Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Blue Jays Are On Fire

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat the red-hot Blue Jays with commentator Dan Shulman (2:04), plus they discuss what has been a busy week for the Jets with 680 CJOB Winnipeg's Jim Toth (27:32). 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.

Music 7.01 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at S sans-trustee.com. We are now in our two of the program. Dan Shulman, play by play voice of the Red Hot Blue Jays is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off our two. Our two of this program is brought to you by Jason Homonuck at jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studio,

Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. On the subject of the Jays, I do need to once again remind you that today is your last chance to buy your tickets for the Sportsnet 650, Jays Care 5050 for Challenger Baseball, supported by Tiltown. The deadline for purchases is this evening, 6 30 p.m. care 50 50 for challenger baseball supported by tile town. The deadline for purchases is this evening, 6 30 PM. Shortly thereafter at six 45, we're going to do the draw. We'll announce the winner of the J's care sports net six 50 50 50

tomorrow morning on the show. You can get your tickets right now. J's care golf.rafflenexus.com that URL again, J's care golf.rafflenexus.com. That URL again, jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. It's an incredibly worthy endeavor, Challenger Baseball. I encourage you all to support it. Get your tickets now. I will be mentioning this repeatedly throughout the show today. But for now, we turn our attention to the Power West Industries hotline.

Dan Schulman joins us here on the Haliford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Dan, how are you? I'm well, how are you guys doing? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Excellent time to get you on the program because for the first time in more than three years, the Jays have won eight in a row. You got to go all the way back to May slash June of 2022 for that. For the first time in the organization's history, they've swept the home stand of at least seven games. So very good times for the Blue Jays. What's been the catalyst for this streak, Dan? Or is it too simplistic to boil it down to just one catalyst?

I would say, and it goes back beyond just this eight game winning streak, is that, you know, every day it's a different guy or guys. It's unbelievable. Like Joe Sittle and I or Buck Martinez and I have sat there and looked at each other and said, how is this happening? Like, how are they doing this? But like yesterday is a perfect example. They win three to two. David Schneider drives in a run. Joey Loprofito, who just got called up from the minors for the first time all

season, drives in a run with a big base hit. Ryan Burr who just made his first appearance all season because he's been on an eye on the IL gets some big outs you know it could be Miles straw it could be Nathan Lucas Ernie Clement Braden Fisher they don't win the game a couple of days earlier without Lozaro Estrada like they just don't if he doesn't give them that four innings and and to me if you had to boil it down to one thing, um, it's that one through 26 and really beyond 26 because of the, you know, the guys they've had coming up and down from Buffalo who have been helping, it's just everybody is doing something to help this team win games right now.

When the Jays started the season 16 and 20, uh, what were your thoughts about this team and did you see something like that? I'm not saying did you predict it, but did you think it was possible? Uh, no, I thought they were better than that. Um, and they were without some guys then, and I thought they would start hitting better. And that was still during the time where we were hearing, they were saying, we were seeing a little

bit, you know, hitting the ball hard, but not getting the results they wanted. And it's funny, they've done this before, like started off with, we were seeing a little bit, you know, hitting the ball hard, but not getting the results they wanted. And it's funny, they've done this before, like started off a year, uh, tremendously badly with runners and scoring position. And I know some people roll their eyes and have runners and scoring position fatigue, but it's a big, big thing. Like it's not just what you hit, it's when you hit. And, and if you can string some hits together, if you can get the hit with the runner on second or whatever the case may be, that really helps. And they were dismal early and now

they've been phenomenal since. And listen, it can turn again, right? That coin can flip tomorrow. So you just want to bank wins and keep going, but they're doing a much better job driving and runs with men on base. And like the Loprofito base said yesterday is a perfect example of that. I thought they were better than they were playing, but I'll be honest with you, that road trip to Tampa and Texas, which is later on than the 16 and 20 start, it was in, I want to say late May, I believe.

So a little bit after that, they get swept in Tampa and they lose the third game 13 to nothing with it without question in my mind, the low point of the season. They go to Texas and it doesn't feel like this and people probably don't remember it this way. They actually won two out of the three games in Texas, but they only scored like four runs in the whole series and only six runs on the entire road trip in six games. And that was, I don't want to say that was rock

bottom but that was like man what is going on here and how does it get better and then they came home and had the had the athletics come into town and all of a sudden just exploded and ever since then they've been playing incredibly well with the exception of getting swept in Philadelphia whenever that was about two and a half three weeks ago So I thought they'd be better. I didn't think they'd be this good. They continue to win close games. All three wins over the Angels were by one run.

They're executing well. If they need a run, they're finding a way to get a run. They're getting some homers. The bullpen's been good. They're running the bases better. They're a good team. I don't know that they're a great team. They're a good team playing extremely, extremely well right now. And heading into the All-Star break, they've got the White Sox

and the Gays. Again, opportunities to pile up a few more wins you hope. Although the White Sox took two out of three from them a couple of weeks ago. But hopefully they can head into the All-Star break with even a better record. There's three games up on the Yankees, which is, is crazy because the Yankees lost a couple to the Mets too. I mean, uh, so how does this change the conversation about the trade deadline? I think, uh, I mean, I believe they would have

been in any ways, like even if you go back before this eight game winning streak. So what are they now? 52 and 38. So they were 44 and 38 at 44 and 38, you know, if they had kept that kind of a winning percentage going, I still think they're in. Now I think they're really in. Because you look around and how many great teams are there? They have shown they can play with just about anybody. Now they haven't seen the Tigers in a long time. They'll see them again after the All-Star break. They haven't seen

the Astros in a long time and they didn't play well at all. I think they got swept down in Houston back in April. They'll play them again later on in the season. But I think right now you've got to be looking at this team and saying, hey, this team has a real chance this year. You know, they've also handled injuries pretty well. Hopefully Andres Jimenez, Jimmy Garcia, Dalton Varsho are all back after the All-Star break. And I think that Ross Atkins is going to be all in right now.

