Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Canucks' Top Six Is Not Good Enough

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

In hour one, Jason Brough and guest host Jamie Dodd look back at a busy weekend in sports including a big win for Vancouver over the Blackhawks, as well as a disappointing loss versus Utah (3:00), they discuss how the 'Nucks could improve their forward group this off-season and if players like Mitch Marner or Sam Bennett are the answer (15:06), plus the boys talk the Rangers' playoff chase with The Athletic New York's Arthur Staple (27:00), as NYR gets set to host the Canucks on Saturday. 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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- kick down and the Utah hockey club come into Vancouver and pick up a big win to bolster their playoff hopes. Happy St. Patrick's Day, loser. Ladies and gentlemen, what you're seeing is a total disregard for the things St. Patrick's Day stands for. All this drinking, violence, destruction of property. Are these the things we think of when we think of the Irish? Yes. Good morning. Welcome to Hal F for them brough here on sportsnet 650

brough is here but no half erred I'm Jamie Dodd filling in for the week and I'm informed by produce producer Andy Cole a dog that apparently Mike had to take I didn't listen to the show on Friday but apparently half erord had to take a week off. There was some sort of incident. There was an incident. There might be a rift developing between Laddie and Halford. Halford didn't care for Laddie's basic comment. He called Halford's opinion basic. Yeah, well. Halford's taking the week off.

Good morning, Jamie. Good morning. But Laddie's not here either. I was going to say, so I don't know if Laddie is like serving a one day suspension or something. We've got producer Zach filling in. What's going on, Zach? Good morning. It's my mother's birthday today.

Shout out, mom. Wow, all right. Oh my God. Happy birthday, Zach's mom. Happy birthday, Zach's mom. Happy birthday, Zach's mom. We've already offended the Irish as well in the opening. We got lots going on here.

So know Halford this week. I'll be in all week on the show filling in with Brough Halford Brough is brought to you by the DeLari family of Honda dealers experience the DeLari difference today Visit your nearest DeLari Honda dealer today And this hour is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal Northstar metal recycling they recycle you get paid 1170 Powell Street We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step Now there's is there like a little bit I do now. No, okay. No, no bit

In fact or anything. I know I know you know what you did it the best. Thank you. I enjoyed it I looked forward to it. Nothing, nothing anymore. I mean, you can just randomly show Kintec throughout the show if you want. We've still got each other. We've still got each other, buddy. That's right. Very exciting, in for the whole week.

Big guest list, big show coming up. Of course, the Canucks played twice over the weekend, so there is a lot to get into. They got a busy week coming up as well. Guest list begins at 6.30. Arthur Staple covers the Rangers and the Islanders as well. But I think we'll be focusing on the Rangers with them for the athletic. And of course, lots of interesting tie ins between these two teams this year,

obviously with the JT Miller trade. They also traded Carson Susie there. And from what I see of Rangers fans on social media, they are not pleased with the Carson Susie experience so far. And also might want to chat with Arthur Staple about Philip Headle's injury history when he was with the Rangers. Of course, Headle missing yesterday's game after that hit from Jason Dickinson. So lots to get into. They play the Rangers next weekend as well. So lots to get into with Arthur Staple at 6.30. At 7, Ben Pope, he covers the Blackhawks for the Chicago Sun-Times. Of course, we just

saw the Blackhawks visit another tough showing for Connor Bedard in Vancouver with the Chicago Blackhawks for the second time this year. And I don't want to say just for Bedard for the team is what I mean. So that continues just to be kind of a slog of a season for the Chicago Blackhawks nearing the end point. Now we'll talk to Ben about what's next, what's gone wrong, how miserable Connor Bedard looks and what the plan in Chicago is to kind of pull out of this situation and start trading. When the trade demand is officially going to come in. We'll map it all out with Ben Pope at seven and at eight, Ian Furness from KJR radio in Seattle he also works on the Seattle Kraken broadcast and there's been a lot a lot

going on with the Seattle Seahawks recently so we'll talk to him about that maybe a little Kraken stuff as well and then of course at 830 it's what we learned so you can send your submissions in now 650 650 to the Dumbar Lumber Text Line. A hashtag WWL. What you learned in the last 72 hours in sports. So 8 Ian Furness, 7 Ben Pope, 630 Arthur Staple. But first, let's do 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 messy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? You missed that? What happened? We missed all the action because I'm losing. We know how messy 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 bccsa.ca. The Canucks played twice over the weekend. Uh, it was a victory against the Chicago Blackhawks, a 6-2 victory on Saturday followed up by a 3-1 loss against Utah. Now, I don't know how you guys handle it when there's two games over the weekend.

Do you just forget about the first of them? Well, I think we should start with the most important game and that was yesterday against Utah. A win over Chicago, even with RDC loves in there was expected and we're going to talk about the Blackhawks later. The big game was yesterday against Utah and the offense did not show up.

