Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 7/1/26

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, plus they discuss the start of NHL Free Agency with Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman. 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. Brady Dick, Brandon Ingram, and a bunch of picks. That's an street, yeah. Yeah, it's been great, good first two days here. Fun to be back on the ice. Yeah, just excited to be here and see, like, the prospect. Good morning, Vancouver, 6 o'clock on a Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, everybody. Happy Canada Day, everybody. It is Halford, it is Brough. It is SportsNet 650. We are coming to live from the Kintech Studios in Beautiful Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adaw, good morning to you.

Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brought for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Don't spend summer sweating over your debt. Sands and Associates is ready to help you get debt free. Visit them today at Sands-Trstead.com. are an hour one of the program. We got a big show ahead.

I'm going to throw to Jason really quickly for whatever business we need to get into. We have a loaded show. We are here for four hours today on Canada Day, which is also free agency day. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio, Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech. If you want to text into the show today, you know the number, 650, 650. That's the Dunbar Lumber. Text line trusted by contractors and DIY champions across Metro Vancouver for generations. them at three convene in locations or visit Dunbar Lumber Online today. Coverage of NHL free agency on Sportsnet 650 is brought to you today by Beyond Basic Eyewear. Go above and beyond this summer with Beyond Basic Eyewear.

Visit them at 1052 Austin Avenue in Coquitlam or online at Beyond Basic Eyewear.com. Do you have glasses? Have you ever used glasses? I have never used glasses. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I'm slowly going deaf, which I need to address.

However, I say, not so bad. Okay, well, good. That's good. Yeah, all right. So we've got six guests on the list today. It is the Duick Morning Drive, brought to you by the Duick Auto Group. So I will just run this down as quick as possible. Four hour show, six guests.

Let's put it this way. First, two hours of this show, we're going hockey heavy and hockey insider heavy. 6.30, David Amber is going to join the program. 7 o'clock, Frank, Sarah Valley. 7.30, Elliot Friedman. So we're going to get into everything that's going on around the National Hockey League. Free agency obviously opens up at 9 a.m. R time, but there's a lot going on right now. Potential trades, guys getting new contract extensions.

So we'll get into all that in the first two hours of the program. At 8 o'clock, we'll dive into the Canucks stuff. Randy Janda is going to join the program at 8. At 8.30, you might be asking, hey, you guys going to do any Canadian soccer talk today? Yes, we will. James Sharman, our soccer insider from Sportsnet and the Footy Prime podcast. is going to join us at 830. We're now just a handful of days away

from Canada taking on Morocco in the round of 16 at the World Cup. 9 o'clock, Jason Greger is going to join the program from Edmonton. We will bounce around to some of the Canadian markets, including Edmonton, to see what they might have in store on July 1. It's a big guest list.

We got so much to get into. Without further ado, Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No, what happened? I missed all the action because I was... You know how busy your life can be. What happened?

You missed that? So we're going to begin what happened today with something that's come down the wire just about an hour ago. Major news out of Chicago as it pertains to a local boy. But it's not Connor Bedard. Bowen Byram, the newly acquired defenseman of the Chicago Blackhawks, has reportedly agreed to a six-year extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, with a wait for it, $12.5 million a. that's a lot for him

and I'm a Bowen Byram fan you've heard me talk about how you know in the Stanley Cup final when he was still with Colorado he was one of the best players on the ice then he goes to Buffalo and I guess for a while it just seems like he was kind of lost there like everyone else who was in Buffalo

and then does play a little bit better but reaches the point where he wants to go to a team and be a number one defenseman and probably the money that goes along with that because certainly got that he was not getting this contract behind rasmus dalin in buffalo and he was never going to get it behind kail mccar in colorado but i have to admit my first thought when i saw this was man one of the toughest positions to be in in the n hl is when you are getting paid like a number one

defenseman, but you're not quite a number one defenseman. And I think about, honestly, I thought about Seth Jones in Chicago, Darnell Nurse in Edmonton. He's another one. And not so much the contract, but the expectations, Morgan Riley in Toronto, they're really difficult spots to be in because you can still be a good player. but if you're thrust into the role of number one defensemen and you're just not quite, and the bar is so high.

You have to do everything well. To be a true number one defenseman, you have to be playing in all situations and you have to be reliable out there. You have to be a guy that's out on the ice where everyone goes, few, I feel good because so-and-so is on the ice right now. I mean, okay.

this is a tough one man let's take a pause here local kid love a local kid go get your money son i've always lived by that mantra go get the bag as the children will say but here's the thing bone byram and to be clear this contract doesn't kick in until 2027 2028 bone byram right now is the highest paid defenseman in the national hockey league he has the same cap hit as coner mcdivit essentially 12.5 to 12.6 boan byram and shout out to michael Treykos from the hockey news who pointed this out on Twitter. He had 11 goals and 42 points last year. So he's a good offensive defenseman, but by no means the best.

