Halford & Brough in the Morning - The HalBro Trade Deadline Spectacular Bonus Hour!

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

In a bonus hour four of the Halford & Brough Trade Deadline Spectacular, the boys are joined by Sportsnet's Dan Murphy (3:25) & Iain MacIntyre (24:48) on the latest news around the Canucks ahead of tonight's home game versus the Wild. 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.

9.02 on a Friday. Happy Friday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. If you're wondering, wait a minute, these guys are back? I thought they were off at 9 o'clock. Not today, my friends. Sorry. Extra hour of Halferd and Brough on Trade Deadline Friday. You are listening to the Halferd and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halferd and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination

for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. It is our job not just to entertain, but also to pass along the news of the day because it is trade deadline day. We have another trade, laddie, take it away.

We have a trade to announce. According to Sportsnet's very own Elliot Friedman, a second former Vancouver Canuck forward is on the move. Sounds as though that Andrei Kuzmenko is on his way from Philadelphia to the Los Angeles Kings. So he played seven games for the Flyers, scored two goals and had three assists. So not bad there, although Halford, he was a minus five in those seven games. They're not gonna like that Los Angeles. I should mention that all trade announcements on Sportsnet 650 today are brought to you by Tiltown.

If you want to trade in your old look for a new look, come see the latest and new styles at Tiltown. Tiltown is proudly Canadian, owned and operated for over 50 years. Visit them today at mytiltown.ca. Okay. Two things here. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio.

Kintec footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. And I just want to make sure I've got the right Frank Sarah Valley. Okay. I'm not getting fooled by this. That's not Frank. Okay.

Frank just tweeted out, sounds like trade talks are picking up on Brock Besser. Nothing imminent at the moment, but more likely than not that Besser is on the move before the deadline. Oh snap, they're listening to me. They weren't entertaining the trade, Frank writes, until a guy named A-Dog started

yelling about it. Okay. Alvin was listening, he's like, oh man, we got to get on this. Let's reset here. There's only been two confirmed trades. And as I mentioned, both involving former Vancouver Canucks forwards, Anthony Tito, Bovillier is on his way to the Washington capitals having been traded by

Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh gets a second round pick in return for Bovillier. And then of course, as we just mentioned, Andre Kuzmanko on his way to the Los Angeles Kings from the Philadelphia Flyers, no word yet on the return. Here's something interesting. Jordan Hall, who we've had on the show before covers the Flyers for NBC sports reporting that there's two Flyers missing from this morning's practice, one Andre Kuzmenko, obviously,

because he's been traded. The other Scott Lawton. Oh, okay. So maybe a trade soon to fill up. I've heard enough Scott Lawton talk to fill me for the rest of my life. Yeah.

That's a lot of Scott. Um, I think it's a 2027 third round pick for Andre Kuzmanko, flyers trade Kuzmanko to the Kings for a 2027 third round pick. To the phone lines we go. Dan Murphy from Sportsnet live from Rogers Arena joins us now in the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. What up Mur Murph you guys want to hear my

Scott Lawton story yes just kidding just kidding Jason I wouldn't do that Jesus like that how's everything going down to Rogers it's cold yeah it's cold in this building I'm not gonna lie to you it's pretty chilly we're in a suite myself and McIntyre and cameraman Mike Bradley and the suite next to us is Farhan and cameraman Owen who's wearing a parka. But they have been here since six a.m. so it is cold. I will say this, you know, Elliott Friedman of course doing a fine job. Do you know who I sat beside at dinner last week in Los Angeles at the Staples Center? Who? Now keep in mind the next, no, no, an inside, who's

the biggest insider you know? Elliott Freeman. Well, in all sports, across all platforms. Adam Schefter? Okay, I was going to say Shams. Shams? But it was Shams. Shams and Wind Horse are sitting beside us.

Wow. And Shorty didn't know who they were. But then when I told Shorty that Shams has like 3 million followers, then he wanted to get a selfie, which we didn't. And then I was trying to implore Shorty to go up to Shams and tell him how he could have broken the CHJ erratic trade, which I think was talked about

before on this station. Do you think it bears repeating? I think so. Yes. Yes. Refresh us on repeating? I think so, yes. Yes. Refresh us on that. I like stories. Yeah, so we were in Dallas and it was lunchtime

and I don't know where I went, but Shorty went to Potbelly and he was standing there in line waiting and there was two guys in front of him wearing Orlando Magic gear. And the one guy was like, and it was, I don't know if it was the day of trade deadline or the day before, NBA.

And the guys in front was like, yeah, I am for management and yes, I would like to go. And so they're going to, they're going to trade me. So Shorty, you know, grabs a sandwich, hustles back to the hotel, gets on the Orlando website, a magic website and scrolls through the pictures and toy finds, Hey, okay. Text me goes to J.J. Reddick is getting traded and sure enough, within like five hours, we run it.