Yeah. So it's a three, one loss to Utah Sunday night at Rogers's Arena. As you might expect with the Canucks on the second half of a back to back, this was not the most thrilling hockey game. The score zero, zero after the first shots were 10, four after one period in favor of Utah. Stop me. If you've heard this before, it was low event hockey for the Canucks.

That would be a theme throughout the night. The Canucks did open the scoring early in the second period on the power play. Quinn Hughes got the puck at the point with lots of space and he didn't waste any time. He just kind of flung it at the net. The Canucks had a couple of bodies in front and the puck went off Mikhail Sergeyev's glove. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Past Tuchmielka. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You have to forget who passed the puck to Quinn Hughes. And what an assist it was. Yeah, it actually wasn't bad. He held onto the puck to Corey Hughes. And what an assist it was. It actually wasn't bad. He held onto the puck, created some space for him. I've lowered the bar. You know me.

You know me. I love Elias Pedersen so much that I'm looking for anything that he does as a positive. Don't be negative. He's back. Did you not hear that he's back? That was one of the most nondescript primary power play assist you could possibly pick up it was Here Quinn

Don't there was nearly pressure on him He held on to it he got back to Quinn yeah, so I'm back we need we need we need a dog to Do the John wick thing that he did last week, but instead change it to like I'm thinking I'm no longer making progress. I'm thinking I'm back to square one. I think and I took a step back Yeah, I am NOT making progress anymore So the Canucks open the scoring it's one nothing now with the one nothing lead Utah really started to take over Canucks looks like the the much slower team But I do want to give them credit for a time there for playing a gritty, committed, decent defensive game.

Derek Forevert was blocking shots. Connor Garland, the crowd was chanting his name because he blocked a shot and then in a lot of distress, hung in the play, made a nice play actually basically on one leg to clear the puck. So there was a level of effort, commitment, engagement, but it didn't last that long. The lead that is midway through the second Utah's fourth line out against the Canucks top line and top defensive pair. So Quinn Hughes and Philip Roenacher out there, Elias Pettersson and his line are out there as well. Utah tied the game. The Canucks lost track of Kevin Stenland. Michael Karconi sent a pass right through Elias Pettersson's legs and Stenland beat Kevin Lankinen. Tie game.

I mean, Stenland, that's what he's known for, right? Like he just finds those areas, right? You can't lose Kevin Stenland in the offensive zone. And you're sitting there and you're going, like, I know I have to cover Kevin Stenland, but how does this guy constantly, it was like McDavid in the Four Nations, right? He just finds a way to get open.

It's like Ovechkin at his spot, right? Why aren't they covering him there? You know, that's what he's going to do. It's the Stenner spot. That's what they call it. So it's 1-1 going into the third period. The Canucks had 10 shots on goal and really had not looked very dangerous at all. Utah broke the tie with about five minutes in.

Nick Schmaltz shot, took a deflection, fell to a wide open Logan Cooley. He beat Lankton in and at this point, you know, about 15 minutes left, you're down one, you're in the third period of this massive game, second half of a back to back. You need to find something, you need to dig deep and the Canucks got a golden opportunity with about nine minutes left in the game. Clayton Keller's stick caught Brock Besser in the face, drew a double minor giving the Canucks a four-minute power play a chance to tie it now they managed four shots but none of them were particularly threatening and more than anything the Canucks just looked out of

sorts on that four-minute power play struggled to gain the zone struggled to get set up when they did get set up it was passive and it was not particularly threatening so they don't score on that and after that there's only about five minutes left. The Canucks never really had that moment where it felt like they were you know banging the door down to try to tie the game and in fact they continued to look at of sorts even with the when they were trying to get the extra attacker out there like it took them a while to get Lankington off the ice and after they did Clayton Keller hit the empty net and that was how it ended three one at Rogers.

I want to talk about that power play because there was a point on that power play. There was a time during that power play where it was Besser on one side, Pedersen on the other and Quinn Hughes at the top of the umbrella. And it was tough to watch. No movement between those three and they couldn't work the puck down low. I don't know if they tried. You know, as much as we picked on Petey, we have

to have a conversation about Brock Besser because I thought he was dreadful yesterday. He had a few chances to put a puck on net and ripped it way wide a few times. And, you know, I'm sure that Rick Taga wasn't thrilled to see that. I realize he was now out there, like his centre is Bluger.

I mean, that's not going to help him. So he, you know, he's gone from JT Miller to a Phillip Heidel, who he doesn't really know. And now it's like Teddy Bluger, right? Like, but, but you know, who he doesn't really know, and now it's like Teddy Bluger, right? But when he's out there on the power play, he's out there with the Canucks' top offensive players and he continues to struggle. Here's Rick Tocque at the head coach on the power play that essentially cost the Canucks

the game. Well, I mean, it could be fatigue. I don't know if they took the game or I didn't think they had a lot of chances. We, uh, it's a one-one game going to the third. We got what? Six minutes of power play, but talk about moments. So I don't think they took over the game at all. I think they had some, you know, they got good players. I mean, NHL hockey teams you play against, you're there to get their moments, but one, one game, 22 hour turn around.

