold you accountable. Yeah, Ron Francis was the new chairman. I was like, I didn't even know that I had no idea that that was up for term. Like I didn't know that we were anointing a new chairman.

I didn't know that Ron Francis was getting it. And now he's the new guy and he gets to be the landing McDonald moving forward. Uh, okay. So I've got a question for you guys and I've got a question for the listeners tuning in this morning. Uh, how do we feel about Duncan Keith just generally here in Vancouver?

Because I know a lot of people remember him as part of the hated Chicago Blackhawks, not to mention the guy who elbowed Daniel Sedin back in 2012. And I won't blame Canucks fans if that's how they remember him. And if they stubbornly say, I do not like Duncan Keith and I will never like Duncan Keith because

I'm not sure Daniel Sedin was ever quite the same after that hit. It was a dirty hit and there was no real justice because Keith ended up just getting a nice rest for the playoffs where they got eliminated by Phoenix, but whatever. He's never really come across as super friendly in the media either.

Um, he's admittedly a private guy. Um, not, you know, very jovial or it's certainly not public facing. His teammates all love him, but, um, his teammates I think are also all scared of him or they were, but I, I just think it's. were, but I just think it's, I'll say it's unfortunate because Keith is one of the greatest defensemen to ever play the game and he suited up for Canada too. And he's got local ties, well, BC ties to Penticton.

I actually don't think he gets enough credit for Chicago's success during those years. don't think he gets enough credit for Chicago's success during those years. His performance in 2015 was one of the greatest in NHL playoff history. And that's no exaggeration. There are tons of stories about his fitness and his diet and his competitiveness. It's why he was able to log all those minutes in

that legendary series against Anaheim in 2015, the conference final. That Hawks team that won the cup, won it with four defensemen, basically. It was Keith Seabrook, Jean Merson, and Johnny Oduya. They had, who was it? Like, Timonin and. Timonin. Do you remember Kyle Kamisky?

Yep. Yeah. They played like. I remember. Yeah, they played like, they played like seven minutes a game. And Johnny O'Dewy threw out his shoulder in that series. So they're basically down to three defensemen. There were a couple of games against the Ducks that went to OT where Keith played over 40 minutes.

One where he almost played 50 minutes and the Ducks were just teeing off on him over and over again. And Ryan Kessler had the famous quote, well, I guess now infamous quote, no human can withstand that many hits. Well, Duncan Keith did. And you know who admired him and tried to gain some inspiration from him, the current Canucks captain. Um, do we have the audio queued up of, of

Quinn Hughes talking about Duncan Keith? Because even before he was drafted by the Canucks, he was talking about, um, you know, it's, it's not just that Duncan Keith was kind of an undersized defenseman. You know, it's, it's not just that Duncan Keith was kind of an undersized defenseman. He said of Keith's intensity, I want to get to that point for sure. And I don't want to be remembered as just an offensive defenseman. Yeah.

I mean, I'm not never going to be like a shit, whatever. He's obviously bigger and can play defensive differently. But for me as a young kid, I always grew up, you know, idolizing Duncan Keith because, you know, he could log those minutes to you so effective offensively, but also defensively he was reliable and more than reliable, he was, you know, a horse back there. And for me, like that's something I can really respect.

And, you know, I don't want to be known as just an offensive guy and I don't think I will be. But for me, a guy like Keith is someone I really respected growing up because he played both ways. And yeah, so I always watched him growing up and that's kind of where my mindset is, where I want to be. And it's not going to happen overnight, but you know, like I said earlier, I don't know who asked it, but I really like my game right now. I think I'm playing good and for me,

I just got to keep building on it. So that was after the draft, but you know, he's a guy that Quinn Hughes has looked at and it makes sense because Keith was such a phenomenal skater too. Right. Yeah. They're very similar players in that respect. And he could log big. Obviously Keith was more physical and more intense than he is in a different way, but they're both incredible skaters. But I think Queen has added that intensity in his own end.

