Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 8/28/25

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they talk a big Blue Jays comeback win to take the series over the Twins, plus they discuss the latest 'Nucks news with Canucks Talk host & The Athletic Vancouver's Thomas Drance. 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. Rect to right-center field, off the wall. Kirk is in to score. He's rounding third and he'll score. He's a dog. You know, he wants to compete. Do you know a high lift out to left field?

How much is on it? And it is over the wall and gone. Good morning, Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody's Halford. It is Brough at his Sportsnet 650. We are coming you live from the Kintech Studios and beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver.

Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adon, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and breath of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal can get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks.

Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. We got a big show ahead on a Thursday. Guest list today kicks off at 7 o'clock. Yeah, 7 o'clock. First hour is all in uninterrupted. Adnan Verk is going to join us at 7 this morning from MLB Network.

Big wins for the Blue Jays and the Mariners yesterday. We'll get into both of those in what happened. We can also talk about Shohei Otani getting his first win as a Dodgers starting pitcher last night. The MLB regular season is coming to a close. Postseason chases are already heated up. They're getting even hotter. We'll talk to you all that way.

Lots to get into with Adnan at 7 o'clock this morning. 7.30. Brady Henderson, our ESPN Seahawks Insider is going to join the program. Seattle's 53-man roster is set. They're ready to go. And now we're just 10 days away from the Seahawks season opener at home against the Niners in week one. That comes not this Sunday, but the Sunday following.

We'll talk to Brady about all that at 7.30. 8 o'clock, it's the Drancer, Thomas Drance, from Canucks Talk and the Athletic Vancouver. Drancer recently conducted an interview with Abbotsford Bench boss, Mani Melhotra about what Manny learned en route to last year's Calder Cup Championship. We can get into all of that and a whole lot of other stuff. Canucks related

and otherwise, maybe we can do the Connor McDavid conversation later in the show but also at the top with Dranser at 8am. So working in reverse on that guest list 8 o'clock it's Drancer 730 Brady Henderson, 7 o'clock Adnan Verk. The first hour of this show is entirely open. If you want to

start weighing in now with your what we learns, I know it's a tall task at 6.03 in the morning or if you got anything you want us to chop up and chew on Dunbar number text line is 650 650 650 get into what we learned hashtag at WWL tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports if there's anything you want us to tackle we can do it in the first hour of the program guests begin at 7 that's the layout for today Laddie without further ado let's tell everybody what happened

Hey did you guys see the game last night? No what happened I missed all the action because I was We know how busy your life can What happened is that? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training.

Visit them online at BCCSA.ca.com. I got a whole lot of audio from a very entertaining Blue Jays comeback yesterday. A lot of things we got to cover here. We'll start with the big hit of the night. Addison Barger, a two-run double in the eighth. Blue Jays rally from three runs down to win 9-8 against the Twins on Wednesday night and capture the series. Let's hear what Barger's double sounded like, courtesy Dan Shillman on Sportsnet.

Wreck to right-center field, off the wall. Kirk is into score. Springer's rounding third and he'll score. And Addison Barger delivers. That was a really exciting moment in the game, obviously, not just because the Jays went ahead, but Hoffman had been up in the bullpen. He just felt it. And Dan Shalman was like, and look, Hoffman's up in the bullpen.

And then when the Jays took the lead, he was the only guy in the bullpen. And the only thing we could conclude is that John Schneider was going to bring him in. and in hindsight, great move. And I think actually at the time a lot of people were like, you know what? Might as well try and go back to him as soon as you can and against the same team.

Yep. Because we discussed it yesterday, the options for them in the bullpen are not, there aren't many. No, they're not flush with options. Like Hoffman has probably got to be your closer. Like, I don't know. If Laddie has any other, if there's any other guys there that could be your closer.

Like if it's not going to be Hoffman, you're probably just in trouble. Like I said, the start of the year, there was thoughts, maybe Ariel Rodriguez, but not with how he's been lately. I don't know. I might be a Sir Anthony guy from here on. He does have some minor experience. And he got the win yesterday. It's a matter of fact. But to come back to Hoffman, the day after that ugly save attempt, which turned into a big blown save,

you know, I think was a great opportunity for Hoffman, a great opportunity for the Jays, and hopefully this can serve well down the stretch and into the postseason. And by the way, if the Jays had lost that game, it was getting a little slim, the lead ahead of the Red Sox and the Yankees. Both of whom won yesterday.