We have six minutes of power play. We don't get it done. That's the, that's six minute power play. We don't get it done. That's the game, bottom line. Yeah. Tauke went on to say that the coaching staff was pretty frustrated because there were plays to be made out there. And that's a few times now that Tauke has said the coaching staff is frustrated because we've told these guys to do this.

And they haven't done this, which you don't actually hear very often. You don't hear a head coach go up there and say, we as a staff, we're frustrated with the team. And whether or not this was intentional or not, it does feel like it's like talk of being a bit defensive in that like, hey, we're telling these guys to do things and they're not doing them. We hear the criticism from the fans about our system, et cetera, et cetera. And it's almost like when you get into a position where there's a lot of pressure on you, it's

hard sometimes not to start blaming others. You know? Mm-hmm. And, you know, it probably is, I've said multiple times on the show, especially in the last month or two, that I feel sometimes like the coaches are out of answers. They're like, we can't do the job for them.

We can give them, like that we can coach, but if they're not going to do it, if they're not going to find ways to do it, it's tough. Which is kind of understandable, but you're also like, well, if you're not part of the solution, then I guess you're part of the problem, right? Like is there a, is there a mismatch between the coach and the players?

I mean, you know, as much as I've mostly put it on the players, you do have to ask that question and management has to be asking that question. Rick Tocket's future is certainly not assured in Vancouver over the next little while. And I've been generally pretty reluctant to heavily criticize Rick Tocket for all of the things that have gone wrong with this team.

Cause I think like you, I look more at the players and roster construction than the job talk it has done. Having said that. The power play might be the area where I am most open to the criticism of Rick talk. And that even stretches back to last year. Remember last year, they didn't have a dedicated power play coach. It was Rick talk at taking it on in addition to his duties as head coach. Now this year Yogi Shevkosky isfkowski is in charge of the power play, but from what I understand, it seems like Rick Taukett

has a pretty direct role in it as well. Yeah. And you look at that game last night, and this is a little thing. Well, it's not that little thing, to be honest. But I mean, I don't know if we needed minutes on that four-minute power play, the biggest power play of the year, where both Tyler Myers and Philip

Pronick are on the ice together. You know what I mean? Like I get it, second unit, you're trying to give Quinn Hughes a breather. Okay. So that's what Philip Pronick is for, and you can still have four forwards out there. I don't know why Tyler Myers needs to be out there as a second defenseman on the power play. And just in general, to your point about those answers from talk, it kind of

sounding like what you say when you don't have answers, when you've, you've tried everything it feels like with the players and you're getting a bit defensive. Yeah. Okay. You can say, well, there's plays out there to be made. Do you have the players that are going to make those plays, right? Have you put them in a position to succeed? And I know the power play percentage over the last month looks pretty good, but no one watching this power play thinks, oh, that's really humming. It's really clicking.

I always look at where they are in the power play rankings and I'm like, I can't believe they're there. I don't know where they are right now. I thought they were like 14th or 15th, somewhere mid around the league, but watching the power play all season, I can't believe it's that high. DK in Squamish, Texas, and he says, Brock Besser's downfall needs to be studied. Do we even want to resign him now? Doesn't fit in the bottom six, but not playing well enough to be in the top six. What are you supposed to do with him? I don't think he's getting resigned, DK.

No. I think that's an area and that's some cap space that they can actually are going to look to bring in a completely different type of player. One with a little more speed based on the fact that they've committed to Heedle, maybe more of a playmaker, I don't know. But I've been saying for a long time now, and

it's not rocket science, my observation, like they really just don't have many playmakers in the top six. If, if Pedersen is, you know, at the level that he is right now. And I think the one thing that we've been happy about is his willingness to shoot and he's got a few goals. Um, you know, the Canucks need, this is just such

a basic way of saying it, but they need get more guys that know how to make things happen out there. And Connor Garland has been probably the most consistent, but if Connor Garland is your most consistent playmaker out there, you've got a problem. You're in trouble. You're not going to have a particularly dangerous

offense if that's the case. And you know, even though Philippe Edel hasn't been producing, I think you could really notice how much the Canucks missed his speed last night, especially compared to Utah, which does have a really fast forward group. The Canucks just looked so slow for much of the game. Utah seemed to be first to nearly every puck. And it's not even like Utah was super dangerous off the rush or constantly

exposing the Canucks in that way. But again, it was just, you know, getting to lose pucks first, all of that. The Canucks did not have a lot of jump. I get it. It's the second half of back-to-back. But that's an issue even when they're a well-rested team and to your point on Besser, they just so desperately, number one, they need high-end impact players and that's a very difficult thing to do. But if you're talking about just specific traits of players, the thing they need more than anything else is speed upfront. And we all know that's not Brock Besser's strong point. So you only have so much cap space to work with. You've already, from what we hear, damaged the relationship with the player anyways, with your comments after the deadline.