This is this. So he could have broken it. It's really wanted to. and sure enough, it's been like five hours running this trade. Who is this? That's amazing. Oh man. So he could have broken it if he really wanted to. So speaking of trades being broken, I don't know if you heard it, the preamble that we had coming in, you read something from Frank Cerrelli from Daily Face, Jason did.

Sounds like trade talks are picking up on Kinex Forward, Brock Besser. I gotta imagine that the job that you guys have to do prepping and getting ready for everything, you must have already braced for this possibility. And it sounds as though things are heating up, though nothing imminent, Frank says, more likely than not that Brock is on the move.

Well, Dolly Wall continued on Twitter. This is a classic Dolly Wall. I said on Halford and Brough this morning, the Besser camp is sorting through potential places for trade. Agent has control with, I think he's got a 10 team, no trade list, but I'm not a hundred percent sure about Brock.

What do you think about all this news about Brock Besser? Well, I mean, considering some of the prices, I'm not surprised that they would pursue this avenue. But I will say that I think that this management group is not looking for futures. So, you know, we've seen them do this in the past before, if that's in fact what they're getting back in this trade, I'd be very shocked they didn't turn around today, and turn the futures into a player that can

help them now. I think that's the only way they do this. That would be my, my thinking anyway. I don't think they're waving the white flag on the season at all. I think the goal is still to make the playoffs, but if they can get a good return for Brock in terms of futures and turn that around to make that into a player that can help now,

they would do it. Or maybe this move is for someone that's got a little term left because I don't think they're interested in rentals either. So I think they're kind of in a weird spot this year. It's not like last year where they went and got rentals in Zdorov and Benton, even though they tried to re-sign them, I think they felt that they could make a push for those players and try to really make a run in the playoffs. And then when they lost them, they were upset, but you know, surprised're doing business. They're not in that position this year. They're

out of the playoffs. They want to make the playoffs but I don't believe they view themselves as contenders. So I think they're kind of in a sell-buy mode. Yes they're willing to sell better and suitor but I think after those trades I think they want to buy as well. So, which makes the time much more difficult to deal with I think to get these types of things done. If this is indeed it for Brock Besser in Vancouver and he's moved along, I wouldn't mind giving you the floor here for a moment

to talk about the player and the person. I know Rick did the same thing, but we've often spoke about Brock and every time we bring up the trade possibility, we always mention, we're like, and it stinks that if it would end this way, because he's such a great guy and almost universally beloved in the room, and I know that you spent a lot of time covering this team,

so you've obviously spent a lot of time around Brock, so if you wanna take the floor here and discuss, should this be it for Besser, your memories of the guy? Well, I mean, I think he was the kind of the first bright light out of the darkness, you know, when this franchise had had a lot of tough years after the good run in 29, 2010, 2011, even 2012, even though they got swept. The fan base was looking for something positive

and when he came in at the end of that season, think he scored nine goals out of UND. It was kind of like the first like okay we've got a rookie here that could have a future and you know I know there's been some injuries but he has scored at a very good clip in his careers of Vancouver Canuck. He has been, as you mentioned, an exemplary teammate. Like he's one of those players that he's kind of universally beloved by the fan base too. Like I know that fans are like, well if you want seven or eight years, we can't afford to do that, but I hate to see him build because they love him, right? I mean the fan base love him and for good reason. I mean, the fan base loved him and for good reason. He is a top shelf individual.

He hasn't been afraid to, you know, bear himself in front of the fan base when it comes to some of the struggles at home with his father ultimately passing. I think he's just a real guy and there's nothing phony about him. He is who he is. And I think he's always cared himself very well for this organization and for this city. On a personal level, I've got a good relationship with Brock. And I'd be sore to see him go, but I will say that, in talking with him, I think that he's at the point

where he's like, he tries not to worry about it like he used to. He just knows, I'll be okay, whatever happens, I'm going to be okay. Well, he'd love to stay here. I think he's at that point too, like players work super hard to get done restricted free agency, he's done a couple of bridge deals. And I can understand players at this stage in their career that want to test the market and see what they can get if it means getting that seventh year somewhere else or sixth and seventh. So I've loved the kid ever since he came and it'd be a shame to see him go. He's a long as 10 year Canuck, but I never ever begrudge players at this point where they've reached on a registered fiddle agency to kind of pick where they want to play beyond here if they can't get a deal done. Well said on that Murph. On Rick Tauket, it seems to be a bit of a conversation

we're having today. I know it's a trade deadline day, but there is uncertainty around his future as well. And I just wonder how much of it is tied up in whatever Elias Pedersen is going to be for the Canucks, because if you're Rick Tocket and you're looking at what you've got down the middle right now, are you super enthused about coaching this

team going forward? Oh, I mean, I think probably the prospect of coaching this team is a lot different right now than it was a year ago at this time. I mean, there's no question about that. I don't want to try to get in Rick's head. I don't think he's a quitter. I don't think you go from winning coach of the year with a group and then the next year saying, man, it's not going my way.

