Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 6/26/26

Episode Date: June 26, 2026

Brough and guest host Josh Elliott-Wolfe look back at the previous day in sports, plus they preview round one of the NHL Entry Draft, which goes later today, as Donnie & Dhali's Rick Dhaliwal joins the show. 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. I do want to slowly chip away as I don't want to just sit with the same group. I think by even small changes, you had a different energy and an excitement. Robertson leaves for Sagan. Cross the line, four-star Sagan. The Seattle has a plan for your contract to renewal, but do you have a plan? Would you do it for a 15 million dollars?

Don't you think we should maybe ask for more than... Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough coming to you live from the Kintech Studio on Sportsnet 650. No Mike Alford. He has been taken hostage by South Africans on Twitter, courtesy of Jason Brough. Good morning, Jason. Good morning. How are you doing, buddy?

I'm good. I'm Josh Elliott Wolf, by the way, filling in for Mike Halford. Good morning, Andy. Good morning. Good morning. You called me by my legal name. I know. I'm going government name today, guys.

That's what I'm doing. Halpern-Miruff is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Their clients often say, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me. If debt is weighing you down, click sands-trustee.com. Hour 1 of Halford-Mbruff is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's Premier Metal Recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Meta recycling. They recycle. You get paid 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming live from the Kintech Studio, Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech.

If you want to text into the show today, it's Ask Us Anything Friday. Text into the Dunbar Lumber Text Line at 650, 650, trusted by contractors and DIY champions across Metro Vancouver for generations. Find them at three convenient locations or visit Dunbar Lumber Online. today. Correct me if I'm wrong. A.J.'s pizza gift card on the line for the best one. You are not wrong. Wow. You are not wrong. You're already ahead of Halford in that you are not wrong. Great start. A big show today. It is day one round one of the NHL draft. It's also a five guester on the Halford & Brough show. We'll start with the guest list. It's the Duick Morning Drive brought to you by the Duick Auto Group at 630. Tariq al-Bashir, Washington Capitals Insider for Monumental Sports Network,

and Rinkside Reporter for NHL on T&T will join us. A lot of moving and shaken around the NHL, and they are one of the biggest movers and shakers adding Alex Tuck, Jordan Cairo, trading away, Hendrix Lapier. What happens with Alex Ovechkin? We get all the answers in about half an hour when we talk to Tariq at 6.30. At 7, it's AJ from AJ's pizza. 7.05, Joshua Cloak,

staff writer for the athletic covering the Canadian men's national team. Canada, they play quite a big match on Sunday against South Africa in L.A. 730, Sam Cozantino will join us. He covers the NHL draft and prospects for Sportsnet.

Who will the Vancouver Canucks take? Not only third overall, but 24th overall. Have you done all the, have you read all the mocks? There's so many mocks. Oh, okay. All right. I've read a few and I'm like, you know what, you know what draft I'll pay attention to?

The non-mock draft. Oh, the real one. The real draft. The real draft. The actual draft. That starts later. Like, I wonder what all those people think that do their mock drafts and then the real draft happens and it's like pretty different and they're like, oh. Nuts.

That was a waste of time. Are you mocking the mock draft? Yeah. Why are we mocking into like the 25th pick? What's going on there? It's exciting. It's not exciting. They're just getting the first round out.

You didn't like Corey Promon's seven round round HACL mock draft. What the hell are we doing here? Who's reading that? Who's reading that? You're just reading that? You're reading that and they're like, I think they'll take this guy. Some people really like the draft.

I guarantee Zach read that whole thing. It's, it's, okay, well, whatever. We got too much to get into for me to get too upset about mock drafts. I didn't think it would set you off like that. 8 o'clock. Final guest of the, the show. Rick Dollywall one half of Donnie and Dolly on Check TV? We'll join us. Do the Canucks have any moves in store as the day goes along? That's what's happening on the show. Zachary, 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 losing. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened is brought to you by ATS Traffic. Start a Career Path in Traffic Safety, receive competitive wages and training at one of Canada's best managed companies online at atest traffic.cats. We've got a lot of reads, don't we? There's dude. Every time I do the show, it's like, oh, there's seven more reads you have to do today.

Yeah, you've got to be on your toes. Well, actually, you don't because Halford isn't, and we still managed to get through it. By the way, someone texted in. Ask us anything. where is Halford? Who skips draft day? Yeah. And you know what?

And also draft reaction day on Monday. And he's on Monday too. So he's not even, he's not even like, it's not like, oh, I went down to watch Canada, the World Cup.

He's got something to do. And he's like, oh, I got to take Friday off. I'm like, you mean draft day and prep for Canada's knockout stage game

in the World Cup? He's like, yeah, I also got to miss the Monday too. Oh, do you mean when we react to a draft weekend and what happened there with the Canucks and also look back on Canada's knockout stage game at the World Cup.