It's hard to see a road back where it makes sense for both sides when they are so desperate for speed upfront and he just doesn't bring that. Dan from North Van texts in, the way you're to see a road back where it makes sense for both sides when they are so desperate for speed up front. And he just doesn't bring that. Uh, Dan from North Van texts in, the way you're talking about finding a playmaker sounds like a Marner signing slash overpay. So Dan, I've, I've kind of been hesitant to talk about the idea of signing Mitch Marner because I

think another thing that the Canucks top six has to get is bigger and stronger and meaner. So you need to get faster, you need more playmaking ability, you need to get bigger and tougher. Well, I was like, that's true. That's all we need. But the top six is not good. No, it is easily the sore spot of the team. And someone texted in and said, you know, the one thing that's encouraging is that the

Canucks have three good or reliable defensive pairs. And, you know, I agree, the defense looks a lot better, but there's a reason the defense looks a lot better. It's cause they robbed Peter to pay Paul and they improved the defense at the cost of the forward group. Um, and you know, if you think about it, um, Horonic is a product of Horvat, Pedersen is a product of JT Miller and they drafted Queen Hughes.

You know, that they've got some young guys coming and Victor Mancini was, was another guy that was a product of JT Miller. So yeah, you're feeling better about the defense, but at the same time, you're feeling much worse about the forward group. Now I will say that I like Lekarmacki so far, like I really do.

I know he hasn't made a big impact, but man, sometimes I wonder if he looks the most comfortable on the power play of all the Canucks forwards. I didn't think Lekarmacki had a strong game last night. I know he didn't play a ton, but there were Sometimes I wonder if he looks the most comfortable on the power play of all the Canucks forwards. I didn't think Leckermackie had a strong game last night. I know he didn't play a ton, but there were moments where I felt like he was overthinking things a little bit.

Now that's fine. He's, how many games has he played? Not that many. Just trying to be nice, man. In the NHL. I'm trying to be nice. You're looking for those positives. I look at him and I see sometimes more composure

with the puck than any of the other Canucks forwards on the power play. Yeah, that's fair. And look, I love watching him shoot the puck. And I think, you know, talking had an interesting answer about Leckermacky last night where he basically said, it's not fair. And in so many words, he didn't quite say it, but it's like someone asked about getting him power

play time over someone like Brock Besser and talk was like, well, we need Besser to get going. He's been there all year. It's kind of not fair to put Leckermackie in that spot, but going forward, yeah, they're really going to need Leckermackie to step up and, and make a claim on some power play minutes and some big moments like, uh, like those power play opportunities. A bunch of other people texting in, Marner would never sign to vanc, in Vancouver anyways.

And that's the problem when you are looking at free agency to try to solve some big, not to fill out your team around the fringes, right? And add a pew suitor or something like that, but to solve big glaring top of the lineup needs is there's only so many guys in any given year and convincing them to actually join you is really, really difficult.

And Marner is a popular name I'd be shocked if he signs with the Canucks like he's the answer man for him to look aside but put your evaluation of the player aside Let's say you thought Marner was the perfect player for the Canucks the chances of him leaving Toronto to sign with Vancouver seem Basically nil like I would be stunned if that happened. Well, JDog the car hog texts in and he says, they need to offer Bennett 10 million per year. If he's available, do literally everything they get to him.

Interesting over the weekend, Elliot Freeman reporting that the Florida Panthers and Sam Bennett are talking contract. Now, whether or not they get that over the finish line remains to be seen, but if you're Sam Bennett, have you gotten a little, have you enjoyed your stay in Canada with the Calgary Flames or have you enjoyed your stay in Florida

with the Panthers? And if you were to kind of chart out your next move, would you be looking to go back to Canada or would you look to stay in a place like Florida? You know, like I, I don't know what, what, what if Bennett likes all the things that come with Florida?

Yeah. I don't know. Maybe some of these guys do, do see a positive in playing in Canada and that they are, you know, playing where it matters the most. Right? And I think those are the types of guys you really have to recruit and find the guys that want to come and play in Canada and want the pressure and

want the excitement of playing in Canada. You know, say what you will about the Canucks right now, but when the playoffs were here last year, everyone in the league was talking about how awesome the Vancouver crowd was, how the excitement of the city, you could really tell how that translated to the team. Kiefer Sherwood mentioned it.

I mean, he was part of that playoff against the Canucks for the, for the Nashville Predators. And I'm sure that was part of the attraction of incoming to Vancouver. But it's the same as Dodd just said, right? Like if you're pinning your hopes to signing one of the top free agents, man, there's 32 teams. Don't you think everyone's going to be after Sam Bennett?

Why would the Vancouver Canucks get him? Well, yeah, you have to. And then you overpay him. Exactly. And then he becomes a problem. So, and even Sam Bennett and look, Sam Bennett, incredible showing at the four nations, massive goal, love the player, awesome.