I might as well just cut bait. I don't see him as that type of person. I think he's got a great relationship with the management group here, with Alveen especially. And so, of course, if his dream job came up somewhere, and I don't even know where that would be, Philly, I don't even know where that would be. So we, I don't know, like Boston, I'm not sure. Um, would that be a possibility? Of course.

Coaches are going to look at what might give them the best situation, but I don't think he's actively looking to get out of here. Um, you know, uh, productive Pedersen would make this job look a whole lot more appetizing. I think Heidel has proved himself to be a pretty solid player since the trade. So and you've got Quinn Hughes. So I don't think that this team is going to totally crater, you know, and you just look at everything that's gone wrong this year, whether with injuries and illness and drama, and they're still right there, much on the backs of Quinn Hughes and Kevin Lankin, I would say. But yeah, for the head coach, I don't think he's a quitter.

I think he would love to see it through with this team, this organization, but I really haven't had any discussions with him when it comes to the option year, whether it be club or himself. Speaking of injuries and injury updates, you got anything for us on Demco, Hughes? There is a game tonight, I keep reminding everyone of this. I'm like, by the way, the Canucks do play

a fairly important game tonight. It gets a Minnesota team that is also kind of desperate to get wins, they've been a 500 team, but they're part of like two and a half. How many key guys are they missing? They're without Kaprizov, they're without Erickson Eck, and I believe there's one more, but those are the two big ones. I think Brodin might be out too. Yeah, Erickson Eck hasn't played since the Four Nations faceoff actually.

So yeah, there's a game tonight and there's a lot of questions to be answered there, Murph, so take a stab at it. Well, I mean, I'll say this, probably they you know, probably they're, uh, not going to run Demco on the ice here cause we're in the bowl, right? Uh, TSM, myself. So I don't know if he was scheduled to skate, uh, ahead of the skate. So it'd be interesting to see if he does come out with the, the team for how long. And the same goes for Quinn Hughes, right? He did the short appearance, day before their last game,

which was scheduled. And I just thought that Tuckett's comments were a little telling the other day that sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. And I don't, I think that Quinn Hughes will do everything he could to get back on the ice and play and push himself to play and push the organization to let him play. But just judging by those comments from talk at the day before yesterday, I would sense that he's not 100% and I would sense that he's probably a questionable more than probable for tonight's game. But I have no inside information. I'm not Shams or Shorty. Or Shorty for that matter.

Was Shams busy the whole time? Like, did you, did you kind of watch him like a creep? I did a little bit, but then I was more just watching Twitter to see if he would, you know, if you'd post something. And literally I was a little disappointed because I looked and it was like five hours since his previous tweet.

But those guys were there because the next night it was Luca versus the Maz for the first time. So I think that's why all the big guns were hovering around the arena that day. Can you imagine doing that job as an insider? Like how you would just have to be absolutely married to your, not just one phone, but those guys have like five phones.

It's crazy. Well, I'll say phone, but those guys have like five phones. It's crazy. Well, I'll say this. No, you know why? Cause last night I was calling to bed at 10 o'clock saying good luck, Freeds, knowing it was what I am for him. I can't wait to see what I read when I wake up tomorrow. Yeah.

And he was on with us at 6 AM this morning. He said he slept three hours last night. So yeah, I don't, it's these times of the years where you don't really envy those guys' job. Cause it is like 24 hours round the clock. So, okay, Murph, I know you got a busy day ahead with that. We will let you go. Thanks a lot for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the remainder of Trade Deadline. Enjoy the game tonight. Hopefully we can do this again soon. You got it, boys. Have a great day. Yeah, you too. Thanks, Murph. That's Dan Murphy,

Canucks, Rinkside host on Sportsnet here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet Rinkside host on Sportsnet here on the Halford and Brush show on Sportsnet 650. We have the details from the Ottawa Senator Buffalo Sabres deal that's gone down. So the Buffalo Sabres have just finalized it and announced it. It's Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker going to Buffalo in exchange for Dylan Cousins, defenseman Dennis Gilbert, and a second round pick in 2026. The deal is finalized. Yet again, Norris and Bernard Dock are going to Buffalo. Ottawa gets Dylan Cousins, Dennis Gilbert,

and a second rounder in 2026. That deal is now finalized. And I should mention that all trade announcements on Sportsnet 650 are brought to you by Tiltown. If you want to trade your old look for a new look, come see the latest in new styles at Tiltown proudly Canadian owned and operated for over 50 years. Visit them today at mytiltown.ca.