Do I think he's trading Treya Savage or Arjun Amala? I don't think so. But I think they're gonna trade some pretty good prospects in an effort to bolster this team. You can make a case for a starting pitcher, you can make a case for a relief pitcher, and you can make a case for a right-handed bat, in my opinion. I don't know that they'll get all three, and you know, a starting pitcher could be like a back-end guy or more of a, you know, a real stalwart who can help you win a playoff game. So I don't know what they're

going to do there, it depends on the cost, but I think the intent will be to be very aggressive. We're speaking to Blue Jays play-by play man, Dan Schulman here on the Hellford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Okay. I waited this long in the conversation to talk about bunting because it's my favorite thing as a former little league coach and a big fan of small ball. I love, I remember earlier in the year we talked about it because there was a couple, there was a couple of streaks where they were bunting for hits, but the sack bunt has become very important to this team and like I like it for two reasons one

Obviously it's helping them win games and tight ball games Like you were saying like good teams make good plays and they execute and that's an important thing But the other part is that the the bunting is sort of fallen so far out of favor That it coming back is a very cool thing almost a throwback and I don't know if I'm overstating the importance I know the Jays have done a lot of things really well but I am a big fan of that philosophy and that approach to baseball and I do like that the Jays have not just embraced it but been successful with it. Yeah and analytically big picture it's not the thing to do but I think situationally it can definitely be

the thing to do and I think they situationally, it can definitely be the thing to do. Um, and I think they've done it an appropriate amount and I think they've done it well and listen, they're not asking Bichette and Guerrero to drop down bunch, obviously, as you know, it's been guys like Lucas and Clemens and Heinemann and, and, uh, straw and, and one or two others, and it's just the bottom of the order playing a little bit of a different style, trying to get guys over, put them in scoring position for the guys at the top. And sometimes it's worked out even better than they had hoped. Like Lucas Bunt for a base hit. He was trying to sacrifice,

but he got a Bunt for a base hit the other day. You know, Clemens Bunt leading to a throwing error. They win the game that day. So it's undeniable that it's been effective for them. And I think they're doing it. They're doing it a lot. They're doing it more than most teams some of it is philosophy some of it I think is just the way their lineup looks like you know, there are many many days where the lineup comes out and You look at seven eight nine and it's not what you expected to see on this team And it's certainly not what you expect to see on a first place team

But whoever these guys are hitting 789 are contributing and maybe the overall numbers aren't huge, but again, in big moments situationally, they're getting the job done and, and, you know, there's been a lot of talk about run differential and are the Blue Jays that good and all that. They're in first place. One of the reasons they're in first place is because they are doing very well in close games. They're way, I can't remember that I gave them yesterday on the air. Forgive me.

I can't remember. I think they're like 26 and 16 or something like that in one or two run games, something around that. And one of the reasons they're doing very well in one and two run games is they are playing a good brand of situational baseball. You know, there, there are many, many times where, uh, Hey, what do you want? You want the shed Guerrero, Springer hitting the ball out of the ballpark.

And they're, you know, they're doing that at a reasonable clip, especially Springer. But with the guys at the bottom, I think they're playing to their strengths. And what they've got on this team is a real culture of, hey, everybody, you just do what you can do to help this team win games. Like if you're Miles Strong,

you feel incredibly appreciated right now in that clubhouse. They value your defense, they value your contact ability. The pesky at bats getting down a bunch every now and again. Ernie Clement feels appreciated. Nathan Lucas feels appreciated. Tyler Heideman feels appreciated. All of these guys, they're all playing the game in a smart fashion. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because we talk about it in the context of the Canucks all the

time where it's like, what's the team's identity and what's their brand and what's their style? And having that common goal in terms of what we're about is important because when it starts translating to wins, that's when you get the real buy-in. And what you're saying with the J's here is it's important because it's inherent in the sacrifice bonus. Sacrifice, like you're saying with the J's here is it's important because you know, it's an inherent in the sacrifice bun is sacrifice Like you're giving yourself up Maybe you're giving your chance to mash at the plate or to do something to move a guy along and it feels like they're lined Up right now has that you know The secret sauce of the perfect mix of guys that are willing to do that and then as you pointed out

But are also being appreciated for having that sacrifice and that must go a long way in building team identity I think being appreciated is huge like Mac Scherzer after the game, when would it have been was it no two days ago I guess two days ago, talked about how he has faith in every single guy in that room like if you're Braden Fisher a guy who had never pitched in the majors before this year and you hear Kevin Gosman or Chris Bassett or Mac Schurz are saying, I believe in that guy. I trust that guy. We all think he can get the job done.