Did not receive a single Norris trophy vote. Yeah. And he is now the highest paid defenseman in the National Hockey League. But he's been behind really good defensemen where he's not going to get all the top minutes. But now he's being paid more than all those guys. I know. I know. You don't have to try and rectify it. It's a crazy move.

It's a crazy move. It's a lot of money. It is. But I do think there's more from Bowen Byron. The other wildcard and all this is he's got to stay healthy. And he has for the last couple of seasons. So that's good. Yeah, I just wonder about the pressure that Kyle Davidson,

the general manager in Chicago, was under to get this thing going, to keep Connor Bedard happy to show Connor Bedard that they were going to be competitive sooner rather than later and sometimes what happens sometimes what happens is you put guys in positions that they're not

quite ready to be in. Let's move on to the other big story around defensemen in the NHL because this is a wild one and we can talk I guess a little bit more about it with Elliot Friedman. But Elliot Friedman had a report

last night about what's going on with Zach Werensky in Columbus. Yeah, so the guy that's making now 3 million less than Bowen Byram, Zach Wrenski, the reigning Norse trophy winner. According to multiple sources of free just last night, Dallas and Columbus had a verbal

agreement to trade Zach Werenski in exchange for a package that included Thomas Harley. There was just one problem. Thomas Harley was made aware of the trade. So too was Zach Wrenski, but Werenski's decision

was to invoke his no-movement clause and deny the trade to Dallas. Now, this opens up a huge can of worms and a lot of questions, and Ruff and I were kicking us around last night. I'm like, there's two questions that need to be answered here. Did Dallas and Columbus agree to a trade before notifying Werensky,

or did they, They notify Werencki of the trade, verbally agree to it, and then he reneged. It sounds like the former that they had the principles and the pieces in place, and then they went to Werenski. Which plows my mind, if so. Wildly irresponsible. Did they just maybe, again, I have no idea, but did they just assume, well, it's Dallas. It's not like we're trading them to Winnipeg or, you know, Vancouver.

It's just Dallas. Of course I want to go there. we've gotten very mixed messages as to what the player wants because originally the trade list involved just a handful of teams and then it was expanded. There could have been a situation where maybe Dallas was on a list, but then ultimately Werenzki decided he didn't want to go there. Whatever the case, that deal appears cooked. Now, it sounds as though the leading candidates for Zach Werenski's services are the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who also appear to be in the running for this thing. The lightning, nobody's surprised.

The Leafs, I thought the Americans left Canada, as opposed to going to Canada. Last time I checked on a map, Toronto's still very much in Canada. How much would the Leafs be given Werencki? They got a ton of cap space. John Chaka said right when he took the job, he was like, I got to fix this blue line. And if he were able to land Werenski, I mean, what a feather in his cap, that would be. That would be incredible.

I also think they would give him. Like, what do we see now? He's got two years left on his deal, so they don't even have to think about it until next summer to start. But he would be in the day. They got to think about it. Okay, right up to top of my head, 15 million a year. I think it would, I think it could be even more like it,

like Caprizov money. Sure. Priz off 17? Maybe you're the Norris Trophy winner. Who do you actually think is more valuable? I think I would take Werenzki over. over Caprizov is they're both incredible players. I was starting a team and I had to choose between the two,

I'd take Werenzky over Caprizov for sure. I have a bias towards the defenseman just because they play a lot. But I mean, Caprizov does the hardest thing in the NHL and that's score goals. So, I mean, they're both really good players. But if the Leafs could land Werenski, I might have to change my opinion on whether or not they've got a great future. Now, I think the real story here, though, isn't necessarily where Werenski is going to go. It's the position that the Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in right now.

Well, until he goes to Toronto and then that's the story forever. Because the other part, right, then it becomes the only story. The other part of this really is, is Columbus going to get anything close to fair, reasonable value for Werenski now that they've been put in this box? Because if he's calling his shots, like the first thing I thought about the trade to Toronto is, well, what's Toronto give up? And the second question is, are they going to have to give up as much as some of these other suitors are? Because they know that Oransky's only got a handful of teams that he's willing to waive as no movement clause for. By the way, the no movement clauses in the National Hockey League right now have totally flipped the league on their head. Like people just, people were just not prepared for it to work out this way where a guy could have a no movement clause, demand a trade, and then also demand where he wanted to be traded to because he can VAT.

any deal he's not cool with. It is a very interesting dynamic and it is thrown the league into arrears overnight. It's the P, man. It's the P. It's the P. Player in Permanera. Love the P. Big P-time. Isn't it more of that, I guess some people might have not thought that the players would

just so blatantly use the no-move clause? 100% what it is, man. I don't know if there was... 100% I don't know if there was like a code behind it or something. There was an unspoken agreement that players would never enter the P-A-D-D. The player empowerment era was never going to actually happen. I mean, we saw it a bit here back in that. Did Kessler? You Kessler must have had trade protection when he was traded.