And I think it's just one of those things where he's aimed to do it and he's, you know, he's accomplishing what he aimed to do with Duncan Keith in mind. And I know some of you listening might be a little to do with Duncan Keith in mind. And I know some of you listening might be a little tired of this Duncan Keith love fest. A lot of them, Jason. Yeah, but these are the types of guys. Here's the thing. These are the types of guys you win Stanley Cups with.

They are the leaders you need. They are ultra-competitive guys, often with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. And Keith always had a chip on his shoulder because people have been telling him he was too small to play the game for his whole career. And they occasionally crossed the line while competing in a very rough game and in the playoffs sometimes you would say rough is vicious. Jonathan Taves told the athletic in a text message that no one was more deserving than Duncan Keith.

Aside from his success and everything he could accomplish, this is the quote that stood out for me. People will never understand how much work and dedication he put in every day. That's the kind of player you need. Uh, I had a, actually a mutual friend who grew up in Penticton and knew Keith growing up.

And it was, he said the work rate and the dedication to improving his craft was borderline maniacal at times. And all the anecdotes that you hear of the true greats, which are like, hey, we're going to a party or we're going to burn down the moon tower. I assume that's what you do in Penticton. And, you know, we're all going to do that tonight. And, you know, you bypass it because you're going to work on your craft. Though those moments and for those of you that have young athletes

that you're either coaching or it's your child. And if you ever want to point to those particular moments where that it's like this is where the difference is made. It's usually when the kid opts to do nothing so that they can sit around and play Valorant or any whatever their video game of their choices? Or I'm amazed you even know what that is. Yeah, my kid plays it wow or impressed Find those find those flashpoint moments where they just want to you know They're tired, and they want to sit around do nothing or they you know

They don't want to put in the work And they want to go out with their friends or they want to hang out, don't chastise them for doing it, but make those flash point moments just be like, just so you know, these are the moments when the ones that get to that super high level have the drive and the focus and focus, the focus and the determination to go do those things. Those are the exact moments you have to short term sacrifices for longterm moments. You have to catch them. Short term sacrifices for long term success. You have to catch those moments though,

because they are fleeting. Wherever, everyone's got those times where they're like, oh, I just wanna, I just wanna decompress. I just wanna recharge the batteries. You know, I'm tired, I'm feeling super great. And everyone, and it's not even rationalizing. Like a lot of people like, they need the rest, right? There are a handful of people out there that are wildly energetic and so focused

and so driven that they understand that those are the moments where, well, I got to go put in work here because the key difference is you're going to put in the work when the other people are taking their rests and whatever. I mean, it's a dangerous game to play with kids because they do need their time to step away from things, but it's just an interesting I remember him saying like we would want to go to parties and dunk would be like I'm going to shoot pucks yeah that would be and that would be it and he'd be and then he'd shoot and just over and over and over again and there's times where you know your buddies are out having a good

time and everyone's having fun and you're off doing this thing Duncan Keith had an advantage though in that he didn't like other people I mean that was a big part when he was like like, I'm going to model that after my game now. Yeah. Because he's really mean to everyone next year. The surly I got, the better I got. It was incredible how that went.

Wow, Quinn's so surly now. He was a miserable piece of business, though. But when, but OK. Ever saw him smile in an interview. We got to, well, yeah, he was missing teeth. But when we got to cheer for him when he was playing for Canada, that was always a great moment. Because you felt safe when he was playing for Canada, that was always a great moment because you felt

safe when he was on the ice, you know? And that blue line that Canada had with him when, you know, like Shea Weber was on that, those blue lines were some of the greatest blue lines ever assembled, ever. Yeah. Any, you know, international, NHL, whatever, they were incredible.

And I actually think like Canada's blue line now doesn't compare at all to when they had the likes of Duncan Keith on it. Mm-hmm. You've got the audio from the Joe Thornton call you were saying, so. Yeah, it's courtesy Adog actually alerting me to this audio.