Let's hear the close, the call for the save. Hoffman, 29th save and 36 opportunities this season. Jay's win at 9-8. Hoffman closes it out. Here, let's go back to Dan Shulman, our good friend, who was on the show yesterday, on the call, courtesy Sportsnet. Real ball to the right side, Guerrero, Fee Hoffman, and the Blue Jays win it. 24 hours after one of the toughest night of the season for Jeff Hoffman, he bounces back and picks up.

a save. You know, I know he's expected to make that play, but that was a nice play by Vladdy at first. Yep. Like,

because there had been a double beforehand, so there was a runner in scoring position, and that was nice that Vladdy came up with the ball, and Hoffman himself

was the guy that made the put-out. Gold Glover. Vladdy's a gold Glover. Yep. He's a good, he's a good fielder. People forget that, though.

I'm just saying it was a good play because I think it was the at-bat after Barger, It was not a good at bat for Vladdy. He just struck out on three pitches. Three pitches. And like it was just like, what was that?

What are you going to do to redeem yourself? Yeah, it was a nice play. He doesn't have the physique of a guy that you think would be like a good fielder, period. No. And I think he's an average third baseman, but he's probably an above average first baseman. You know, he's good. He's got a way better arm than most first baseman have. Yeah, that's fair.

Yeah, his is underarm yesterday. He doesn't need to use it. The reason I kept, the reason I wanted to play all this audio of like the, the electricity and the noise, quite frankly, from the barger double, and then the Hoffman save is that if it isn't already, it has become a very difficult place for opponents to get wins and for people to play. I think that's 31 wins in the last 40 home games for the Js, and we've often tied a lot of this into how is it going to translate to postseason success.

If they're able to get home field advantage throughout the majority of the playoffs, how much of an advantage could that be? We've got some audio here from the manager, the gaffer. I'm going to start calling them gaffers. No, I'm not. Just go with manager. John Schneider talking about the electric atmosphere in Toronto as the Jay's beat twins and won the series. That was loud.

It was pretty electric atmosphere. These guys do not quit. They do not give it who they're playing against. They don't care what the situation is. I love it. They don't care if I pinch it for me if they've hit a home run. You know, that was a big win today. You know, at this point of the year, there's definitely some things you want to get better at,

but to ultimately come back and win it was really, really big. Other game of note last night that everyone was paying attention to an afternoon affair in Seattle. And shout out to my buddy Chesbig's Padres fan who went down to check out the final game of the M's Padres series. Ems take the series, thanks to Eugenio Suarez, his second three-run Homer in his many days. They had already clinched the Vetter Cup, though, right? What was going on? I didn't really follow the Vetter Cup story all that closely. It kept on, I was watching one of the games,

and, you know, not a star wipe, but every time there was some sort of wipe by the camera, it was like Vetter Cup, Vetter Cup, Vetter Cup, Vetter Cup. And I think it's just a series between the Padres and the Mariners that, probably for charity for some reason, but anyway, the Mariners won it. It's the team's competition for the cup modeled after, oh, Vettors, 1963, Fender Telecaster.

Okay, okay. I thought he was a Chicago guy. That's what I thought. I don't know how San Diego got into the mix. They put their name for. And the Mariners won it. The game you're talking about is, by the way, for those that don't know this,

if you sign up for MLB TV through the MLB app, they have a free game every day. And the other day it was the M's and Padres game, one of the late games. And then they cut over to the A's and Tigers. And because I was so desperate to watch sports, I was like, I'm going to watch this. Anyway, and you're right, instead of commercial breaks, they just kept flashing the Vetter Cup icon throughout the entire broadcast. Anyway, M's win yesterday. So they take two or three in the series.

They now hold the final wildcard spot in the other right behind Houston in the AL West as well. So, again, the reason that we're leading off so many shows with this and talking about it with as much enthusiasm as we are isn't just because there's nothing else going on in the world of sports and we're trying to fill time. Partly because of that. But it's also the fact that the Jays and the Mariners are on their way to the playoffs. And it's very cool for Pacific Northwest baseball fans

because there's a lot of Jays fans in the lower mainland, obviously, and there's a lot of Mariners fans here as well. And it's inching closer and closer to both of them, clinching their spots in the playoffs. Could be Mariners Yankees or Mariners Red Sox in a wild card. Yeah, Mariners Yankees I'd love to see. You know what? I haven't really paid an awful lot of attention to the Red Sox this year.

They've kind of become an afterthought for me. I know that they've had a really good second half. And honestly, you know what the most we've talked about the Red Sox this year was the Devers trade? That was, remember? That was it. You know what's more likely, actually, is Yankees Red Sox. Yeah. That would be amazing.