Don't you think that Braden Fisher is feeling more confident on the mound when he goes out there? And the same thing for a Tyler Heineman, you know, we have Heineman happens to come up at a big spot and he's cooled off from what was a, an incredibly hot start, but he is still, you know, effective and certainly doing a very good job defensively. And if the pitchers say, I love throwing to both Kirk and Heineman, doesn't that make Heineman feel better every time that his name is penciled into the lineup? It's not always, as you guys know, on any professional team, sometimes it's a little

bit more about the individual than the team. Sometimes the, you know, the, the priorities get a little bit messed up and there have been years in the past for the Blue Jays where it's felt that way a little bit or where it's felt like certainly the whole is less than the sum of the parts like they're underachieving. This team is overachieving like I don't think there's any question. I don't believe they're the most talented team in baseball. They're pretty good you know like Joe Sittle and I have talked over the last month or so, let's go see what Minnesota looks like in Cleveland and St. Louis and San Diego and Seattle and

all that. And every series it's like the Jays can play with these guys. Like I'm not sure they're going to blow them out, but the Jays can play with these guys. And I think the difference because the talent is so equal on so many teams is maybe the culture and the, you know, playing for each other a little bit more and just executing in big moments. Like I can't say enough about what Estrada and Fisher did a couple of days ago. For Braden Fisher to go out there in extra innings twice, the 10th and the 11th, and not allow a run to score when there was a runner at second base, that is some hard stuff to do really really hard and and and he did it because like everybody else was down everybody else ahead of them in the

pecking order was down it's just it doesn't usually happen this way where it's almost like it doesn't matter who's in the lineup and it doesn't matter who got hurt like they just lost Andres Jimenez and Jimmy Garcia. Who did they plug in? Ryan Burr and Joey Lopofito, who both helped them win the game yesterday. This is not the norm and just keep it going as long as it lasts, bank the wins and add to the team of the deadline. Dan, I got to ask you about George Springer because anytime an older player, and I know he's 36, so he's significantly younger than me, but we talk about this ageless wonder, but his turnaround

this year is another big reason the Jays are having success. Did he change his diet or something? What's going on there? Different hitting coaches, different philosophy, a different mindset for him going up there. And I think more DHing has helped too. I think he's just got more in his legs, you know, than he, than he had last year,

last year, but he's definitely got a different philosophy. He's okay with swinging and missing, especially early in the count, because when he, you know, you've heard the phrase get your A swing off. They've said it so much this year. I think he's doing that better than anybody else. Like when's the last time you kind of saw him reach and roll over on a ground ball to third, he'll swing and miss and he'll strike out some, but he's taking walks and hitting doubles and homers.

And that's what makes you a very productive power hitter in today's game. So I think he has kind of really, I know he has bonded with the hitting coaches. Tremendous. I see him with David Popkins all the time, like all the time. Um, they're on the, he's on the same page as them and they came into spring training with a plan and they have not, um, veered away from that plan at all to do what he's doing at his age, to bounce back to the extent that he has is extremely rare.

There are very few players 35 and over in baseball who are even regulars, nevermind super productive regulars who probably should have been on the all star team, which is another story. But, um, it's probably the biggest surprise to me that he, not that he bounced back some, but that he bounced back to this extent. And it might be the biggest reason why this team is better than it was a year ago, because he's become a huge force again.

How different are the various philosophies of hitting coaches around the league? Um, like I'm putting on the spot here a bit, but like what are, like how do, how do they vary? That's a little beyond me, to be honest with you. The one thing I've heard consistently from players about David Popkins is the, the initial conversations were let's make you, you being the

hitter, let's make you feel comfortable in the box, what makes you feel comfortable? Um, and maybe taking some of the, uh, you know, maybe that last year and years prior, there was a little too much thinking I've got to do this. I've got to do this. I've got to do this. And now that it's a little bit more about just feeling athletic and comfortable and letting your natural body movements take over, like saying to the hitter, when were you at your most successful? When were you at your best?

And what were you doing then? And I think there's some of that with Springer. I think there's a lot of that with Addison Barger, like a lot of that with Addison Barger, where they have freed him up mentally to just to be this force in the batter's box that he is. You know, violent swing is an understatement, but again, it's working for him. He's hitting for a good average and he's hitting for a ton of power.

So, you know, nuts and bolts and nitty gritty, I'm not qualified to answer that, but the one constant I've heard is they're encouraging me to do what makes me feel most comfortable. And then, you know, little tweaks here and there if needed. Damn, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today.

We really appreciate it. Enjoy this run. It's been a lot of fun. We'll catch up later on in the summer. All right, guys, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy this run. It's been a lot of fun. We'll catch up later on in the summer. All right guys. Thanks. Take care. Yeah.

Thank you, Dan Shulman, play by play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Uh, we'd love to hear from you, the listener in the Dunbar-Lumbertex line at 650, 650 Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve

you or online at DunbarLumber.com. So it's actually a pretty good segue talking about hitting coaches for the Toronto Blue Jays, because one of the things we were talking about earlier in the show is what are the Oilers going to do about their goaltending? And it's too bad Laddy's not here because he'd know about this.

It's not a shot at you basketball. It's not a shot at you Ben. We love you. It's all right. It loves us not word. They've got a new goalie coach in Edmonton. That's what you do when you can't get a new goalie. Yeah.

