Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 9/4/24

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they chat with retired NHL head coach Rick Bowness, plus the boys tell us what they learned.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to Halford and Brough. He's bigger than the game. He's bigger than anything else. Look at how fat he is. Look at how fat he is. Look at how fat he is. He should be embarrassed to wear that uniform. Oh, no!

Oh, my goodness. The White Sox have just got full White Sox. What the ruck? Now that was a lick. We did a lick? Keep them coming. Good morning, Vancouver. 601 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

It is Halford. It is Ralph. It is Sportsnet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studios in beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning.

Regular Zach, good morning to you as well. Good morning. Halford and Ralph in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver Honda is Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, be it sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling.

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Let's go to the guest list, shall we? It begins at 6.30. Nick Shook from NFL.com is going to join us on the program. We are now just one day away. One day going to join us on the program. We are now just one day away, one day away from the start of the national football league season. Thursday night football. It's the chiefs.

It's the Ravens. And then we'll look ahead to the Brazil game as well between the Packers and the Eagles on Friday night, all of the Sunday games. And then Monday night football as well with the 49ers and Aaron Rogers, the New York jets. Nick Shook will join us at six.30 to talk about all that. 7.30, Jack Michaels, play-by-play voice of the Edmonton Oilers,

is going to join the program. The day after Leon Dreisaitl agreed to an eight-year, $963 million extension. He is the highest paid player in the NHL. Jack Michaels is going to join us at 7.30 to talk about that. So I did the research yesterday. There are a lot of people, media people, in Edmonton that were puffing their chests out a little bit yesterday. No, why?

Yeah. I think they had a little bit of, see, told you so, to the puff chests. A little bit of that. To the puff chests? I thought they were the puff chest. But that energy was emanating off the chest. Are you sure it wasn't just jackets?

Nope. Oh, okay. Maybe they were just wearing really heavy, thick jackets. No, it was a little bit. But about what? There was a little bit of, see, I told you so. That Gia Sato re-signed. Yep.

A little bit of, now just wait and see what happens next summer. And that's when McDavid's going to re-sign. Were there a lot of people out there that were predicting that those guys would go elsewhere? There was a lot of people out there trying to, I don't know if it was legitimate or just wanting to will it into existence that Dreisaitl was going to go to San Jose. Or Boston.

Or Boston, yeah. But no, he will be an oiler for life. Are people in Edmonton just like, see? They choose to live here. That was the other energy that was coming out of his puffy jackets. I guess the city's not so bad after all. People want to live here. There was also some of that energy. Right.

There was a lot of that energy. He got a really, really big West Edmonton Mall gift card. Like lifetime. Unlimited. So Jack Michaels is going to join us at 7.30 to talk about the dry saddle extension and what's next for the Oilers and GM Stan Bowman. 8 o'clock. Very cool guest.

Excited to have him on the program. Rick Bonus. One of the longest serving head and assistant coaches in NHL history. Three decades behind the bench. Of course, he served some time here in Vancouver. Now it's happy trails to Rick as his coaching career has come to an end.

He'll join us at 8 o'clock. So that's going to be a theme for today's show, just coaching in the National Hockey League. We'll talk a lot about Rick Tockett, who will need a contract of his own, probably in the not-too-distant future, you would hope, if you're a big fan of Rick Tockett and you like the job that he's done for the Vancouver Canucks. And then we'll talk about some of the other coaching,

the intriguing coaching stories across the NHL. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to our chat with Rick Bonas. One of the most popular assistant coaches to ever come through Vancouver. He started coaching in the early 80s. Yeah. And he just retired. And I think it's going to be a really interesting conversation just about how not only the game has changed since the early 80s,

but coaching has changed since the early 80s. He is 69 years old. Nice. Nice. Yeah. A-Dog's not even paying attention. Nice. Yeah, okay.

So Rick Bonas is going to join us. Hey, A-Dog. Get on the mic and say nice. Hey, A-Dog. Do it. For God's sakes, the man is 69. Do the thing. Yeah. So Rick Bonas, who is 69 years old, is going to join us atakes, the man is 69. Do the thing. Yeah.

So Rick Bonas, who is 69 years old, is going to join us at 8 o'clock. Jack Michaels, thank you, at 730. Nick Shook at 630. A reminder, early entries for what we learned. Get them in. Dunbar-Lumber text line is 650-650. The best what we learned, assuming you put a ticket emoji into the text, will get a four-pack of tickets to see the Vancouver Canadiens in playoff action.

It's a week yesterday, September 10th, Tuesday, against Spokane. Four-pack of tickets to see Northwest League playoff action. Canadians, Spokane, next Tuesday. Best what we learned gets them. Dunbar Lumber text line is 650-650. That is what's happening on the program today. Zach, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night?

No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? You missed that? What happened?

What Happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. For the first time in a long time, the Vancouver Canucks got some good news on the goalie front. This coming courtesy of Czech TV's Rick Dollywall. He of the Donnie and Dolly Show,

also a frequent contributor to Sportsnet 650. The big news, Demko resumes skating. The archer's sea lobs injury is not serious. There's also a tidbit about who the Canucks might be making an offer to of the free agent goalies. For more, let's turn the audio over. Zach, let's hear now from Rick Dollywall yesterday on an update on Demko, sea lobs, and the Canucks goaltending.