That would be amazing. Do you want to do the Connor McDavid stuff now and take us through to the end of the first segment? Because there's a lot to chew on here. I would rather do Manchester United because a lot of people have texted in to the Dunbar-Lumbar-Lumber text line. And if you want to text in 650, 650, that is the Dunbar Lumber Text Line, Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and Renner Warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dunbarlumber.com. We will get to the Connor McDavid stuff, but I kind of want to leave an entire segment for that.

Sure. I want to talk about what is going on with Manchester United that their manager seems to hate them. Mm-hmm. And they just lost to Grimsby Town in the League Cup. And Grimsby Town plays in the fourth division. It's actually called League 2. again, very confusing.

Fourth Division, though. So it would be like, I don't know, NHL, A-H-L, E-C-H-L. I think it's the S-P-H-L. S-P-H-L, right? They're in the S-P-H-L of England. Right. It's not an example of it.

It's not apples to oranges, but like it is, it was a humiliating loss for Manchester United, fell behind 2-0, tied it up, hey, great, the spirit.

but then lost 12-11 in penalties. And I just want to say that my favorite quote, my favorite, and this is the type of player that is playing for teams like Grimsby Town. Oh, yeah, I know you're going on this. Their keeper, their keeper whose name is something like Christy Pym. Yep.

Christy Pim said afterwards, and, you know, he's the winning goalkeeper in a penalty shootout win over United He goes, you know. I got the audio. I have Christy Fim. Okay. Do you want to hear?

Yeah, go. Yeah, it's not sunken yet. I'm a money night fans. I'm half-fuming a little bit. Are you? Yeah, I am, yeah. He's a Manchester United fan. He's like, I'm so sorry.

So he's half-fuming a bit. That was it. Like, he didn't expect to win. It's like the Larry David meme where it's just like, eh, hmm. Like, in what, in what competition would the player on the other, team admit that he was a

fan of the team that he just beat. That's great. I love it. So, okay, so let's clear up a couple things here. One, Grimsby Town, in no way related to the Ontario-based hometown of Kevin B.XA, Grimsby

Ontario, two totally separate things. They're not even in the same country. That's a big starter. This, to give you an idea, and it's funny how this is being framed, because some people are framing it as this, this is the this is why everyone loves cup play because you get these minnows taking on the mammoth teams

and it's this great Cinderella story. But the other narrative is that this is another new low in terms of embarrassments and humiliations for this once proud Manchester United organization who has now sunk to this kind of low where they're losing away and in really embarrassing form. What has happened to them? Have they just, have they lost their culture?

Is that what happened? Like, are we going all the way back to the departure of Alex Ferguson? And I think a lot of it is that they continue to buy and buy and buy players and then kind of expect the players to play the Manchester United way. But the problem is, is nobody knows what that way is. Nobody knows what the style is because they've changed managers so many time. They've changed personnel so many times. So many big players have been alienated and forced out of the club when they don't perform well enough. They had over $270 million worth of salary on the pitch yesterday.

which is insane to lose to Grimsby Town, which had $30. 30 on the nose, 30 pounds. 30 pounds, though. Yeah. One of their most notable players was a guy who was an international for the Faroe Islands, to give you an idea. Can we play, you know what?

I want to play the audio here, though. Okay, so I want to play the audio. It's 11 all in penalties. And one of the big transfer acquisitions for United, Bryant and Bumo, steps to the. penalty spot. I'm pretty sure that his wage is triple that of all of Grimsby towns.

He got signed from Brentford for a ton of money and he steps up and he hits the cross right now. This is important to know because the call probably makes more sense if I put this out there. Grimsby is a port town on the east coast of England. I believe it's in the East Midlands

and it's known for among other things being depressing. Very depressing. Also fishing. Anyway, I throw that out. there now as we play a rather lengthy clip of the penalty miss that secured one of the biggest upsets in english cup football history grimsby town taking care of manchester united oh it's brimsby's night they've reeled in the big fish

of joy at blundle park they thought surely when manchester united came back that it would be the one that got away but the story of carabao cup round two has been written here and a story that will be told from generation to generation in Grimsby. So I actually encourage everyone if you don't do when you're driving. I have to put that PSA out there all the time, but jump on to whatever platform you can find the video and watch the scenes afterward because it was played in Grimsby. Yeah, yeah.

In their quaint 9,000 capacity Blundell Park. And it is the greatest outpouring of like celebration and emotion. and all the supporters just stormed the pitch and nobody cares. Yeah, yeah. Right? Because, I mean, the thing is, is like,

there's not that big of a difference between the supporters and the players. These players are barely... Yeah, he's like, are we going to see your work tomorrow? Yeah. He's like, I'll see you.

And what, like, I mean, it's a great story and you only really get it in those kind of competitions. What about the maybe 500 fans from Manchester United that traveled? Do you think they were like,

do you think, do you think they were like, I'm glad I can. or do you think this was a bad call? I bet secretly they were like, I'm glad I saw that. I'd go back to what I said earlier. Because I hate this team.