Okay. Uh, let's do a few ask us anythings. Let's do it. Just to cleanse the palette, Colin and Tawas and what we learned and an ask us anything I turned on the TV the other day and wondered why such a big deal was being made of the Montana State Curling Championship.

Then I realized it was our national Briar. Could there be a worse name for a Canadian tournament? Yeah. What is it? The Montana's steakhouse Briar? Yeah. Everyone knows Montana's.

Ah, the Montana's steakhouse Briar. They have not gone light on the branding this year, I'll tell you that. It's all over the ice. it's all over their jackets, it's on their hats. I think there could be a worse name. The Trump Briar. Right.

Trump Towers Briar. That'd be a little bit worse. So, curling is a fairly lengthy endeavor. The matches take a long time to play, and there's a billion of them. Do you see how many teams are in the Briar now? Provinces have multiple teams. Back when I was a boy, the Briar had one team

from each province. Maybe the territories. Maybe if they got invited, right? You watched the Briar as a boy? I always watch it. I'm watching the Briar right now. You're a big Briar guy? Yeah, I am.

I didn't know about you. it's in Kelowna. Mm-hmm, right and Because the field is expanded and the matches take so long I believe there is approximately 900 hours of original programming dedicated to the briar right now You can turn on TV at any time of the bunch of guys you turn flip by is like, whoa. Yeah Whoa, they should let them drink during the briar They used to, and smoke. If you could smoke and curl. Now that I'd watch.

If you had a heater hanging out of your mouth while curling. A lot of them would have multiple cigarettes. There was all three cigarettes, Johnny. Yeah, you put one in the rock while it's spinning down, and then you scurry down the ice and pick it up. It's an old curling trick, but it's funny. Anyway, so it's funny that they mentioned

the branding on this, because I brought this up the other day. I just had to stop because one of the brooms caught on fire. They had those old brooms. Very unfortunate. That straw just went up. It goes right up. Yeah, very flammable. The branding has gotten to NASCAR type levels. Oh yeah. I mentioned the dude from Saskie. I think it's Mike McKenzie his name is.

He's, if you look- That's not a Canadian name at all. If you look at him, you're like, he's from Saskatchewan. They have gigantic provincial abbreviations on the front of the jacket. And then obviously there's a lot of Montana steakhouse branding on the jacket.

And there's a few other sponsors that they slapped on there as well. It's a lot. The jackets are very busy. Rich with an Ask Us Anything, were you guys nightclub or pub sports bar guys? I was more of a bar guy, more bar and pub. I didn't do a lot of the nightclubs.

You did some of the nightclubs. I think I was, I can't pick one. As a youngster, now I would rather die than go to a nightclub because I just can't hear anything. There's a Instagram account called Old Vancouver. And it had video from the opening of The Wild Coyote. Oh, wow. You want to talk about-

We are old when The Wild Coyote is in Old Vancouver. It was unbelievable to see, like people were dressed up to the nines, but not like in sort of like club gear, like revealing, but they were dressed up like it was like a formal event. Like people were ready, like what year was I? 93? Right.

Maybe. Was that a, because the wild coyote became, now tell me if you know what I mean by this, a plastics cup club? Right. Maybe. Was that a, because the wild coyote became, now tell me if you know what I mean by this, a plastics cup club. Yep. Yeah. It, the clientele changed real fast.

No, no, no. But you know, like the other one was like, I think the ozone and Surrey, that was like, they're not giving out glass high ball. Like there's nothing glass in that because glass can go smashy smashy and fighty fighty. And like no cutlery because there's knives involved. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So if you try and fight with a plastic cup, you just kind of like bonk the guys. I bring up cutlery because in the montage video for the Coyote, apparently at one point they served food. Really? Yeah. I don't know if this was a short live. They got it from their Fraser arms.

Maybe. Pretty good food. Pretty good up there. Yeah, I think I was probably split, but now I'm definitely, neither guy. I'm at home on my couch. Definitely more pub for me. I tried clubbing for like,

I think I tried clubbing for like two months out of high school, and like this is not for me. Yeah, A-Dog went up, and there was like, hey, how are you doing? Go away. All right, folks, see ya. I don't like clubs. Dude, even as a kid, I was just like, it, how are you doing? Go away. All right, folks, see ya. I don't like clubs.

