Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Canucks Are Going Hog Wild

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at a very busy weekend in sports including a big Canucks win and an even bigger Canucks signing (3:00), plus the boys go around the NHL with Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas (25:04). 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.

Whoa! Wait a minute. Huh? Hold up. What? Oh, okay. Did we just lose to the f***ing Canucks? You're listening to Halford & Brough. Kick is blocked. It's picked up and run it the other way. Oh my word. Played it down the wall for Hoaglander in front for Heinen

and it beats. He scores. Honestly, when it gets hard is when it becomes the most fun. As you mature as a player, you enjoy it being hard. You have to embrace

the hardness. It's going to get really hard but I thought you mature as a player, you enjoy it being hard. You have to embrace the hardness. It's going to get really hard. But I thought in the second and third, we started to come. Good morning, Vancouver 601. On a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. This is Halford and his bruv. It is Sportsnet 650.

The show did not change over the weekend. 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. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Breath 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 Hour One of the program. Hour One is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling. They recycle.

You get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec. So, yesterday, on the old Twitter machine, made a joke. I said, it feels like there's almost, almost too much sports right now.

Feels like there's a lot going on right now. And you know why? It's because there is. Everything is happening in the world of sports right now. It's a beautiful time to be alive. It's just a little more difficult than usual to cover all of it so yesterday i'm like wake up in the morning i'm trying to watch the footy yeah canucks are making trades then we get into some baseball and some football let's not forget well i mean the

toughest thing about putting a show together too is what to put first, what to possibly ignore if you have to ignore something. So we've put together the hierarchy of things of importance. It's been very tough, but we will start with the Whitecaps 1-0 loss to Minnesota United. Where else do you begin? Where else do you begin? We have a lot to get into on the show today, okay? We're going to try and get to everything that

happened in a absolutely awesome weekend of sports and it rolls on to today because there's a ton of stuff happening today as well uh 6 30 kyle bukakis is gonna join the program uh he host of the 32 thoughts podcast with elliot friedman bukakis i said his name wrong okay you're really getting close no i'm not it's not gonna happen don't, I'm not. It's not going to happen. No, I'm not. You'll get in his head. Kyle Bukaskis from the 32 Thoughts podcast. I left out an S. That's all. That's all.

Just left out an S. Never do that again. It's getting real close. It's not. It is not. Keep going. Promise it won't happen. Kyle will join us. Kyle B. Kyle B from the 32 Thoughts podcast. No, that's too obvious. Is going to join us. Hey, Moukaskis.

They recorded overnight. They have updates on the Jeremy Swayman contract resolution in Boston. Thoughts on the first two games? Yeah, in case you didn't see it, NHL season's already underway. Buffalo Sabres already stink. We'll talk to Kyle B. about that at 6.30. 7 o'clock, Mike Tanney, our NFL insider, from the 2 Deep Zone,

another wild day in the National Football League. That was one of the more maddening performances from the Seattle Seahawks in recent memory. What a disaster. What a nightmare. Where did their offensive line go? Has it ever shown up? We'll talk to Mike about that

and everything else that happened in the NFL. We'll also look ahead to Monday Night Football. You got the Saints, you got the Chiefs, and a tantalizing affair tonight on Monday Night Football. 7.30, another Mike. It's Mike Monday here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Mike Keenan is going to join the program. Former head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

I'm not sure if you are all aware that he coached in Vancouver for a couple of years. We'll talk to Mike. He's got a new memoir out. We'll talk to him about that, and we'll talk to him about his time in Vancouver, talk to him about his coaching career. I'm going to check in on his health. He underwent some pretty significant surgery this summer,

so we'll talk to Mike Keenan at 7.30. It's not going to be combative either. What happened in Vancouver between Mike Keenan and the Canucks happened, frankly, now it's a long time ago. What happened? I don't know. Did something bad happen? So, Bruff's texting me over the weekend, and he's like,

can you get me up to speed on this Mike Keenan era? I was like, yeah, yeah, we can do that. You're like, it's all kind of a blur. It's kind of a blur to me because I kind of checked out on the Canucks during the Keenan and Messier era and all that sort of stuff. I was just like, yeah. So to me, that whole era is just like, Keenan was there, Messier was there,

Lyndon wasn't there anymore, and that's kind of like the story. So I'm glad you brought this up. I was like, and they weren't very good. Because it was 30 years ago. Yeah, it was a while ago. It's almost 30 years ago. There are some people I know have got all the details screwed up. All, it was a while ago. It's almost 30 years ago. There are some people I know

have got all the details screwed up. All of it. Like the timeline, the chronology, who was coaching when, who caused what. I've had some people tell me some wild stuff. They were like, did you know that Mike Keenan fired Tom Rennie? I'm like, that's not how it happened.

Jim Benning should never have hired Mike Keenan. Massive mistake. Yet another mistake. But the Benning bros loved it. There were a lot of characters all overlapping. Quinn, Keenan, Rennie, Burke, Buray, all of them.