Right. There's two storylines that are really being driven here. From United, it's not one of, like, there are some big clubs that if they were to suffer a shock loss like that, they'd be like,

ah, you know. For example, in last year's FAA Cup, Liverpool lost to Plymouth. Plymouth was at the bottom of the championship and they got rally. It was a big upset. Yeah.

But Liverpool was winning things. So they were like, ah, you know what? Let the minnows have their day. And they beat us. Like, And they might not have played all their players. United, this is a lot different.

Like, United has nothing to hang their hat on right now. They're awful. Yeah. And it's an embarrassment for this once proud footballing club. So I feel like if the fans were away there, they might have had a brief moment to take in the spectacle of it all. But they would be embarrassed. It's an embarrassing loss. There's no other way to say it.

By the way, on the football tip, another one. Leonel Messey's coming to the Pacific Northwest this weekend. He's playing Seattle in what? The League's Cup final. It's still going on. Still happening. They played the semifinals yesterday. So Miami beat Orlando in very dubious circumstances.

He scored, though, didn't he? He scored twice. He scored a penalty and then scored an open play after Orlando was down to 10 men. So they punched their ticket. And then Seattle beat the LA Galaxy and the nightcap. So Seattle, in short notice, now turns around because they played last night to Wednesday. Sunday, 5 o'clock kickoff from Lumen Field in Seattle, Lionel Messi and Miami, this super team in Miami

traveling up north to take on Seattle and what should be a very hot ticket I would imagine. You know, as a Whitecaps fan, I don't think he's that good. No. He's, I don't know,

he was a bit overrated. Took care of him twice. Yeah. Not once. Twice. Didn't really, didn't, I don't know. Had him up.

Didn't move the needle. Yeah. Had him up here? Didn't see much. I've only seen him twice. Wasn't that impressed by him. Okay, let's get to Connor McDavid here

because this might continue on to the other side and I will throw out a question for the listeners what do you think is going to happen with McDavid in Edmonton and please do not say that this is just

a negotiating tactic by McDavid because he does not need to negotiate as many have pointed out if McDavid were to go to the Oilers and say the only way I'm signing is if you give me the max contract and I'm talking max years max cap hit that is loud under the CBA they'd be like sign here

we already have it drawn out yeah yeah okay it is there's clearly some apprehension about extending in Edmonton by Connor McDavid so let's do the audio right now and then we can talk about this on the other side because there's a lot to unpack here this is about a minute and a half of audio. This is from yesterday, from Calgary, Canada's Olympic orientation camp. Three Canadian invitees were up on stage. Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and then like, Sam Reinhardt, do you also want to go? He's like, sure. Yeah, he was wearing his two Stanley Cup rings next to McDavid. Yeah, he was, everyone was like, someone, you could almost feel both of them on his middle finger. You could feel someone in the crowd being like, it's a bit

awkward, let's just ask Sam a question. And they did eventually. But everyone was focused. Firstly, on McDavid and then on Crosby. And it's Ryan Rashog, if I'm not mistaken, who started off the interview portion of the afternoon by getting right to brass tacks and asking Connor McDavid

about his contract situation. Not about representing Team Canada, not about the Olympics, about his contract situation with Emmettin. I want to play the clip in full, including the questions from Rashog, because it'll give everyone a much better understanding of why this became a big story yesterday. Here is Connor

McDavid, speaking about his contractual future in Edmondson yesterday from Canadian Olympic orientation camp. Connor, we'll talk lots of Olympics, but do want to get to the contract situation. Maybe just give us a sense of where things sit right now, how you feel, you know, about what Stan is done, and, you know, if you're optimistic that a deal will get done before the season starts. Yeah, not even the softball Olympic question before me to start, but that's okay. Right into it. Yeah, no. You know, I said at the end of June, you know, I had every intention just to take my time with it, and I still feel the same way.

Take my time and go through everything. And, you know, I have every intention to win in Emmington. That's my only focus. Maybe next to winning the gold medal with Canada, but it is my intention to win there. But yeah, taking my time, going through it with, you know, obviously my family, my agent, everybody involved. So we're going through it slowly. Is it an option for you to go into this season without something done, or would it be your preference not to kind of to go into the year without something locked up? I would say all options are on the table, really.