Say don't worry. And I think. We got a new goalie coach. And I just wonder if that's going to be there. Yeah, we made some changes though. We didn't just sit around and do nothing because I can't, you know, some people text in and what about Seal Offs to the Oilers.

I mean, I can maybe see a deal, but they're not going to go in there and be like, here's a new backup, Archer Seal Offs. Oh yeah. What are his numbers in the NHL? Well, let's not talk about that. Don't look at those. Right?

Look at what he did in the playoffs. I mean, we're talking about a team, um, that has been to back to back Stanley Cup finals. I realize Seeloff's is, is loved in this market and especially out in Abstford, but I don't think Oilers fans would be okay if they're like, we're going to go with Sealovs and that. Okay, so maybe he's a guy that they bring in and I don't know.

The thing is, my whole point with this is, name me a good option that the Oilers can go after for a goalie. Demko stayed in Vancouver. Gibson did get traded, but not to Edmonton. Nope. Where did Jake Allen sign? Jake Allen stayed in New Jersey. Jake Allen stayed in New Jersey. So like what, I don't know.

I mean, this whole, this whole, by the way, this whole off season, I've never seen so much, well, what are you going to do? You know, from all the, all the teams, like there's so many teams out there. I was going through an article in the athletic and they were giving trade grades to various teams. And it's, you know, like a team, like just to pick one on top of my head, Columbus, Columbus wanted

to do something. They really wanted to make a statement. Remember hearing about, uh, Fried saying like, I think they want, Columbus wants to do something major. And we were sitting here in Vancouver going like, Oh, like, you know, maybe that's if the Canucks, if, if, if the Canucks are going to trade a guy

like Elias Pedersen, maybe that's something, uh, you know, maybe it's Columbus and you get Ken Johnson back or something. What a, it amounted to zip. It amounted to nothing. And I think what, other than resigning Provarov to crazy big deal, like I don't, it just seems like there's a lot of teams that were kind of like,

yeah, I don't know. We wanted to do stuff. We just couldn't. So if you follow that story on Columbus, they were in on Dobson right up until the bitter end as one of the final bidders with the Islanders to try and acquire his services. And once that didn't come to fruition,

they circled back and like, okay, Provov, you're getting your deal. Does that sound familiar? Because it sounds like a lot of other NHL teams this summer, they were like, they tried something, they couldn't get it done, and then they just re-signed the guy that they already had. And I do wonder for the millionth time

if this is gonna lead to a secondary trade market where maybe the dust settles and the GMs look at what they've got, and they're like, we can't go forward with this. On the Oilers thing, the reason this became a story was because on free agency, Elliott Freeman went on NHL Network on the Tuesday, the start of free agency,

and said that the Oilers were looking for a goalie, and he wouldn't be surprised if one of the first moves that they made was to get a goalie. And then things started to happen around the oilers and the goalie market that didn't fill the needs in Edmonton. You know, guys like Forsberg, who was a backup, went from Ottawa to LA, Vanecek, Alex Lyon. There's a bunch of guys that went other places that didn't go to Edmonton.

So at the end of it, when free agency kind of dried up in terms of goalies and the trades have been consummated with Gibson getting traded, Edmonton still had Skinner and Pickard in net. And I think a lot of people, and again, we go back to that theme of free agency where a lot of people were left like what just happened, left wanting and wondering what happened.

You can put Edmonton in that category. Now, is there a secondary trade market to acquire a goalie? At first blush, it doesn't really seem like it, which is why the sea loves thing keeps coming up, but I'm with Jason and I think a lot of other people. Just because he's there, it doesn't mean he's the solution for a team that's been to consecutive Stanley Cup finals.

Now we asked for text into the Dumberlumber text line and we got a lot of them. Carter Hart, is he going to be a target for the Edmonton Oilers? There's been a lot of talk out of Edmonton. Yeah. That they'll take a run at signing him. Um, they would have to wait for the legal process

to sign out and quite honestly, I can't believe that they would go there. Well, I can. They're the oilers. Yeah, I know. But at what point do you, I guess if that's your brand, if your brand is to take on, and I hate using this term, but they see it as a distressed asset. They saw it with the Vander Cane, they saw it with Corey Perry. And if they see the same thing in Carter Hart following the trial for the sexual assault stemming from the 2016, 2018 World Junior Team, I mean, that is an organizational decision and an organizational trend that a lot of people are going to rightly have problems with.

But even he, like take, I know it's not easy to just take away all that other stuff. I'm not, I don't want to go down the road of like what it means taking away from a trial that's still ongoing, you know? But he's also, I mean, it's not like he had solved Philly's goaltending issues. I don't even remember back because he was so young and there was such an up and down time.

And to be honest, I mean, that should almost be removed from the conversation. Well, not if you're the Oilers. That's an Oilers, if that- I'm not gonna do what the Oilers can do. That's a one of one. That's a one of one. Are you that desperate to fix your goaltending situation?

That's an Edmonton thing at that point. Okay, we gotta go to break. When we come back, we're gonna go to Winnipeg Jim Toth from CJ OB Host of Jets at noon and the Jim Toth show We're gonna talk to about Nikolai Eilers leaving Winnipeg after 10 years with the organization Going to Carolina for a big money deal and what the future has in store for a Winnipeg team They got a lot older in free agency, but we're not sure if they got a lot better You're listening to the hell for and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. 733 on a Monday.