Just wanted to give a bit of an update on the training camp goaltending situation. Some good news, I am hearing that Thatcher Demko is back skating and working out on the ice this week. That's a very good sign. Many thought Demko would not be ready for training camp and preseason. His rehab this summer was a little bit slower than most wanted and expected, but Demko skating in the last few days has got to be a major boost to the Canucks and a sign of progress as well. So we'll see how it goes with him in training camp, but he's back on the ice.

It's major, major good news for the Canucks. Canucks continue to pursue UFA goaltender Kevin Lankanen. The club has made Lankanen an offer, but it's not good enough to get a deal done right now. But the pursuit of Lankanen continues. We'll see where that ends up. Rick then went on to add an update about Archer's sea lobs. He said he's dealing with inflammation

in his knee, although it's not expected that it's a serious injury. What's more, C-Lovs is now en route from Latvia to Vancouver, should arrive here soon, and will get checked out

by Canucks doctors. They don't expect that to be anything too serious. So good news on a Wednesday for Canucks goaltending. The first bit of good news in a long time.

Yeah, it's good that he's skating. I still have a lot of questions about what happened and what's going on. I want to know, did he have an operation? Did he not have an operation? And if things are so great, why are they still pursuing a goalie?

So that would bring them to four, right, with Patera, which is a very, very crowded crease, right? And I suppose it could be something along the lines of bringing me in on pto but the way rick worded it seemed to suggest that they needed to make an even better offer than the one that they were making which means that it wouldn't just be of the hey why don't you come for a couple weeks have a couple pillaments at the hotel and then take off well i don't see how they could offer him much more than league minimum but kevin Lankanen is out there, I think, because he's been a tough negotiator and he wants to get paid more than the league minimum.

And maybe, I don't know if he got any bad advice from his agent, why he's still a free agent at this point, because you talk to guys like Laddy and Kev and they're all like, this guy's a good goalie. He's better than a league minimum goalie, but he doesn't have a job yet, so he might have to accept one soon. Yeah, so that was the news

from the Canucks goaltending front from yesterday. The other big news from yesterday across the National Hockey League was Leon Dreisaitl's extension in Edmonton. So there were a few major takeaways from Edmonton media yesterday as they met with Leon Dreisaitl. Stan Bowman also met with the media as well.

And countless media members went up and got their two cents in on the deal. As we kind of joked about in the intro, there's a lot of people in Edmonton right now that think that this isn't just, like you said, Leon Dreisaitl choosing to stay in Edmonton. And, you know, people are no longer wanting to leave Edmonton. They want to come to Edmonton because it's the place to win a Stanley Cup. And this is all a precursor to Connor McDavid signing an equal deal in length, although he'll probably get more money than Leon Dreisaitl next summer

when he's eligible to sign his deal. So I want to run through some audio here. The first is from Sportsnet's very own Mark Spector. Speaking about how things have changed in Edmonton that with McDavid and Dreisaitl there, you're starting to see a city that people actually want to go to to play hockey as opposed to trying to flee like they have for the last 25 years.

Here's Speck on the Dreisaitl extension. Well, the one thing I want to say is we've always thought this was sort of the canary in the coal mine for Connor McDavid. Leon Dreisaitl signed for eight years. Connor McDavid signed for eight years a year from now. And I don't think we should let this day pass, Gene, without saying, like, this was a franchise that all the great glory years Oilers left when they were still somewhat in their prime. This was a team that for the next 25 years couldn't get a great player to come here.

Today, you've got a top five player in the world, Leon Dreisaitl, signing for the rest of his career here. You've got Karner McDavid fully expected to sign here. They're a've got a top five player in the world, Leon Dreisaitl, signing for the rest of his career here. You've got Carney McDavid, fully expected to sign here. They're a Stanley Cup contender. And now players are coming here and they're, I'm not hearing any wives saying, we're not coming to Edmonton because it's too cold or it's too far away. I'm hearing a lot of pretty good players saying, I need to pack your bags. We're going to Edmonton. We're going to try to win a Stanley Cup. Mark Spector apparently talking to all the wives in the NHL. He then up in his article.

That's an interesting beat. Between that hit and then his article, he upped Dreisaitl from a top five player in the world to a top four player in the world. Just so we're clear. His podcast, NFL Wivecast. I just need McDavid to leave now. It's not

a matter of wanting. you know when you're trying to uh when your kids want something and you're like yeah but you don't need it sure and you have to but then and they're like well what's the difference like between wanting and needing now i yeah i physically and mentally need mcdavid to leave after all this first question for jack today has to be, okay, so when the Oilers miss the playoffs next year, where does McDavid request a trade to? Peter in Cloverdale texts in,

if the Canucks had beaten the Oilers, would that have changed Drysaddle's mind about staying in Vancouver? And then Peter assumes, says, we were super close to blowing up this version of the Oilers. We'll never know. We never know. Because the Canucks, I mean, the Oilers. We'll never know. We never know. Because the Canucks, I mean, the Oilers were a better team than the Canucks. They deserve to beat the Canucks.