Don't want to besmirch the good name of Sam Bennett. He also has a career high of 49 points with the Florida Panthers. He's going to be 29 when he hits UFA. So even if you throw the bag at him and he makes it to market first of all which is an open question if we'll even be there on July 1st or if we'll sign with Florida but let's say he makes it you win the bidding you go all out this is the problem of what I was saying about not

just needing one big thing in your forward group but multiple big things. Sam Bennett is not fixing your oh oh man, we lack playmakers, we lack dynamic offensive ability at the top of our lineup problem. He's not a part of the solution to that. Does he help you get tougher? Yeah, of course he does. Although even then I'm skeptical that one,

like the one magic guy is out there that all of a sudden completely remakes this team's toughness. It helps, of course, but you're still massively in need of really dangerous, high end offensive players and Sam Bennett just doesn't fit the bill. So I love it in a vacuum. Yeah, go out and get Sam Bennett. You're still looking at a deeply, deeply flawed forward group,

even if you win the bidding forum. Okay. So Arthur Staples is going to join us next from the athletic covers, the Rangers for the athletic. Real quick with us, how concerning athletic, covers the Rangers for the athletic. Um, real quick with us, um, how concerning is this for the Canucks, the Filipino injury, another concussion for him. And I would say concern both in the short term and

the long term, because you wonder if this is going to be an issue that's going to continually crop up. Yeah, it's, it's, you feel first and foremost for the player, right? Who of course had so many injury problems in New York and we'll see what they say. I know Rick Tuckett was saying there's a chance you could still go on the trip. So it might not be a long-term thing for Philip Heidel, but look, he's under contract for two more years. He's only 25.

You've seen flashes of the skill and the talent and kind of the tantalizing potential there from Philip Heidel. I'm sure that Canucks are hoping that he can round into form and, and be a legitimate top six guy, or the very least a very, very good third line player for you. And obviously, you know, to do that, you have to be in the lineup. So it's a tough blow. And this was one of the question marks about acquiring him as part of the trade was his injury history.

And we'll see where it goes from here. And we will talk about that on the other side with Arthur Staple, who, of course, covers New York Rangers for the athletic. We'll get into Filipino, maybe talk a little Victor Mancini, JT Miller's impact on the Rangers looking ahead to the game on the weekend. That's next here on Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post game show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app.

Welcome back to Haliford Brough, your Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd filling in for Mike Halford all week here on the show. Halford & Brough is brought to you by the DeLari family of Honda dealers. Experience the DeLari difference today. Visit your nearest DeLari Honda dealer today. This hour of Halford & Brough is brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling, Vancouver's premier metal recycler. P pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid.

1170 Powell Street, don't forget to send your What We Learn texts in, that's coming up at 830-650. 650 is the Dumbar Lumber text line. 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 Dumbar lumber.com we go to the phone line now now joining us from the athletic covering New York hockey including the New York Rangers he is Arthur staple Arthur thanks very much for doing this this morning how are you I'm good how we doing we're well. So the Rangers after the weekend

find themselves, you know, big win against the Blue Jackets followed up by the loss against Edmonton yesterday. They find themselves right hanging on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. What's your kind of sense of where this is going? How would you handicap the Rangers' chances of finding a way into the Eastern Conference playoffs? Well, I think, you know, having seen the many ups and downs of this season, it's hard to predict which way they're going to go. They've been good for stretches.

They've been horrible for stretches. They've made a lot of changes. And, you know, I think now by the grace of a lot of really mediocre teams in the East, they're still in it. And, you know, you'd say based on their recent history, making two of the last three Eastern Conference finals, they've got Igor Shosturkin, they've got Adam Fox, one of the better defensemen in the league. They've got some high-end guys up front. You'd say they probably have a leg up on some of these other teams that haven't really

proven themselves a lot the last few years. But when you watch some games, I mean, last night wasn't really representative. They played pretty well. They just couldn't get over the hump. And in a normal season for them, that's just one you chalk up. They played well enough to win.

They just didn't do it. But now every game is so pressure packed. There's only 14 left. They obviously have to come up with some results no matter how they get them. And the way the season has gone, it feels impossible to predict whether they can get it done or not just because it's been such an unpredictable year. How happy are Rangers fans with the play of JT Miller? I think the play and the presence of JT Miller, the way the team reacted to Chris Drury's

text around the league back in November, pretty much offering up any of their core guys that anybody wanted, in particular, Jacob Trubo is now gone and Chris Crider, who probably some fans wish was gone because he's having such a rough year. I think they were craving someone to come in with JT's no BS attitude and whatever had gone on in Vancouver, however, he was responsible for what had happened there. Uh, I don't think anybody here really cared. I just wanted a guy to be that bull in a China shop a bit, uh, in the room, kind of grabbed them all and shake them awake.

And he's played well too. He's a point of game guy. Um, you know, I think he's kind of helped solidify the top six, uh, in the middle there, moving because of Banajet to the right. I don't know if that's a long-term solution, but having Miller there with Zabanićad has kind of rejuvenated Zabanićad this season too. So I think it's been a successful run so far and I think off the ice in terms of galvanizing the team, making them play a little bit with a bit more of a harder edge, be a little bit more physical. That's been successful too.