Linden, Messier, all these guys were there at the same time. So we'll talk to Mike Keenan about that at 7.30, 8 o'clock. Kevin Woodley, NHL.com and InGoal Magazine. We'll do our usual goalie rundown. We'll go around the NHL and look at some big stories. We'll talk a lot of Canucks as well because the Canucks made some moves of significance on the weekend.

So working in reverse on the guest list, 8 o'clock, Kevin Woodley, 7.30, Mike Keenan, 7 o'clock, Mike Tanier, 6.30, Kyle Bukaskis is going to join the program. That's what's happening on the program today. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened?

I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? 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.

With all due respect to Jason's clever gag off the top, we are not going to start with the Whitecaps' loss to Minnesota United over the weekend at BC Place. Instead, we're going to start with your Vancouver Canucks. This is your home of the Canucks Sportsnet 650. Chef Alvin, Patrick Alvin, kept cooking over the weekend, made a pretty significant trade, even though most of the parties involved may never play for their new NHL clubs. The Vancouver Canucks acquired defenseman Eric Brandstrom

from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Tucker Pullman, more specifically the contract of Tucker Pullman, and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. Almost immediately after acquiring Brandstrom, more specifically the contract of Tucker Pullman and a fourth round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. Almost immediately after acquiring Brownstrom, they waived him for the purposes of sending him to AHL Abbotsford. So this was one of those math trades. A lot of math involved. There's even when they retain 20% on Tucker Pullman

and there's a lot of math going around. It's good math, friend. By trading Pullman, the Canucks's a lot of math going around. It's good math friend. By trading Pullman the Canucks will not have to use LTIR to start the season which means they can so here's the word of

the the year accrue accrue. There's a lot of there's a lot of accruing the Canucks want to accrue cap space. My crew, your crew,

my crew. They can accrue some cap space through the season that could in theory be deployed at the trade deadline or even earlier. Brandstrom could also be a useful depth addition, even though they're going to send him right down to Abbotsford.

Assuming he clears waivers, he may not. It wasn't too long ago that he was a big part of the Mark Stone trade between Ottawa and Vegas. Ottawa sent Mark Stone to Vegas and Vegas said, Hey, we got this good young defenseman. You want him? They're like, yeah, we want him. Obviously he didn't pan out for the senators

like they hoped they would. The senators actually let Branstrom walk this summer because he was arbitration eligible and made $2 million last season. Then he signed a one-year deal for like, what, $900,000 with Colorado and apparently didn't impress very much at camp. Yeah, never participated in a regular season contest as a member of the Colorado.

Yeah, actually we want this guy's salary. So it's a bit of an odd situation because Pullman's traded by the Canucks because the Canucks don't want to go into LTIR. But Pullman works for the Avs, his contract, because they want the optimal LTIR capture. Yeah. Even Rick Tockett yesterday, like I feel good about this because even Rick Talkett after practice,

they were talking about the decisions that need to be made with Patrick Alveen and Jim Rutherford. He said they're all going to get together and they're going to go through the decision-making process. And then he's like, all this LTR stuff. You missed the I. LTIR. All this LTR stuff. You missed the I. LTI-R. All this LTR stuff is kind of above me,

but we got some decisions to make. Yeah. I mean, the cap calisthenics at the beginning of the season are always drancy. Yeah, it's a little dry, right? I mean, if you want to know the Coles Notes version, the Canucks wanted to move Pullman's money. They wanted to free it up.

They were able to free it up. It cost them a fourth round pick in the upcoming draft, but it also allowed them to take a flyer on a guy that does have good draft pedigree. That's a pretty Coles Notes, bare bones, stripped down version. They retained 20% of Pullman's contract too, I believe. That's correct. 20% of Pullman's. So not all of his contract, but most of it.

Just like the first three letters of Pullman or something like that. Right. That's what they were taking. Yeah. Anyway, if you want to look at it in terms of how it sets him up for the season, nicely, because of the ability to not have to start the season on LTIR. And everyone is very happy with the work that Patrick Alvin did here. And everyone seems very happy with a lot of the work that Patrick Alvin has done,

including his second move of the day, which was signing Nils Hoaglander to a three year, $9 million contract extension, average annual value of 3 million going from being one of the lowest paid forwards on the team to a notch above. I didn't realize that this was in the works. I guess it kind of makes sense because he was going into the final year of a deal that he was already on.

And it seems as though Hoaglander gets rewarded for a good regular season last year and coming into camp this year in tip-top shape and having a very good training camp in preseason. Should we read the quote? We always read the quote. He also got a quote. Well, this is definitely a quote-worthy contract. And in the press release, Patrick Alveen said,

we were all impressed with the way Nils came into training camp and approached the preseason. His work ethic, tenacity, and motor have helped him establish himself as an NHL player. And we feel with our continued support and development, he has a lot more room to grow both on and off the ice. So by all accounts, including this one, but Rick Talkett has also talked about it.