It's a pretty funny reaction from Joe. You guys want to hear it? Let's hear it to this audio. It's pretty funny reaction from Joe You guys want to hear it? Let's hear it. Okay. Here's Joe Thornton getting the call from the hockey all of me Hey, Joe, I just wanted to let you know that We're really excited to welcome you into the hockey all of fame My god, oh myodle, holy doodle. Oh my God, oh my God, I'm caking. Thanks, boy, holy moly. Holy doodle, holy doodle.

Holy, holy, holy. Did his voice break there? That was my guy. I know we spent a lot of time talking about Alexander McGillin and I know we spent a lot of time talking about Duncan Keith, but Jumbo was my, that was. When did he retire again? Well, it would have had to been three years ago.

Was this the earliest he could get in? Yeah. First, first. So that that trade from Boston now is even more baffling. It was already. But the fact that he's firmly in the Hall of Fame, you know, that you know, that trade featured the current head coach of the Boston Bruins, Marco Sturm, among others that worked out in the long run for everyone. Yeah, right. Right. John Thorne was Thorne might have had the best personality of anyone

that we covered, watched, rooted for or against during what I consider like our generation, which is like the first two decades of 2000, like all the way from 2000 to 2020. And there was a guy that, above all else, loved playing hockey, but not just playing hockey. He loved every part of it. He loved hanging out with with the fellas,

and he loved just being around the rink. He'd be one of those guys. Like if the game started at seven, he'd be there at like 10 o'clock in the morning. He's like, yeah, just going to spend the day here. I think when the lockouts were on, it was like straight to Switzerland so that he could go play more hockey. Another guy that gets in without a cup though. First ballot, no Stanley Cup, like the Sidines,

because it's going to happen more and more now. Sure. Because it is so difficult to win a cup and you have to have everything go right for you. Yep. And you know, I mean, he got right to the summit, right? I mean, he had that Stanley Cup final where they lost to Pittsburgh. And that was, there's a lot of guys from that era in San Jose, obviously the big three with Pavelski and Thornton and Marlowe that never got the job done.

Yeah. 15 years of group really good, but not great, I guess you could say. Okay. Uh, let's put a cap on the hall of fame talk. Um, I want to hear from you, the listeners, not about Duncan Keith, uh, text into the Dunbar Lumber text line, 650, 650. I just want to know how you're feeling about

the Canucks right now. Are you worried that they haven't made any moves? Are you confident that they're got some moves in mind and that they're going to pull the trigger as the draft comes up this weekend and into free agency on July 1st. Text in to the Dunbar Lumber Text Line 650-650, Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. I saw a report, I think it was from Sarah Valley, that the Buffalo Sabres were looking for a right shot defenseman

and I was just like, oh, is there something to do with Horonick there? Do they do something? Do they trade Horonick and bring in Bowen Byrom and maybe JJ Petur, like all sorts of ideas in my mind because the Canucks, they got to do something. And Jim Rutherford has said, if we're going to make a trade, some people aren't going to like it because we're going to have to give to get. But one of his quotes was, it'll hurt a lot more if we don't make these trades to address the forward group. We are heading seriously into this next week is integral for what the Canucks

are going to look like next season. Yeah, they can still make moves after July 1st and into the summer, but this is when the majority of moves in the NHL are going to be made and the Canucks so far have done nothing. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. 804 on a Wednesday. Ladies and gentlemen in listener land, do I have a doozy for you? We've got some breaking news.

Sportsnet 650 breaking news. And yeah, we have a trade to announce. It does have to do with your Vancouver Canucks. The Vancouver Canucks have acquired a Vander Cane from the Edmonton Oilers. I'm going to let that one marinate for a second. Yet again, made official by the man himself on Twitter, Vander Cane, along with several other NHL insiders. Folks, it is official.

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired a Vander Cane from the Edmonton Oilers. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you and Step. Do your business, I've got some things to say about this. Uh, the va- Uh oh.