So even if the results haven't completely been there, I think, I think people are pretty happy. So it's the Rangers and basically in a very similar battle to the Canucks in that it looks like there's one wild card spot available considering Ottawa now has a five point cushion on the Rangers who's one wild card spot available considering Ottawa now has a five point cushion on the Rangers who have that wild card spot. And then there's a few other teams, Montreal, Columbus, Detroit, maybe Islanders and Bruins are

still in there, but probably not. So much like the Canucks, it's like a four horse race for one spot. I know you kind of touched on this already, but you know, if you're Rangers, Canadians, blue jackets and red wings, the Rangers should be able to get that spot, no? They should.

Yeah. That's what we've all been saying to ourselves. Like that, this should be theirs, right? Like this is the team that's been, you know, won a division, like we said, won a bunch of playoff rounds the last three years, a couple wins from finals in two of those three years. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's as head scratching as the four and 15 run they had in December, where they looked like the worst hockey team that's ever been, that's

ever existed. You know, so just the odd way this season has unfolded, whether, you know, and there's lots of people responsible for it. You start with Chris Drury, who kind of broke the team apart, even when they were going to start off to a D off to a decent start, um, you know, Peter Lobby, let his coaching staff didn't seem to have the answers to kind of, uh, stop the bleeding there in December and early January. And then the players who really didn't respond well to management's kind of throwing down the gauntlet.

It does seem to mirror Vancouver in a lot of ways. You know, there's been some key injuries too, and it's a lot of trades, a lot of player movement, and it all kind of adds up to a pretty mediocre result right now. And yeah, you'd say based on their pedigree and based on their roster that they are way better than the Canadians in Columbus and Detroit, but just not the way it's unfolded. And of these 14 games left, I think 10 are against teams in playoff spots.

They're going to face a lot of Tampa and Florida, you know, and Carolina over these last three weeks or so of the season. So it's a real challenge and it's kind of one of those if they can't do it to get over the cut line and get in, they don't belong, you know, they didn't belong there in the first place. So they can't beat any of these teams that they might've seen the first couple of rounds. So it's a real litmus test, I think, for this team.

And I think ownership and management are more looking longer term with all the moves that they've made. So I think this would be a bonus for this group, I guess, to get in. But I think the changes that still need to be made or that they still want to make are definitely going to be on the table, whether they get in or not. Well, I was going to ask you, how much of a risk was it to take on JT Miller's contract with so many other guys being in their early thirties, key

guys like Zabana Jed, who's had a tough year, Panarin's 33, Kreider's 33, Trochek's over 30. And all these guys have pretty significant salary commitments. I know they also committed to Lafrenier and he's young and Will Cooley looks like he might be a player and he's young, but up front, what are people saying and what are you saying about the age of their core group? I mean, it's, it's definitely, uh, on the wrong side of where you want to be, but, um, you know, given where they were in that 2017 or 2018 to 2021 stretch of, of a full on rebuild, you know, James

Dolan, the owner, um, is not known as a patient man. And he showed a lot of patients during that stretch. They stockpiled a lot of assets, you know, the owner, is not known as a patient man and he showed a lot of patience during that stretch. They stockpiled a lot of assets, you know, essentially the real core of their defense was all built during that time and they added Panarin during that stretch and, you know, for all of his maybe flaws, I guess, in the playoffs, he's still one of the most prolific scorers they've ever had in this franchise, this 100-year history. So there's been a lot of positives that came out of that stretch, but I think once they came out of it, made the management change

to go from Jeff Gordon to Drury, the patience was done. And I think the moves that they've made have kind of reflected that. JT Miller is a big- name guy, even with the contract, even with the age. And I think the Rangers history in the last 20, 30 years has been, we're going to add the biggest name guy we can find that can help us. And I think making that move, yeah, it makes them a little bit older. But I think having the top six be solid as solid as it can be. And even with that, you know, there's still talk of would they move on from Panera and is going to have a year left on his deal this coming summer? Will they try to make a move with Savannah Jet? It's got a full no

move and five years left. Chris Crider's got a couple years left and a no trade, no modified no trade clause. So, you know, I think the one constant for this organization, even through the low times and the high times is they want big stars on the ice here in New York and Miller qualifies as one of those and kind of you have to, I think you just have to make the move and sort it out later. That's been some of their mantra and they've made some good deals. I think jury, you know, even make the move and sort it out later. That's been some of their mantra and they've made some good deals. I think Jury, even within the trade with Vancouver, it still looks like a good deal. They got the best player out of it. But I think there's going to be more moves to come. And I think the vision of what Chris Jury and ownership wants this team to be

isn't quite clear yet. So one of the pieces the Canucks got back in the JT Miller deal, Philip Heidel, who missed the Canucks most recent game last night after taking a pretty tough hit from Jason Dickinson in the game against Chicago on Saturday. And of course, when the Canucks acquired Philip Heidel, one of the question marks or the talking points around him was his injury history in New York. And it's interesting because it's been reported as concussions at different times or talked about as concussions, but there might also be something else going on there.