This is a long time ago now. But, you know, the Kinnock's got a decent return from Anaheim, but it probably could have been better. But now it almost seems like the players have, again, gotten together and be like, let's wield these things like weapons. Yeah. And, you know, they were originally, they were originally handed out.

because a player would be like, yeah, I just don't, I don't want to be traded. I really like it here. A no trade clause was a little bit different in that quite often you'd be like, okay, well, listen, you know,

I don't want to go to Winnipeg or Buffalo. My wife really doesn't want to go to Winnipeg or Buffalo. So just give me a clause that lets me block, you know, six teams that I can't be traded to, right? And that was, that was purely to protect the player. Right?

And now, as opposed to protecting the player, the player gets to wield that. And they have apparently no problem with that. And I think sometimes you just like one player needs to break the seal on this sort of thing. And I don't know if it was

like who would have been? Like I guess like Like Kachuk didn't have a trade protection, I don't think. We probably should have seen it coming with Kachuk when... The user. I mean, the playbook is now very straightforward. And Werenski's followed this, by the way. It's a year or two out from your extension.

You tell the team you have no intention in signing. And that is your de facto trade request. You don't tell them you want to trade, but you definitely tell them you're not going to re-sign there. And RFAs can do this. They can say, well, you know, yeah, you might still control me. as an RFA, but now, then we're going to go to arbitration. It'll be a one-year deal and I'll be an unrestricted free agent. So do you want to deal with it then or do you want to deal with it now?

And most teams would be like, yeah, we'll just deal with it now. I'll tell you what the difficult part about the Rorensky situation is. They tried to trade him to a contender. Dallas is still a very good team. I know they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs last year. But even with the Kessler trade, I do recall that was about him going to a team where he had a chance to win a Stanley Cup. It wasn't geographically based.

I don't think, I mean, I think it was Anaheim, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, if I remember at the top of my head, where the choices the Kessler narrowed it down to. All teams that were on the precipice of winning a cup or at least contending for one. They consummated a trade with Dallas. It very much sounds like Rorenzky has a very set place or places he wants to go to,

which isn't necessarily about just winning. And in that case, I think you have a legitimate, beef to say, hey, pal, you signed a long-term extension here. You haven't played out the entirety of it. And now you're cherry-picking exactly where you want to go. And you're putting us in a box because we're not going to get as good a return from Tampa Bear, Toronto as we are going to get from Dallas.

I think there's a legitimate beef there. Sure. But our players now are going to say, like, I don't care. That's exactly the answer. Seems like a you problem, not a me problem. I think a player empowerment. Remember? And I think that, and you know what?

I will say, I'm all right with it. These guys' career are short, and you should be able to dictate where you want to go. Sure. I think maybe the league should look at having even shorter contracts, so guys aren't opting out in year five of eight or, you know, four of six or whatever. You give them a four year max length, and then they're free to move wherever they want after four years if it hasn't worked out. A couple things. First of all, when I saw the report that Rorensky had nicks to trade, I was like, I bet it's Seattle again. That's what, oh, yeah, yeah, fortunately for the crack and sake, it was.

wasn't. I think the Cracken should make sure that all denials to go there are no longer leaked to the media because they've taken a beating the last week. Like their reputation is done. A bunch of people texted in this question. What are the Leafs going to offer Columbus? Great question. They have limited limited assets. Yeah, I don't know. Matthew Nyes and, like if you're Columbus, okay, let's work through this. If you're Columbus, you're probably going to be like, let's do Nielander for Rorinski's straight up, just hypothetically speaking. And the Leafs are going to say, no, why would we do that? You are in no position to negotiate.

You don't have the cards. You don't have the cards. They don't. You're going to take back, at this point, you're running the risk of taking back pennies on the dollar for the reigning Norris trophy winner. Think about how stupid that sounds. What do you think, Darren Radish's thing? You're like, am I still going to get PowerPlay one time?

You're like, no, Darren. He should be like, am I still getting $8 million a year? Yeah, whatever. Am I allowed to do that anymore? Oh, I bet. I actually wonder if Morgan Riley would be part of that deal just because Columbus would be like, all right, I guess we need a new defenseman here.