You know, as I said, we're going through it. I don't have a preference either way. you know, I want the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll come day one as possible. And, you know, we don't need any distraction. So, yeah, as I said, taking my time with it. And that's it. So it's the back half of that clip that really caught people's attention. And there was a lot, and I will underline a lot of surprise,

the McDavid would consider not signing before the season and go into the year without his contractual situation. solidified. So we will get into this on the other side. We may just play the audio again on the other side so that we can dive back into it. I wanted to get it out there because it is a huge development. No matter how you slice it. And Elliot Freeman had a lot of thoughts. As a matter of fact, he wrote it up yesterday on Sportsnet.com. So there's a lot to get into on the other side. Before we go to break, I do need to tell you about the BC Lions. It's another season of hard hits, heated rivalries, and nonstop entertainment. For tickets, visit BCLions.com and get ready to roar as one. We'll be back in a couple minutes. Don't go anywhere. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet,

650. These guys do not quit. Um, they don't care if I pinch it for them if they've hit a home run. It's called playing the percentages. It's what smart managers do to win bowl games. But I've got nine home runs today. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. We just have to call Thomas Dran's erotica. Thomas Transerotica Corsi Thomas Transerotica

Expecting goals Thomas Transerotica Todd model Thomas transerotica Rush Thomas Transerotica 305 on 8.05 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. Halford, Brough, Sportsnet, 650.

Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, B.C.'s first and trusted choice for dead help. With over 3,000 5-star reviews, visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are now in hour three of the program, Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Our three of this program is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Dashpound.com today. We are coming to live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in Step and guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered by Power West Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters.

most, visit them at powerwest.ca today. They keep the lights on. Let's go to that PowerWest Industries hotline right now. Thomas Drance joins us here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Drancer? Gentlemen, good morning. Good morning to you. What did Mani Malhotra learn, Thomas, from winning the Calder Cup last year in Abbotsford? I know you had a recent one-on-one sit-one interview with Mani. What did he learn? What did you learn? Yeah, you know, I think the something I'd known about

but one thing that I think really left a mark on everyone organizationally and obviously Malhotra 2 last season was you know, and you do have to understand that professional hockey players don't get played in the playoffs. They're paid for the regular season, right? And their pay schedule runs across the regular season and on and on.

Now, the Stanley Cup is why you play. And so it's one thing in the NHL, especially given the size of those bonus pools, right, to bring it in the playoffs. We see the intensity level go up in the playoffs. That's something we're used to. But in the Calder Cup playoffs, right, to be willing to play an extra 10 weeks of hockey and play it at a high level of playoff intensity to win the cup that, you know, no one really dreams of growing up, growing up. Right? Like, that's not the, no one's dreaming of hoisting the Calder Cup, right? Like, period.

Um, you know, that, that means something else, right? That was a collective decision made by a super motivated group of players, all of whom's, like, chief ambition lies elsewhere, right? All of whom's chief ambition, frankly, right, is, is probably best served by not taking additional five hits a night every second night, but instead by, you know, by, you know, know, having a longer summer and working on skills at your own pace and, you know, showing up to camp in the best shape of your life and competing for a job to make the NHL. And so there was a collective decision made by a group of players to just completely

buy in and go for it. And in talking to Malhotra, you know, that was one of the things that he said. And it's obvious. He knew it. But, but I think seeing it up close left a really big impression on him, which was that you can demand, you can ask, you can cajole, you can, you can, you know, do whatever you'd like, right? There are limitations as a coach because ultimately it's on the group of players that you have to buy in and go for it and win. And I think there's both sort of like an understanding of the limitations inherent, how much control you actually have as a head coach and a free flowing sport like hockey that, you know, that speaks to. But I also think there's a sort of a humility to it, right? The idea of what it takes,

what you're actually asking for. And he was discussing that, and I thought in a really honest, frank, reflective way. And, you know, that really left an impression on me as just something that makes a lot of sense for, you know, you come in, it's your first go-round as a professional head coach, and that's the result. And he looks at it and just thinks, man, those players,

like they were willing to go for it. Yeah, I thought a lot about this quote, actually, that you got out of, he said the biggest thing I learned coaching wise as a coach we ask guys to do certain things or to play a certain way you can demand it you can ask it ultimately however it's the player's decision about whether they want to do it or not

I think that's a life lesson too like you can't control people you can ask them to do things and you can have little you can try and trick them into doing things but at the end of the day they have to make that decision for themselves and it's kind of why sometimes I, you know, I don't know if I, like, shake my head at people who think, well, if they bring in this guy, he's going to play like this. I'm like, well, no, he's going to play like this if he wants to play like that.