He's like, yeah, that sounds like a lot of work. I was so surprised when I got to ask for both of these. Yeah, I can't make that either. Okay, the Vancouver Canucks will pick third and 24th overall today in Buffalo. It's the first time. They've had two picks in the first round since 2014, when they took Jake for Tannen and Jared McCann, the former never turned into much of a player.

The latter did, but not for the Canucks, because they traded him pretty quickly for Erica Branson. So those were some bad calls, and part of the reason they're back rebuilding again. Josh, who do you think they're going to take today? I think they're going to take Caleb Malhotra. Yeah. I just kind of feel like, so the smoke around him,

well, like, I don't know, I feel like we've been talking about him for months now, And now it kind of feels like in the last few days Chase Reed Smoke has taken over And that feels more like a fake out Yeah The layup is Caleb We heard that report from Dave Panyoda

At the fourth period Yeah It was like I do not expect the Canucks To take Caleb Malhotra At third overall And that was the first time I'd heard anyone Say that And I was like

So I was kind of like Oh, all right So what do you think is going to happen Just first four picks even First three picks? First four picks I mean, I think Gavin McKenna number one. Yeah.

I have our Stenberg now number two. Right. Because of all the shaken that San Jose did. And then I would go Caleb number three. I kind of think maybe Vigo Bjorko's number four to Buffalo. Yeah. I feel like Buffalo's got some funky stuff in store. Yeah.

I feel like Buffalo could even trade that pick. Yeah. You know, there could be. I think, first of all, I think this is going to be a really fun draft. And, and I, I think there's going to be some stuff that happens during this draft. And I hope I'm not wrong about that because there have been a few drafts in the last little while that I've watched in, you know, your seven hours into the first round or whatever it is.

You're like, this is the most boring draft. They're doing a weird Zoom. I've ever seen. On a stage? There's too much nonsense going on. Like, I think, I also hope from a broadcast perspective, like, like, they, like, they, like, They're kind of like chop chop, let's get to the next pick. So I'm really excited about watching this draft

and not just because the Canucks have two picks, but I, you know, Ryan Johnson actually said this when he first got the job, as general manager of the Canucks, he said, I feel like there's going to be some stuff happening in this draft. You know, there is more cap space now, so there's more creativity to be done on the player side. But that also means that sometimes you have to throw in these, these picks to make those trades happen.

We've already seen the fourth overall pick traded quite recently. Speaking of Ryan Johnson, he met with the media yesterday to discuss not only the draft, but the red hot trade market in the NHL, which so far has not included the Canucks. At the very least, Johnson has been forced to consider whether his players may have more or less value on the market. And Zach, can we play the clip where RJ talks about seeing, you know, the value of your players? Well, I think you have to. Certain types of moves change the value of players, depending on their age, their contracts,

their value as a player and where they slot into a lineup. So when you see these other moves going on, yes, it does make you in turn. look at your own players, their value, where they fit in possibly to other teams that have those needs. So it has been, you know, a crazy few weeks in the sense of not the players, but how players are being moved around and some of the first round picks that are, have tended to be untouchables and now seem like they're moving around pretty frequently, which tells you a little bit of where the market's at. So for those who are worried that the Canucks aren't going to make enough changes to the roster this offseason, I get it.

I haven't done anything major yet. And there are some no move clauses involved with a bunch of the players that could be traded. But I'm not sure that worry is justified. Johnson wants to make changes. he just wants to do everything with patience and accordance with the vision he has for the rebuild and patience is part of that rebuild or part of that vision. By the way, we are going to hear the vision a lot

out of Ryan Johnson. Like almost every question he's going to be asked he's going to be like, let me just bring you back to the vision. But something he said yesterday about wanting change honestly I'm not trying to put words in his mouth but almost for the sake of change

really stood out for me he does not want the same group of players coming back next season and that might sound obvious to say but the way he dealt with the UFAs you know he might like Teddy Bluger he might think Teddy Bluger is like

a decent you know 4C or on the Connecticut I don't know, 2C. But he might also like his character, but he wants to change the group. He wants to move out a bunch of the old and bring in something new just to add a little bit of a different energy

to the Canucks. I think you have to be prepared for that. I think one thing I do want to slowly chip away is I don't want to just sit, with the same group. I think by even small changes, you had a different energy and an excitement and a...

So do I want to keep just rolling it back with the same preferably not to... But you can't rush the process again to say, well, I'm going to make a rash decision that maybe isn't best for what we're trying to accomplish.

But I do want to add even if it's in, whether it's via trade, via trade, see even if it's a small piece to start the roll over people that I think are going to help us short and long term deliver to the environment we want to build, how we want to play, and all the things that we've already talked about. Okay. So, Philip Horonik.