But, but, I mean, the understanding or the reporting suggested that Riley wasn't going to be traded because the Leafs wouldn't add a sweetener in. That's like to that, so that's the level that Riley's game has fallen to, And also he's got four years left on his contract and he's 32 years old. Okay. And I was thinking about this last night. And I want to be tactful in saying this because Johnny Godreau is involved in his passing was incredibly tragic and is by no means a quote unquote curse.

But this organization right now has suffered so many blows with guys not wanting to be there with, you know, unthinkable tragedy. Just, I mean, we forget the goalie Matisse-Clovenics. I just completely butcher's name and I apologize. But there are countless things that have happened to Columbus over the last decade. All sorts of different things. And all of them have one thing in common. It's been incredibly damaging to the organization. There's not many organizations that can just keep doing this.

I'm not saying they're going to fold up shop or they're going to move or they're going to sell. But at what point are they going to be able to, you know, get on a streak of good things happening to them? It just seems like bad things happen to this organization. This is just the latest example of it right now. We've got a text in. Hey, guys, I think if one of these players requests a trade when they're in a five-year deal, they should have to give up their no trade clause if they're going to break the contract. Otherwise, they handcuffed the teams.

What do you guys think? No, I don't think that should be the case because you have to remember these teams could still be like, we're not trading you. That is a good point. And would it get toxic? Mm-hmm. Yep. But I think Steve Eisenman might be willing to let it happen with Dylan Larkin in Detroit.

I don't know what I don't know what's going on there. But the players do take a certain amount of risk in these trade requests because if the GM or the team goes like, mm-mm, we're not trading you? then it gets real uncomfortable for that player. What do you think the response to Dylan Larkin and Detroit is going to be? If he comes back, booze. Right? He should be booed.

Yeah. That's sports fandom. You want to leave? Great. And it could be. Here's a firm package of booze for you. It can be real awkward in the room. Yep.

So you got to go to work every day and everyone there knows you don't want to be part of the fight. You don't want to go into battle with these guys. And by the sounds of it, it sounded like things were not okay in Ottawa around Brady Kachuk because was it Bruce Garriak reported that, like, he told his teammates, like, I'm not extending here. So for like four years or whatever, that was hanging over the franchise. And I think you saw in the aftermath of the deal. It wasn't exactly like players were leaping to their social media channels to bid him farewell. All right, take care, Brady.

We loved having you tell us you weren't going to be here for the last four years. See you later. And now all those premonitions have come true. By the way, the other thing, as the texter wrote, like, you should wave the no trade clause. I think this has comeuppance for these teams that have handed NTCs and M&Cs out like candy. I really do.

Like, there was no way that they were going to be able to hand them out in the manner in which they did frivolously to the number of guys they did without it coming to bite them back to bite the ass. See, AJ Greer got a no trade clause. Right? Like that's, see, okay, they're not learning their last year. AJ Greer. I don't necessarily disagree with you.

But I also don't think it's as clear cut as some of the agents make it in that like a no move clause costs you $1 million. So that's how you save $1 million off. I don't think it's as clear cut as that I think players now, certainly ones like Zach Werenski feel entitled to them. And it's, it's, bear with me because it's a bit of a weird example. All right. But I think that in the United States at least, minus California, it's cooked into reality, essentially, that the public will finance stadiums for teams, right? So you can say, like, well, cities should just stop doing that or states should just stop doing that. Politicians should just stop doing that.

You know what happens then? the team moves. Right. Right. So in this case, it's like, oh, you won't give me a no move clause? I'm not signing. I'm not signing a long-term deal then. I want to control this situation.

It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but what I'm just saying is that it's reached a point where if there was a superstar that wanted to sign a long-term contract, I think it's easier said than done to just be like, we're not giving you a no move clause, we're not giving you any trade protection. I think that would be a real problem in negotiations. No, I get it. And I know that a lot of these teams were just following the trends of the league.

But it's comical to me that when you look at the National Basketball Association, there is a grand total of two no trade clauses in the league. And they belong to Damien Lillard and LeBron James, who's on the move, by the way, now. So this is kind of the definition of the gene. out of the bottle, though, right? I think the only way to stuff it back in there is rules. Yeah. And now I think there are...