For sure. And, you know, I think there's also an element to which we as media and fans, your listeners, people who just enjoy the games, right? they want to see the sort of sexiest or most you know the name that looks best on paper is often like the young guy with the most potential right just generally speaking people want to see that guy get an opportunity and not you know a guy who ends up becoming Alex Burroughs or guy who ends up becoming Zach Hyman right like though that you know they're they're 26 and they've played five years of American League hockey and but but sometimes what it comes down to is you know especially from a coach's perspective. And, and, you know, there's, like, there's a Canucks player. And, and I know that, you know, one of their coaches over the last five, six years felt like, no matter what, at the end of the day, I'm going to get screwed at some point. No matter how well they're playing at some point, I'm going to put this guy out on the ice, and they're going to screw me, right? Like, I'm going to

get posed for trusting this guy, because I can't. No matter how much it make, no matter how much it looks like I can, I cannot. Right? And that, That's sometimes fans want to see that play or play, and they don't play the way that they want to, right? They don't play as often or in the opportunities that fans want them to. And it comes down to, you know, the people who are working with them every day see that they're not the guy who's going to want it enough to do it themselves, right?

And that's, you know, just something to keep in mind, I guess, as we sort of assess and discuss line combos and go through the season and have all the evergreen discussions about what the lineup looks like that we'll have for months and months to come. and, you know, of course, I can't wait to do it. But I do think that's at least a worthwhile signpost to just sort of hammer down and remember as we discuss these things over the course of a hockey season.

I'm curious if Manny spoke individually about Linus Carlson at all. Yeah, so toward the end, I asked him about Carlson, I asked him about Baines, and I asked him about Max Sasson, because those are really three guys that I think have a pretty, significant shot, maybe Sassen a little bit less so simply because he is still waiver exempt. But the other two, right, this is kind of do-or-die time, right? Like they've put themselves in a position with their American League performance.

And in Baines' case, with the improvements that he's made year over year, in Carlson's case, the fact that he's just a big guy who's heavy on his stick and every coach loves him, right? Where, you know, they'll be at pretty high risk of getting claimed if they hit wave And this is not going to be an easy team to make, as much as we're discussing all the center issues and, you know, looking at it on paper and some people are panning it and the betting markets think that the Canucks are, you know, a plus money bet to make the playoffs, right? Forward depth wise, you know, especially once you throw crowds off into the mix and some of the other bodies, like this is going to be a pretty difficult team to make. there's not a lot of spots toward the bottom end of the lineup

and you know one thing Malhotro really sort of focused on with them was that they all got points and I liked this formulation too they all got points by being hard to play against right there was this idea that he was talking about where because

of the way that Carlson wins battles is hard on his stick goes to the dirty areas because of the way that R. Steve Baines is a, you know, dog on a bone in a similar vein. And because of the way that Max Sassen makes himself so difficult to play against transporting the puck through the neutral zone and with his speed and with his intelligence and work ethic, because they were doing that consistently, the points came as opposed to them being players that were playing to put up points or playing to produce as opposed to playing to win. And I thought that was an interesting formulation that, you know, really it was that those guys were willing to make. themselves difficult to play against, that they had success and that they were productive. And look, I'm serious. I do think there's an element to which, and I've talked about this,

you know, on Canucks talk and probably with you guys too, when you go back and look at the history of teams that even just make the Calder Cup final, you'll see sort of two types of NHL breakouts. And there's the 21-year-old guy who breaks out in the Calder Cup playoffs. And we look back a few years later and we're like, oh, that guy was just really good. And we, we didn't really understand it yet because they were so early in their career, right? This is the, like, the Connor McMichael or the Alexi Protis from the back-to-back Hershey Bears Calder Cup winners, right? Where it's like, oh, yeah, these young guys, like, that's interesting for Washington.

And then last year they're both 50-point guys and Washington coasts and massively exceeds expectations. And it's like, okay, they've just got some dudes, right? But there's another type, too. And these players sometimes have higher upside than we think, who are sort of like mid-20s. and have maybe leveled up their game or become just absolute dogs in a way that, you know, they don't look sexy on paper, but it turns out that they're really good. Dakota Joshua was a player like this.

He was on the Springfield Thunderbird Calder Cup finalist. Moore down in L.A. who scored 30 goals a couple years ago would be another example of this. You know, I think Baines, I think Carlson, I think Sasson, there's a real chance that I'm not saying all of them, but like one of them, maybe two of them, actually matter, actually have more upside than we think, actually have ability beyond what we'd imagine, and that the Calder Cup sort of run was signal pointing in that direction. And I'm pretty interested to see what they can do.

I mean, this team needs some dogs. Like, let's be real. This team needs some dogs. And those guys, you know, at the very least, I think, have the potential to offer it. And, you know, potentially more upside, too, than we've imagined to this point. Did you talk to Manny about his candidacy for the job that ultimately went to Adam Foote and also about his future with the organization?