He was asked about Philiperonek. And while he didn't speak deeply about Philiperonek, he did say he has an approach any player about waving his no trade clause. Now, he didn't say he would never approach a player about waving his no trade clause, but what you need to do typically first, well, not in all cases, I suppose, but what he's doing is

if he's got an offer on the table that he wants to go forward with, then he'll approach the player. But he hasn't gone to Philip Horanick and said, you know, what about this and what about that? And, you know, I think the word that comes to mind is balance. He's got to balance a lot of things.

The Canucks have a lot of needs. They need draft picks. They need a future. They also need good veterans to mentor the kids. They need to have patience. Now, that doesn't mean passivity. They also need to take advantage of selling and buying opportunities. It's a balance.

and they're in a very tough position, they're in a very difficult position, but what he doesn't want is for the Canucks kids to be exposed to just a terrible time next year and in his words to have their teeth kicked in. Yeah, it's something you consider. I've said this, yes, are we in a rebuild? But it's not sell off, get as young as you can,

get your teeth kicked in and think that things are just going to naturally happen. There's, there's, you want to insulate players, not just with good players, but with great people, have been very clear that the people that will walk into these doors are great people that have the engine, that have the professionalism and the, the, the room awareness that we're looking for. So it's not just about strip it down as fast as you can and it'll automatically grow on its own. That, that's not the approach here. but it's something that is in consideration of every we do when you're subtracting. What are you truly subtracting just besides the hockey player?

Okay, Josh, I've spoken a lot. What stood out to you about RJ's press conference and feel free to comment on any of the three clips we've already played? Yeah, I mean, honestly, I don't think a crazy amount stood out. And I think that's by plan, going according to plan for Ryan Johnson and this management team, because they do feel like a very guarded management team. And I think we're still trying to like with Jim Rutherford and especially Jim Rutherford, it was like, ah, I kind of know what you're thinking about this player or that player or what your plan is going to be.

And I think we're still trying to get a read on what that's going to be for Ryan Johnson and the Siddins who obviously haven't talked as much. That might come more when they make some actual moves. And we can look back at some of the comments and what they may have been hinting at when they spoke prior to whatever moves they end up making. But I think for now it's kind of difficult to get a read on what these comments mean. Outside of like, hey, I don't think he's happy with where this team is at. I don't think he's happy.

Obviously not. Yeah, with where the core is at. And I know some people saw the comment about, hey, we don't want to sell off. And they haven't approached anybody about waving their no move clauses as a negative to me. But to me, I read it as like, hey, they're open for business. And anybody is on the table. We'll see, you know, how proactive they are in moving these players. Obviously with Hironic, it doesn't feel like they're going to be too proactive.

I don't think you should group all the three players, Besser, Pedersen and Hironik, into the same group. I don't think it's the same situation in all those. From what I can tell, he wants to trade Pedersen, but that's easier said than done. I don't know about Besser. but it feels like they want to keep eronic. They think that at least for the next little while, he's an important part of resetting the culture. And I think that they were impressed with how he,

I guess, performed in his enthusiasm down the stretch and the way that the young defenseman looked up to him. and they think that he's a good role model. Now, you have to remember some of the things that the Siddins have said about their entry into the NHL. And what they said was it was really important to have good veterans in the room that you could look up to and learn how to act. They said that for most of the, you know, most of the time when they were first starting in the NHL, And I'm not talking about six months. I'm talking about years and years.

They didn't say anything in the room. They observed. They listened. And then when it was time for them to become leaders, they felt like they had gone to school and learned from these guys. Now, I understand the pushback of people that say, well, then go out and get some veterans on the free agent market. We got Luke Shen and Ian Cole.

bring them back go get those guys i think they're going to do that anyway they're going to bring in some vets in free agency and maybe i don't order or a trade maybe one of them's going to be brandon galliger i don't know but i i this whole thing about throwing the kids to the wolves like i understand that which veteran would you bring in to play first pair minutes with zeve booleum and at least allow Zeev Bouillon to take a breath out on the ice once in a while. I don't think there are any. And that's the thing

about, so we got a text, Dave the Beer League plug. I have patience for rebuild. I have no patience for letting assets wither and die on the vine. Action speak louder the words and all the sweet nothing's being whispered into our ears are just that. Nothing. Feeling more and more like old times. I

think the thing about we can talk about Elise Pedersen and Jake DeBruskin and it's like, you might want to get ahead of that before those assets lose value. I feel like Heronic, to your point, is in a different category where if you hold on to Philip Peronik for this year, because you are worried about insulating Z. Buoyum and you want the leadership there, you want someone who can play actual top pair of minutes to be your veteran leader, he's still going to have value next season, probably the same value he has at this moment.