Happy Monday everybody. Halvern & Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We're now at our, we're in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show on a Monday. We're getting through, buddy. Things have kind of started to slow down in the sports world.

Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah. Ruff and I were at the Stampede in Calgary over the weekend. That was fun.

We had a good time. It's a good way to prep for the show. Yeah. What happened? I have no idea. If it wasn't at the Stampede, I don't know what happened. Yeah. We kind of saw the Jays from like our bar stools. Yeah, that was it. We put the Jays game on, then they put it on. I'm like, I don't know what happened. Yeah, we said kind of saw the Jays from like our bar stools

Yeah, I was there where could you put the Jays game on then they put it on my guy whatever There was a lot of Stampede coverage on sports that we're really doing a job of every TV in the bar And we went to a lot of bars to make sure that it was on everywhere We went to the stampede. I don't know if we actually saw a live horse No, didn't we're just in all the beer gardens. I think I saw one that got loose and he ended up in the beer garden. Turn that guy around.

Say him back. He was a good guy. There's got to be there is a horse in this bar right now. Yeah. All right. Rough jokes. Bring him. No, no, no. I won't. I won't. We don't take that low hanging fruit. Actually, we would. I just can't come up with anything on the spot. OK, we Jim Toth is waiting patiently on hold.

We will get to him for in a second year for some jets talk. We got to remind you that since we are in our two of the program, our two is brought to by Jason Hominock at Jason dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage to the phone lines. We go. The power West industries hotline. Uh, he is the host of jets at noon at CJ OB Winnipeg radio,

Jim Toth here on the health and breath show on sports net six 50 morning. Jim, how are you? Good morning gentlemen. I'm well, I'm well, I'm wondering how you are after a weekend at stampede that, uh, that reminds you of my youth and electric. Yeah, these are, these are good research techniques you're on. We were, we were were we were old there. Yeah, we were. That's why I don't go anymore.

To be honest. Yeah, we was. We went to New York. We went to Nashville North on Saturday. And for the first hour, it was great. You're sitting in the sun and there's a beer garden and there's music and everything. And then our two kicks in. You're like, sorry, get a little tired here.

Then our three comes in here like I've sunburned I'm drunk I'm going back to bed, and that was it like five o'clock in the afternoon, but regardless. It was a good though We had a lot of fun. It was a blast so Yeah, not so much of a blast for the Winnipeg Jets over the weekend I think they knew that this was coming, but still a body blow nonetheless Nikolai Ehlers says goodbye first by signing with the Carolina Hurricanes and then over the weekend does his media and addresses Winnipeg. It was a pretty emotional send off for him. Spent a decade there. I think it was the first 10 years

of his playing career and 11 years total. So what's the response been from Winnipeg in the wake of I guess they knew that they were going to lose Ehlers but it still must have stung a little bit. Yeah, I think it did because I think when they, they signed Jonathan Taves or the story came out that they were going to sign them and couldn't make it official till July 2nd, when, when the contract was obviously put in.

I think a lot of Jets fans kind of thought, well, that was a move designed to help keep Nick Ehlers. Like here's your second line center. I didn't buy into that storyline too much because as much as a exciting as, as Jonathan Taves coming back to the NHL and specifically in his hometown and all those great storylines, he's still 37 years old, right? So, um, there's been a lot of talk about what you can expect from him this year and, and, and, and what people think he can do at this age being away from the

game for two years plus. But I didn't think that was enough to keep Nick Ehlers. I think that would intrigue him. But to me, this is what it always did say. And I was on the air on Thursday and Friday, and I kind of said like this, I think they wanted to make this work, but I don't think there was any desperation to.

I think both the Winnipeg Jets and Nick Ehlers, from the Jets perspective, were like, hey, we'd like to make you a lifelong jet. We'd like to do this and here's the price and see how it happens. But if it did not happen, I just got the feeling throughout this whole entire season that the Winnipeg Jets were like, well, maybe change is good. Like what we've been doing hasn't been working too well. And we got this really good team and Nick's a dynamic player. But do we need more size on that second line? Do we need more physicality of it? Do and working too well and we got this really good team and Nick's a dynamic player. But do we need more size on that second line?

Do we need more physicality of it? We're getting 60 points year in, year out. Nick's always looked like he's had the potential to do more and he's never been on that number one line and I don't think he ever will be. I think they're desperately going to try and sign Kyle Connor. So I think from that perspective, that's the feeling I got from the organization throughout the year is, you know, if this works out great, if it doesn't, it might be time for a change.