Dude, even as a kid, I was just like, it's too loud in here. What was the name of the old great wooden pub in Kits? Was it the King's Head? Oh yeah, that was also called Underage Drinking Club. It was an old 70s style pub. Everything was exposed wood and beams and everything. Yeah, and then everyone in there was 17. Yeah, it was an old 70s style of everything was like exposed wood and beams and everything. Yeah, then everyone in there was 17 yeah, it was great. Okay, can I get us? Can I get a sea breeze? I was I think that was the drink name

I know gotta go but unsigned ask us anything. Yeah kind of important I think I haven't been able to follow the Canucks since November. What the hell happened Quite why was Miller traded? Yeah, someone touched it in that I was like Buddy you can't text in on you far gone. You can't text it in that question on Come on could you guys sum up the season from November, please? I've been away for a while We gotta go to break when we come back We're gonna go back to Roger's arena Ian McIntyre is gonna join us We will keep tabs on everything that's going on with the Canucks and all the other 31 teams in the NHL on trade deadline day

You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Mick Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650. That's right, Halford and Brough, an extra hour today on Trade Deadline Friday. As mentioned, you are listening to the extra bonus hour of the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halford & 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. Sounds like we have some finality on the Miko Rantunen situation. Okay, just got to make sure. Elliot Freeman, yep, that's the right one. Miko Rantunen and the Dallas Stars are closing in on an extension, eight years, $12 million cap hit

would get the deal done. Now we don't know what the deal exactly is, other than, and we are watching the Sportsnet broadcast on television now they are confirming that the Hurricanes have traded Miko Rantinen to the Dallas Stars no word yet on the return but it appears as though one Rantinen is indeed on his way to Dallas and two the extension with Dallas is done as as Jason mentioned, eight years, 12 million AAV. So it's good enough for us to call it a trade. All trades today on Sportsnet 650 are brought to you

by Tiltown. If you want to trade your old look for a new look, come see the latest in new styles at Tiltown. Proudly Canadian owned and operated for over 50 years. Visit them today at mytiltown.ca. And if you're just joining us, it has been reported by the likes of Rick Dollywall, Frank Sara Valley, uh, trade talks are picking up on Brock Besser, nothing imminent

at the moment, but Sara Valley says it's more likely than not that Besser is on the move before the deadline. So now we go back to Roger's Arena. Sportsnet's very own Ian McIntyre joins us here on the Haliford and Breast Show on Sportsnet 650. Sportsnet's very own Ian McIntyre joins us here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, I'm Mac, how are you?

I'm doing well. I'm wondering on a typical Halford and Brough morning, so at 9.30, you guys are home and back in bed or what? Pretty close. If not that, I'm showering to get ready to go to bed. I'm at the gym working out. Well, at least you'll, you'll keep your tax

guys busy with all the overtime you're making today. Oh yeah. Look at what's a 30% of zero. Uh, I'm at. Hey, that's, that's the same, uh, royalty I get for going on radio. Yeah. Beautiful.

Yeah. We're very, we've picked a very successful profession, IMAAC. We also appreciate you doing this by the way. I'll throw that out there now. Thank you for doing this. Well, it's nice to be on. It's always an exciting day and naturally the resolution to the Rantanen situation was going

to accelerate the talks on Brock. So we'll see where that goes. Are you expecting, if the Canucks do end up trading Brock Besser, are they immediately, I mean they could be targeting a player, but are you expecting them to flip assets? Because they've done it so many times. Because just the thought of them losing Brock Besser and just getting futures doesn't really align with what this management group has done in the past.

No, it doesn't. And it doesn't align at all with what Patrick Alveen told me last weekend in Seattle, where they think this can still be a playoff team and they're not looking to take a step back. And by step back, he meant they're not looking to just sell assets for draft picks and hope to use those

somewhere down the line. And you're right that there's a pretty strong track record here and we saw it only on January 31st where the Canucks owned the New York Rangers first round pick for what? All of about two hours before they flipped it to get Marcus Pedersen who is the guy they really wanted out of out of all those transactions. So yes I would think if there's if there's a better deal and it involves picks or futures then they would want to

flip those the problem the problem is we're dealing with a trade deadline that's immovable. So there's not a whole lot of time. But look, this organization, and again, using that January 31st night as an example, they obviously knew ahead of time what it was gonna take to get Pedersen from Pittsburgh while they were negotiating with the Rangers over the Miller trade. So while they're negotiating with teams

over Brock Besser this morning, they'll already have an idea of who it is they want and what it's going to take to get that player. But it's a tight turnaround if they are going to make a trade with Brock. It's a tight turnaround to flip that and get what you want. But I do think that if there's going to be a Brock Besser trade and if, in fact, this team isn't going to take a step back, that means that they've got to get players or a player immediately back who can still help this team over the final quarter because just as Rick Taukett said the other day that if Ilias Pettersson has a great final 22 games, maybe no one will remember the first 60. As an organization, they think that they can still define their season by what happens between now and the end of it, rather than what's