Yeah. And that's why I'm not, for him, I get that people want to see like, hey, this is your big asset. this is the thing you can move, but the benefit would be, hey, you get the year. I don't think the value is going away. And also, I kind of think there's a value to sequencing this. Like, I think if you get first round picks next year and the year after, as opposed to trying to get as many this year, that's a better way to go about rebuilding than just being like,

hey, we're all in on the 2026 draft class. I also don't think he looks at a player like Pedersen or DeBrusk and maybe even Besser. I don't have a good handle on what they feel about. Bessor is kind of weird. I don't have a good handle on that, but, you know, you said that, you know, you might want to get ahead of trading DeBrusk or Pedersen before they lose value. I don't think that's so much the case. I think that's more like, do we want these guys around? We're trying to change the energy around the rink, okay?

And he mentioned that. You bring in some new guys, even if it's a, Even if it's a small change, it changes the energy. We've talked a lot about, or they've talked a lot about changing the environment. And once training camp comes around, you're going to see a whole new environment, just the way things are. And I feel like, well, certainly with Jake DeBras, this is the easy one. You don't want to be here, see you later. Yeah.

Right? That's easy. You don't want to be here? Fair enough. You're man enough to come up to us and say, you know, I don't know if I want to be part of a rebuild. great we'll move you along then we don't want anyone who doesn't want to be here Pedersen's the weird one though because we never know what Pedersen wants he doesn't tell us and I don't even know if he tells them but I think I don't

think they want him around I really don't feel that they want him around unless he is a completely changed man and his energy changes and I know there have been ports out there that say he's actually like you know like the guys are okay with him he's not a distraction he just kind of you know sits in the background i'm i'm like that's that's bad energy that's like you're he's your highest paid player he's supposed to be your best player and he's what he's a wallflower in your dressing room like what i don't you know that i don't think they want that i i I really don't. But the question is, is then it comes to value, right?

Okay. They're not going to pay anything to be rid of his contract, but they might retain. And I think that news that they be willing to retain and also that their ask isn't the same as Jim Rutherford, who I was like, we want to center back in the deal, which is insane. Because if a team is willing to, you know, add Elias Pedersen, why would they give you a good center? They clearly

need a center. They're clearly desperate for a center that they're going to take a risk on Elias Pedersen. No, you could only get a center back if you trade up. Yeah, it's like, you're not allowed another position. But four of them. But we're trying to get a center. Not too bad. We need one back. I wonder why. So, but I think

that shows that they are motivated to move Pedersen out of there. And I will, I would like Bester to stay only because I think he would be important for the culture. That'd be my one thing with better. How is he important to the culture? Because he's a good guy and everyone loves him. He's a nice guy. He wants to be here. Like he's good in the room. He's a good player to have

in the room for the younger players. Is he known as a guy that like works his butt off and is in the gym all the time and just loves to win and he's just obsessed with his competitive? To be fair, they do talk a lot about his practice habits and like him leading the way in practice and hey, maybe you can make the argument that

they finish 30 second. Maybe they're not practicing well. Maybe it doesn't matter who's leading the practice. But I don't know. I don't think he's a particular positive or negative. Like he's Brock seems to be just there. Like he's a good guy. But I don't think he's like that guy is like, we need this guy for our culture. Right. Like we need it. Like being a nice guy.

Like is that is that enough to say like you're good for our culture? Well, if you work hard, yeah. I think so. It's also about what's better for the rebuild as well. And hey, would I rather a nice guy or potentially first round pick for Brock Bessor. And then... Oh, don't be wrong. If they get a first rounder for a... Yeah, I would say a trade of an heartbeat.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Rick Dolly Wall. Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for

Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Dolly Wall. Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Dolly. Rick Dolly Wall. It's time for Rick Dolly Wall. Welcome back to Halpert & Brough.

No Mike Halfer, Josh Ellie Wolf filling in with Jason Brough. Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Their clients often say, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. If dead is weighing you down, click sands dash trustee.com. And also, this hour of the show 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 bcccsa.ca.ca. We're coming to live from the Kintech studio, Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech.

So, Josh, you've done really well so far, but now you get the biggest challenge of a Friday show, and that is interviewing Rick Dalywell. I'm excited. Let's go to the ABLE Auctions Hotline. Welcome in Rick Dalywall, one half of Donnie and Daly. Check TV. A presentation of Bassant Motors, Bright Deals, and Better Drives ahead at Bassant Motors. Hit the road with huge savings going forward. Learn

more at basant motors.com. How are you doing Dollywell? Couldn't be better. And Josh, I would never yell at you like I yell at Brough. Take that to the bank. I kind of yell at you too, Rick. Yeah, no, it goes both ways, Prof. And, you know, three weeks ago, you guys gave it to me

good on the streaming thing. But for Josh, I will never yell at Josh like that. Take it to the bank. neither will I rely because Josh is a super nice guy. He's just a good guy. He's a good guy. I'm loving this so far. He's good in the room. I tell you that. All right.