And then when you hear Nick talk, that's exactly what it was. And I want to emphasize Nick Ehlers is a really good player and he's a really good man, he's a really good individual. He grew up in this organization and I don't know how many interviews I've done with him or heard with him or listening to him on our post game where he's pretty direct and straightforward and honest. I sucked tonight and I did this one. One of the, the early times when Paul Maurice was here and he had two goals in a

game and this is years ago, maybe his first or second season when, when he came on a post game show at the station I was at and literally said, you know, I want to give Paul a lot of credit. I sucked tonight. And that's especially in that second period, I had way too many turnovers and then he stuck with me and kept giving me ice time for a young player. And then I got two goals. So he's really introspective like that. But to me, it is what it was, right? This is a guy who's been here for 10 years. And although he would be more than fine to stay, what else is out there and what's

available? And so I think the Carolina, well, I know the Carolina Hurricanes have tried to trade for him a couple of times over the years. I know that was maybe designed by the Jets trying to get a defenseman out of Carolina, Carolina, and it just didn't work out. But I also know he's very close with his sister who's living in Florida and going to school. Family means the most to him in life. Um, he said that Winnipeg's 10 years is the

longest I've ever been in any city. Well, he's 30 years old, right? So that tells me that he wasn't around at home a lot when he was growing up. If, if 10 years in Winnipeg is the most he's ever stayed in one place. And so family, I ran into his mom a couple of times over the years, going through

security, going to games and how she wishes she was closer and stuff. So I think there's a lot of things that played into this, but at the end of the day, it was a new challenge. It was a different team. It was the East coast, less travel closer to family. And, and the fact that he just wants to, he's that type of guy. Like I'm really happy here, but I need more. And that is lifestyle that has changed, that is family, that is a new challenge to see if he could do better

somewhere else. And I think that's what he took. And I believe every word he said in that statement. And I believe the conversations he had with Scott Arneal, Kevin Cheveldayoff and Mark Chipman were heartfelt and probably very emotional for him to tell them that you did nothing wrong, as he said in the statement. I just, I need something different. Um, so how did the Jets, what, give me your, give me their top six in your, in your mind right now is, is Jonathan Taves part of their top six?

Well, he is now for sure. I think that he's there and then you guys are going to trade Bess here because I think they wanted him in free there and then you guys are going to trade Besser here because I think they wanted him in free agency. So you guys are going to help out in that way and anywhere else you can. Look, I don't know. I don't know if the Jets know. I know Kevin Sheveldayoff is methodical.

He has a three-year plan and having Nick Ehlers here would have been one of them and not having him here, he's probably got two or three more. All Jets fans are waiting for Brad Lambert to take that spot. And I like Brad Lambert's game. And I really liked how he addressed the, you know, his training camp last year by saying, like Brad Lambert can score at the national hockey league level. I believe that we've seen that in the, in the preseason, what he struggles with his board battles and, and defensive play, getting the puck back and,

and not lack of effort. It's just, he's not that big, right? So I don't know. He had seven goals for the moose last year, but everybody's waiting for that. Guess of Nyquist is interesting. I know he's a right winger. I think he was brought in to take Mason Appleton's job and put even more scoring into the bottom six, but I, I don't know if that's the plan to put them up there.

If Nick's going to, if now that Nick's gone and put them on the left wing. Um, I don't know if they're looking at making a trade. I think they're looking at, at making a trade. They have seven signed defensemen and they have a plethora of bottom six players, quality bottom six players. Now what that gets you in return probably isn't a second line player, but if you had in a pick or something like this, I think those are all the things they're looking at. But Kevin Sheveld, they offer the second off season in a row challenged the young players and said, it's on you. There are positions available to you right now. Are you going to come in and take them? Last year, nobody did. Nikita Chuprikov came in and played well and got injured. Brad Lambert had a cup of coffee with the team and looked okay. If that is enough to take Nick Ealor's spot and

put up 60 points, I don't think it is. But I think Jonathan Taves with Adam Lowery being out potentially till December with that hip surgery in the off season, I think Jonathan Taves is the second line centre right now and where he plays out, you know, after that is interesting. I think they need Cole Profetti to take another step, which all indications are, uh, he's going to.

And then who plays that left wing, there's massive opportunity. And I'm not talking just about there's one or two roster spots. If you have an opportunity to make the top six in the Winnipeg Jets, I think you're doing everything you possibly can this off season to do it. And then there's a trade route as, as well. So, but I don't know if that'll be this off season. Like I don't know if Kevin Sheveldayev's gonna sort of run it out and look at it for 2025 games and then bring somebody in or what he's thinking there.

But those are just some of the options to him. But right now I can't tell you who's on that left side. Some of Pennsylvania, Brad Lambert, I look at Nyquist and you know, I know he didn't have a very good year last year, but he's playing a different role. He's two years removed from 75 points. But that's kind of what Kevin Sheveldaif has been doing with this top 10 team the past couple of seasons. And now the first place team in the regular season is trying to just fill holes

here and there and see what works. We're speaking to Jim Toth from CJ OB 680 in Winnipeg here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Hey Jim, does anyone have a real true sense of where Jonathan Taves' game is at or what can realistically be expected? I can't find one. Yeah, I couldn't either. I've been searching, you know, I know he's been skating in Arizona, I think at the university, they're with university players. I don't know where his game's at and we've been debating this for three months when he talked about making a comeback long before it was possibly with Winnipeg.

And I just said, I wouldn't doubt him, right? I think this is a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer. He's delaying that now by coming back to play. So that's the kind of, the Jonathan Tays I know is he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't fully believe that he could contribute, but contribute to what level? I don't know. We've sort of kicked it around for a couple of weeks now on the show and just said, I think if you get 40, 45 points from him, that's great.