Hoaglander showed up to camp in terrific shape. We'll see where he starts the season, but it'll probably, probably be on the third line with Connor Garland in the spot where Dakota Joshua would usually be on the left wing. Maybe Atu Ratu at center. Now when Joshua is back and hopefully he's back soon, who knows where Hoaglander ends up.

That might depend on other players like Daniel Sprung and how well he gets along with, uh, Petey and DeBrusque. Um, ideally big picture wise, ideally Hoaglander plays so well that he demands a spot in the top six and gives the Canucks tremendous value over the next four years.

But even if he tops out as a guy that's just doing his job and doing it well as a third liner, the contract is fair value. And we got him locked up now for the next four years because he's got one year left on his current deal. This is a three-year extension. I like the deal. I like the decision. The Canucks all of a sudden, though, have a bunch of wingers locked up now, right?

They do. I wonder what Brock Besser is thinking. You've got to score 50 this year. That's a whole separate issue, but it is one that is really going to score 50. It is one going to be that's that's going to be facing the Canucks this season, because I wonder with Besser if they have to make a decision before the trade deadline. Yeah, I mean, the deals aren't onerous or anything. So they're all very flexible and dare I say movable. I think with Hoaglander, it was funny because when we were talking a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about who is this a make or break season for anyone on the Canucks? And we kind of said,

not in the classic traditional, like pressure situation sense. If pod goals was still here, it would have been him because he's his NHL career is hanging on a lifeline. But then we started, we dovetailed off into a conversation about Hoaglander. And we said, well,

in terms of guys that have something to prove this year, he's definitely high on that list because of how sour things went in the postseason where the production dried up and then he was a healthy scratch and you just wondered where he sat among the coaching staff like what the coaching staff thought about him after that postseason and more importantly how he was going to respond to some adversity after a good year right well he definitely ticked the boxes early by as mentioned in the quote coming in in terrific shape and really impressing in the preseason every time i watched him in the preseason yes it was the preseason but he looked like he had a ton of energy and looked highly

effective his goals are going to be trying one match what you did in the regular season last year and then two when the playoffs come around be a much more effective and trustworthy player, I would say. Those are the two big goals for him now. And he's been given the financial reward to go and do that. So today at 2 o'clock our time, that's the deadline to submit rosters for the NHL season. The Canucks practiced on Sunday and Garland wasn't there. If you're asking like who stays and who goes,

it's a very complicated question. Mike and I don't have all the injury information. A lot of moving parts. At hand. The Garland thing doesn't seem serious though. Yeah. Just get that out of the way. There are just going to be some decisions that they have to make,

some based on health, some based on waivers, some based on how many players, like the actual number of players they want to have on their opening night roster. You know, like they might get Yuri Patera back because he's back on waivers now because Boston solved their Swayman problem, so they put Patera back on waivers,

so they might have him back. But here's how it looked at practice. Again, no, no Garland. So Suter, who's also, was he wearing a red,

no contact Jersey, right? So he's hurt, but he was practicing. Right. He was on a line with Ratu and Hoaglander. Um, DeBrusque,

DeBrusque was with Pedersen and Sprong. Heinen was with Miller and, uh, Besser. Nils Amon was with Pedersen and Sprong. Heinen was with Miller and Besser. Nils Amon was with Bluger and Sherwood. And then Baines was the extra skater. They had eight defensemen. The extras were Friedman and Juleson. We don't know if they're going to keep eight defensemen, seven defensemen,

12 forwards, 13 forwards, 14 forwards, three goalies. I don't know what they're going to do. And some of the transactions might be paper transactions when they actually submit their roster. Like, Ratu might get sent down. Baines might get sent down. But they might be back pretty soon. And the same goes with Seeloffs. I don't know how they're going to submit this roster.

But, you know, I think it's a good problem to have because if they send down, for example, Baines, people would be like, he deserves to be on the – did you see him? He was scoring goals in the preseason. He looked good. But Rick Tockett said yesterday, he's like, look, you just have a conversation with these guys.

You explain the situation. They know it's a business. They know there are these, like, some people would say like, oh, if you don't find room for Ratu and Baines, it's like, it sends a bad message. I'm like, no, not if you explain it. Like, this is a situation. And, you know, we like Nils Amon and we don't want to expose him to waivers because we think we might lose him and we want to keep Nils Amon.

Do you not like Nils Amon? Autoratu? You know, that's, so the Canucks have a very deep forward group and that's going to be hopefully one of their strengths this season. So there are tough decisions to make and sometimes just whether or not they are eligible for waivers is a factor in that decision. Okay, let's keep firing through some of the big stories from the weekend. And the next one, it's an ugly one. It's the Seattle Seahawks and Laddie. I'll get you to get the audio ready here because it was a weekend, an entire week of blocked field goals in the National Football League.

But none of them perhaps as profound as the one at the end of the Giants-Seahawks game. This is Bryce Ford Wheaton, he of the hyphenated surname, returning a block by Isaiah Simmons. One of the best kick blocks you will see or hear in this instance. Here is the Giants sealing their win against the Seahawks on Sunday with a blocked field goal. This to tie the game at 23 and it's blocked. Isaiah Simmons and picked up by Bryce Ford Wheaton and he is going to go. 29 to 20 the final.