Team guy. Let's start with RJ's presser yesterday. What stood out for you? Actually, can I change on you? I want to talk about the UFAs first because I got some information this morning. Go for it. Because. All right.

No, you do it. You do it. Yeah, yeah. I've been working the phone since five this morning. But so Ryan Johnson said, he's not resigning any of his UFAs. You know, like Curtis Douglas is a guy that I've had a lot of DMs and texts, you know,

are they signing him again, Rick? So let me tell you this on Curtis Douglas. From who? Who's been after you about Curtis Douglas so much? Dubuff, do you get DMs? Do you ever get DMs from people that follow your account? They're called DMs. I get DMs.

I've got people asking me all the time. Douglas has a dedicated fan base. Does he? Okay, all right. See, Josh, Josh gets it. It's because, this is the reason why, Bruff, this is the reason why, Bruff. Canucks have been too easy to play against. They finally got a guy, a tough guy, and people want a tough guy in this city.

They haven't had one in a long time. So, yeah, he did have been, and Josh is right. There's a lot of people that wanted this guy back. So I just want to tell you that Douglas loved Vancouver and really wanted to return. There was no formal offer made to Douglas from the Vancouver Canucks. And I knew something was up when I checked Tuesday. I heard still no offer. So this tells me the Canucks have their eyes on another tough guy,

either in the UFA, July 1st, or they're going to make a trade for one. Now, Douglas was very popular with his teammates, but as if I said from day one, for that tough guy role, you've got to play every game. You've got to play 10 plus minutes. You've got to play in the third period. You've got to play in close games. Don't expect the Canucks to spend big bucks on that role. most likely under a million dollars.

So the conucks are going to have interest in players like Ducks Forward Jeffrey Veal, who makes $775,000 and could be a UFA on July 1st. This past season, he was on a one-way deal. So this is a player that Ryan Johnson would have seen a lot in the minors the last few years. He's 6'1, he's 214 pounds, he's racked up a ton of penalty minutes in his career, but he also scored 17 goals in Manitoba three years ago, scored 13 goals for Providence last year. So these are the type of guys

that Canucks are going to go after to replace Douglas. It is guys, if Jeffrey Veal hits July 1st, that's a guy that would interest the Canucks. Now, they had interest in Michael McCarran. They could overpay for a guy like A.J. Greer in free agency, just scored 17 goals in Florida. I don't see that happening. That guy's going to get paid,

and he's going to have a long list of teams after him. Ryan Reeves is out there. He's not going to be expensive. He's got experience. So when it comes to that tough guy role, expect the Canucks obviously to fill it, but don't expect for me, a situation where they're paying big bucks for that role.

So the other one is on Teddy Bluger. I believe both sides agreed it was best to move on. That, I think, was a mutual decision. I reported a week ago, Blugher and Forger are not coming back. Now, the old regime loved Blugher. Rutherford-Nalveen, Adam, and Pittsburgh, I do believe that if the old regime was still here,

I think you would have seen Blugher re-uped. They're going to miss his leadership. He was a player who cared. Canucks haven't had enough for guys who care in the last two years. But you can't give Bluger two to three years. It'll hinder the development of Braden Coots. If Coots plays in Abbotsford next year, he should be in Vancouver the following season.

So you can't limit Coots Heist time in two years for a 33-year-old center. So I understand now the thinking behind Bluger. I understand now the thinking behind Curtis Douglas. And so I wanted to get that out of the way. So they're going to be obviously active on July 1st. I just don't know if they're going to be going after Big Fish on July 1st, but they're going to have to go there or they're going to have to go the trade route to replace Douglas and Blugher.

So that Jeff VL guy, he would have, you mentioned he played in Providence, he would have played for reportedly the new assistant coach, Ryan Muginnell. Yeah, so there's connections here. And one thing about Ryan Johnson, there isn't a guy in the American League he doesn't know. Right.

Like, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Going back to Utica 10, 12 years ago, this guy knows every player in that league inside out. You know, people say to me all the time, people don't realize, like, I'm getting more and more info from agents

about why their players signed in Vancouver, like Dakota Joshua. One of the reasons he signed in Vancouver was Ryan Johnson. An agent told me the other day, Ryan's the reason my guy signed in Vancouver. This guy knows the East Coast hockey league and the American

League inside out. So it's not surprising to me that they, like, this guy in Anaheim, but if he's on the, but I heard this morning that he's still talking to Anaheim about cutting a deal there. So

when they say Ryan Johnson is the reason I signed, is it because he's a good guy and he'll be honest with you? Because, you know, you can tell that they're trying to do things differently. And I know a lot of people want them to play hardball with a guy like Philip Peronik, but I also

think they're trying to manage how they treat people that really want to be part of the solution. Like I think there's, you know, Jake DeBresk, you don't want to be here, fine, see you later. We'll get you out of here. But if you are a good player and you're, and this isn't me defending this, by the way, because I think they should trade harmonic.