Anything above that is a, is a bonus, but I have no idea where his game's at. I don't know anybody who, um, uh, has skated with him. I would imagine there's been some scouts go down to Arizona and watch that, but you know he's always been in phenomenal shape regardless of anything else and he's a driven athlete. He's one of those elite athletes that that handles pressure extremely well that goes into tough situations. He's the only player who's, I think, won World Junior Gold in January and then that later that year a World's Men's Championship only player who's why I think one world junior gold in, in January. And then that later that year, a world's men's championship, um, gold he's, you

know, UND product much like Brock Besser. And, and the story goes on, I don't have to give you guys his resume, but where his game is at, I have no idea. I do know that like he spoke on Friday and he said that there was a time where I didn't think that I would ever play again. And his ailment and COVID and everything else had derailed it. He said it was about a year, year and a half, I think. Don't quote me on that. But when he started doing this new herbal food that he's on and treatment, he said, is the first time that month to month I started getting better. So this is a guy who's

for a year tried to get better and wasn't even moving the needle a little bit. And then when he'd went this new direction, he started getting better on a month to month basis. And that's when the drive started going and him wanting to do this. So, you know, I'll give him credit. I think the Jonathan Taves, I know probably has a good season left in him.

But is it a great season? I don't know. What does it mean for the, the people of Winnipeg to have Jonathan Taves on the Jets? Well, it means everything. And I'll be honest with you guys, I knew this is a storyline, right? And I knew this was big.

I forgot about this as a national story. Like there was, there was a ton of media people here that usually aren't on Friday for this press conference. And I get it, right? It's a good story. Like there was, there was a ton of media people here that usually aren't on Friday for this press conference. And I get it, right? It's a good story. Athletes gone for two and a half years, weird, Arlman immune system stuff, and then comes back in and does it in his hometown. But I think you're, you, we have to, I forgot it's Jonathan Taves. It's a three time Stanley cup champion. It's Olympic gold medalist.

Remember those Vancouver Olympics guys? I think he was on the third or fourth line and by that gold medal game, he was up top. So this is a guy that can be a difference maker. And then you add in that he's from here. This is a massive story. Jersey's have been flying off the shelves. His parents were there. He's got a community center here that I take my kid to for some minor hockey games. His name is Jonathan Taves, you know, Arena. This is a massive story for this city. And Kevin Sheveldayoff told the story when the Jets came from Atlanta and he was hired that Mark Chipman asked him, you know, because he came from the Blackhawks organization, Sheveldayoff, and asked him, do you think Jonathan Taves would ever be a Winnipeg jet?

And he said, so, you know, 14 some years later, he texts Mark Chipman and says, Jonathan Taves, a Winnipeg jet a couple of weeks ago. So it means just even more to Mark Chipman and the organization, but the city, the province is abuzz with this news. And, um, I think, I think expectations have to be tempered.

There's a lot of people who think they're going to get Jonathan Daves of 10 years ago. Um, but, and I don't know if that's even possible, but if there is a guy that I think should put up 35, 40 points going through what he went through, um, there is a possibility cause it's him that could put up 60 he's, he's that good or was that good of a player, But it is resonating guys. I was taking him back. I knew this was going to be a big story.

I know Winter Pig fans desperately wanted this. And then when it happened on Friday, even I was taking it back a little bit about what a big, big national story this was. Was it a needed story for the team and the city and the fan base? I'm just wondering if there's any lingering disappointment from the playoffs, the Jets have such a good regular season and then go out in the second round. Yeah, well, what's lingering to me in this off season, gentlemen, is when you watch that

Florida Oilers series, that's a different level of hockey, right? Like that is, I mean, the Florida Panthers this year took the Oilers to the woodshed. And I mean that I know the Oilers won two games, but there wasn't a lot of times in those games where I felt the Oilers were in control. So that's the level they got to get to. And I think that's what's resonating with Jets fans is they like their team, their great regular season team again.

Connor Halabuck seemed to exercise some demons in that game seven against St. Louis after getting pumped on all three road games. And then he had a really good Dallas series. I do not fault him. I think he had one bad goal in that entire Dallas series. And then went to six games. Then you watch that game six with what Shifu was going through with his dad and

how the team galvanized around him and how you lost it in an elimination game. They faced Dallas in elimination twice. They shot them out at home and then they lost in overtime on a penalty kill. So I think that sort of tempered things around it, but they are desperate here. They are like, okay, like we saw some improvement this year, thankfully in the postseason, but what is next? Like what gets us over the hump? And then when you look at that Florida team, people wonder, right? Like, people start going, okay, do we have this? Do we have that?

That's all I've heard this off season on our show when we open the phones and stuff is Florida this, Florida that, like they compare the jets and how they're built to Florida. So I think they liked the Taves edition that way, but I do think they want another, fans want another top six forward and they want another top four DMIT. Jim, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We really appreciate it. Enjoy some time off during the summer, assuming you're gonna get some.

Let's do this again as we get closer to the start of next season. Yeah, anytime. And if you ever need a tour guide at Stampede, I have some connections. Okay, beautiful. That was the last thing we need right now. I think we're good for this year, but maybe next year. I actually, I take that back. I wouldn't recommend the last thing we need right now. I think we're good for this year, but maybe next year. I actually, I take that back. I wouldn't recommend my connections, but enjoy next time.