It's not necessarily a, an entirely clear picture of exactly what the injury situation was with Philip Edel. What can you tell us about his injury history during his time with the Rangers and, and how it affected his development and, and success as a player there. Yeah. I mean, I, you know, I've certainly heard some things about, uh, especially this season where he missed kind of was in games and didn't look

like he took a big hit and ended up missing the rest of the game and missed a couple of days after, you know, I think before the trade, he had kind of said to a group of us, you know, I'll talk about this when the time is right. Well, it didn't turn out to be the right time in New York because he got traded. Yeah, he's got some issues that are not concussion related, but they are head related from what I understand.

And I think he's trying to figure out a way to manage it, uh, as best he can. And then there is the other parallel track of getting concussions, which he's had a few of and it sounds like he's got another one and I don't know how long it's going to last. I mean, I think the one that, that kind of, that really ended his, his season last year was a big hit, a big collision. Um, and then kind of had a relapse and it looked like an innocent fall during an optional skate with just a couple other guys on the ice as he was trying to come back a couple months later.

It's a delicate situation and I think it's one that the Rangers, they love the player. I think everybody that's around the guy loves Philip Edel. He's a very positive guy and a super talent, but the reliability factor is difficult. It feels gross to kind of talk about it in that way, but he's had these issues pretty much since he came over as an 18 year old and I think it has held him back a little bit. The way that he succeeds as a player is, you know, using his speed,

using his skill and, and, uh, you know, when he gets crunched like he did the other night, it's, it looks like a much worse hit because he, you know, he comes away with it with a, with an injury. Um, but it's just, you know, it's, it's, it's a, it's a kind of a hard situation to, to really wrap your head around and fully articulate just because we don't know if the concussions and the other issues that he's had are completely related. If he had the other issues and then he becomes more susceptible to concussions. I think these are things he's still a young guy, so hopefully he can get it

figured out and hopefully he can get back on the ice and obviously the Canucks are coming back here and I'm sure he would love to be able to be on the ice and you know he would get a warm reception from the Garden for sure if he's out there. And just quickly Arthur I also wanted to ask you about Victor Mancini the other roster player with the Canucks acquired from the New York Rangers and he's kind of established a regular place in the lineup right now especially after they shipped Carson Sousi out to the Rangers as well. And you know, Mancini kind of not on a lot of people's radars when they made the trade. I know he won a spot with the Rangers out of training camp early in the season, spent

some time in the AHL as well. What did you learn about Victor Mancini, you know, from training camp through his time with the Rangers organization this season? Yeah, it was a real find. A guy who kind of came up very under the radar even pre-draft. He was a young guy who threw his dad who was a college coach. Ended up playing some of his developmental years in Sweden. Came back, played at the University of Nebraska, not a major college program in the States, but just a real steady player. And I think the kind of defensemen that you want to see develop away from the

spotlight, the sort of guy that you'd see in the NHL at 26 or 27, after a few years in the age, but I think he, he kind of got that education, uh, with a, some, you know, a lot of minutes in college and some interesting developmental paths before college. And when he showed up at development camp this past summer, I think he opened a lot of eyes. Just a real steady player. I think a lot of what Vancouver envisioned with Susie, and maybe he got away from that

a little bit this year. So to get younger in that spot for Vancouver and have a guy that you can just plug in and be, you know, whether he's playing top four or third pair, killing some penalties. He's a guy who's, who's got some unflashy skills, I would say he's a really dependable skater has a little bit of offensive skill, but really, I think he's kind of a plug and play anywhere sort of defenseman. And I think that's the sort of guy that you want in your organization Because he can fill a lot of holes whether through you know injury or just being that that reliable guy alongside someone who maybe is a bit more of a risk-taker

You know, I think he's gonna end up being a kind of an interesting part of that deal in the years to come because he's still So young Arthur. Thanks for chatting with us this morning. Should be an interesting game when these two teams meet on the weekend. You got it, thanks a lot guys. That is Arthur Staple covers the Rangers for the athletic joining us here on Sportsnet 650, Halferd and Brough in the morning. And yeah, interesting is how many different layers

there are to the Philip Heidel injury story. And I thought that was very interesting. What he said about he'd all kind of saying, don't worry. I'll fill you guys in eventually, you know, maybe after the season, I'll tell you what I'm going through. And then, oops, now I'm in Vancouver. So they never really got the full story there with Philip Heidel.

Do you think he'd fill in the Vancouver media? I don't know. Does he know them well enough? Or does he, is he like, these guys in New York, I would have New York, I would have they're nice. You know, Bruxy. Hey, I, yeah, I'm glad we would have filled them in these guys? These guys seem like jackals. In New York I would have. New York I would have. They're nice. You know, Bruxy. Hey, I gladly would have filled them in. These guys, no.