It was 23-20 with Jason Myers lining up to kick what would have been a game-tying field goal. I'm not sure if you saw the blog. I believe you were on the golf course and you texted me while listening to it. I was listening to it. One of the more athletic things I've seen on an NFL field. Isaiah Simmons, who was put in because he's such a freaky athlete. He can run fast and he can jump high. He did both in this instance.

He leapt over. Pushed down. Nope. he didn't push down nope that was the so the nfl released the ruling afterwards because if he pushed down but you're allowed to push down no that's called leverage you get a penalty and that's pushing down on your player isn't it you can't push down on the off he just jumped i it was remarkable what he did he leapt some people are going to say there was contact yeah Yeah, there was contact, but he leapt. It was pretty damn impressive to see what he did. So they were having the debate over whether it was legal. At any rate,

I don't even care about that because it never should have been to that point. It never, it honestly never should have been to that point. And from Mike McDonald to Gino Smith, everyone on the Seahawks was like, yeah, we were bad. Mike McDonald said they outplayed us today.

Uh, Gino Smith said we played bad. Mike McDonald said they outplayed us today. Gino Smith said we played bad. That's the reality. Played bad. I don't think we executed well. I thought we came out slow. That's now not how we want to start. Turn the ball over, not finishing drives.

I mean, all of the above, that will get you beat in the NFL on any given Sunday. The Seahawks were not good. And for me, I know you want to still talk about this blocked field goal or whatever. Like it doesn't, like it should. I don't want to argue in the first place. It should have never, it should have never gotten to that point. No.

At all. The Seahawks were what? Seven point favorites. And the Giants come in there with Daniel Jones and missing a couple of their weapons on offense and control the ball. The key stat for me was time of possession, 37-22 to 22-38 for the Giants. Now, granted, sometimes you lose the time of possession battle

because you're too efficient on offense. We're scoring too fast. We're scoring too fast. And then this was not the case for the Seahawks, who didn't play well on either side of the ball, especially given the opposition. And, you know, I was willing to give them a pass for the loss in Detroit, especially on the defensive side of the ball, because I think you've got a very creative Detroit Lions team that was playing at home. They were very motivated to beat the Seahawks.

And the Seahawks had a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. So he went, okay, you know, it wasn't good defensively, but tough opposition, tough situation, come home and beat the Giants. That was concerning against the Giants. I thought, so I said it after the Lions game. I said, I know that they've got injuries on defense, but I remember asking Brady Henderson and we talked about it. I said, I feel like this is more than just missing some personnel on defense. When Jared Goff goes a perfect 18 for 18 against you and you don't breathe on him all day, there's something more than just not having a couple of your pass rushers and a couple couple guys in the secondary available. I think there's something fundamentally flawed. They gave up 420 yards to a Giants offense that wasn't very good to begin with

and was without Malik Nabors, their star-wide receiver, and without Devin Singletary, their starting running back. They got dominated again, and their defense cannot get the opposing offense off the field, much like the problem was in Detroit. And I would say right now, Mike McDonald, who is a defensive guru and who is responsible for the majority of this unit, has some major questions to answer.

Because in the first three weeks of the season, he didn't go up against great offenses. Then he went up against one in Detroit. Then he went up against a mediocre one. And it seems like the defense is going in the wrong direction here and now the offense wasn't great yesterday either no but at least they put some points on the board late well they can't run the ball or they refuse to run the ball that was weird the offensive line i don't know what was going on with the offensive play calling because you came off a monday night game against detroit where ken walker got back in

the lineup and looked great. He looked dynamic. Three rushing touchdowns. They couldn't get anything going on the ground. And now they've got a game in four days. They play on Thursday night against a Niners team who also suffered a very disappointing, dare I say, embarrassing loss. Also a loss with a blocked field goal in it. The Seahawks are still first place in the division. I know.

That is crazy. They're 3-2. And then the Niners and the Cards are 2-3, and then the Rams are what, 1-4? Rams are 1-4. They lost again yesterday. So this is a massive game for both the Seahawks and the 49ers on Thursday night.

Massive game for the division. Yeah. Nothing in the end zone. I mean, the Cardinals could win this division. Kyle Murray looks good. Oh, yeah. Did you see him yesterday when he ran for that touchdown? He got a step past his defender and then pointed to the end zone

because he knew he was going to score and he was still 50 yards away. That's awesome. He is the fastest guy alive. Okay, we didn't get into everything. We didn't get into the Lions and we didn't get into the Whitecaps, although we did pass along the score of the Whitecaps game. So I'll do it for the Lions. Kudos to the BC Lions.

Wasn't pretty on Friday night, but they got the job done with a win over the Calgary Stampeders, 32-15. A couple big defensive scores in the second half paved the way for the Lions there. So we will get into everything else on this show as it goes along. But coming up, Kyle Bukoskis is going to join us from the 32 Thoughts podcast.