Do we want to continue? All right, it is 8 or five in the morning. Satyar Shah is going to join us in just a moment here. You are listening to the Halifin and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Again, breaking news that went down during the break. Evander Kane is now a member of the Vancouver Canucks acquired by the Canucks from the Edmonton Oilers. We are waiting on a number of things, including the return,

what the Vancouver Canucks are sending the way of the Edmonton Oilers, we are waiting on a number of things, including the return, what the Vancouver Canucks are sending the way of the Edmonton Oilers, what the salary will be, if there's any retention whatsoever. I don't know any details other than Evander Cain on Twitter announced that he is joining the Vancouver Canucks. And this of course, followed by several NHL insiders who have announced that the Vancouver Canucks

have acquired Evander Cain from the Edmonton Oilers. Halford and Ruff in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3000 five star reviews. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. What do you want to do? Do you want to go to SAT? Do you want to talk? What do you want to do?

This one caught us off guard. This is what I've been fearing. I've actually had conversations with textures in the Dunbar Lumber Text line. And I've said, my fear is that they're going to bring in a Vander Cane because they're desperate. This is what desperate teams do. This is a team that had a major culture issue last year. Major.

The room was a disaster. And you're going to bring a Vander Canen? I'm sure we'll hear all about, I'm happy to be in Vancouver. I grew up in Vancouver. I'm really dedicated. This guy wears out his welcome everywhere. He is not a good teammate. And the Canucks just added him.

At his best, he's a really good hockey player He's also had a lot of injuries and he's old now This is desperation guys. Evander Kane might come in and throw some hits and score some goals even But you know what we said earlier in the show about wanting to like the Canucks again. It's not gonna help There's gonna be some people that disagree with me. I get it. Tanbeer, he's been a regular listener. He's wanted a Vander Kane on this team for years. But you know me, I'm not afraid to share my opinion. This is a bad idea.

This is not, this is not what a team that needs to rebuild its culture does. It doesn't bring in a guy like a Vander Kane. Kane. I'm really disappointed. I'm really disappointed by this. Kane, 33 years old, one year left on a deal that pays $5.125 million annually. I'm going to go out and safely assume that this ticked a lot of boxes for a team that,

as you said, was desperate to bring somebody in. The Oilers were looking to unload. Remember, we said earlier in the year, sorry, earlier in this off season that there wasn't the annual flush of teams that were looking to unload players because they were up against the cap. Like previous years, when we talked about JT Miller joining the Vancouver Canucks because Tampa Bay was in a crunch or even to a lesser degree when Jason Dickinson joined the Canucks from the Dallas stars because the Dallas stars weren't a crunch.

There weren't many teams that were willing to give up something for nothing because they were in a crunch Dallas was one and Mason Marchman went and I guess Edmonton was the other one because they needed to get rid of a Vander Kane and needed to get him off the books according to Rick Dollywall the agent Dan Millstein. There's a familiar name Has been working on trying to orchestrate this deal since the final game of the playoffs. What are they thinking? What, I'm sorry. I just told you what they're thinking. What are they thinking with this move? I just told you what they're thinking.

It is just, this is desperation. You're getting something for nothing. This is desperation. I've been upset with the Canucks at times, but I'm like, this is just, you do not, when you gotta fix the culture and you bring in a Vander Kane at the end of his career.

We are still waiting on what the official trade is, what the return will be. Is Sat still waiting on hold? I feel bad that we've made a win on hold for nine minutes. Let's go to the phone lines now. We'll get live reaction. For one of the stars of the station, Canuck Central host Satyarshah joins us here on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Sat, what's going on?

Good morning. So I think if you guys were worried about JT Miller being problematic, I think Evander King is gonna take away all those concerns. I look at a guy that I see as being a complete culture carrier, haven't heard one bad word about Evander King as a teammate before.

So I think it's gonna be perfect. Did you see this coming? Sarcasm aside. No, not at I think it can be perfect. Did you see this coming? No, not at all. Sarcasm aside, did you see it coming? No, not at all. So, okay, so this is the funniest thing. And so a few days ago, there was a texture texted into our show and said, if Vander King is coming home, he's coming to Vancouver, book it. I know this is the legit,

we get this stuff all the time. It texts them box. I was like, yeah, whatever. I didn't really read it or whatever. He just read the text. And I turned to reach it. I said to him, I'm like, you know what reach like it wouldn't put a pass. I wouldn't put a pass a text with the D right. Cause he knows people in Vancouver. This could totally be a thing, but I'm like, I can't imagine it would trade for a van or Kane, right?