So I hate to jump to the off season because I know there's lots to be done, but do you think there's any way that the Canucks could get some guidance out of Quinn Hughes on what he's thinking about his future? Because it's two years to go until he's unrestricted. One year before he can sign an extension, and everything they seem to be doing right now,

and rightly so, is being done under the guise of, we gotta keep this guy, right? And every text that comes in is like, you gotta do everything you can to keep this guy. Can you kind of be like, Hey buddy, like, Oh, what's up? Where do you, where do you think? How do you, you're not just jumping to the off season. You're jumping like two years down the road.

Don't you think it would kind of be smart to do that? So it's a very interesting question. Yes. If you could get an answer, like, Hey, are we at least, are we in the discussion? Is it, you know, is there even a case for us to be made or has your decision or is it so remote in your mind already that we may as well just cut our losses? But Dubois told the Jets two years before he's like, I'm not resigning. Not doing this. So you guys figure it out. And it was almost like, you know, it's not like he was loved for that decision, but it was at least like, okay, well, thanks for letting us know. There's some clarity there.

Right? It's interesting from Quinn Hughes' perspective. All right. Let's say he does want to go to the devils to play with his brothers. Because on the one hand, you think about it and say, hey, I'm going to be an unrestricted free agent in just a couple of years. I'm still pretty young.

That's not that long. I don't want to sully my legacy by being perceived to ask for a trade out of Vancouver or anything like that. I'll play out my contract here, happily do the best that I can and then go. contract here happily do the best that I can and then go. But if there was a way to arrange that two years earlier, I mean, that's two extra years in your prime of playing with your brothers in New Jersey. Now,

I'm not even saying you'd have to trade him two years ahead, but just it would give you, okay, so here's an example. Let's say you have this sit down with Quinn Hughes this summer. Yeah. And he says, guys, I'm out. Sorry. It's nothing personal. I just got, it's a family thing.

I'm going to New Jersey to play with my brothers in two years. We, we could win the Stanley Cup and it's not changing that. Like, what do you do as Canucks management? Do you say, okay, hey, we've got two more years with one of the best players in the game. We are going to go all in to try to win a Stanley

Cup before he walks or do you start planning for the future after Quinn Hughes? Yeah. I mean, I think you would probably start planning for the future. Um, but it's kind of comparable to when they were putting pressure on Elias Pedersen to sign a contract. There's just like, look, we need to know what we got.

Yeah. So we can't go into the off season wondering if you're going to sign or if you're going to pull a Matthew Kachuck and force your way out of here. So we're going to put a little bit of pressure on you. Now in hindsight, whether or not that was smart or not remains to be seen. But I just, you know, that is's, it's the main thing, right? Isn't it? Quinn Hughes?

Yeah. Yes, absolutely. It's the main thing. And if you know, you're not going to have him. Well, then you've got two years to put together a Stanley Cup contender with Quinn Hughes on it. And the way you're looking at it, you're like, Oh, that's going to be tough.

And I get from the Canucks perspective, you know, I think about the, now it's different situations for a whole host of reasons, but I think about the Luka Doncic trade that the Mavericks made and just like how devastating that's been for the franchise and the fan base. There are real costs to trading a player as good as Quinn Hughes. Like that's just a tough thing to put your stamp on

and say, we proactively decided to send this player away from our organization. And that's why I say, even if he says I'm gone, you don't necessarily have to trade him right away. You might want to keep him for a year. Yeah. Just because, can you imagine season ticket holders have already renewed and then you have a conversation with Quinn Hughes and then it's like, we then you have a conversation with Quinn Hughes,

and then it's like, yeah, we traded you for futures, right? But I just look at the, maybe I'm not creative enough. I don't know. I just look at the way they're constructed, and the challenge of putting together a roster that can convince Quinn Hughes that everything that is is going to be okay. It's gonna be tough.

What else have they got to trade? That's why they got to let Hughes make the moves himself. Like Quinn, you just do the trades yourself. Just get the players you want. I have traded myself to New Jersey. Damn it, that didn't work. Also, if I was Quinn Hughes, I'd be like, you want me to do more?

I already do everything for this team. I'm the most important player. You're also the new trainer. It's like now you got to, you want me to do more. I already do everything for this team I'm the most important player. You're also in the new trainer. It's like now you got it You want me to be general managers at the same time? That be is that thing if you could also coach the power play in his That would be nice. They could use some help on the power play. I don't know It's um, I just thought I'd throw it out there because it is the one thing and and sometimes you know Like if you're in a relationship with some is like is there anything I can do to keep you No, I'm leaving you. It's like usually then you're not with the person for two more years You know what if what if you share a place, you know, what if you share a house?

Oh, we got a year later on. Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm here, but I'm not sticking around after that Alright, we'll take a break here. We will double back a little bit and talk about the, uh, the win for the Canucks on Saturday against the Blackhawks, but really we'll also just dive into the situation with, uh, the Chicago Blackhawks. What a mess this season has been. Connor Bedard looks extremely frustrated. They're desperate to improve next year, but it might be difficult to do that. Ben Pope from the Chicago Sun times will join us on the other side here on

Haliford and Bruff Sportsnet 650.