Or collusion. Right. Rules or collusion. Good old-fashioned collusion always works. I think there's something that they are going to try and attempt to rectify, but I don't know how you do it because the CBA is kind of already buttoned up for the, right? They've already kind of agreed to the MOU and yeah, like it's kind of there. Wish said yesterday, here's how to how to accomplish that without opening up the CBO.

stop giving them out. And my response to that is that's easier said than done when you're trying to sign a guy. For sure. And especially now more, I mean, here's the thing. Otherwise, you don't get A.J. Greer, right? Yeah, you can't get him to that lucrative deal. If you're a player right now

and you're seeing what's going on, you are absolutely requesting one in negotiations. Berenski, although he may be vilified in Columbus, is absolutely calling his shots. I want to go. Here's where want to go. And more importantly,

there's where I don't want to go. And one of those was Dallas. I want to see a player, a superstar player sign one of those long-term contracts, massive contract, massive money with a no-move clause and be like, I'm really excited to sign this contract. Also, signs it.

I would like to be traded to Florida. Didn't even spend a day here. Not even going to make it through the day. And I want out. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. 731 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Happy Canada Day, everybody.

Halford, Brough, SportsNet, 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Their clients often say there is no judgment. You feel careful and understood. Get debt free at sands-trustee.com today. It's nice, isn't it, Greg? the song? And the message.

And the message. You feel cared for and understood. That's two things. Rick Tollywell has a message. Oh. One player to keep an eye on in Vancouver is defenseman Ian Cole. I expect the connects to look hard at him, but he has good options. All right.

Anyone more exciting to keep an eye on? I love the idea that they're going to look hard at him. Yeah. Didn't we already look at him for like 82 games? games and 14 playoff games. I think he played almost every game that year, if I'm not mistaken. He could be different. Could be different this time.

It absolutely could. I wonder if he's going to end up in San Jose. I know you don't care. Nope. Yeah. What's the word I'm looking for? Care. Yeah, I mean, well, if they don't get him, isn't it just okay, let's try Zach Bogosian now?

It feels like another option. Sure. We'll see what happens. Okay, we got Fridge on hold here. Before we get to Frege on the Able Auctions hotline, I need to remind you, we are an hour two of the program. An hour two is brats by Jason Homonock and I get Jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect

mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.morgage. Okay, to the ABLE Auctions hotline. We go our next guest, SportsNet, NHL insider, Elliot Friedman here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Fridge. How are you? Good. How are you guys doing? We're probably less busy than you are right now. Let's start with Zach Wrenski. What's going on there. So, like, so they had, I guess on Monday night, um, Dallas and, Columbus had worked out a deal. It was, uh, it was, uh, Werenstke for Harley. There were other pieces involved. And it, it had to wait until today. And I don't know if it was cap related or it was contract related bonuses, whatever, whatever.

but it had to wait until today. And as far as I know, like yesterday, I don't know if they told the league or, but there was the plan to have a trade call this morning and get the deal done. And then, and like some people said, did Dallas not realize Wrenski had a no move clause? No, I don't think that was the case.

I think they were well aware. But I don't think they had any reason to believe that he would invoke it. And yesterday he did. They were informed that he did. And I'm not 100% sure what exactly has happened here. But number one, I think he wants to go east. You know, his wife just had their second child recently,

and I think that's part of it. And like they're from, and one of the reasons I do think Toronto is a factor here is that his wife and him, they're both from outside of Detroit, so it's not difficult, travel to their families. But also yesterday, I guess there was an article, and I haven't, I've only glanced at it, but I guess there was a quote about Werenzki, Rick Bonas, and said that Werenzky had looked him in the eyes,

and I heard that was in it, that became an issue. that I guess after that story came out, there were some really hard feelings. And I think that played into this. I think it was one of the reasons that the trade was declined. Like Dallas got totally caught in the middle year. I don't think they had any reason to believe that this trade was going to get vetoed. And that's kind of what happened. And I know some people have said to me this morning that they're kind of wondering if it could get back on the train.

Because yesterday it was a really emotional angry day. but I don't know. I don't know that I see that. Yeah, and I guess that article was in the athletic and the headline is Blue Jackets, Rick Bonas, blindsided by Werensky's decision, and then the quote is, we looked each other in the eye.

Hey, Fridge, I got a follow-up question. Who's the most angry right now? Is it the Werenzky camp? Is it the Blue Jackets or is it the Dallas Stars and Thomas Harley? I think it's a cauldron of anger, I would say. You know, I just think, like, Leo, like Dallas, that's two in a week, right? So I'm sure they're looking at it.