Thanks guys. Have a great week. Yeah, thanks Jim. Appreciate it. That's Jim Toth from CJOB 680 Radio in Winnipeg, host of the Jets at Noon here on the Health and Breast Show on Sportsnet 650. I like you wonder if there's going to be a trading window open up. I mean, it could be the rest of the summer in the NHL because it seems like 80% of the teams didn't

really get their needs met. Well, here, let me run through a couple right off the top. So, uh, Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking to add. And we talked about the Roslo sweepstakes, the Jack Roselvick sweepstakes earlier. Toronto's rumored to be in the running for Roslovich. He's buddies with Auston Matthews from back in the day and didn't know that. Anyway, the kicker is that Toronto has got to move some money out. So Elliott Friedman in the final 32 thoughts of the season, which dropped over the weekend,

said that they have to move like actually bodies out and money because they got to get the roster spots in the minutes available. So they're talking about maybe moving Kelly Yarncrook or David Kompf or something like that. Not huge moves, but moves that need to be done. Go to Florida right now. Currently, the Panthers are operating over the salary gather 2.95 million over the cap. A lot of people have pointed out, they're like, they've got Evan Rodriguez. He makes three million a year. Perfect candidate to get traded. Some have said, yeah, that might be the way that they go.

There might be a squeeze for minutes and everything, and a team could get Rodriguez, who's a pretty useful player. But there's also the possibility of them just sitting and waiting, seeing what's happened on the trade market. Maybe they open the season on LTIR or whatever. Matthew Kachak gets his surgery after the summer's done and then misses some time to start the year. But the point being is they've got a cap situation

they need to clean up and they might need to clean it up via trade. So you've got those kind of teams that need to clear up their money. Then you've got the teams that were left wanting after free agency. And I would put a lot of teams in that category. We already talked about Edmonton wanting to do something

in the goalie market and not being able to do it. Well, put the Canucks in there with, they wanted to. Canucks are right there. Never address that center position. Look at the Dallas Stars. I do wonder if the head coaching search and the need to fill that job kind of threw everything off kilter for them because the Jason Robertson trade rumblings came up and

then it just never materialized after that just sort of floated away into the ether all they really ended up doing there was resigning Matt Duchenne residing Jamie Bend and they still kind of in that position where and they lost Grandland I guess and if you can consider that a loss for them yeah and I guess Cody Cece to a lesser degree. So the point being is they never really made a move that you would say, well, here's a team that has gotten to the Western Conference Finals

repeatedly, can't get over the hump, wants to get over that hump, but hasn't made a move of significance yet. So I would throw them in that category as well. Go down the list. There's a lot of teams that I think left unfulfilled from free agency,'s a lot of teams that I think left unfulfilled from free agency.

And a lot of teams that either were looking to take the next step or looking to take a step and just didn't get it done. And I do wonder if the answer for a lot of these teams is, let's start calling each other and see if we can make a deal. A good old fashioned hockey trade, if you will. What did the Minnesota Wild end up doing? Off the top of my head, did they do anything?

Not a whole heck of a lot there. Do you remember they're like, we finally got cap space, what are we going to do? Cause Marco Rossi is still there. So if they keep him in some form, some of that cap space is going to be chewed up there. But you know, that's, I don't know. They got, it just seems like there's a lot of teams out there that

talked a big game because they knew that there was going to be cap space available and they had needs and they wanted to do something big and bold. And then everyone was just like, ah, too hard. Couldn't do it because they were willing to trade futures. A lot of teams were willing to trade futures, draft picks and some futures did get traded.

You look at Montreal, right? They traded two first round picks to New York for Noah Dobson. But a lot of teams, a lot of other teams weren't really interested in futures. You know, the Islanders, I wouldn't call them sellers like Pittsburgh is, but I think with Lulam leaving and new management coming in and that team just having stagnated, they wanted to make changes and bring in some young talent,

which they certainly did, including the first overall pick, but also the 16th and the 17th. Three top 20 picks in a single draft. But there really weren't enough teams out there like them that were in that mode, which left so many teams wanting. So now it's just a matter of, can you, can you make it, can you make the matches?

Now the problem I see it as it's, it's still, I don't see a lot of centers available. Nope. And that's what a lot of teams want. You're just talking about the Winnipeg Jets. Like Adam Lowry is out for a while. Yep. Right.

Hip surgery, I think. That's right. It's Jonathan Taves going to a while. Yep. Right? Uh, hip surgery, I think. That's right. Uh, it's Jonathan Tave's going to be your 2C. Really? Jonathan Tave's the guy who hasn't played in the league for a while. It sounds like that's what they're going to open with too.

Which is crazy. That's your plan? Yeah. Well, you know, you mentioned Minnesota real quick, what they did do is sit and wait. Cause they've got the Marco Rossi situation they need to clear up, but they said that's not even their number one priority.

The number one priority is getting Kaprizov done because he's eligible on July 1 and they said that extension could get high as 14 million AAV so that's obviously a complicated deal to get done. Okay before we go to break a fitting segue I need to tell you about the BC Lions July 27th bring the family to celebrate generations of Lions fans at the family traditions game. As your lions take on the tie cats, get your tickets at bclions.com. Now speaking of those BC lions,

we're going to talk to JC Abbott coming up on the other side of the break from three down nation in the wake of a huge win for the lions on the weekend in Montreal is Sean white walkoff field goal for a 21 to 20 victory. Oh, and there was a huge fight in the aftermath. So there's lots to get into with JC Abbott. That's all coming up next on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.