Like they probably won't do that. Would they? It's like, no, they probably wouldn't. So I'm like, as much as like the Spidey sentence went off and like, they won't trade for Kane, will they? They're not that desperate. Are they? And the reason the desperation point is I can't imagine for Kane, will they? They're not that desperate, are they? And the reason, the desperation point is,

I can't imagine that Kane costs anything. And I would imagine the Canucks have been trying to make acquisitions, and we've heard so much about how their first round pick isn't acquiring the player they want. They can't find the players they need. Free agency's tough. You start going down a list,

is this the cheapest option they could find? The answer's yes, right? We just, I mean, I just. It has to be. It's staring everyone clear in the face that that's exactly what this is. From the moment, and even before, he resumed play with the Edmonton Oilers.

There was talk about how the Edmonton Oilers needed to clear up this issue going into next season. It did not seem like a return was in the cards whatsoever. Again, if you, you know, you, Bruv yelling it into the microphone, but it is an astute point is that when you're a desperate team, you start looking for solutions in whatever way, shape or form you can find them.

They're not necessarily good solutions. They're solutions that are one, readily available, two, available at the moment, and three, don't cost you a lot. And he ticks all those boxes. Yeah. Well, that's the thing. And I know that Connex have been trying to find or go after the higher end players.

And I think it's been pretty sobering, even looking at a guy like Marco Rossi, for instance, where you're 15 overall pick, isn't seen as enough. And if you have to start throwing in your top prospects to find the guy who might end up being a winner anyways, I can see how you end up circling back and going towards something that's a lot cheaper. And we'll see what the price of acquisition is.

If this is something super cheap, you can dump them right away. If it goes sideways, I suppose, but to the point of you're trying to go into a year turning the page, moving forward, has it, Andrew Kane showed enough maturity that he can be on his best behavior for one year. He's going to show up in Rolls Royces and Bentleys and show off and yeah, that's how you act. It's, it is honestly ridiculous, man. This guy has worn out his welcoming. Every NHL team he goes to, is this the culture

of humility and hard work that you want to bring to Vancouver and show off to your younger players? We've just seen Abbotsford win the Calder Cup and we've all been enjoying the camaraderie that they enjoyed and how they were sacrificed and how everyone was happy for everyone. Everyone was, you know, talking about how the teammates are the best and the coaching staff

is the best and it looked like a group that got along with each other. Meanwhile, last season, the big club was an absolute disaster. The dressing room was a disaster. And you bring in a Vander Kane? I'm, listen, I'm 100% with you. I'm as stunned as anybody else is. I know that you have a special hatred in your heart

for bringing Vander Kane in. But like, I'm with you. Like, I'm trying to think of a positive in terms of, OK, so how does this work out? And even in Edmonton, like, you're right. I mean, he wore out his welcome. He's had a couple of good years, but I don't know. Like I wonder how you can keep this locker room. Now you brought him in. Like, wouldn't you need another really good personality to keep this room together? Because even last

year after JT was traded, a big conversation around the team was that they kept guys like Zadorov and Lindholm, maybe those purpose personalities could keep the team together. A guy like Ian Cole was really good with leadership wise. I mean, somebody to knock down, you know, the guy that may be getting a bit too big at times. So people love JT on the team, but he could be overbearing. And I think not having somebody that could check it from time to time made the dynamic even worse this year. And I look at the room now, do they have enough personalities? Is Marcus Pedersen enough?