And that's one of the best destinations in the league, right? So I'm sure they're looking at it, like, what's going on here exactly? And I think every, like, anytime something like this gets out, and plus, as you guys know, there's this whole frustration around the league now with the trade requests and kind of what's going on and it's really like the temperatures are running hot right now let's just say that yeah Tampa Bay makes a lot of sense for Werencki with Victor Hedman being 35 years old and you know I know he's he had some personal issues at the at the end of the season and I hope he's hope he's in a better spot now but Tampa Bay was going to have to think about replacing him anyway

Darren Radish is in Toronto now. Do they have what it takes to put together an offer for Werenski? Well, I think that this thing is now is that there's two things here. It's not only about the offer, but it's also about where he's willing to go. Like, he's flexed his muscles. So, you know, what's his preference? Is it Tampa or Toronto? And also, as I wrote last night,

there was a feeling after this happened that Werenstki was not really interested in doing Columbus any favors. But I think everybody's going to calm down here. It's like everybody in life gets kissed off at something from time to time and you're angry for a day and you wake up the next day and you're like, okay. You know, how do I really feel how am I going to solve this problem? But I think that if you're asking that question honestly, Jason, I don't even think it's the most. relevant question. I think it comes down to where does he really want to go? And can, like, you look at what happened with Brady Kachakot at Ottawa.

You gave him four teams, but they were basically at one. And so then you're kind of stock. You have a choice. You do it or you don't do it. So which teams have you heard that he's willing to go to? Because, you know, Tampa and Toronto, right? And I think Florida, I always think you have to consider Florida,

but Florida showed no inclination to give up roster players, right? So I don't know that... I think you have to put them in, but I don't know that that's the case. What about Detroit? If you were to go there, would that calm down the Dylan Larkin situation? Maybe that's an answer for Steve Eiserman.

I don't think so. No. I understand why you're asking, but I don't think so. Okay. What is happening in Detroit? right now with Dylan Larkin? I think Steve Eisenman is saying I'm not making a trade.

It's like I wrote this morning, no trade is better than a bad trade. I think he'll trade them. But he wants something legit. And he doesn't want futures, I don't think. Okay, let's talk about the Vancouver Canucks now. They have made some deals. They brought in Brendan Gallagher.

And to make that happen, they traded away Nils Hoaglander. Are they in a situation where if they acquire something, they have to move something first? Are there budgetary considerations in Vancouver that the fans need to know about? You know what I think it is, honestly, guys, is that if you're going through a rebuild like they are, why would you spend it a cap? No, I totally understand. Unless you can buy some picks.

You know, honestly, like, I think some of this stuff is like, I don't know. I don't know what to make of it. I know there's a lot of skepticism, and that's fine. But I just think this, like the cap is at 104 U.S. right now as of today. And that's what, 130 million Canadian? And even some of the teams that are in the United States who pay the dollar at par, they're looking at it like it doesn't make sense unless we're really in it. So I kind of look at it with, it's not necessarily about budget.

to me, it's more like, why are we going to spend anywhere near there if we're not competing to win the Stanley Cup? I think that's what it is, really. Is there budgetary concerns? Maybe. I really don't know. I look at it from

a purely hockey point of view. I don't, I think they look at it like, why are we going to spend $104 million or whatever it is if we're not going to be anywhere close to contention. I think, I think, it's more likely than not they work around

the prolifery. I think that one of the interesting things it will be people who miss out today or don't get what they want or still don't like what they have. That's when I think a lot of those teams start circling back with Vancouver

and saying, what do you think in here for some of your guys? So, Fridge, I get what you're saying, and I don't think anyone expects the Canucks to spend to the cap. Well, maybe Drenz. I don't know what Drenz think sometimes.

But, but like, because I know there are ways that you can spend money to essentially acquire picks in theory. Right. And I'll tell you this. I think they would, like, I have heard that the Knox have indicated that they are not afraid of taking on a contract if they're, if they are given reason to do it. Sweeteners to do it. Okay. Like, I, like, I think, like, one of the things I heard. heard was that I think

someone was talking about one of their guys veterans who's available and the team said you know would you take this contract and I heard the Canucks were willing to do it if they were because I think A it got rid of a contract off

their team and B if they were compensated well enough they weren't against the idea so I think they will it's a cliche but if they can weaponize their space or do something that they think helps them, I don't think they're afraid of that.

What I was going to say is that I think the budgetary concerns are bigger than just the salary on players this season. I mean, I think everyone who's a fan of a team in Major League Sports wants to know that their ownership group is financially flush, and we're in a market where we've been talking about a bloody practice facility for a decade now, and there still isn't one built. So I think it's just one of those things where you just, where fans are just, if anything, they're just curious about how well the team is doing and how well they anticipate things go during this rebuild.

Well, I don't have any, like, I don't understand what you're asking. I'm not asking you anything. I'm just explaining this situation. Do you think that I, are you asking if I think that the team isn't financial? No, no. I'm not asking. I'm just explaining because you, you. You just pointed out that it was, I don't want to get an argument over this,

but it was just like you said like, why people don't expect, do people expect them to spend to the cap? And I don't think anyone does. I think they're just, they just want to know that everything's okay with the team right now. And so I wasn't asking you anything. I haven't,

I haven't heard any reason to, like there's, like, I don't, like, I haven't heard any reason to think that the franchise and the herald or anything like that. No, no.