We'll go around the National Hockey League, talk about the Swayman situation in Boston, now resolved, and the start of the NHL season, not good for Buffalo. They lose their first two games in Prague. Lots more to get to on the show. Don't go anywhere you're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks.

Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the postgame show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. 6.30 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in 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 hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling. They recycle. You get paid. Visit them at

1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. To the phone lines we go. Our next guest joins us now, Kyle Bukoskis, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650, host of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Good morning, Kyle. How are you? Morning, gents. Doing good. How's everyone's Mondays going so far?

We were parsing through everything that happened in the world of sports over the weekend. There was a lot that went on. We managed to get to the NFL, the NHL, CFL, MLS, which was very important. We led the show with that. And now we're going to turn our attention to everything else that happened in the National Hockey League, non-Canucks related. Let's start in Boston. The Swayman saga now over.

And I know you guys released a 32 Thoughts podcast over the weekend about this. What did you and Elliot have to say on Boston and Swayman saga now over. And I know you guys released a 32 Thoughts podcast over the weekend about this. What did you and Elliot have to say on Boston and Swayman mending fences and coming to an agreement? 66 million reasons to stay in Boston. Yes, up from 64, right? And that was kind of the big thing that, you know, we talked about it on the podcast that came out this morning. And, you know, because it was clear that the Bruins very publicly drew their line in the sand last week when Ken Neely referenced 64 million.

And, you know, it was kind of widely known, at least earlier on in the negotiations, that Swayman was hoping for something a little closer to $9 million per year. And so now with those numbers out there, ultimately where the number was at, if it was over $64 million, well, the Bruins caved. And if it was nowhere near $9 million, well, clearly Swayman caved. I think ultimately, you know, I'm a huge Jeremy Swayman guy. I'm a big believer in his ability as a goalie, not that I'm an expert in that position by any stretch of the imagination, but the way he goes about things and his personality, I think there's great staying power with his whole package that he's got there.

But I think for him, probably a little bit less than he hoped. Clearly the Bruins stretch things a little bit further. That's usually the sign of a good negotiation. Of course, as the time was going on and all that happened a week ago, you wondered, okay, was this able to get back on track again? Had it gone too far with what had been put out there publicly. And I think ultimately the goaltender, it was kind of in his hands to go, do I want to sit back down and try to hammer this out again, or is it time to move on to something else?

And clearly his answer is evident now in putting pen to paper. And I think ultimately this is where he wanted to be. He is a Bruin. I believe this is, he totally fits that mold there as well. But, you know, having a few days to kind of take a breather and get to the point where, you know, both sides were ready to go at it again. But I do believe that it was ultimately spurred by the player there to make that decision.

So it's a great deal of money. And I know if you look at the total workload career games played, there isn't as much there on his resume compared to others that may have been in that situation previous around the league. But I fully believe that there's a great opportunity for this to look like a really good contract, you know, for both sides, but also allow the Bruins here as time goes on and the salary cap we expect

to continue to increase, to continue to make their team competitive, all while building around a franchise goaltender on top of their franchise defenseman in Charlie McAvoy and their big-time superstar forward in David Pasternak. So Vancouver also made a deal of significance over the weekend yesterday, as a matter of fact, and while a large chunk of it was moving Tucker Pullman's contract, there was a return for the Canucks, and it's Eric Branstrom, an interesting player because of his high draft pedigree.

And he has played a lot of NHL games, the majority of them, actually all of them, in Ottawa. Can you let our listeners know what the Canucks or this organization, if he gets down to Abbotsford, are getting in Eric Brandstrom. Yeah, you know, another good person, got a lot of time for, and I've always felt that, you know, he was put in a poor situation here in Ottawa through zero fault of his own, right from the get-go. I still think of that press conference trade deadline, I guess that would have been 2019, right? The deal, Mark Stone going to Vegas,

which of course had folks here in Ottawa furious at the time. And Eric Branstrom was the big name coming back as he was a young prospect back then. And Pierre Dorian sitting down at the press conference table there and just waxing poetic about the player that they were getting. And he said things like, you know, I wish I could put all of our fans in a plane this weekend and we could all go watch Eric play in Chicago in the American League.

And so everyone can get a firsthand look of the kind of prospect we now have in our organization. And just right away, just this incredible pressure put on the kid to, you know, make this trade look good from an Ottawa perspective. You know, he's a smaller guy, solid guy for sure, but only 5'10". You know, he's got some shifty moving abilities in how he skates and can walk the blue line that can get himself out of trouble at times but I mean you look even in Ottawa didn't put up a ton offensively there were times where he had you know troubles sticking in the lineup and and part of it is you know it

was because of who was playing ahead of him you know he wasn't going to play first power play ahead of Thomas Chabot. And then certainly when Jake Sanderson came into the fold, that only mitigated kind of the offensive situations he would have put in even further. And the fact that he's not built for, you know, a typical third pairing heavy walk, clear the front of the net type guy, you know, he was kind of caught in limbo a little bit in terms of