Do they have enough guys to be able to keep that type of personality in check? And you saw it was even hard to do for guys like for Connor McDavid and Leon Dreisaitl. And that's my other question here. Do you have enough of a strong enough leadership group that you can feel like you can survive this and make it work? What about a personality and culture and room aside? It's a 33 year old player that didn't play a regular season game last year. I know that he came back for the playoffs and was effective. Uh,

although as the playoffs went on, the effectiveness got less and less. I mean, is there not a concern also about what the player can give you given what's left in the tank? Well, there's no doubt. I mean, is there not a concern also about what the player can give you given what's left in the tank? Well, there's no doubt. I mean, anytime you go in for a guy who missed a whole year, right? And he did look up until the cup final, he looked really good. And one of the reasons why the Orlers were so dominant once they got past LA was Evander Kane played like a power forward in some ways, also replaced Hyman when he went out and they were able to really push forward with him. So he did a lot of good things.

I think I don't think the question is, can Evander's Kane score 20 goals for Vancouver? I think he can score the 20 goals. It's everything else that comes with it. And for a team that needs no turmoil, that's where I kind of get where Jason's coming from. I totally agree with him in terms of like, is this a type of move that's going to push this organization forward? Right. The risk is super high. I mean, I guess you can look at it from a cost perspective, what the reports are.

It could be a mid round pick, no salary retention. I think Rashad said no salary retention so far, but it's a deal you can jump out of because he's done at the end of the season, but can you afford to have a roadblock that could be tough to navigate even as it is for 10, 20 games in a season? That's my biggest question about this. Like I think production wise, if he's healthy, he'll give you 20 goals. And a mid-round pick, a guy making four and a half, five million to give you 20 goals for one year, not a big deal.

It's more about everything else that comes with it. Can that derail the season that we all know and need to stay on the track? How can they keep talking about how important character is and bring in a Vanderkeen? Well, it's, it's, I wouldn't say hypocritical, but it goes like, it's, it's not commensurate, right? Like it doesn't work together. And I think that's why when like you, when anybody

asked me about a Vander Kane, I was like, it makes sense as far as cheap and he fits some need for what this team needs, but I can't imagine they will go down that road because of everything we just mentioned, right? So that's where the Confusion is because reading everything they wanted to do and based on everything that they've talked about I was not expecting them to go after a player as risky as him Via trade right like it's one thing to sign a guy for one year free agent deal worth one or two million come and prove it

And there's another trading for a guy. I Will say this. If you, if you don't like the move and I can understand why, um, at the very least you can understand, don't yell, but you can understand why I'm done my yelling. You can understand why it makes sense. I know you can't, but you also.

Well, that's why I was concerned they were going to do it. Cause you, I mean, it does. Here's the thing. He's a big dude that hits and when he's on, he can be a pretty effective flair, but I don't think that cancels out all the negatives that he brings to a room. Hear me out here.

In a room, in a room that was an absolute disaster last season. Hear me out here as I. The biggest disaster besides maybe the Rangers. Hear me out here as I delicately play devil's advocate. Um, it's a one year deal, right? There's no term left on it beyond this year.

And as we've kind of figured out, there's a lot predicated on being successful this year. So you take the, and I will say massive risk of it being like it's been in other places where one year it's okay, or for the short term, it's okay. And the okay and the production and the ability to keep everything even keel for one year one year is enough to keep it on there on the tracks now what you'll say is is like you're putting one a lot of stock in a single calendar season and two like

we've heard time and time again from this organization, it's all predicated on if everything goes right, if everything goes our way, if everything goes in a positive direction, we'll be okay. And that to me is a familiar and at times dangerous refrain because last year, Sat, we saw what happens when things don't all go right. Exactly. I think if you want to look at it, so to the point you guys made it, because last year, Sat, we saw what happens when things don't all go right. Yeah, exactly. I think if you want to look at it, so to the point you guys made it, and it's true, if Andrew Kane,

whether it was Atlanta slash Winnipeg, Buffalo, San Jose, and now Edmonton, he's always worn out as welcome. But his first year in Buffalo was pretty good. His first year in San Jose, when he got traded over, was pretty solid. His first year at the Finals uh, when he got traded over, it was pretty solid. His first year in Edmonton. That's why he got the contract extension. So his first year and generally okay in a city, it just takes some time to wear out his welcome. So that's what you hope for.