I think revenue wise, like I heard, heard last year they did quite well compared to a lot of other teams. Right. Okay. Interesting. It's all just going to be something we're going to be monitoring in this rebuild because this has been a debate that's been going on for

years. What are you hearing about Elias Pedersen, Brock Bessor, Jake DeBrasch, any of these guys? Well, that's kind of what I was referring to before that I think that I think that some of these players are going to be circled back on. Like, don't forget, a lot of these guys have say some control. So, you know, they have to approve anything.

But I think if you're a player, you know, and you want to win, you see the writing on the wall about what this is going to be like the next few years. I don't think the Canucks are averse to doing any of this. And like I said, I think they're willing to do things. Like if they trade one of these players and the acquiring team is like, I need you to take this contract back. I think the Canucks are willing to consider it.

you know, I think that, you know, I think Vancouver's got like a kind of a sign on the door that says, you got an idea, come to us. And we'll talk about it. And I think there's been various levels of interest in all these players. I think they've been asked about all of them. Like I just think in Pedersen's case, I do think there's been some interest in Pedersen. And I do think retention is an issue, 100%, but also he's got to want to do it. And, uh, But I do think there's been some interest in him. It's just it all comes down to A, what he wants and B, you know, what a trade would, what a trade could potentially look like. What about another Patterson, Marcus Pedersen?

I just think that, I just think, Mike, that they've got, like, if you have an idea for the Canucks and it's not somebody they consider a key part of their rebuild, call them. Okay. And they'll listen to you. like how many players like are like who on like the one the one guy I think is different is ronick and you know I you know he's got a really outspoken agent and I think the Canoxer this is a new new era for them new front office and I think they the the Roanick and the agent have made and have made their feelings clear about they don't want him to be bothered and he wants to stay and I and I think I think the conoxes have been called about him and

I think they communicate that. Like to me, I just think they're in a position where they've listened to what has said, and they don't want to get into any, they don't want to get into public missteps where someone's going to say, hey, like new front office, this is how you treat somebody. I think the Canucks are very sensitive to that. So, like, I have no doubt people have called, but I think the Canucks are just sensitive in general to the situation. and I think you'd really have to blow their socks off for them to even consider something like that. We're speaking to SportsNets, Elliot Friedman here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650.

On the subject of offer sheets, Elliot, do you think anything will be signed either today or throughout the summer? My follow-up is, are you willing to divulge your theory on what Carolina might be, might be contemplated in doing behind the scenes? Not yet, because I still think it's like one of those things, if you're wrong, so stupid that you don't want to be your phone. Been there, brother. Yeah, yeah, been there. We usually just say it anyway, though. Look, I think they're being weighed. Like, but I think the thing is

you've got to really think you can get the player or really handicap the other team. I think there are some teams who have thought about it for some of the big guys. But I also think there's some teams who thought about it. Like Maverick Bork, I think Dallas has been concerned about it. I think Dallas has said, you know, with their tight squeeze they're dealing with here,

with Robertson's uncertain future, I think they're worried they're a little vulnerable to that, and could they make a preemptive move? I think I think Bork is a guy there's been a lot of action around. No one would take a shot at Adam Fantilia to Columbus, would they? Like I said, I think all of these names have been kind of considered. Right. And, you know, like, but you have to. structured in a way that's like crazy.

You really have to make it poison pill. What did you make of the reported contract extension that Bowen Byram has received? That's true. He is going to sign for six times 12 and a half. What did you think when you saw that number and that term come across your phone?

I wasn't, well, I heard, I think I'd ridden this morning, it was about 12, so I kind of knew that something like that was coming. I'm not surprised. They traded for them. They gave up the fourth overall pick. I heard that when he spoke to Buffalo, he wanted four years at a huge number. So I'm not surprised at all. Not surprised at all. And you know what?

It's like sometimes it's, you know, who's got the leverage? And Byram is carrying a big hammer right now. And Chicago pushed all their chips in on them. I'm not surprised in the least. So the expectations for Bowen Byram is it to be like the number one defenseman? Yep. Like, yeah. He's the number one D either.