occurred to this point and they're still very much buying the playoffs. So are they necessarily going to target a winger like Brock Besser or could you see them doing something down the middle as well? Well, I think if they trade Brock, they're obviously going to need help at both positions as it is now. Eventually, they got to find a solution in the middle after trading JT Miller, which followed by a couple of years trading Bo Horvat. So they need another top six centre. We know that Pugh Souter has had a great season for what he's capable of providing, but he's not a second line center. So they've needed a center. If they trade Brock, I know that the Brusk has more goals than him this season, but they're essentially

trading their best finisher from the wings. So they're going to need help at both. Now, in which order do they get that help back? I don't think it matters. They're going to be needy at both positions. So I think the key thing is the help that they get back has to be top six, top six calibre forward, whether it's a winger or a centre. So Rick Dollywell is saying keep an eye on

Carolina for Brock Besser. So I guess it's possible that the Canucks could be, you know, like we need to find out what is going to Carolina in this Rantanen deal, because we don't have any idea of that return. And I suppose that could be part of what comes to Vancouver if the Canucks send Brock Besser there. It's all, it would make sense why this has taken so

long if it required another deal to be made. But at any rate, Rick Dollywell is saying, keep an eye on Carolina when it comes to Brock Besser. I do want to ask you, because this is what we do on this show, for your thoughts on Elias Pettersson and the week that he's had. I was especially struck by what Rick Taukett had to say where he said, yeah, in the last 48 hours, we've really seen what we want to see out of Pettersson, which kind of begs the question of what were they seeing before?

Yeah. Well, if you go back to the first week of the regular season and the team lost a couple of close games at home and we're about to go on a road trip and we're practicing out at UBC and Ilias Pettersson was on the ice for a half an hour after the main group had exited, working with the skills coach. I remember Rick Taukett saying then, the first week of the season, that Elyse has got to put in extra work. And the quote part I especially remember, we're not leaving it up to him. In other words, they were going to build in extra sessions for him. Now, I don't know what happened between now and this week to those extra sessions because I've seen it on occasion, but I've watched an awful lot of practices this year where Ilias was maybe the 15th guy onto the ice before practice and the fourth guy off

after it. And I think this is an issue that the team has finally kind of dug its heels in and said, look, if, if this is going to work, if we're going to, if you're going to be the player, that, you know, 92.8 million dollars should bring and they wouldn't obviously put it to him in financial terms. But if you're going to be that player, then you're going to have to put in more work. And I think it's been difficult at times for Ilias to fully understand how hard this is and how much he's got to put into it at again, going back to the start of the season, uh, JT Miller reported to training camp is one of the fittest Canucks and Elias did not. And I'm not saying

that the Elias was, was not in good shape. We all know he had his knee tendonitis and he was honest with us, which I appreciated that, uh, he wasn't able to train the way he would like in the off season, that he had to, quote, train around the injury. But whatever happened, it obviously didn't set him up to have a successful season. And I thought it was great that he said what he said to the media, taking accountability for it. I'm encouraged by what Rick Tauke told us that you referenced about what he's seen about Ilyas' preparation for the last game.

But that's one game. Now they've got 21 more and we'll see how those go. But ultimately, whatever is wrong with Pedersen, I think is going to have to be fixed in the summer. Whether it's modifying his training regime, whether it's... And it's always tough with the players association about having contact with players in the off season, but whether it's somehow making sure that there's a closer monitor on what's happening with the Elis this summer, I think this summer is going to be the key for him. I don't think he can get back to being the player that we saw score 100 points a couple years ago in this season. I don't think he's going to score at that rate, but I think he still has a

chance to be that player again, but it's going to take a lot of work on his part to do it. And it sounds like from this week, the most positive thing to come out of it is that he's now willing to put in that work. And if he is, he can get back to being the player, the player that he was, but I don't think he's going to get back to that, being that player this season. We're speaking to Kinect's reporter, Ian McIntyre here in the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Ian, I'm going to briefly interrupt our hit here to pass along word of yet another trade, laddie. We have a trade to announce. The third former Vancouver Canack of the Day is on the move. Luke Shen is on his way from Pittsburgh.

Remember, he was traded to Pittsburgh from Nashville just a couple days ago. Luke Shen is on his way to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2026 second round pick and a 2027 fourth round pick. So two picks going to Pittsburgh in exchange for Luke Shen. According to Josh Yohei of the Athletic in Pittsburgh, Shen told the Penguins that he wanted to play for a contender.

They originally were thinking about keeping him around in Pittsburgh, but they do move him along. So it's Luke Shen to Winnipeg for a pair of picks. I will remind you, it's another official trade announcement and that comes courtesy of Tiltown. If you want to trade your old look for a new look, come to see the latest in new styles at Tiltown. Proudly Canadian owned and operated for over 50 years.