I didn't. I was sort of framing it in the sort of mold of, you know, this culture that they've built down in Abbotsford where everyone's very explicit about the fact that the goal is to move on, right? And he acknowledged that he's up front with his players about, his ambitions to, right? That he's an ambitious guy, just like everyone else, and part of the fun of it is that you're all working towards something larger, right?

But I didn't specifically ask him for, like, his reaction to the, I didn't throw the thorny question at him in a mid-August interview that I appreciated getting. Did you get screwed over, man? Thanks for talking to us today. Yeah, no. So I tried to ask it, but I tried to ask it

in, you know, a mid-August sort of way. And, you know, I think, I mean, look, Malhotra is going to be an NHL head coach. There's no question about it, right? It's just a matter of where and when. And I, you know, I'd imagine that this season is probably his last in the American League, like, honestly, given the success that he had, the profile, the personality, the intelligence, the charisma. right? I mean, he's the whole package. He's, he's what NHL teams are looking for. And so, yeah, I mean, that's, that's coming. Like, that's coming and that's not a negative storyline, right? Like, that's a positive thing. It means that the Canucks nailed the higher and it's awesome to see, you know, a former Connock who was such a big part of the Golden Arrow teams become this type of, or this quality of hockey leader, because he is that. So I didn't get into it. explicitly, but certainly he acknowledged that his ambitions lie beyond, you know, going one for one as a Calder Cup winning American League head coach.

Okay, we had, you know, we had Ryan Johnson and Manny Malhotra on the show numerous times. And you alluded to this in your interview with Manny as well, is that the two of them and that organization in Abbotsford, they really seem to have, like, boiled it down to what success looks like and how to teach winning. and teach success. Success at the American League level. You mentioned it already. Part of it is like being elevated to the NHL. But the other part of it was like winning hockey games and then winning a championship.

And you know, it's interesting because with the white caps now, when Mueller came on board, a lot of people asked me, they're like, well, what's the thing that he does? I'm like, wins.

Like he's got like 9,000 trophies from his time. Like, yes, he was part of a great team, but he also like winning, there are certain things that you can learn. You can only learn them by winning championships in those pressure moments and clutch moments and things like that.

And I think Malhotra and Johnson have done a really nice job of promoting that, but also identifying what it looks like. Because when these guys get to the next level, they're going to need to know what their role is and how they're going to play the game at the NHL level. But the winning part of it is hard to teach because you only get a certain amount of moments to go out and do it. And the Calder Cup run was a great example of that last year.

And then when you're talking about having the dog in them when they get to the NHL level, I do think that Malhotra in particular this year probably did yeoman's work in teaching guys how to win, which is something that doesn't always come around, especially if you're not winning games with regularity at that level. Yeah, and it wasn't all easy. I mean, they had a lot of players come up to the NHL, right? Like the Knucks were depleted lineup down the stretch. This was not a straightforward season by any means,

even though it had that, you know, championship conclusion. And there were also a bunch of young players, guys like Mueller and Kudra Absev, who were younger, right? And also Slater, right, who ended up playing huge roles for this team, right? Like, ended up being in premium roles with a chance to show. So, you know, there was also, I think, a flexibility or a willingness to trust young undersized players provided that they were willing to play and play with that dog in them, to show, you know, that they could understand what it took to win. So I think the overall, so I think overall, you know, there's a, there's a malleability present there.

And then I'd add this to like, just a thing, sort of a little bit off the beaten path that I was thinking as you were asking that question. You know, I also think there's an element to which with a player like Baines, okay? So Baines comes up and it's very close. clear that his, like, coaches' pet habits, right, are something that he leans into, right? Yeah, yeah. He plays like a fourth liner exclusively, and, you know, he's often been getting, like, third line or, I mean, he's played, he's started games with J.C. Miller in the past, right?

I mean, he's played up lineups. When you watch him at the American League level, I mean, certainly his ability to do the right things and be that dog on a bone is essential to his success, but there's also an element of creativity. He's got these like spin passes. He actually set up the Linus Carlson Calder Cup winning goal with one of those types of passes.

He's got a little bit of that and he's actually figured out how to use those sort of touch plays in the service of defensive play too, which is awesome. But there's a creativity to his game that we never see when he comes to the NHL because he seems to be almost just playing

to not make mistakes, to just be the good, you know, you use yeoman's work, right? To do the good yeoman's work, to be the good soldier. Yeah. But that doesn't work at the NHL level, right? Like at the NHL level, you also need to be able to contribute to the manufacturing of offense. Like, these are the best players in the world.