Right. I mean, that's just being looking at the positive side. So maybe you can live with it for one year, but there's no way you can sign this guy and that's what that matters anyway. And the second part is we talk so much that they're connecting to raise their ceiling and they can't go for guys that are lower end and I'm not sure if Anderkin is the same ceiling raiser he was say five years ago but if you're looking at the moves that could have like what is what's the chance of Anderkin scores 30 goals for the team next year for a cheap cost maybe a 10-15 percent chance which is probably greater than anything else you

get for a similar cost. So if you're looking to raise the ceiling to piggyback off what Mike is trying to say in terms of how this makes sense, you see these things adding up, you can see why. And to your point, Jason, you can understand why they made this move. It's just we know them person, we know the player, and we're all terrified about where this might end up going. But the logical sidekick that stuff out, I can see how it might work for one year, but I'm not sure anybody has real confidence at will.

Okay. So let's take a deep breath here and reset for everyone who might be tuning in and, or getting in their cars. Like, why is everyone yelling? So the Vancouver Canucks have acquired a Vander Cane from the Edmonton Oilers. Vander Cane announced this first on Twitter at about eight o'clock this morning, followed by several insiders who confirmed that the deal has been agreed to in principle has not been made official yet.

What we don't know is what's going from Vancouver to Edmonton in exchange for a Vander Kane. According to TSN is Ryan Rashad. He does not believe it does not sound as though any salary is being retained in the deal Which means that the Canucks will be on the hook for all of a Vander Canes five point one two five million dollar salary this year He's in the fourth and final of a four-year deal So this is essentially a one-year rental if you will Unless the Canucks go the full nine yards and decide to sign into an extension midway through the season. We won't go down that road yet. But again, for those of you listening that might just be getting caught up, we spent the first two

hours of this program wondering when the Vancouver Canucks were going to make a move in this very pivotal off season. Well, that question has been answered because the Vancouver Canucks have acquired a Vander Cane from the Edmonton Oilers. Sat, any other thoughts on this one? I know that we caught you incredibly off guard because when you agreed to do this, the Canucks weren't gonna make one of the most profound moves in recent memory, but there's a lot going on right now and a lot of different thoughts hanging around in the ether.

Just curious to get yours. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've had been on the phone this morning too, trying to figure out what was going on. Didn't get some responses or whatever. Maybe now I know why. But, like, I was not expecting this move at all. I was not either. You know, I do think that Conox is still very much involved in trying to make something

bigger happen. And one thing I was going to mention is as much as they have been able to move the first round pick and we've heard a lot about the first round pick value not being what it needs to be. If these next 24, 48 hours today and tomorrow is where a lot of people, not just Vancouver, people think some people around the league are bluffing about how they don't want this year's first round draft pick trying to drive a higher return and you're going to have to make a decision here soon.

So if they're looking to add that center and a higher end player, even though it seemed like they weren't going to be able to do it for the 15th overall pick, these next couple of days might change that equation a little bit. And I have some interesting discussions with people around the league that people fading the first round pick in this year's draft is overstating things. As much as it's not a deep draft, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. So I wonder if the value of the first round picks start showing themselves in the next 24, 48 hours and we'll see where

that puts the Canucks. So LeBron is reporting, sorry if you've already reported this, I blacked out for a bit. Yeah, okay. Oilers get a fourth round pick for Kane from the Canucks. You know, no salary retained. It's the Ottawa pick that the Canucks got when

they traded Pod Coles into Edmonton in the first place. So it's a very roundabout way, but it's a fourth round pick bottom line for Evander Kane for the Vancouver Canucks. And yes, it's now confirmed that the Canucks are on the hook for the entirety of the $5.125 million salary for Evander Kane sat. We're up against it for time. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this this morning.

It doesn't get much wilder than this. We kept you on hold for nine minutes so that we could drive parts through it, but thanks for staying patient. Thanks for doing this. And good luck this afternoon. It should be a lot of fun. Yeah, I'm sure people are gonna take this very, take it in stride and not overreact.