Visit them today at mytiltown.ca. Another defenseman on the movie in, I know you wrote yesterday about Carson Sousi moving along, going from of course the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers. Did you have anything you wanted to add on there? I know you kind of said that it wasn't necessarily that Sousi wasn't playing great, but that he kind of just got passed over in the Canucks pecking order with all the changes they made to the blue line. Yeah, no, I don't. I wish I had something brilliant new to offer that you guys haven't already talked about. I just think it was probably prudent business for the Canucks to create that $3.25M that they can now use somewhere else. This defence is, you know, if Quentin Hughes could get healthy and he's out on the ice

early having a little test at Roger's arena. But if he can get healthy, this defence is as solid as it's looked, certainly in the top four, as it has been in a while. And we have young Pettersen on defence arriving sooner than anyone thought. It's possible that Tom V. Lander could be here next season. And, you know, so it just became a case where Susie was expendable and they can now use that money for something else, which I think was good business. On the Welander front, what are you hearing there? What have you heard there?

Did Patrick Elveen have anything to say about him in your most recent chat ahead of the trade deadline? And maybe are the Canucks opening up another spot in the case that he joins from Boston University? Yeah, Patrick didn't speak specifically about Welander, neither did I ask him specifically about it. The chat wasn't that long and we're really focused on this week and the guys who are on the NHL roster. But one thing that he has talked about and did again on the weekend is just the job that the organization has done, how pleased they are with the job they've done

of kind of getting players in the pipeline from where they were when Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alveen came in. And we've seen a whole bunch of players get an audition this year. We've seen, you know, a great example might be Leckermack, who had a chance earlier in the year, did some nice things, but didn't look ready,

goes to, spends most of the winter in the American Hockey League, scores a bunch of goals, and my dude's only one game. But the other night, he already looks like a player who has advanced considerably from where he was at the start of the year. And he's been able, as many have, to come back and forth between the NHL and the AHL because of the cap flexibility the regime has created, but also there's no point having guys coming back and forth unless they can play. And they've done a good job of developing players who look like they're on the cusp of playing.

And I'll be noted again how they're encouraged about the future because they've got more guys next season who he thinks will be ready to take the step. Vlander, it's always tough to go straight from college to the NHL. Absolutely. Quinn Hughes, Brock Besser, they did it, but these guys are exceptional. I think it's maybe going to be tougher for Vlander to do that, but certainly there's going to be an opportunity for him. Ian, this was great as always. Thank you very much for taking the time to do that, but certainly there's going to be an opportunity for him. Ian, this was great. As always, thank you very much for taking the time to do it. Enjoy

the remainder of the trade deadline and enjoy the game tonight. We'll do this again soon. I'll look forward to it. Long day, no overtime for me though. No. Just a long day. Just a long day. An exciting day. It's a fun day in hockey. Yeah, it certainly is. Thanks for doing this, iMac. Appreciate it. See you.

See you guys. Ian McIntyre here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Okay, a quick reset as to what's going on. We're only here for another 10 minutes or so. So let's set through everything that's happened while we've been on the air since 6 a.m. this morning. The biggest trade of the day so far came courtesy the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres. Ottawa has acquired Dylan Cousins, defenseman Dennis Gilbert and a second round pick in the 2026 draft from the Buffalo Sabres. Ottawa sends Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard

Dockert to Buffalo in that trade. Gilbert is from Buffalo too. That stings I'm sure. He's a Buffalo guy? He's a Buffalo guy. A lot of people were pointing out. Finally I'm out of here. A lot of people were pointing out that that's a miss from the Vancouver Canucks because they had a chance to reunite Quinn Hughes with his former, or not his former, his best buddy Josh Norris. And then someone else pointed out. Who's the center. Yeah and then someone else pointed out that Norris was also really good friends with Brady

Kachuk. So maybe Brady Kachuk won't be happy that he lost one of his good buddies, of course, cause he's now going to the Buffalo Sabres. I also mentioned that a number of former Vancouver Canucks skaters were on the move this morning that includes. Everything's got a Vancouver angle to the trades. Everything, everything does.

Everything's coming up Halford and Brough here. Uh, former Vancouver Canucks forward, Andre Kuzmenko is on the move. He is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Uh, he goes from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings. He goes from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in exchange for a third round pick in 2027. Another Vancouver Conucks forward, formerly

Anthony Bovillier, he's on his way to the Washington Capitals from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington sent a second round pick to get Bovillier in the mix at the deadline. We got some more stuff here. Brandon Tanev apparently to the Jets for a second round pick in 2027. So the Seattle Kraken keeps selling and Brandon

Tanev heads to arguably Canada's best team. Back to the Jets. Back to the Jets. Right. Yeah, right. Very interesting last 15 minutes for the Winnipeg Jets because as we mentioned. Loading up.