It's not enough to just be good. You need to be great. And I think he can be. But I do think there's an element to which he's played too safe when he's come up to the I think it started right away. He was too deferential. Too deferential, too safe. you can make plays man right like that's that and so you know there there's an interesting sort of

I suppose balance right that you've got to find where it's like he can do the right things he can avoid mistakes you know if you want if you need eight minutes eight safe minutes from a fourth line left wing like he can definitely give you that but I think there's more that he can give you too and I almost feel like the challenge for him or working with him at the NHL level this season or at training camp is to get him to chase that green light a little bit more because there's more that he can do. I want to give you the floor for a Connor McDavid hot take, if you've got one. We were kind of talking about his comments recently about all options being on the table.

What do you think is going to happen there? Yeah, I assume he's going to stay. And I assume he's going to stay because when you, you find, you know, an ace collaborator, right? Like someone who really helps you elevate your game, someone who matches your work ethic, someone who's as good as you, someone who can push you. No one's as good as Connor McDavid.

No one's ever been as good as Connor McDavid. But Leon Dries-Eidels is close as you'll find, right? He's a dog. He's improved that shot. He's developed unique weapons to succeed at the NHL level. And I just don't believe in life that people leave situations. where they have an opportunity to work with someone who makes them the best version of themselves, especially when they're a genius in their field.

You know, like, it's so rare to find a running mate capable. I mean, you guys got it, but like, that's pretty rare. You know what I'm saying? I'm going to leave in a second. It's pretty rare. And so my Connor McDavid hot take is just that above and beyond anything else, I think the fact that Drysiddle is there and locked up long term keeps McDavid in Edmonton. That's my, that's my McDavid read.

and hot take on the situation. Yeah, that's kind of been ours too, but if I were him, I'd go short term. Yeah, yeah. Look, I mean, this is one of the, be careful what you wish for, right? Like, as the league tamps down on term, right? As owners tamped down on term and manage their risk, you know, it feels like that's a huge concession by the player's side to the owners. But the truth is, and we see this in both the NBA and the NFL, the truth is that the less

teams are able to be like, here's a gob of guaranteed money early and, you know, more than anyone else is able to match. The more you take security off the table, the less it matters. And what that actually does is enhances the leverage of players in short term windows, right? And we see that with like NFL players holding out, waiting for contract extensions. We see that in the NBA with, you know, opt in, opt in, opt out politics and trade requests and the whole thing, right? Like it actually becomes a more of a player's game as you remove security from sort of the quiver, the arsenal that teams have to utilize in sort of managing player personnel decisions. So something to watch for, I don't think we're there yet, six years is still significant.

And of course, for the next 24 months, at least as the CBA has written, not 24 months, 12 months, you know, teams are still going to be able to have that eight year offer to make their own players and of course that changes September 15th of next year and that's going to be a fascinating one to watch because now we're talking about a gap in two years right for for teams that want to keep their own players versus what players can imagine themselves earning on the open market I mean that's a that's a huge weapon for teams like you know a Winnipeg keeping a player like Kyle Connor or I don't know if Vancouver has a player in a similar situation that this might be relevant can't think of one can't think of one yeah but you know that's going to be

something to watch here. So anyway, definitely some interesting stuff to watch for. Hey, by the way, do you know that Mike Alford waited to make a trade in our Super Nerds Fantasy League until right before we went on air? My timing was impeccable. You were making trades during the show? I did.

Right before we... Was I talking about golf or something? No, no, it was before it was doing a commercial break and then I texted Demetri. I was like, I'm going to do this right before Durantz gets on the air and see if I can rattle his game. That is awesome. He involved in the trade, by the way, was Tyler Shuck, right, whose name is spelled S-H-O-U-G-H. So I do think, at least for the final segment,

you should be Jason Bruck. It's the Halford & Bruch show in honor of Halford's Super Nerd Trade. All allow it, buddy. Nice chatting with you, pal. See you, your answer. See, buddy. Thomas Trance from the Athletic, Vancouver and Kinnockstock here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet.

Wait, wait, wait, you didn't do it. Alfred and... I think he's pronounced it. Brough. Halford and Brooke. I've heard I've heard conflicting pronunciations

okay so it's spelled S-H-O-U-G-H so you and him have some the the suffix I guess is in common

but I've I've heard Shuck and then I've also heard Shug like Shug like Shug Night yes but also like

what's her name Nancy Gribble in in King of the Hill where she calls everyone Shug oh okay how you do it's sugar how you doing Shug

that kind of thing thing. So I don't know. Drance may be right, but his pronunciation has left something to be desired on a number of occasions. Oh, like yours is. Oh, Google says it rhymes with the, it's like shucking corn. Yeah. But then you hear people say it, especially during his 12 years of college. There's been some pronunciation different. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.