finding a role and an identity in the top six with the Senators. So, you know, I'm curious to see where Vancouver ultimately sees a fit for him and assuming he doesn't get sent down to Abbotsford, you know, at least allows him to get his footing under him and hopefully get comfortable and then be put in some situations where his confidence can grow there. But I would project that this could be a guy that could be a good, you know, stopgap option for the big club if needed throughout the season. But, you know, with who Vancouver's already got back there on the blue line, it's hard right now to envision a scenario where, hey,

maybe this guy works his way into a job where he's a seven on the team here moving forward. But a little bit of extra depth on the blue line is never a poor thing, certainly for a team with deep playoff aspirations when it comes time for that this season. But he is a guy that just has struggled to be put in a role in the NHL level that totally suits, I would say, what his skill set is when he's at his best. I mean, if we're being honest, the strange part isn't that Ottawa walked.

Maybe they took a long enough look at him and decided that it wasn't the right fit. But he signed in Colorado this offseason. He spent a grand total of three preseason games with the Avs before they made their move. So, I mean, is there a one major knock on Braunstrom, or is it just that, like what you said, maybe just not necessarily the right fit for where he's been slotted in sometimes? Yeah, I think it's his his attributes his skill set is

certainly more offensive and you know even in colorado too like he he wasn't going to be um put in in enough of those situations where you really see the benefit i think of of of how he plays um and and i will say even for for a smaller guy he's not adverse to putting himself in harm's way for the betterment of the team. He's a brave player, I would say, in that sense. But you haven't seen enough over the years from a defensive standpoint that I think as a coach in Ottawa, whether it was DJ Smith for a long time and Jacques Martin the second half of last year, where you're going, yeah, you know what, we want to move him up the depth chart a little bit

and to give him a little bit more of an opportunity to blossom in an offensive role. And you've got to think that that would have been a similar feeling in Colorado because I thought the same thing too, guys, right? It was like, okay, already Colorado was prepared to move on here. So I wish him the best. I hope he does well and, as I say, finds his game again, assuming it's an Abbotsford here for the time being. But, yeah, he's just unfortunately been a player that just hasn't had the exact type of attributes

that has left a team or a coaching staff yet going, yeah, this is where we want him and this is the proper spot that will allow him to be at his best over the course of an entire year. What do you think of the Sens' chances of making the playoffs this season, Kyle? There's a bit of an added curiosity here in Vancouver because Travis Green is the new head coach there. Yeah, I think he's the right guy for where they're at. They seem to have set the tone that they've wanted here coming out of the gate. Of course, you're always cautious at this time of year

because everyone is feeling good. Everyone, for the most part, feels they had a good training camp and a productive preseason. I will say, guys, I'm not huge on the prediction thing, but we went through all the teams in the NHL on the podcast today, kind of a yes-no. Are they going to be in the playoffs? Are they not?

And so Elliott, of course, he was right out of the gate of preseason. He was on national TV saying the Sens are going to be in, so he had to say yes to them being in. I said no. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but I just said no. And my only real concern is how that defense comes together. It's been a sticking point, of course, for a number of years. Lena Salmar definitely changes the equation in a big way. But, I mean, it's good to see a guy like Josh Norris

get through a couple of preseason games, look good, doesn't look tentative. So if that continues and he's not playing with any hesitation because he can let it fly when he's going, right? 35 goals a couple years ago and only played, I think, 66 games that year. So he was on track to potentially hit 40 um so he's he's got the game to to inflict you know real damage with with the puck on his stick and if he gets back to that you know that's another element that they've been missing here the last little while but i wasn't totally sold on things and maybe part of it is

just for the last few years i feel it's been a similar feeling coming into the year of like, this is where they take a step. This is, you know, where they're going to, at least if they're not in the playoffs, they're right down to the wire in the mix. And the slow starts have killed them. They've been forced to play from behind in the standings, and they just can't quite make up ground.

So I would say over the last three seasons, this is the best chance they, they do have at getting in, but, um, also just being mindful of the other teams, not only in the East, but just in their division that are trying to do the same thing. Uh, it's, it's going to be a real challenge. I know I'm interviewing you and not Elliot, but I'm curious who Elliot has falling out of the playoffs or how did you, did you like keep track of your picks to make sure that you didn't have like

22 teams go into the playoffs or cause I'm just wondering like, would he, would he go five playoff teams from the Atlantic and maybe three from the Metro? Because I think we'd all be curious to see. Yeah, right. Okay. So he's, he's still got Florida, Boston, Toronto, and Tampa. They're all making the playoffs then? Correct, yeah. So we both had those four.

I had Detroit getting in. He had Ottawa. Those were our fourth picks in the Atlantic. And then in the Metro, we both went, I believe, Carolina, Rangers, and Devils. That was where we were at. And then we had a tougher time kind of at the bottom part, like who those two wild card spots may end up being in the West. I think he went Winnipeg and Utah, and I took Minnesota and L.A.