And they nearly won the Stanley Cup. And that is obviously quite a pull for Dry Cidal. And it's going to be quite a pull for McDavid. But the Oilers are not without their challenges going forward. They're going to have issues because they're paying so much to Dry Cytle and McDavid, and that's not a mistake to pay those guys. I'm not saying that they should trade one of them or those guys are overpaid. If you've got good players, you've got to pay them.

But the challenge then is don't waste money elsewhere. They're going to have to move Darnell Nurse's contract somewhere unless he, I don't know, gets a lot better or develops some sort of injury that they can put him on LTIR. That's going to be a challenge. They don't have a lot of youth in the organization. So listen, I get that there's a new culture there and they've had some success there. They got a new building there that probably helps.

You know, we poke fun at Edmonton a lot and they poke fun at us and that's part of a sports rivalry. So this thing all of a sudden, I just hope the Canucks, I hope both teams can maintain their end of the bargain and beat good teams next season. Do you know what I mean? Because it is fun, and we've had a few texts in. We had a few yesterday where people were saying,

man, it's good to have a rival again. 100%. It's great, right? Remember when we talked about this to death, but when Seattle broke in, we were both, you and I, very eager at the prospect of having a natural geographical rival that close, the I-5 rivalry. And it hasn't manifested or taken off. And it's kind of not kind of it's very disappointing this rivalry with edmonton right now is great because it looked for the longest time like it was going to be the battle of alberta 2.0 with the connoisseur knocking

they're like can we come too but now you know with with the direction that calgary's gone in edmonton's chief rival in the division given given the proximity and everything, and last year's playoff, is Vancouver. Well, let's talk about Calgary now. Sure. Now, Calgary's going to have a candlelight vigil for Johnny Goudreau, and that is going to happen. Today. That's going to happen tonight.

Tonight. 4.30 our time. That's going to be 5.30 local. Sorry, the one in Calgary is going to be at 7 o'clock our time. The one in Columbus is going to be 5.30 local. Sorry, the one in Calgary is going to be at seven o'clock our time. The one in Columbus is going to be at 4.30. There's going to be candlelight vigils in Calgary and Columbus for Johnny Gaudreau. And, you know, everyone grieves differently.

And I think, you know, the family is going to grieve. I can't, I just still can't imagine what that family is going through. The fans, you know, they need a place where they can get together and, you know, maybe it helps them to have this vigil. You know, it reminds me of, you know, the stories when, you know, when Diana passed and you had the, you had the Royal family just like, why do these people

need to be so public, public about their grieving and that sort of thing. So everyone, um, grieves differently. Um, I think it's going to be really touching, uh, tribute to Johnny Goudreau and by all accounts, the family appreciates all the, all the, the gestures that, that have made, been made towards them.

They're going to have to deal with this a lot longer than most fans. Um, but they're going to have that vigil in Calgary and Columbus tonight. And I think it's going to be really special to see. Um, as for the flames, you know, you talk about the Edmonton Oilers making big news by resigning, uh, dry saddle, the flames are kind talk about the edmonton oilers making big news by resigning uh dry subtle the flames are kind of going the opposite direction they are apparently open to unloading pretty much everything they got so let's walk through the chronology here of events that unfolded yesterday so uh on our uh sports that network of radio, 960 in Calgary had Frank Cervelli on the show yesterday.

And Frank dropped the nugget on Pat Steinberg's show saying that Tyson Berry sounds as though he's going to go to Calgary on a PTO. Now, in a vacuum, you're like, well, that news doesn't really mean all that much. Where are we connecting the dots here? Well, shortly thereafter, there was a report out there from the fourth period, Dave Pagnano, who's on this show, on this station quite often, talking about the Calgary Flames have taken calls on a multitude of their veteran players, specifically defensemen Mackenzie Weeger and Rasmus Anderson going into the season. If there's a team that wants to make an upgrade on the blue line, Anderson and Weeger are apparently available to be shopped. So a lot of people started connecting the dots that maybe Barry would be a cheap replacement to play on the blue line for one year for one of these guys that might be going out the door. In that same report from the fourth period, there was an additional report that the St. Louis Blues

were among the teams interested in Mackenzie Weeger at the NHL draft. Now they couldn't get a deal done. Now, why does that matter? Because yesterday, the St. Louis Blues announced some defensive news of their own. Torrey Krug is going to be out for the entire year after undergoing ankle surgery. Now, the Blues have already made one move to try and fill that gap by getting the Broberg deal done with the offer sheet from Edmonton. But there could be another move on the horizon. So I think what we're starting to see here is teams are getting into what do we have

going into the preseason mode? That's the first domino that usually falls if you go through the chronology of the NHL. The second one is before the start of the regular season, they've seen what training camp and exhibition games look like, and then teams will be like, okay, now we really need to make a move because games are about to start for real. So we're getting inching closer and closer to those two or three weeks prior to the start of the regular season where teams make deals.

I wonder if they'll be able to move Kadri. He's 33. He's got four years left, $7 million. I don't know how much they're going to get for him. We'll see about that one. McKenzie Wieger, they're probably thinking, well, let's move on this as soon as we can because he's 30 years old and he's got four years left.