Yeah, the one thing, I mean, you guys know Byron. He's like a BC guy. Like, he can handle this, but he's going to have, like, emotionally and temperamentally, he's perfect for this, but he's going to, he's wanted this opportunity to be the number one guy. Now he's got to deliver. Yeah, it's tough. I mean, because when you get paid like a number one defenseman, you definitely have to play like a number one defenseman. And perhaps no, I mean, you would know this in Toronto, perhaps no athlete gets more criticism than the number one defenseman.

defenseman who's getting paid like a number one defenseman who's not playing like a number one defenseman. Yeah, well, that's exactly it. Like I remember Brian Campbell told me a story once that when he signed his big contract from Florida like he never felt the same. He always felt

like he had to live up to it on like one shift. Hold on one second. Go for it. I think Matt Hold on. I think Maverick Bork is going to Nashville.

Wow. The Preds have been busy. Chris McFarland making moves. Navric Bork to Nashville. Okay. Yep, we're good. We are speaking to Elliot Freibin here on the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650, potentially breaking a trade live in real time here.

Maverick Bork from the Dallas Stars to potentially the Nashville Predators. One other thing I want to talk to Fridge about when. he's done breaking this trade is just the goalie market and how he expects it to shake out. Does Broborski go to Toronto? Is there still a chance that Brobosky could go to Edmonton? I don't know. I heard Edmonton had interest in him, but I think it's going to be Toronto. Toronto is a lot of people that know it.

This is a seminal moment for the show. I want to say I just saw an Elliot Friedman. trade tweet go live while he was on the air on the show. There's a full circle moment. Fridge, we're going to let you go. You're obviously in the middle of a lot of stuff right now. Sorry, guys. All good. Appreciate you. Appreciate you taking the time. Very cool moment to be a part of this. We will touch base again soon. Enjoy the day, bud.

Take care. Elliot Friedman, Sportsnet's very own. Breaking a trade, mid show, mid call, no less. Where were you when the Maverick Bork trade went down? We will all remember. halting the call so he could take his phone to tweet out the trade all right here on the halford and bref show on sports net 650 i was actually going to remind freege of a couple of years ago when you were you going to remind him he was on the phone oh okay when he came on the show and we were like

what's cooking for the canucks and he kind of dropped jake de brusk's name and i was like anything else you got anything i felt i felt really bad about that because he was like oh I'm going to bring in this DeBrus news for for Canucks fans. And like he didn't say, he didn't say specifically like this is going to happen, but the way he brought it up inferred that it was going to happen. And two years later and now I guess we expect Jake DeBress to be traded from what we've heard of the insiders. And this can always change. But what we've heard is that the most likely player traded by the Canucks,

if there's going to be a trade today, and that's a big if, is Jake DeBrus? Because I don't think the Canucks are going to be asking too much in return. And you could, I've just heard that. Yeah. But, you know, two second round picks has been thrown out there. Be nice if they could get a late first. But a lot of teams might look at Jake DeBress can be like, here's a guy that scores goals. His contract's not that bad.

and if Jake DeBress were to be in free agency today, could we get him signed to that number? Probably not. So I'm just trying to work through this here now. The National Predators have acquired Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nils Hoaglander, and Maverick Bork. They've added four forwards since Chris McFarlane has come aboard

as the new general manager. None of them, I would say, are like super high-end, really like attention grabbing. acquisitions, but you add four forwards in short order. Does something have to give here? Not many teams add four forwards before the official start a free agency. It might not be at the top of the lineup, though. Whatever the case.

You guys are so old, man. Such a weird group. I wonder if they might move off some of these guys. So Stampcoast is 36. I scored a lot of goals last season. Marsha's 0 is 35. Ryan O'Reilly is 35. he could be traded.

And then even Philip Forsberg, he's 31 years old now. Like those are, look, those are their top, those are their top guys. The most obvious thing right now in making the acquisitions that they've made is that they're bringing in younger forwards and what would be the second part of that?

They're going to move out some of these older forwards. They just brought in a new general manager. Usually there's a regime change of some nature there. I wonder if the next shoot a drop is, a Forsberg trade or a Stamcoast trade or a Marciuso trade or moving somebody out of there. Well, O'Reilly makes sense to trade. Because he's got no trade protection.

He's got a year left before he's an unrestricted free agent. And I think even at the age of 35, he's a guy that teams would be interested. Like, would Montreal bring in Ryan O'Reilly just for a year? That's what, like this is not rocket science we're putting together here. I don't know if they would because I don't know if they want to waste assets on essentially rentals, but who knows.

But you acquired that many. forwards in a short period of time. You've obviously it's a domino effect. There's got to be other moves to come. You're not just going to collect 19 forwards and go to camp and be like, let's try and finish 7th in the West. I think there's got to be something else at play there. So again, if you missed it, Elliot Freeman live on our show during his hit,

breaking news that Maverick Bork of the Dallas stars 20 goal score last year. I believe he had 41 points overall. First to break it, by the way. Yeah, right here. He's on his way to Nashville. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.