But anyway, as I say, it's like how can you really know at this point? You make your best educated guess, but gosh, it's so hard to predict, which is typically why I like to avoid these things. But for the betterment of the pod, I played along. I noticed there was no mention of the Buffalo Sabres making the playoffs there. Maybe that was a wise decision after watching them start the season in Prague. Yeah, it's like it was almost cheating after seeing those first two games and now making the decisions.

But, yeah, it's, gosh, that was tough to watch. And I watched some of those games there Friday, Saturday. It's funny, my dad flew out from Vancouver Island last week finishing up a deck project in the backyard. We started back in July and just weren't able to get it over the finish line. So, so much of my days last week were outside trying to get that done so i didn't get to see as much hockey as i i would have liked but man just going back through those those first two uh tough out of the the gates i mean the devils you can see that i looked like a team that you know had a good

off season that's healthy again um Happy about their goaltending scenario. And just showed shades of a team that, you know, they were going, hey, let's not forget two years ago, we were a pretty damn good team for those that are still around, right? Like you could see that Juju starting to come back already for them and the way they moved the puck around. But on the Sabres side of things, like, gosh, because there's all,

you know, if things go sideways again, there's going to be some real change. I know, you know, what's old is new again behind the bench, but some substantial change you've got to think will be coming if they're not able to right the ship here. And it's just amazing how, you know, the pressure ramps up so quickly. And again, you you know going back to ottawa two years ago remember all the hype after like the brinkett trade and they went oh and two out of the gate um and you could feel it already around town that it was like here we go again

um and i think for the sabers it's it's very much the the same thing and they haven't even played a regular season game in north america yet so uh yeah So, yeah, it's a reminder of how quickly the heat can get ratcheted up in the NHL for teams in certain situations if success is not rampant early. What makes you optimistic about Detroit? I think, you know, watching the way a guy like Lucas Raymond came really into his own down the stretch last year, and I would say, I mean, maybe aside from Dylan Larkin, but was their best player over the last, what, 20 games there as they tried to nearly get in

and just missed out by, you know, a tiebreaker to Washington on the final day of the season. I know it's all a clean slate and everything starts fresh here now, dismissed out by, you know, a tiebreaker to Washington on the final day of the season. Now, I know it's all a clean slate and everything starts fresh here now. And the questions about, you know, goaltending and all that, they didn't look particularly great in the preseason. But, you know, I just I feel one of those teams are in the Atlantic that have been kind of working their way up slowly but surely over the last four or five years. You know, just like Meritsider, a year older, got all that contract stuff sorted out.

I think there's just a feel because, again, how can you really know? But as part of those young players, you know, having another year under their belt, um, I think will, will help them. And, uh, that's kind of why I'm, I'm leaning, I was leaning that way when we made our picks, uh, here over the weekend. Does, um, I, I don't watch the Red Wings a ton being here in Vancouver. Um, so I don't want to like dismiss any of their players. And I know Lucas raymond is a is a good young player and so is marit cider do any of those guys have superstar potential like you know winning major awards you know do they have that potential because i sometimes look at that roster and go

yeah they got they got some good players but i don't do they have those elite players at the key positions? Yeah, I think I would say Sider could get there. Who knows about Raymond? Winning major awards, maybe not quite, but certainly when it comes time to select, pick your all-star lineups at the end of the season, he could be in that conversation. But even the fact that they brought Patrick Kane back for one more year, Vlad Tarasenko as well,

and it was interesting because he started last year in Ottawa too. I remember when they made that signing and you hear some of the things about how it ended in St. Louis and that, you know, maybe he wasn't the best influence in the dressing room. But the guys in Ottawa really liked him and then goes down to Florida and seemed to have, you know, one one critical goal or big moment per series on their route to a Stanley Cup. And the relationship that he has with Kane there when they played with the Rangers for a brief spell of time there a couple of seasons ago, I think that helps their depth a little bit. But I would say, like, you know, like Sider is – Sider would be one for me I'd be looking at

to kind of answer your first question there. I just think a guy like Lucas Raymond could just be similar to a Dylan Larkin where he can have some really solid years offensively, but still maybe a notch or a rung below the guys that are really in the conversation for the top awards around the league. Kyle, this was great as always. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Enjoy the league. Kyle, this was great, as always. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Enjoy the rest of the week.

Good luck with the deck project if it's not finished. We'll do this again next Monday. Awesome. Looking forward to it. Have a great week, guys. Thank you. Thanks, Kyle. You too. Thanks, Kyle Bukoskis, Sportsnet NHL host,

co-host of the 32 Thoughts podcast here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Speaking of those Detroit Red Wings, did you see who they placed on waivers over the weekend? Justin Hull. Yeah. Remember him? Because he signed a three-year deal.

I remember when he would trend on my Twitter pretty much every day because he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. And then he went to Detroit and they're like, you know what? We can fix him. We can make him a valuable part of our blue line. Three-year deal. $3.4 million cap hit on waivers. Yet. we can fix them. We can make them a valuable part of our blue line. Three year deal, $3.4 million cap hit on waivers. Yet.