So this is going to be max value for guys like this. Rasmus Andersen, good. And both these guys are right-shot defensemen, and we all know how hard those guys are to acquire. He's got two years left before he's UFA. $4.5 million cap hit. He might be the prize in all this. And for Calgary, there might be some thinking,

well, we should try and keep this guy. But then Rasmus Anderson might be thinking, you guys are we should try and keep this guy. But then Rasmus Andersen might be thinking, you guys are going to be awful for a while. I'm not going to sit here and stay here for a while. Weeger actually has seven years left on his eight-year deal. Oh, sorry. I am not used to Puckpedia. Yeah.

I'm not used to Puckpedia. So Weeger is a good defenseman, and Weeger was a big part of that deal that sent Matthew Kachuk to Florida that got them Huberto and Uyghur back. Khajiit might have five years left. Yeah, they've got... The one that is the most movable and probably the most prized asset, you're right, is Anderson.

He has two years left on his deal. He's got a $4.5 million cap hit. He's got a modified no-trade list. He's got a 16 no-trade list, so there's lots of places you could move him. He's also only 27 years old. And I know that there's a lot of Canucks fans out there right now that are nodding their heads.

Why didn't they move quicker on this in Calgary? I don't know. I don't know. What's going on there? Why didn't Craig Conroy... Why is this all coming out now? No one has any space. I was shocked.

They all went shopping. I was shocked that they didn't make more moves at the draft. I was... Because they looked at a team at that point that was ready to turn the page and go on to the next generation of Calgary Flames. They had moved Jacob Markstrom, and this came after a regular season in which they moved.

I mean, we don't need to go through it, but Hannafin, Zdorov, Lindholm. I mean, they moved guys out. And you're looking at the team and you're saying, okay, well, what's next? It's just weird that we're getting reports right now. The Flames are willing to listen on some of the players. Like, yeah, no. I am surprised.

I don't want to swear on the air at 620, but of course they are. I mean, it's interesting that they didn't. Maybe the deal that Craig Conroy wanted didn't work out, and they were ready to circle back on it. But, I mean, we have seen this before. We have seen teams get to training camp and get through the preseason and realize we're not ready to go, or we don't have the right makeup of guys that we thought we were going to. I mean, the Vancouver Canucks did a lot of remodeling prior to the start of last season and they were the only

team for the first couple months to make a move you can i like how i like how huberto's name never comes up because people know that's just a bridge too far i mean he they're stuck with that well the flames don't seem to like to retain salary either and that's going to be a problem not that any team does but some teams are more willing we love to retain some teams are more willing than others to retain salary yeah and i just i i do wonder at a certain point when conroy has to look at this and say are we actually going to be too good and not good in the traditional sense, but good in the race to the bottom sense, with guys like Anderson and Wieger and Kadri and Huberto playing. Because if you're going to bottom out, you may as well bottom out.

You may as well not try and tread and be the 10th place team in the Western Conference. You need to get to the bottom as quickly as possible. We got a text in to the Dunbar Lumber text line, and I saw some discussion of this online yesterday and the question is, how does Drysaddle's contract make you feel about Petey's contract?

And I saw some people saying, what a bargain Petey's contract looks like now. And yeah, if he holds up his end of the bargain. Yeah, Drysaddle showed up in the playoffs. He was hurt, and he played well in the playoffs.

Dreisaitl's a top... I laughed at the Spectre thing, but Dreisaitl is a top five player in the National Hockey League, I think. I think you could slot him in maybe right below McKinnon in that neighborhood with Kutcherov. Where's Petey when he's at his best?

He might be a top 10 player when he's at his best. Right. That's why I'm so hard on the guy, by the way, guys. You. Where's Petey when he's at his best? He might be a top 10 player when he's at his best. Right. That's why I'm so hard on the guy, by the way, guys. You're hard on Petey? Yeah, because we've seen how good he can be. And then when he was as bad as he was down the stretch and into the regular season.

We're going to talk about Rick Tockett and what his priorities are this season. And it's going to be later in the show. And getting the most out of Petey is 1,000% and what his priorities are. Sure. This season, and it's going to be later in the show and getting the most out of Petey is 1000% one of his priorities, getting through to him. And I'm going to read a few quotes from Drance's article, uh, interview with Rick Tockett, which was earlier in the summer, but I want to kind of, I kind of want to come back

to it because there's a part where Tockett says, I've got some wisdom for Petey. And it almost sounded like he needs to listen to it. And also there were some allusions to Petey working with the Canucks strength trainer, which is, I think we all know that Petey needs to get a little bit stronger.

And I think we all know, well, not all of us, but people that have been through tendinitis, a lot of the times it's an issue of strength. Sure. And it helps to get stronger to get through tendinitis. So how does it, so to the question, how does dry sidles contract make you feel about PD's

contract? Nothing. Like I don't, I don't, I'm going to swear again, how does Dreisaitl's contract make you feel about Petey's contract? Nothing. Like I don't – I'm going to swear again. Give a – about Dreisaitl, I care about Petey, right? If Petey lives up to his end of the bargain and he lives up to his contract, then the Canucks are in a good spot. If he doesn't, they're in big, big trouble. There is one – you know what?