But I'm almost all trying to understand their way of thinking. And I think they feel they've got a really good player who's bought into this rebuild and can help some of the young defensemen. like it's very important they develop Zeve Bouillon the right way and have him playing with some good players and you know in Ryan Johnson's words you don't want to necessarily throw these guys to the wolves

although I think a lot of fans do and they're like yeah throw them to the wolves and be terrible and get Land and DuPont at the next draft so it is a real balancing act that these guys have to perform because they do need to fix the culture and that seems to be number one on their list but I think they're also

they know that they also need assets. They need future assets. They're in a tough position just because of what's happened over the last few years and how low this franchise has gotten. Absolutely. And one thing I want to say is people need to get ready for a different regime. And these guys are going to do it the right way. Look, so let's go to Ryan's, Jason, let's go to Ryan's press conference.

Okay. So let's take out the key things he said. He's not selling everything because. it's a rebuilt. He has no desire to lose 9-1 every night. They're going to insulate the young kids with not only good veterans, but good people. He's not stripping this thing down. He's not in a knee-jerk reactions. He's not going to make a trade just because four trades were made on Wednesday. That's not the way this guy is wired. Oh, four trades on Wednesday. So let's make a trade because Kinnock's Twitter said, let's make a trade. This is not the way he's going to do it.

This regime, as you said this morning, is going to be patient. If they rush a trade and it's bad, what's the reaction from the media and fans? The same people that were begging for a trade on Wednesday are going to be the ones ripping them for a bad trade. If they make a trade just for the sake of making a trade. But they wouldn't be doing that. I think that's just ingenuous to put it that way because first of all, you don't even know how fans would react to a trade. I agree. I mean, nobody thinks they should make a bad trade. What people are saying is that the market is hot right now, so you need to be involved in that market. But how do you know when they're not making a million calls?

I'm sure they are. I'm not the one being impatient. Like I want them to move and I want them to be active. And I think they are. I think Ryan Johnson wants to make changes. I think he's desperate to move out some of the pieces that were on this team. But he also has to do it the right way. Oh, for sure.

And I'll tell you this, they're not dealing from a position of strength. Rutherford left this team in 32nd place, and then he left them with seven no moves. Rutherford took a year and a half to untangle Jim Benning's mess. These guys are going to need time to untangle Rutherford's mistakes. Other than DeBruscan Eronic, teams are not clamoring for Vancouver veterans who are overpaid and underperforming. It was the worst team in hockey by a large margin. Now, you brought up, Hironic, let's go there. So one team told me on Tuesday, they had heard.

Pedersen, DeBrascon Bessor's name on the trade market. They had not heard Heronics name. And then Cervilli told you guys the very next day that they're not moving Heronic. No veteran on a 32nd place team in the NHL should be untouchable, but he's got a no move. No guarantee he weighs. The other issue is the Canucks defense. Jason is so young. Four guys under the age of 23, every night last year they played down the stretch.

You need veterans to insulate those kids. So Forbert's gone. I do not know if they're going to resign Pierre Joseph Olivier. They literally are down to two Veteran D. They will be looking for defense on July 1st. I already heard they're poking around third pair guys. So they got to replace Forbert. I don't know about Olivier.

So there's just not a lot of veteran D right now in Vancouver. All right, let me go to Pedersen. One team told me last night they think, at least Petterson, at $8 million a year is worth the risk, not at 11.6. I can't see any team taking them on without retention. It's too risky. Whether you want to believe this or not, there are teams out there that think they can get them to 80 to 85 points, but not 100.

Such a tough contract to move. So many ifs with this guy. A couple of people told me they wouldn't be surprised in Montreal's sniffing around Peterson. But here's the thing with Pedersen. teams don't mind them at 8.5 because they think they can get them to 80. But here's the problem for the Canucks. If they keep them and he produces another 50 points, this time next year,

it's going to have to be a thought about buyout because it's going to be worse. It's going to be worse trying to trade them. Then it's going to be three years of 50 points and five years left at 116. If they can do it this summer, it would be advantageous for them. Otherwise, in 12 months, it's going to be even tougher. Rick, doesn't it seem like the fact that they are now apparently willing to consider retaining, whereas before there wasn't that retention, does that not speak to some motivation from this new regime that they've gone, and it must have had to ask permission for that, that they want to move on from him?