Another ex Vancouver Canuck, Luke Shen was just traded to the Winnipeg Jets as well. So in the span of about 15 live broadcast minutes here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650, Brandon Tenev becomes a member of the Winnipeg Jets, so too does Luke Shen. Now, Shen obviously was an interesting one

because he was traded to Pittsburgh a couple days ago from Nashville. The time in Pittsburgh, short, not sweet. What are you laughing at? Several day offs, five hour energy, just kicking in right now. Yeah. Oh, I gotta make all these trades.

And as is tradition for this show, Brock Buster will be traded at 10.01 in the morning. It's pretty much a given now, isn't it? Yeah. God, it sounds like Scott Lawton might be going to Toronto. Saw that as well. Unconfirmed on that front. We're gonna hear so much about Scott Lawton.

Is he the 3C there? Is that what they're looking for? They're looking for centers. I know that. Here's something out of Ottawa as we continue to, now everything's happening of course. We're on the air for five more minutes. Everything is happening.

Courtesy of Bruce Garriott from the Ottawa Sun, Captain Brady Kachuck is meeting with the media right now, fighting back tears while speaking to reporters. It's pretty tough, Kachak says. That, of course, losing his best buddy, Josh Norris. Question, are Brady Kachak and Quinn Q. gonna have to fight for the right

to be Josh Norris' best friend? Is that where this ends up? Possibly. Sounds like Brady Kachak and Josh Norris. It's a question we're all asking. So anyway, that's the news out of Ottawa. Scott Lawton, the deal to Toronto, still unconfirmed, right?

That's just reported right now that that one's being done. That one's been kind of in the hopper, as it was for a little bit, but no return on what Philadelphia would be getting from Toronto. I should remind you, since we're busy announcing all these trades, yet again, all trade announcements on Sportsnet 650 today

are courtesy Tiltown. If you want to trade your old look for a new look, come see the latest in new styles at Tiltown. Proudly Canadian owned and operated for the last 50 years. Visit them today at mytiltown.ca. So it does sound like the Canucks are going to be. Bester's got to be on the move now. Yeah, he's got to be on the move. He's got to be on the move.

Yeah. And, and I just wonder if it was somehow related to the trade that Carolina made with Dallas and, you know, we don't even know what that return is and we don't know if some of those pieces might be coming to the, to the Canucks in a trade for Brock Besser. Um, so there's lots to find out, but, um, to find out, but I started this day just hoping that

the Canucks would make changes. I just want to feel. I hope they were going to make them while we were on the air, but changes regardless, even if we're off the air, that's fine. I'm going to interrupt you because Laddy has an update. Okay. Confirmed by Friedman, the Lawton trade is done. Oh, well thank God. Okay. Confirmed by Friedman, the lot in trade is done. Oh, well thank God.

Okay. Back to Besser? I, yeah, I just, listen, I liked Brock Besser a lot as a player, but the Canucks need to change the mix up front. They need to get, again, just more creative and just a guy that can make things happen out there. And I don't know if they're going to be able to

get that with whatever they get from Brock Besser, but you can't be afraid of change. I know sometimes they're all the time there's risks involved in trades, but the connects, once they decided to trade JT Miller, I think that changed a lot of things for Brock Besser because he had good chemistry with him. He's kind of seemed lost in the lineup ever

since and it's felt just based on the way he's been playing that he's kind of had one foot out the door. I think he got comfortable with the idea of leaving. Yeah. I think. And I'm not saying he wanted to leave, but I

think sometimes you reach a stage where it's not like acceptance, but it's part of you is like, you know what, this could be exciting. Now that the Ranton deal is done, and by the way, if you miss that, we knew, we now know and can confirm that Miko Ranton is on his way to Dallas and that Miko Ranton has agreed to a eight year, $12 million AAV extension with Dallas.

What we don't know is what's going back to Carolina, and that could be really important on the Broadway. Could he not have gotten that from Colorado? You'd think. You'd think Colorado would have already done a pony up the money for him, and now they've got to face him as a division rival. I want to say this too, Dolly Wall said,

keep an eye on Carolina as it pertains to Brock Besser. It's going to be very interesting to see what Carolina gets out of that Miko Randon deal, and then if they do pursue Brock Besser. But you know what the music means folks, that's it for Halford and Bruff for the day. It's been a fun trade deadline, it's been fun working through all of these deals with you. We hope you had a good time.

Keep it right here on Sportsnet 650 all day. Trade deadline goes till noon but you guaranteed the deals will be coming in after 12pm Pacific Time. For now though, We got to say goodbye Signing off I have been Mike Halford. He's been Jason Brough. He's been a dog and he's been laddie This has been the help for the brush on sportsnet 650