There was one comparison that I would take from last year's playoff. You kind of alluded to the tendonitis thing. Dreisaitl was in no way healthy during that playoff run, especially against the Vancouver Canucks last year. I mean, he was laboring at times. Found a way, though. Right, and he finished with 31 points in 25 games. And I know some people said that in the second half of the playoffs,

he slowed down a little bit, which I think is understandable, given how banged up he was. But again, 31 25 games and what did he do you just said it he found a way to get it done that's another thing we like to yell at the television right when we're watching hockey we were talking about that yesterday you got to find a way you got to find a way to win battles you got to find a way to produce points no one's really interested in the excuses afterwards they're more interested in how you solve the problem in the moment. And that's what Dreisaitl did. You finish with 31 points in 25 playoff games.

You end up making $14 million a year when it comes time for your next contract because you've proven everyone that when the going gets tough, you're going to find your way through it. And that's what separates. That's playoff hockey. Yeah, that's what separates the elite from the good and what separates the good from the average. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.

You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough. This is the meat seeker app music, by the way. 802 on a Wednesday. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. we are in our three of the program rick bonus is going to join us in just a moment here

to kick off our three hour three is brought to you by campbell and pound real estate appraisers trust the expertise of campbell and pound visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today we are coming to you live from the kintec studio kintec canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star google reviews sophie what are you waiting for kintec Studio. Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorphe, what are you waiting for? Kintec. To the phone lines we go. Our next guest, 38 seasons behind NHL benches as a head coach and

an assistant coach. Rick Bonas joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Rick. How are you? Good morning, guys. Doing great. Thank you. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Congrats on retirement after a terrific and lengthy career. How is retirement treating you so far, Rick? Well, I think the true test is going to happen in a couple of weeks

when training camps open. We're all off during the summer months. There's very little hockey news going along. But, so, yeah, in two weeks, around the 18th, I think, the camps open up. That's going to be the real challenge. So I've already prepared Judy for it. I said, get ready.

I might be a little moody for a couple of days, but I think that'll be the true test, and we'll go from there. But I think it helps. I knew at the end of last year that it was time to step away from it, just from the coaching. I'm not retiring from life, not retiring from everything, but to get away from the coaching for a little bit. So I just felt it was time and now we'll see what happens next,

what the next chapter brings. But again, yeah, call me in a couple of weeks and I might have a different answer for you. Two questions for you here. What will you miss most about the job? What will you not miss at all about the job? I think I'm going to, I've given that some thought. I'm going to miss everything about the job.

I really am. I enjoy the pressure of the games. I enjoy the pressure of the games. I enjoy the practices. I guess the most important thing for me in the latter stages of my career was the ability to have a relationship with the players.

You know, sometimes when you're young in the league, you're trying to do everything and lengthen your career, but at the end of my career, I'm not looking for another 10 years doing this job. So I'm just going to enjoy it as much as I can. I really enjoy the relationships with the players and building that trust, building that bond.

And just casually talking to all of them every day, like whether it's on the ice or in the dressing room, just bumping into them and see how things are going. I put a lot of value in those conversations, but I will certainly miss that. But there's nothing I won't miss. Listen, dealing with you guys is all part of the job. Some of them are easier days than others

when you're not winning or not playing well. But there's nothing really that I say, oh wow, I won't miss that. There really isn't everything. I've loved every day of the job. I tell the players that all the time. Listen, every day in the National Hockey League and it's a hundred times,

it's a blessing. It's a true honor and privilege to play or be associated with the National Hockey League. I've never taken a different approach to it. I count it every day as a blessing. I count it every day as an honor and privilege to be in the National Hockey League. So there really isn't anything I'm going to – I don't have to worry about doing again. What is – if you think back, I don't know how much time you've spent

reflecting on your career, but what is one thing that you really learned a lot as a head coach? Maybe something you had no idea about when you started coaching all the way back in the 80s, and now that you've retired, you can say, wow, I learned this is important? I've always, from the day I got into coaching in 1983, I've always felt it very important for the coach, whether assistant coach or head coach, to have a trusting bond with the players. As time went on, I think, and the generations changed and different players were coming into our league

with different needs. I felt more and more that I had to keep staying on top of that, that I couldn't back off on it just because I'd been around forever. I never, again, that bond and that trust and that communication to players, it became more and more important as my career progressed because when I first got into coaching, don't forget a lot of guys were in the minors for a few years. They came up and they played and they knew how to play.

And, you know, it lasted a while. Obviously, the players are getting rushed in. They're getting force-fed, and they need a lot more information. They need a lot more patience, and they need a lot more knowledge knowing that the coach has trust in them, regardless of their minutes, that the coach believes in them and trusts them and is working to do the best and get the most out of their abilities and their career. So, again, as my career went on, I put a lot more emphasis on that than anything.

Were you always happy to do that? I mean, I think that's in a lot of workforces right now. You get some people that have been working for a long time and, you know, like, why are these young people so needy? Constant talking to. I mean, did you ever have that experience or were you just happy to do it? I was happy to do it. It came with the job.