Absolutely, absolutely. These guys are going to fix that dressing room. The Canucks have had the worst dressing room in the NHL for two years. One thing I guarantee you these guys are going to fix is that dressing room. I don't think they want any bad apples in that dressing room. There's been a ton of bad apples in that dressing room. That's going to change. The way Ryan Johnson talks, the way we know the Siddins are, they're going to fix that dressing room.

You can take that to the bank. Whether he's here or not, they're going to fix that dressing him. And there's going to be accountability. Ryan said yesterday there's already guys calling him saying, hey, when do you want me in Vancouver in the summer? I can start working out, yada, yada, yada. That tells, but I think those are the young kids that are chomping at the pit, you know, to get ice and to show management what they can do.

Look, Pedersen, the Kinnock should be thanking the man upstairs that there's even teams thinking about doing this, you know? Just at 11.6 or 50 point center, just the fact that teams are actually thinking about it, Jason, they should be thankful. Okay, the draft is today. Which way do you think they're going to go? Let me get one more thing. There are some in the NHL who think the Canucks are trying to get their payroll down considerably,

but they also got to be careful now. Because if you move a Patterson or a Dubroscan, you only bring picks and prospects back, they're going to be at the salary cap floor soon if they get rid of veterans and only take picks and prospects back. don't keep that into consideration. But there are some of the NHL that think the Canucks are trying to get their payroll down considerably. Okay. So our Pond just texted into the show

and he said that he's noticed on some of the NHL sports books that the odds for Chase Reed have changed dramatically over the last little while. And now according to the sports books, Chase Reed is the favorite for the Knotx to draft. It is pointless right now. It's an absolute pointless exercise to try and pick who the Knox are going to take, and I'll tell you why.

You first got to know what the Leafs and the Sharks are going to do. So let's say it goes McKenna, then Stembourg. Then you've got to pick between Caleb Mahalter and Chase Reed. Look, let me tell you this. The Kinnaks absolutely love Mahaltra. They have since Christmas. He has climbed their draft board. He was not high on their draft board in October, September, October, November.

He's sure the hell was down the stretch. They love this guy. He's the best center in the draft. Johnson said yesterday, despite reports earlier this week that the Canucks won't take Caleb, he said that Caleb is very much in the mix for the Canucks today. So they can easily take Caleb at three or they can back off because they're worried about the dad's son scenario in a Canadian market. It can get crazy.

I think we all know that. The choice is theirs. We'll find out in a few hours. But I have heard Chase Reed's name connected to Vancouver a lot. A lot of guys are in Buffalo right now. I've heard Reed. They like Reed a lot. He's an American.

6-3, right shot, D. Can't skate, bring offense. Johnson said Brady could chuck others, including Quinn. He's leaving Canada. Won't stand in his way of selecting Reed. Reed is very high in the Canucks draft list. I was told earlier this week that Reed, he had dinner with the Canucks of the Combine,

but he didn't have anything set up with Vancouver this week. He didn't have anything set up with Vancouver this week. Now, I want to get into this American thing, and I'll get your views on it, Bruff. The American thing is funny because U.S. players, in the last few years, have loved Vancouver. Demko, Miller, Garland Besser, all Americans, all signed extensions in the city knowing there were UFAs coming up soon.

all easily he could have played in the U.S., but they said no. Besser signed here on July 1st. He had offers galore. He could have gone anywhere south through the border. What did he choose? He chose Vancouver. The Americans aren't leaving Canada after the draft. They're leaving after their second and third contracts,

and it seems to be a group of guys that grew up together and, you know, whatever. The American thing is a player-by-player case. You can't lump them all in the same boat. The Canucks have a high-drafted American defense. named Zee, Bouillon, who could sign a long-term deal this summer. William has still September to sign an eight-year deal after that. He can only sign for seven. You don't think those two sides, the Canucks and Boolean,

are going to try and hammer out an eight-year deal if they can. It's probably the most likely scenario. So I don't think if Chase Reed and this American thing, I've been told it's not going to hold the Canucks back from taking Chase Reed. He's another guy that climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. He's the top rated. He's very high in the Canucks board. He's their top rated defensemen.

So only time will tell. We'll find out in a few hours. It could be Caleb. It could be Chase Reed. Who knows? Maybe the Canucks go off the board and take somebody else. That's the great thing about the draft. We can talk about it, but we're not going to know the answer until a few hours from now.

Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say we're not drafting any Americans. I think that would be an overreaction. Big time. Big time. This could be a moment in time with some very specific things going on right now. Both like you mentioned, there's some guys that grew up together. I mean, Dylan Larkin and Quinn Hughes are buddies.