It'll be fine. Thanks, dude. Appreciate it. You got it, guys. Satya Shah, Sportsnet 650's very own here on the Haliford and Brush Show on Sportsnet 650. I have not had a chance, Jason, to parse through the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket. Um, have you?

Yeah. 80% are negative and, uh, 20% are this is exactly what the Canucks need. He's big, he's tough, he'll fight. I love that he's got that, you know, arrogant swagger. It's an insecure swagger is what it is. All of that would be.

It's an insecure show off swagger that he's got. All of that would be- It's an insecure show off swagger that he's got. All of that would be great if it wasn't for the extracurricular stuff. Like if he had that swagger, he hits, he scores, he does all those great things, which he does do. And if it didn't come with the baggage and the off ice stuff, it would be a great move. Well, ask yourself-

But you can't separate those two things. Yeah, I mean, some people are texting me, they're texting me like, you say they want, you want them to get a big, tough winger and then they go out and get it and you've got separate those two things. Yeah, I mean, some people are texting me, they're texting me, like, you say they want, you want them to get a big tough winger and then they go out and get it and you've got a problem with it. I'm like, yeah, because sometimes you put things on a scale and you balance them out and you say, is this worth it? And then at the end of the day, you go, no, because the Canucks last season were an absolute

disaster within the room. And then you bring in a guy that's going to take up a lot of oxygen and a lot of attention while they're trying to rebuild their leadership group under Quinn Hughes who's like, oh good, I get to deal with this too now. And honestly, like how's he going to, is he going to get along with Pedersen? Like EP40? I'm not concerned about that.

Well, that's like a thing though. Or could be. But is Kane a bully? No, I think he's Well, that's like a thing though. Or it could be. But is Kana a bully? No, I think he's just, he does his own thing. He does his own thing. And people just find him grating. Like the show off stuff, showing up in a Bentley and a Rolls Royce.

I'm like, dude, didn't you have like money problems? Maybe stop doing with this stuff. It makes you look insecure. So, and you're gonna bring this, this is what you wanna bring into your room. This is what you wanna show your young players you wanna aspire to. A guy who's knocked around the league.

So, there's an interesting point that you brought up where you talked about all the attributes, the toughness, physicality, fighting and goal scoring, right? Yeah, on paper he does a lot of great stuff. The fact that the acquisition cost was a fourth round pick is probably says more than bruff yelling or me trying to break it down.

Is that like, you got it for a fourth round pick. Yeah. Right, you got, so what does that tell you? That tells you that the asset is obviously distressed. He's not on a super expensive ticket, right? If you're talking about the attributes that Tom Wilson brings to the table and everyone's saying how Wilson's a unicorn and everything,

Kane's got a lot of the similar attributes. The price point was at three. Wilson's teammates love him. That's what I'm saying. The price point was a fourth round pick, which probably says more than anything else. So what's the logic here then? Like what is the team?

They're desperate. They're desperate. They're desperate. But with all of the stuff that might come along with it, like surely they must be thinking our locker room is not you know as in the healthiest of states, how is this going to help us? They're desperate for players. It just blows my mind man. Well it blows my mind. Well like after the season they had last year and the locker room issues they had last year This is the guy this is this is somebody you're bringing into this maybe the idea is that we were so dysfunctional We couldn't get any more dysfunctional no matter how hard we tried

Think about that up stupid is that we're at you've reached a hundred this is like crossing the streams of dysfunction You've reached a hundred percent dysfunctional saturation. There of dysfunction? You've reached 100% dysfunctional saturation. There is no more dysfunction that can get in. Do they think maybe, hey, maybe he'll turn it around. Maybe he'll be a great teammate. It's a contract here. He's always dialed in on a contract here. It is a contract here.

He's also 33. If he's 34 when the season starts. And he has a huge injury log on his career. Well there's that too, he didn't play a regular season game last year. Okay, coverage of any- Prove me wrong Evander! As I say, prove me wrong about the Canucks for the 1000th time.

One day, they might. Maybe- Prove me wrong kids! Prove me wrong! Maybe it'll work out for us. Or maybe they trade him like a month into the season. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.