Again, you've got to adapt. Every generation coming to the league, you've got to adapt. The younger players today, they need to know that. That you have their back and that you're working with them and trying to get the best out of them for their careers.

Is it more important today than 20 years ago? Absolutely it is. They need it. But as a coach, you have to adapt to that. They're not going to adapt to you. This is how they've been raised. This is how they're coming into the league, and you have to adapt to that. So that old line in Moneyball when Brad Pitt is firing to the head school there,

and he says, adapt or die? Well, there's a lot of truth to that one. And you do have to adapt and you have to change the way you're doing things depending on the players you're dealing with. Yeah, that's a good point. You can pine for the good old days, but they're not coming back.

So you better adapt. It is what it is and do the best you can with it. That's what coaching in the National Hockey League is all about today. It's not coming back. It is what it is, and do the best you can with it. That's what coaching in the National Hockey League is all about today. It is. Let's visit the good old days a little bit. Your time in Vancouver alongside A.V., and you got to coach guys like Kevin Biaxa, and you really got to help him in his career.

What are your memories of your many years in Vancouver? You know, Judy and I often talk that those seven years with the Canucks were probably the best of our career. We just loved living in Vancouver. It was a great organization, great ownership, management. We got along great with the coaches, and a lot of just great hockey players on the ice, but just as important, really good people off the ice.

You can't find better people than the Twins and Louie and Ryan Kessler and Kevin and Burroughs and these guys. They were just such a pleasure to work with every day. They were true pros. They came to the rink, I was ready to work every day. I was in good spirits and not all, you know, Henrik was just one hell of a captain for us.

And he did a great job with everybody, but working with those guys every day, it wasn't so much work. It was, you were working with them and they wanted to, they wanted to win. They wanted the best. It was just so much fun to be around.

They, they taught me a lot of it, you know, again, being a really good pro and coming to the rink every day and with the right attitude and putting your time in to get better. And if you watch those guys every day, that's what they did. And that's why we had the success we had.

We had great teams there. Now we're all so disappointed to live with all of us for the rest of our lives losing that game seven against Boston. But in that phase of you. And that burns. Today, that still burns. And that's what we were all made of. We were all committed to winning and bringing the Stanley Cup to

Vancouver. And when we came up that short, it burned us. But the other side of that is, man, the players gave everything they could to make that happen. And they did. We came up short. Somebody has to lose. And unfortunately, it was us in that happen, and they did. We came up short. Somebody has to lose. And unfortunately, it was us in that series. But great team, many great teams, great players to work with,

which I really, really enjoyed. Loved the organization, loved the city, loved the fan base. And I always say this. I remember Alain and I going back there in August of our first year. And it's like your shows, the radio talk shows, before about a month before the season even started. And we looked at each other and said, wow, there's a true passionate fan base here. And we love that because I firmly believe that's a healthy pressure on everyone to perform. And the fan base is avid and is knowledgeable and fanatical as the Canuck fans are, that's

a healthy pressure on everyone. You know you have to perform, and I think that's a wonderful thing. We're speaking with Rick Bonas here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. You've mentioned pressure a few times, and you mentioned earlier in our chat that you were going to miss the pressure of big games. So often, pressure is seen as a negative. What did you like about the pressure? big games. So often pressure is seen as a negative. What did you like about the pressure? The moment.

Man, I just love being in the moment. You know, you walk over that bench and you've got to be in the moment. And you do. And you can't let the noise, the noise in terms of media, the fans and everything else, and not just the acoustic noise,

but everything about the game. You just had to block it all out and you had to stay in the moment, especially in the playoffs. And I really love that pressure. When you walk out, you're behind the bench, and you're quiet. Your brain is quiet. You're not hearing all this, and you're not seeing all this. You're just so dialed in on the game and what's in front of you.

And I love that part. So the pressure, yeah, a lot of that is external. People will put pressure on you because you. I love that part. The pressure, yeah. A lot of that is external. People put pressure on you because you have to win, you have to win, you have to win. That's all part of being a pro. That comes with the territory. I didn't mind that. I kind of enjoyed it.

Especially last year, I was disappointed in me when we lost in the playoffs. I just wasn't happy with me. Other than that, the pressure of the games, that's what makes it all worthwhile. We all know 82 games, travel, practice, injuries, everything you go through, it's dragged on and on at times.

But you have to enjoy every day. You have to enjoy the moment. And that's what I enjoy the most, the pressure and the moment. That moment that you're talking about, who was the best player that you saw perform in that moment? Either a guy that you coached or a guy that you coached against? Because you talk about

how great that moment is. Who was the player that really stepped up and performed in front of your eyes in that type of moment? I would go with Ray Bork. I mean, I could name a lot of the Twins. Ray Bork. I mean, I could name a lot of the Canucks, the Twins, everybody else. But Ray Bork was just a special human being just because of the way he was a big man. He wasn't a small man. He was big and heavy.