Yeah, they're all these buddies. You know, I think Dylan Larkin, I mean, Andy Strickland had a tweet this morning where he said, you know, the most likely destination for Larkin is Minnesota. So I think it's a moment in time, but we'll see the relationship between Canada and the United States is certainly fraught politically, and I think that has something to do with this. I don't know how big a part, but I think it has something to do with it. But listen, it also just comes down to the player, and you got to get to know the player. I think that's just so important in the draft, you know, like obviously you have to know if he's good and you have to. know what the strengths of his game are, but you also have to know the person.

And I think that's one area where I think I trust this Canucks Managing Group more than I've trusted the last few. And you know what? They did their due diligence, you know, before Alvin got fired, I mean, he was all over the world looking at these guys. You know, and Todd Harvey's been consistent. They didn't change that position. And so, look, and even Ryan Johnson went on a Friday to Brantford to go see Caleb Mahalzer,

and they spent the weekend, saw Chase Reed as well. Look, this is the biggest draft in a long time for the Canucks. This draft will help shape the rebuild for years. They've traded so many first and second round picks, Jason, in the last six years. It's embarrassing. That stops today. How the Canucks draft and developed starting today will play a factor into a hundred, how long this rebuild will be.

You can talk about trades and you can talk about July 1st. All you want. The biggest thing this new regime's got to do, draft and develop. To get out of this mess, the 32nd place, they got to draft the right kids. They got to develop them in Abbotsford. They got to keep an eye on them throughout the year. And this is it, starting now. And make this franchise in a few years a place where people want to come and play.

Because right now they don't want to come here and play. and that's fine. I don't blame them. I've said a few times, like I don't blame Quinn Hughes for wanting out. I really don't. If it's my career, if it's my career,

and I know I've only got a few years left in my prime and careers are so short, I'm not staying. I'm out. And I don't blame him, but, you know, if the Canucks had been good and on the verge of contending for a cup,

I would have blamed him then, but I don't now. And there's a lot to fix, and you're right, It starts today at the draft. There's a long way to go, and there's a lot of wrong turns that they could make, but let's hope they make the right ones. Dolly, enjoy the weekend, buddy.

Give me one second. Give me one second. Give me one second. Just Quinn Hughes and Rick Tocket left for their same reasons. Tuckett was offered $5 million a year, and he said, no. They were just tired of the gong show, and they were tired of the losing and tired of the soap opera and tired of all that. We were tired of it, too? Yeah.

And so those guys left for, who leaves? after getting a $5 million offer like Talk It. You know, I mean, give me a break. So anyways, enjoy the draft tonight. Have fun, and we will talk to you next week. See you, pal. There is Rick Tolly Wall. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. One half of Donnie and Dolly on Check TV. Just one final prediction on what you think the Canucks are going to do at third overall here and who the best player available after McKenna and Stembourg is in your eyes. Okay, so I have Mulhotra. Okay. as being the guy. I have Chase Reed as the next best player,

as the third best player in the draft class. Like I think he's absolutely elite. I think he's just scratching the surface. He's had diversity in his background. He's got a few McCar-like qualities in his game. He's not Cal McCar-like qualities in his game, but there are some McCar-like qualities in his game. And I just think he's getting going here.

So I would have him third. I would have Malhotra 4th. And then it's, oh, my gosh. probably Carl's, Bjork, Verhoff, Rudolph, like it's a pretty tightly packed group after that. But to reiterate,

I would have the Vancouver Connects taking Mulholtra at 4, and me personally ranked Chase Reed as the third best player in this draft. All right. Sounds good. We appreciate you taking the time and enjoy the next couple days. Okay, guys.

Thanks a lot. Take care. You too. There is Sam Cousentino, covers the NHL draft and prospects for sports net. we got some ask us anything we got a few minutes to do some ask us anything Jeff from mission ask us anything how insufferable will drance be if he's right about Vio Bjork

well he's gonna be insufferable anyway I am that's just who he is I kind of hope the Canucks just for just to shut Drance up takes Bjork can you imagine if they're like they take him third overall and Caleb Malhotra isn't a guy yeah I'd be incredibly surprised I'd be like, hey, now we really know nothing about this management group. What I will say about Drant's taking victory laps, did you know that he has a group chat with Saty Arshah and I, who we've been known to be like, hey, Tom the liner might be good. Yeah, yeah.

He has a group chat that he started in the playoffs with us where every time Zach Benson did something, he would just throw messages out. Oh, okay. So A-Dog should join that group chat. I like Zach Benson. I'm from Chilliwack. I like Zach Benson. I also think Tom V-Lander might be good.

Yeah, no, I'm in the same boat as you. Like I, some people are like, you don't like, Veland. I'm like, no, I do. I think Vial is going to be really good. I just like Benson more. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.