Ethan Baer's on waivers too. Yeah, you know who else is on waivers? Pierre Engvall. Yeah, that's crazy, man. He's got like six years left on his deal. Justin Hall's like, you know, no worry about my deal. Look at the one that Engvall signed. He's got six years left on a seven year deal and he's on waivers.

He was just like, anybody want this deal? Anyone? I did enjoy all the memes of Kyle Dubas working both phones to get Justin Holl and Pierre Engvall back in the mix because he loves them so much. Yeah, there were some notable things that happened over the weekend on waivers. So today, just to kind of reset what's

happening waivers will find out about at two o'clock eastern 11 a.m our time and then the final rosters for opening night need to be in by five o'clock eastern which is two o'clock our time and as jason mentioned off the top like final rosters is maybe a bit of a misnomer because you can paper guys down and then you can paper them back up and there's a lot of salary cap do you remember do you remember when klimovich made the team i remember that oh good for him congratulations daniela don't get out of your car like just uh it was yeah and this happens right i remember there was a guy named Bobby Robbins that made the Bruins roster one year out of training camp

because they were so pressed up against it. It was all salary cap ramifications. But as it pertains to the Vancouver Canucks. Optimal LTIR capture. That's right. I love that. Oh, and so important. So the season starts tomorrow night, by the way, for real.

I know that the Sabres and the Devils got things underway. And if you didn't watch the games from Prague, it was all Devils. They outscored the Sabres 7-2 over the two wins. And it was funny because did you see what the Devils social media team did? It was great. Yeah. You saw that? Yeah.

So they played at the O2 Arena in Prague. So in the O of O2, they put the Sabres logo, and then they put like a dash between the O and the 2 to reflect that the Sabres are now O and 2 to start the year. It was very clever. It was very well done. I worry about that Buffalo franchise, by the way. I don't see them ever turning this corner that you think they're going to turn

to get good. It never seems to happen. I do think, to be fair, New Jersey's going to be a good team this year. I actually picked them to win the Cup last year, which was obviously a bad pick. It was. I realized, well, they lost some guys on the back end, and they also had a ton of injuries,

so it was a bit of a bad luck pick. And their goaltending stunk. And their goaltending stunk. And I do wonder if they're big and tough enough to win a Stanley Cup but they should pick a peck of pickled peppers how many pecks of pickled peppers did who could pick a lucan and pick but they should make the playoffs and they are a good team they got a ton of talent and a ton of young talent they are set up nicely for the future so Dylan now makes them way tougher

that's true but I'm more talking about like up front. Yeah. There was a Byram to power connection on one of the goals. I feel like we'll be hearing that a lot over the course of their careers. Yeah. They have so much good young talent in Buffalo. It shouldn't be like this. But it just seems like, for example, I thought. It's only the first two games of the season. They're still really young, too.

If there was a team that couldn't afford an 0-2 start. They're one of the youngest teams. They're one of the youngest teams in the league. games of the season. They're still really young, too. If there was a team that couldn't afford an 0-2 start, it's a lot more famous. They're one of the youngest teams. They're one of the youngest teams in the league. Here's the thing. Lindy Ruff, maybe not the choice here. They were cutting to him after every devil's goal. You know, like maybe not. I can't believe I'm back here.

You know, does he want to be there? Do they want him to be there? I don't know. I don't know. Did you see his hat? Yeah. He looks like an out-of-work detective. I know. know. I don't know. Did you see his hat? Yeah. He looks like an Adam Rook detective. He's like, hey, look, we got personality.

I got a hat on here. If Tom Landry's hat doesn't do this for you, I don't know what will. There was big Tom Landry hat vibes. I'm in Prague. They're known for their hats. I don't know. So the season kicks off officially tomorrow with everyone is waiting for this game, the Blues and the Kraken. And that's been, everyone

you know, when the schedule came out, they're like, when do the Blues and the Kraken play? That's the first game of the regular season for the NHL, but there are some interesting games later on. Bruins and Florida. That'll be interesting. Should you throw Swayman in there? You're the goalie expert,

Greg. Should you throw Swayman in there for the Florida game? Why not? He's your guy now. Yeah, let him ride, man. I know you said- $66 million. $66 million reasons to be starting tonight. Yeah, 100%.

And then the Blackhawks play Utah. It's a triple header tomorrow. Yep. And then Wednesday is six of the seven Canadian teams involved, including the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena. Okay, lots more to get to on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Coming up, Mike Tanier, our NFL insider from the Two Deep Zones sub stack, is going to join us.

A lot to get into from yesterday. Nothing makes sense in the National Football League, except the fact that the Minnesota Vikings don't lose football games. A lot to get into from yesterday. Nothing makes sense in the National Football League except the fact that the Minnesota Vikings don't lose football games. Lots more to come. We're going to talk to Mike Keenan at 7.30 as well. 8 o'clock, Kevin Woodley, 8.30. We're going to do what we learned

and try and get across everything that we didn't cover yet in a very, very busy weekend of sports. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.