And just the way he competed every shift. It was 40, 45, 50 seconds of everything he's got every shift. And he'd come off the ice dead tired. And in about 30 seconds, he's ready to go. He's looking at me like, okay, I want to get back out there. Ray wanted to be on the ice all the time. And it was incredible to watch him every game. October, Ray drew how hard he worked. And the pride he took in being the best player on the ice.

And when things weren't going well, the pride he took in settling things down and making a difference in the game that way. And when the game was on the line, making a difference, whether it was defending a one-goal lead or going to get a goal, the tremendous pride he took in being out there. But he had to be on the ice, and it was an amazing thing to watch him. And I've watched him battle some big, big guys in the corners from the net for 15, 20 seconds, come off the ice exhausted,

and 30 seconds later, he's looking at me. Like, okay, let's go. So I've always respected that about Ray. Just a wonderful human being, clearly a Hall of Famer, great player. But man, oh man, what a competitor. We're speaking to legendary NHL coach Rick Bonas here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. John Cooper, Rick, so you coached with him in Tampa Bay. You guys went to a Stanley Cup Final together.

You coached against him in a Stanley Cup Final when he was in Tampa Bay, and you were in Dallas. What's your relationship like with John Cooper? He's a guy we talk a lot about on the show. He's from here. He's the longest tenured head coach in the NHL. So I'm curious, what's your relationship like with John Cooper? Fine. When we played against each other, we bumped into each other,

and we talked for sure. John's a wonderful coach, and he's the right guy to lead the Canadian team in the Four Nations, the Olympics. He's a wonderful coach. So are we talking in a regular break? No, we're not. I mean, that's how many years ago now that I leave there. I don't even know.

But no, no problem there at all. I had a lot of respect for John. I think we both knew at the end of it, it was time for me to move on, and I knew it, and he knew it, and that's fine. That happens in our industry, in our business. And you can't take those things personally. You kind of feel in your gut, you know what, it's time to move on.

And he felt it, I knew it, and so there was no problem there at all. Who were some of the best friends you made in the game? L.A. for sure. Funny, I got a text from them yesterday so i was thinking about you because usually that day after labor day we're all heading to the office right there's okay that's their cue summer's over start getting dialed in for training camp getting there you're you're doing all your work and everything but you really got to get dialed in the day after Labor Day.

So it's funny, I got that text from him yesterday. And I'm in Florida now for the winter, and he'll be coming down here soon, so we'll make sure we get together. But I've made a ton of friends. There's too many to mention, but I've made a ton of friends. There's all kinds of them. He asked me, what allowed this? I'm Miss Shorty coming down with a cup of coffee for me in the morning skate.

Shorty, I want to showed up with a coffee. You guys had a lot of laughs, didn't you? That's what I've heard about that group. Shorty, AVU, and others. You laughed a lot. Well, we did. And I always go back to Murph. Murph used to interview me between periods sometimes.

And he'd ask one question. And, of course, me me i can ramble on for a couple of minutes to say nothing but i always wondered if y'all ever had a second question so i remember there was one interview after a period and he asked me a question and i gave him a one word answer it was either yes or no i forget what it was and i'm looking at him to see if he's got another question or was he just winging it with with one at a time. But being the pro that he is, he had that second question and we both had a little chuckle.

But I did answer the second question with a few more words than just one word. But that's the fun we had. It was a close group. We trusted everybody. You just trusted everybody in the group that was traveling with the team. And they're still very good friends today.

I love seeing them. I love seeing Shorty and Johnny Garrett and everybody that was around the team. It was a close group, not just the players and they're still very good friends today i love seeing murph loving short and johnny garrett and everybody that was around the team now it was a close room not only just the players and the management everything but those guys are a big part of it as well um you said it still burns the 2011 losing that game seven and uh we've actually tried to talk about it less and less on the show because we find ourselves going down this rabbit hole of like what if this had happened what if that had happened well it didn't happen are you are you at peace with it because as a as a lifelong Canucks fan I just want to see them win the cup once and um you know I I understand that my life really isn't going to change that much whether or not they do or they don't but are you at peace with with with that game or does it still bug you?

Is it still in the back of your mind or maybe the front of your mind that, oh, we just need to win that one more game? Yeah. No, no, that'll stay with me the rest of my life as it will with everyone, but the Canucks, listen, they're in great hands with Jimmy and they're going to win talks. They're in really good hands. They're

going to win. They've got a great team, great management, and great coaching staff, so hang in there with them. At some point, I'm. They're going to win. They've got a great team, great management, and great coaching staff. So hang in there with them. At some point, I'm sure they're going to win. I've got a lot of faith in what they're doing there and the people running the franchise. But, no, it does.

It burns you. You come that close. And if you go back to the, you know, John and I in Tampa, it's funny how that goes because the first year we went to the finals, or the second year, we kind of, we knew we weren't ready. Everything just kind of fell into place. And we weren't quite ready.

We had a great series against the Rangers to get there, and we're playing Chicago, and obviously they were at the top of their game. And I just remember Ben Bishop missing a game or two, and that really hurt because Ben Bishop, when he was on, he was the top three goalkeeper in that league. I think when you get that close, you want to make sure your team is 100% healthy.

If you go back to the Canucks, when we lost to Hammer, and we lost to Aaron Rome, and we lost to a few other guys, those things hurt. Anyone who's ever won a cup will always tell you, you've got to be healthy, you've got to be lucky. If we had had a full

run, they're not excuses. It's all part of the game, man. You're going to lose guys. You don't want to lose guys when the game is at its utmost importance, as they understand like our finals. The year we went to the finals in the bubble with Dallas, again, Bish was hurt.

And we played really... I am confident to say that our team game was better than Tampa's in that final. But they had Vasu. Vasu was a huge difference, right? And listen, Hedoban played great for us, but he's not Ben Bishop.

Ben Bishop would have been the difference in that game. So when you come that close and you're in the finals, you want your whole team ready to go. If you go back and the Bruins beat us, take two of their top five defensemen out of that lineup for the last couple of games, and you've got a whole different discussion going on. But again, you have to live with those things,

and that's all part of the pain of losing. Gosh, we only had everyone playing. Like Danny Hamlin played great hockey for us. Aaron Romo was playing the best hockey in his life for us. And you take two of those guys out as early as we lost them, that hurts. But that's all part of the pain that you live with every day. And every time you watch the finals, you know, you're watching, okay, who's healthy? It just increases your odds of winning the ultimate prize

when you've got a good squad and you've got everybody healthy and you've got everyone running for the same thing. Rick, one final question. What does it mean to have such a lengthy career in the NHL and have so many people say, Rick Bonas, that guy is a great guy? Yeah. Excuse me. Well, again, listen, we all want to be treated with respect. And I've

always tried to treat everyone in the league, players, media, trainers, everybody with the same amount of respect that they deserve. And so, yeah, that's nice to hear. But that will probably settle in later on as you get a little bit older. I haven't given that a whole lot of thought. All I know is when I went to the rink every day, I tried to do my absolute best.

And again, to treat everyone with the utmost of respect until I didn't deserve it anymore. And I guess that was just the way I wanted to take the approach. And that's the way I was going to be. And that's who I am. And that's the way I was going to do it every day. Now, I'll go back to the you know the communication part like when I coached the Bruins in 91 92 they hated the fact that I had a that I

was talking to the players because in that era that just didn't happen and they wanted to and pardon those and map to them and do it my way or the highway like that just wasn't me you know so throughout my whole career I just try to make sure I treat everyone with the same amount of respect that I want to give them back to me. Rick, this was fantastic. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this today. It was great chatting with you. Once again, congrats on a terrific career.

Enjoy retirement. Try and enjoy it even when the hockey season starts. I know there'll be pangs there, but try and enjoy it. Thank you. We'll be around. I won't disappear, pangs there, but try and enjoy it. Thank you. We'll be around. I won't disappear, but thanks for your time today. Yeah, thanks for yours. Appreciate it.

That's Rick Bonas, former NHL head coach, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Turn this over to the listeners. The listeners will agree with me. Will they? Yes. Currently, this day of our Lord, September 4th, 2024, who is the bigger Hollywood star, Jason Momoa or Jack Black?

I have no idea, man. I'm not in the now. Jack Black. It's Jack Black. I just had to Google Jason Momoa. I'm like, oh, that guy. I mean, anybody replying Jason Momoa is probably related to him. Anyway, another spoiler alert for the audio book for Minecraft.

You don't need to get it. It wasn't. Well, that's what I'm wondering about. It was a tough list. What's this move? I mean, I will admit the trailer, like visually, it looks kind of cool. So I guess I could see the appeal just from a purely visual. I just don't understand why it would be an interesting watch.

I don't. It just looks very lame. Well, this has been a hell of a, what we learned. Thanks for sharing a lot of what we learned. Please give us a moocow on that. We learned it was brought to you by meat seeker. Okay. We do need to clarify this in danger of losing yet another sponsor to the

station and the show, the read, which a lot of these are, how do I put it? Written very well. it's like they're written by someone that has never spoken english before and this one wants to introduce this new app called seeker right which is great kind of a clever name clever spelling s-e-e-k-r unfortunately in introducing it the copywriter wrote meat seeker.

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Is this what we learned? No, he's brought it up. Because you have like 9,000 texts about it. We this your What We Learned? No, he's brought it up. Because you have like 9,000 texts about it. We have so many texts coming in being like, can I learn more about Meat Seeker? I'm like, that's not it. Where do I download the Meat Seeker app? It's not Meat Seeker. We're meeting Seeker.

Can I do a What We Learned? I don't know if there's an app called Meat Seeker. If there's not, you should start one because apparently a lot of people are interested in it. Didn't Zach find a meat seeker app? You did. Yeah, it's a website for archery. What? Yeah, there's a bow and arrows.

You can get a meat seeker bow. Oh. So it's kind of like a play on the heat seeker missile. That's actually in there about, yeah. Right. Okay. And not anything else. Yeah, definitely not a meat arrow.

You'd hope not. Can't be very aerodynamic. I didn anything else. Yeah, definitely not a meat arrow. You'd hope not. Can't be very aerodynamic. I didn't write the copy, dude. Don't look at me. You interrupted me during the break. I did. This is all my fault. You started this with your meat-seeking. You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough.