Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Sunshine State Is Now The Hockey State

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports including the Panthers knocking off the Canes and heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals (3:00), plus they look to tonight's Oilers Stars tilt with Sportsnet NHL host David Amber (29:52), to see if we might see a repeat of last year's SCF matchup.  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.

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We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studios and beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning! Good morning! Adog, good morning to you! Good morning! Ladi, good morning to you as well! Hello, hello! Halford and brother of the morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates BC's first and trusted choice for net help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in hour

one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We're coming to you live from the Kintec Studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics working together with you in Vancouver. We're coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Big show ahead on a Thursday guest list. Today begins at 6.30.

David Amber, Sportsnet Hockey Night Canada host is gonna join us live from Dallas ahead of game five of the Western Conference Final between the Oilers and the Stars. Speaking of game fives, last night, game five of the Eastern Conference Final final Florida dispatch to Carolina and the Panthers will advance to their third straight Stanley cup final as a result. Will tonight be the night we book a cup finals rematch? Uh,

David joins at six 32 discuss that seven o'clock adnan Burke MLB network. Our MLB insider is going to join us. We're going to talk about Bo Bichette's heroics last night, Juan Soto's struggles, Shohei Otani's pitching and all other things. Baseball. It's going to be at seven o'clock with Adnan. 730, our good buddy, Vancouver's very own Mike Kelly is going to join the program. He's now an analyst for NHL network and Amazon prime. We'll look back on Florida's five game ouster of the Canes,

what to expect from the reigning cup champs as they get back to the final. Look ahead to tonight's game five between the Oilers and the Stars. I do want to ask Mike about his theory. He's got a theory on why Stuart Skinner is so much better against the Stars than other playoff teams he's faced. So we'll talk to Mike about that at 730.

Eight o'clock, the Drancer, Thomas Drance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks talk is going to join us here on Sportsnet 650. A reminder on the Canucks front. The Abbotsford Canucks begin their Calder Cup West final tonight against Texas in Abbotsford. You can hear the game and viral internet sensation Brandon Astle. He'll be on the call tonight. Hopefully no chairs flying his way.

That's all right here on Sportsnet. It's 650 this evening. The chairs have been removed from the Abbotsford Arena. Safer for everybody. Did you see the New York Post picked up the story? Brandon is an internet sensation right now. Crazy. Yeah.

Reminder about the Sportsnet 650 Jays Care 50 50. We're on a mission this morning, Jason. We're going to see if we can raise $2,500 for the aforementioned Jays Care Sportsnet 50 50 presented by Tile Town. If we hit that goal during the show, Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance will do a random draw during Kennox talk for a pair of tickets

to the aforementioned Abbotsford Canucks game versus the Texas Stars tonight. 50-50 tickets start at just $10 with bundles available for more chances to win. Yeah, I got the 10 pack, 10 pack for 50 bucks. Look at you go. Yeah, yeah, well, I'm gonna win this thing. Maybe you'll win tickets to go see Abbotsford tonight.

Wait, we're allowed to enter too? Anyone can enter, Andy. Anybody can enter. Here's how you do it. Going down, bro. It's I'm gonna win this thing. Maybe you'll win tickets to go see Abbott's Bridge. Wait, we're allowed to enter too? Anyone can enter, Andy. Oh, cool. Anybody can enter. Here's how you do it. Going down, bro. It's a 50-50, buddy. Yeah.

It's not rigged or anything. Grab yours now at jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. If that was too much for you, pick up your phone. Do it now. Don't do it while driving. Text the word MONEY, M-O-N-E-Y to 650-650, we'll send a link right to you, so you can buy 50-50 tickets.

It's just that easy. And it really is, I mean, we joke about everything on this show, but Challenger Baseball is an awesome, awesome endeavor, and it gives a lot of kids Challenger baseball is an awesome, awesome endeavor and it gives a lot of kids who wouldn't normally be able to get out there and play baseball the opportunity to participate just like every other kid does.

The opportunity to get outside, play a game, meet friends. It is, your brother coaches it and I'm sure it's very rewarding for him. So let's make sure that these kids can keep doing this. Okay. Let's raise some money for them because this is an important campaign and it really is on behalf of the Halford and Brough show. If you can help out and be part of this 50 50, we'd really appreciate it if you could.

Jayscaregolf.RaffleNexus.com or text the word money, M-O-N-E-Y to 650 650. You must be 19 plus and in BC to buy 50 50 tickets. Let's do some good together. That is the rundown. That is the show. Without further ado, laddie. Let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened?

I missed all the action because I was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Did you miss that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. As I mentioned in the rundown, the Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the third count, um, third straight season with a five three win over the Carolina Hurricanes in

game five of the Eastern Comforts final at the Lenovo Center, which is now closed for the season like a laptop. They slammed it shut. And that's it for the Carolina Hurricanes. Florida advances to its third straight Stanley Cup final. Yeah, it looked like the Canes were gonna force a game six, frankly, early on. It's about, uh, uh, Sebastian Ajo got a couple of goals and Bobrowski did not look sharp. Uh, and then the second period happened and the

Florida Panthers just scored three times real quickly. And, uh, and it really did suck the life out of, uh, the Lenovo center and also the Carolina hurricanes. And that's just what the Florida Panthers do. They've scored way more on the road than any other team in the NHL this season. They go into buildings and they just hurt the fans basically. They did it in Toronto. You saw what they did in games five and seven.

This team is taking care of business. And there were a lot of remarks about how, you know, a couple of years ago, when they went to the Stanley Cup final, they booked that spot. Wow, what an accomplishment for the first time since they went to the Stanley Cup final in the 90s. You know, and the franchise had been through so much and so much failure

and so much really irrelevance. It was a big celebration that they were getting to the Stanley Cup final. It was incredible. Now it's just like, yeah, that's what we do. Third straight Stanley Cup final. The Tampa Bay Lightning did that a few years ago. Then before then you got to go back to, I guess, the Edmonton Oilers who went 83, 84. That's it. 85. And then before then lots of teams used to do it.

It used to be just, yeah, go and runs. The Islanders, the Montreal Canadians, but the league has changed a lot since then. But we've got one of these, I call them kind of mini dynasties. Sure. That's what the Florida Panthers are right now. Uh, Tampa Bay qualified for a mini dynasty, you know, Chicago, LA.

We saw that consistent, um, excellence really. In a short period of time. Yeah. Yeah. Over a short period of time. It's, I think it's, it's next to impossible now. Well, we'll see. Maybe prove me wrong, Florida Panthers, but it's really hard to, you know, we won four Stanley Cups in a row like the Islanders and the Habs did

in the seventies and the eighties. And then the Edmonton Oilers won four out of five, and then they added a fifth in 1990. That's really tough to do in a league with a hard cap where the spending is kind of pretty much the same for every team. And there are 32 teams. So it really is an accomplishment to get to three Stanley Cup finals in a row. And the Panthers don't feel like they're done. I know they're probably going to get, probably going to get the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup final. And honestly, as much as it worries me that the Oilers might win this, I think this is going to be a fantastic series. Yesterday, it was Carter Verhege scoring the game winning and series winning goal, which begs the question, is Carter Verhege the greatest clutch player of our generation?

Consider these stats for a moment, dear listeners. Since the 2022 postseason, which is when Florida started this aforementioned mini dynasty. Carter Verhege has now scored 12 game winning goals since twenty twenty two. Very short window. A lot of game winning goals. He's also scored three series clinching goals over that time. If Justin Williams was the Mr. Game seven and the clutch player of his era, Carter Verhege has now become the Justin Williams of the modern era. It's remarkable. And he would be the Canucks best forward. I don't

care what Thomas Drance says. Yeah, I was just going to say we got Drancer on the show and every time I'm throwing this right back in his face, every, every time Drancer comes onto the show, Carter Verhege the night before has had a big game. I'd say it was cause Carter Verhege was out to prove Drance wrong, but he has no idea who Thomas Drance is. Not a clue. So that was an impressive stat for the Florida Panthers. The goal then for Hage scored was 90% Barkov. You got to be in the right places at the right time. Okay.

But look, we need to, we need to appreciate what Barkov is. You know how we were talking yesterday about how good teams just have individual players that can make big plays and they can get to the middle of the ice through speed like Conor McDavid or in Barkov's case, I think it was a combination of power, size and skill. Um, Orlov tried to take him one-on-one, Orlov failed. Orlov stinks.

But then Barkov, okay. But then Barkov was also able to, I think Eric Robinson was out there trying to reach and poke check the puck away from Barkov and he was like, nope. Here's to you, Eric Robinson. And he fed a perfect cross crease pass to Carter Verhage and Verhage, you know him, he's clutch. He's not going to miss those. Never.

And I, you know, Barkov is somehow still underappreciated in my mind. I think it's because he's so quiet and they have so much depth. I think that's one of the two things. Like, I bet if you were to ask the casual who the captain of the team was, most of them would probably say Kachak, be honest because bark off is

I don't want to like make this about like being understated and quiet and Finnish and the sort of like Prototypical like just goes out there and does this job, but he is all those things and now here's the other thing though Florida right now Is playing at such a high level? with so many different guys going on a nightly basis that They become and this is where we're gonna play the Rod Brindlemore audio from last night They become the bar at least in the East Eastern Conference And I don't mean bars in a place to go drink like they're the standard right now

Because of the way the roster has been constructed The way that they play hockey the way that they play hockey, the way that they're coached, the culture that they have among the players. I have a, I have a self-loathing Canucks fan question. Yeah. How many Canucks would make the top six in Florida? So top six. So the top six in Florida is, I think this is the

spot that would be up for grabs by the way. Evan Rodriguez. Yeah. Alexander Barkov, Sam Reinhardt, Carter Verhage, Sam Bennett, Matthew Kachuk. But if you were to just hold on, if you were to do it the other way and just say who are the six best forwards, nevermind the line call. Well then you've got, you've got to throw in, well, an Anton Lundell too. Yeah, or Uto Lustreinen who got hurt last night by the way. But I think it's yeah, Lendell and Marshawn who are on the third line.

Right. In Florida. They would be about, yeah. I think you'd probably have Debrecen Rodriguez's spot maybe. Maybe, but if you were just going to do the best six. Peaty bump to the wing or something. If you were just going to do the best six forwards, I'd still say both would have a tough time cracking that.

Yeah. Top six, fantasy top six. Now this is, with Pedersen playing the way he has in the last year. You know, if he, if he is playing the way he's capable of and has in the past, certainly you find a spot for him in that top six, even if you have to bump them to the wing. But I think, you know, the point is we kind of

seem to be maybe overly driving it into people's heads is, is just the challenge of what the Canucks need to build in their top six right now. You compare it to the bar and that is, that is the Florida Panthers. And I want to play some Rod Brindemore audio coming up because I thought there were a couple of interesting stories about the coaches afterwards. And we'll get into Paul Maurice's handshake line, but you know, yeah, it's, well, I kind of agree with him. I don't know if he went about it the right, well, I kind of agree with him. I don't know if he went about it the right way,

but I kind of agree with him. I first want to play, do we have the Rod Bryndamore audio that is in the long? Okay. So here's Rod Bryndamore's presser. Well, there's two minutes of him answering like three questions and it starts out with, I think, a good question, somewhat brave question from

the reporters that sounded like Eric Engels. It sounded like Eric Engels was asking the question. And you know, Brendan Moore's up there and I don't think he ever blinks. No. And he was- He never has actually. He's physically capable of blinking. He was asked, Rod, Brendan Moore was asked

the same question that we've kicked around. You know, you get to this point over and over, but you can't get over the hump. Do you need to change up the style that you play as the Carolina Hurricanes? Ron, I'm just wondering, you've had unwavering belief in the way you guys play it and the style of game. With the results being what they are over the last few years after successful first couple rounds and it ends up this way again, do you think at all it requires some level of change in terms of the way you guys play throughout an entire season and into the playoffs?

Like what? What do you recommend? I'm not making recommendations. How do you think they play? They're the standard now. I see out, in, four check, hard, wait for your chance, try to capitalize. It's hard hockey. If anything, we've got to figure out how to get that much to our game.

That's the standard right there. I feel like that's been our game for a long time. They've kind of picked it up the last couple of years and made it that much better. So that's what we got to get. Take a few more for Rod, left side, second row. Rod, you guys were really physical in the first period. It seemed to wane a little bit as the second period went on. Was that them skating?

What was them getting that momentum? Yeah. It was a backbreaker, I think, when they got that little run and got another one. You could just feel it's just natural, the building, everything kind of sucked a little bit of life out of us. Left side, third row. Rod, given all the turnover in the off season and all the changes, how do you measure

the disappointment of falling short with the achievement of getting to this stage? Thank you. That way it seems to, like it's the craziest thing that we're this far and it's all over here is negativity from everybody. When I walked this summer and with the pieces that will left this organization,

I was like, I don't think we're making playoffs. I was that worried about it because it was such a mass exodus of good players to free agency. And then we were able to find good players to fill in. And then I was like, I don't know if they're that good, but they hung in there. So I got nothing but pride with this group. And, you know, yeah, we didn't love how this kind of went this series. But again, that's the standard right there.

That's you're not giving Florida enough credit. So much to unpack there. I mean, and let's start like question by question and answer by answer. And the first one, just to paraphrase, was Rod Brindemore saying Florida plays the same way we do. They just played a lot better. And that was pretty evident, pretty honest and pretty forthright from the head coach. I don't disagree with a lot of what he said.

It wasn't there's no secret sauce or secret recipe to what Florida does. And it's hard. It's hard hockey. And that's what typically wins when you get down to it. But Florida also has, I would say, significantly better players than a lot of the other teams that they play against. And in that- But it's the type of players too, though. Like they're big, strong dudes with skill.

Yeah. And those are really hard to find. And when you think about how they found them, this is the interesting part. They found them in all sorts of ways. Barkov drafted. Yep. Right?

And it usually starts with the draft. Sam Reinhardt, how'd they find him? He was traded. Traded, kind of like a undervalued player in Buffalo had kind of gone, you know, he was like on a bad team and probably wanted to change his scenery. Sam Bennett, how'd they find him? Trade.

Trade, but like they picked him up for pennies on the dollar. When you look at what they picked up Reinhardt and Bennett for, Sam's, you're shaking your head. Well, and then Matthew Kachak was a trade, but it was a different type of trade. Why was he traded there? Because they made the Florida Panthers a destination place where people wanted to go. I mean, that is, we were talking, we kind of ran

out of time after yesterday's show, right? And I think someone had texted in and said, you know, if you look at all the tear it down, rebuilds, so many of them fail and you're still dealing with it six to 10 years later and the most obvious example is Buffalo. How do you build a contender? Well, it usually does start with you being bad at some point. That's usually where it starts and you get your guys like Barkov and Ekblad.

I mean, Ekblad was the first overall pick, wasn't he? Where was Barkov? He was top five or I can't remember. But like they were terrible. The Panthers were terrible. But they also made some really smart additions. I mean, forget the forward group. What about adding a guy like Forsling, which is

basically the kind of same way they, well, not the same way they got Bennett. Cause Bennett was like a high pick. Forsling just fell is basically the kind of same way they, well, not the same way they got Bennett, because Bennett was like a high pick that never- Forsling is just, it fell into their lap. I mean, that guy passed the three different organizations. They got a little bit of luck too. Which you need. Yeah, and they gave them an opportunity.

And they've just made really good moves in all facets. You know, Carter Verhege was a good pickup as well. But Carter Verhege, like the thing is, as you get this, as you get momentum as an organization, then the nice thing about having these great core players is that it almost like creates more core players. Do you know what I mean? Like, I don't know if, I don't know what Carter

Verhage would be like if you plunked him on the Canucks. You know. Wouldn't be scoring as many series if you plunked him on the Canucks. You know. Wouldn't be scoring as many series clinching goals, I'll tell you that. Like you see what, you know, you see what Alex Burroughs became when he, when he joined the Sidines, right? And, and, and that's what, when you get, when you

get great core players, and typically that has come through the draft, um, it just makes everything easier. People want to go play with those players so that you become a destination and, um, you know, complimentary players seem to become more with those great players because Carter Verhage is in there going like, yeah, like I score goals. Did you see that pass that Barkov gave me?

Like I'm a professional hockey player. I can put the puck in an empty net. Yep. Like, yeah, like I score goals. Did you see that pass that Barkov gave me? Like I'm a professional hockey player. I can put the puck in an empty net. Yep. Now the other thing that you brought up there that is very important to the second half of Rod Brindemore's audio, a destination and a place to play.

And Rod Brindemore started out his answer talking about how many guys they lost last off season. Brady Shea, Brad Pesci, Jake Gensel was of course the big one that they lost out on. Kind of threw his team under the bus with the comments. I didn't think we were good enough for the playoffs. Second time he's done it this year, and it's not the players he's throwing him.

I was like, wow, I'm still here? It's not the players. I'm right behind you, coach. Not the players that he's throwing under the bus. It's definitely the organization. This is something to monitor now moving forward because this is the second time this season that Rod has openly and kind of frustratingly talked about

guys not wanting to be there and guys leaving and them not being able to retain or attract the kind of players that you need to be a Florida. You heard it, everyone heard it, right? He's like, with the departures that we had, I didn't think we were even gonna make the playoffs. Greg Wyshinski, who we're going to have, we had on the show, we're going to have on the show tomorrow. He kind of famously picked Carolina to miss the playoffs this year because of

all the guys that they lost. Carolina does a lot of winning and goes to the playoffs with regularity, but they cannot get guys to go there and they have a hard time keeping guys there as well. And it's a very interesting thing. And I wonder if this is the off season where something changes. I don't know if it's stylistically. I don't know if it's Rod getting frustrated. I don't know if it's them saying we need to try something different,

but running it back right now feels like way too much of the same, not more of the same, but way too much of the same because they just saw where the bars. I mean, that was the first thing Brendan Moore said when he went into that presser. Yeah, but he also said like, like thank you for recognizing that we have achieved quite a lot here. I hated that part.

I hated that part. I hated that part. I hated that part. He was acting so appalled at the negativity. You've made the playoffs seven years in a row as a head coach, Rod, and you've won one single game in the third that's incredible stagnation but see I don't credible say here's the thing I don't blame him I think that the and I don't blame is a tough word but

like they tried this year with random to do the big bold thing and I think what a lot of people miss is that it didn't blow up in their face in terms of assets because they got stank open back and they managed to flip the piece I think what a lot of people miss is that it didn't blow up in their face in terms of assets because they got stank open back and they managed to flip the piece. I think it did damage because everyone looked at and said, why doesn't Rantanen want to be there? And then they're like, well, wait a minute. Why didn't Gensel want to be there? And it's all these guys that they go out and try and acquire to put them over the top. They don't want to be there. And then it was like, well, wait a minute. The Gensel thing and the Rantanen thing seemed kind of different, didn't it?

I know. It seemed like the Gensel thing was they waited too long. It's different. And then the Rantanen thing was like, I don't want to play this style. The process was different. But the end result was the exact same. Yeah, I know.

I know. And that's the worst part. I know. It's like, you guys keep screwing this up. We had Adam Gold on the show earlier this week. And he said that Dundon's still learning how to deal with players across the board, which led me to believe that the mistakes

are almost all different. Like he just, he kind of keeps fumbling the bag in new exciting ways. But don't get angry about the negativity. Like is the bars clearly to win the Stanley Cup? You're trying all these bold moves. It's disappointing when you don't get to that point. I'm sorry, Rod, it is.

I think that yesterday was a guy that knew his team was limited and that it got exposed just in that round. And he's, and I think if you had got him in if you got her name We should have been like it's a miracle or this far See what I have to work with here honestly, I'm the greatest coach in the world You see what I'm getting out of Jalen Chatfield right now like to me You're a lot can't defend but we're still in the conference final with them. Like it was, it's very interesting. I'm very curious to see how this all goes because that's a team that really got

unglued in that fight. I know that they want to get, they did early on. They got very much unglued. I think that's a good way to put it. Yeah. We'll talk later in the show about the handshake line thing. Oh yeah. Right.

Dang it. Is David Amber coming up next? Yeah. But before we go to break, we're going to be doing this all show at the end of every segment. And this is just a reminder how important an initiative this is for us as a show and the entire station. We are on a mission this morning to see if we can raise twenty five hundred bucks for the Sportsnet 650 Jays Care 50 50 presented by a Tile Town in support of Challenger

baseball. OK, so if we hit the goal during the show, Dranson Dodd are going to do a random draw during Canucks talk for a pair of tickets to tonight's Abbotsford Canucks game against the Texas stars. 50, 50 tickets started 10 bucks. Bundles are available. Breath bought a $50 pack earlier today or this morning. Grab your tickets now at jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com or text the word money M O N E Y to six 56 50 to get the link sent straight to your phone. You must be 19 plus at NBC to buy 50 50 tickets. Let's do some good together.

You're listening to the Haliford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Canucks talk with Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. We'll dive deep into all that's happening with the Vancouver Canucks. Listen 12 to 2. on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. ["It Is Time For David Amber"] It is time for David Amber, he is on the hotline, baby. It is time for David Amber, he will talk some hockey, maybe.

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Halford Brough Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. Our listeners are coming through. J's Care 50-50? Yeah. Let's go. I can see. Don't ruin it with your let's-goes.

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Visit them at 1170 Powell street in Vancouver to the power West industries. hotline we go. David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host, joins us now on the Halford & Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning David, how are you? Mike, Jason, good messaging there. I'm glad you guys are doing that. We appreciate that. Thank you for drawing extra attention to it. We're going to be running a contest all show long if we raise $2,500 for the Jays care 50 50 Dranson dot on Canucks talk, we'll be giving away a pair of tickets to see the Abbotsford Canucks play in the Calder cup semi-finals tonight. Uh,

but let's focus on the Western conference final that you're at in Dallas, David, game five goes tonight. My first question, uh, what are the Edmonton, Edmonton Oilers going to do to replace Zach Hyman? That is the big question. Um are the Edmonton Oilers going to do to replace Zach Hyman? That is the big question. I mean, there's some thoughts that Matias Echolme is going to draw in. We haven't seen him since April 1st. It's actually pretty remarkable. They've won what now 11 games in the playoffs without him. And there's some thoughts that Connor Brown might be ready to get back in the lineup and they could continue on 12 and 6 potentially and then there's some thoughts that Jeff Skinner might draw in so there's a lot of options there which is I think really what Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson were hoping for the depth of this team would

be would be huge. You're not going to replace Zach Hyman though you know he plays in all situations, leads the Stanley Cup playoffs in hits, which was a big surprise. And, you know, he scored power play goals and game winning goals. Like he's just been a, he's such a meaningful guy on this team in many respects. He's one of the heartbeats of the team. So I don't think you're going to replace him. You know, having said that, Arvidsson stepped in really nicely for Connor Brown last game and I think provided a lot of energy and is a good for checker and kind of jumps right into what their game plan is. So I think it's time to be replaced by committee. But as we've seen so far in this series, guys, that's

what it's been for the Oilers. It's been the next man up mentality this whole playoffs, right? Stu Skinner was horrible at the start of the playoffs and our, you know, Calvin Picker goes six and oh, Calvin Picker gets hurt. Here comes Skinner, Skinner has been hot. And as far as upfront, you know, they have 16 goals in this series by 11 different goal scores. This hasn't just been McDavid and Dry Settle carrying the mail. So I think they hope that continues

without Zach Hyman in the lineup. It's nice to see Ryan Nugent Hopkins get some appreciation. He's been there for so long and he's been through so much and he might be playing the best hockey of his career right now. A hundred percent. And you know, I think when you talk to the players and this is in previous years too, they say, you know, R and H has been underappreciated because he does so many of the little things. He doesn't light up the scoreboard the way McDavid or Dry Cytle does, but he gives up

a little bit of his offense to make sure that he's so responsible defensively and kills penalties. And he, you know, basically is a facilitator and a shut down guy for them. So the guys really respect what he's bringing to the table. And now he's showing the offensive output, right? Four games into the series and he has four multi point games. It's been really impressive and there's some chatters that you know he might be that guy that is deserving of at least some consmite consideration if he continues to stretch and they end up winning the cup you know to have his name there

alongside you know the likes of McDavid and Dry Cytlin and Bouchard who's been exceptional in the playoffs again it's pretty cool so he's one of the big reasons they're you're one win away from getting back to back at the Stanley Cup final. We're speaking to David Amber, Hockey Night in Canada Sportsnet NHL host live from the Western Conference Final in Dallas here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

Speaking of Dallas, David, what do the stars need to do to unlock their offense in this series? How about play with a lead, right? Have a good. Yeah. I mean, Peter DeBoer keeps scratching his head and saying he's liked the team every game that he feels they've been getting better.

He feels their worst game of the series was the first game where they won six three, uh, which is funny because they scored six goals, three power play goals. They've been very good. The last three games combined, they've scored two goals. And, you know, it's just they can't play with a lead. They've led for all of 15 minutes now. We're four games in and they've led for 15 minutes and it was all in game one. They've not scored the first goal once in this series. They have three even strength goals in this series. You ask what can unlock their offense. been strength goals in this series. You ask what can unlock their offense, you know, they're missing a lot of shots, guys. I want to give Stuart Skinner a lot of credit. He's been

very good. He has a 977 save percentage over the last three games. That's fantastic. But man, they've missed a lot of grade A opportunities. They have 15 missed shots in the first period alone last game. That's the difference between leading a game after one and trailing a game after one. Some really good opportunities where guys were shooting at a foot wide, three feet wide, six feet wide. It was really strange to see some of their most elite players missing the net repeatedly.

So I'm sure that's something that's been talked about is, get the pucks on net. Even if it's not picking a corner, get them on net, there'll be rebounds, there'll be screens, there'll be deflections, but we can't just keep, you know, shooting ourselves in the foot and missing the net, uh, when we have some opportunities to score. Hey, David, I wanted to ask you about, uh, some

comments that Keith Peli made on a podcast called, uh, a hundred percent hockey. Uh, I think it's a, it's a podcast about hockey. Uh, mostly hockey, a hundred percent hockey. I think it's a podcast about hockey, mostly hockey, a hundred percent hockey even. And he said, um, he was talking about playing in Toronto and you know, the, the media pressure I suppose that, that comes from it. And he kind of turned it on its head because

he said, I think we need to give our fans more access to the players. And he said, there is access that we can give that is beneficial to the players. It allows them to relate to the fans better. Now, as a rights holder, I think we should be lining up and going like, okay, we'll take that access. If you're giving it, we'll take it. Just your thoughts on what he had to say about that, because normally we're so used to things going the other way. Here in Vancouver, it can be tough to get access to the players sometimes. And a lot of the things they do are in-house productions that are in a safe space for the players. And I think what Keith Pelly is saying, not that

there won't be some in-house stuff from them, but there are stories to tell and we need to make the players more available as opposed to just sticking them in this bubble, this protective bubble that we've made. I love that comment from Keith and you know, you have to remember Keith's background was in sports media. You know, he ran the show at TSN for many years, then ran the show at Sportsnet.

He was the one who helped facilitate getting the NHL national rights to Sportsnet and Rogers. You know, he understands the value of a partnership, essentially, where the media can be a liaison. And it's not just all positive roses and butterflies, but to give the access and humanize the players and let the fans have personal relationships that they feel so tightly bound with the players and with the team. And it's not everything at arm's length and

controlled and contrived. And I think he understands the essence of the value there. You know, Keith's a very personable guy. I think he holds everyone to a very high level of accountability, but he also recognizes the passion of the fan base for teams like Vancouver and for teams like Toronto is their strength. If there's indifference, that is when you're not a strong product. And we saw that in Vancouver many years back when essentially the team wasn't doing well and the fans stopped going to the game and you start to become less relevant. Well, I'm going to go do other things. Vancouver has a lot of other things to offer. You've got to strengthen that bond and keep that passion as high as possible,

whether the team's succeeding or not. And one opportunity to do that is to allow the fan base to really get to know these guys and feel sort of who they are as people. And I think that's really important. And I think there's value in that. And I think, you know, when Austin Matthews came into the league, you know, there wasn't always as much access to some of the young, great players in Toronto. And I don't think, I think that would actually work to their detriment in some,

in some respects. And I understand there's an incredible amount of volume of demand in markets like Vancouver and Toronto. But at the end of the day, you want your fans to feel a closeness with the players. You want them to be sort of attached to the community, and that's a really good opportunity to do that. So I'm really happy to hear that one of the ideas that Keith has is to increase accessibility and to basically allow within arm's length to have the fan base

understand what the players are like, what the personalities are like, what they're going through on a day-to-day basis. I do think there's really great value in that. You think it's harder to be critical too when you have that emotional connection to the players? Like it was, it was, man, it was, it was quite a moment. Not a great moment, but it was quite a moment when Mitch Marner was getting booed with the puck at the end of that game seven. I mean, those were not just a few boos, but you

know, there is a certain level of disdain that can be established sometimes with, between the fans and the players. Um, and, and I know a lot of that was just based on the frustration of getting to the post season over and over again and coming up short and the key players not doing that. But sometimes I wonder if the players weren't so

separated from the public and I'm not trying to be self-serving as media here, maybe a little bit, but you know, it is a little, it's tougher to do that when you understand these players' stories a little bit better. Yeah. I mean, that's human nature, right? It's human nature.

It's not like you're just going to give, you know, listen, if a team loses six, one, you're not going to sit there and say, the players work amazing just because you're friendly with them or they've given you good access, but there and say the players were amazing just because you're friendly with them or they've given you good access but there's certainly a human nature element to it where you know a benefit of the doubters it it comes down to empathy and understanding the player you know you guys dealt with a lot of that this year with the JT Miller leaving

for mental health issues and Pedersen and all of the stuff and it was hard to sort through it because we don't really 100% know what transpired but to understand you know wow these these guys are humans at the end of the day you want to be critical of them and their performance because you know they need to be held to a high standard of course and at the same time you want to understand that they're going through some tough stuff. And it's not just on the ice, but they've got families, they've got kids, they're not that dissimilar to you and me. On payday they are, but at the end of the day,

they feel the way we feel, they hurt the way we hurt. And I think having that level of empathy and understanding should be part of how we go about our business. I don't think we need to be ruthless and take cheap shots and denigrate players. I think fair criticism makes all the sense in the world, but I think that's where the line is fair criticism and hold the players accountable to what they're out there and supposed to be achieving and giving their full effort to, to, to, you know, finding success. But aside from that, I think, you know, there should always be a human element.

And I think you can do yourself a lot of favors by, you know, providing that access and allowing the players to really showcase their lives and who they are and how they feel and everything else. So I really do think it's a mutually beneficial situation. I honestly, maybe some people might think it's naive, but I do think at the heart of what we do in the media, we are the liaison between the fans and the teams they love. And we're there to tell good stories, inspiring stories, not negative stories in the sense of just piling on, but there's going to be some negativity when people aren't succeeding. But above and beyond that, it's really to sort of showcase everything in their lives and who they are as athletes. So I think we could be helpful to one another in that capacity for sure.

Yeah, the interesting stuff is when they have challenges. You know, I mean, it's not particularly easy if it's like, their lives are great. All right, that's what I expected, you know, you wanna see what they go through on a regular basis. At any rate, what else are you expecting from Brad True Living's presser this morning, because it is the first one that he's given since Brendan Chanahan left the organization. Yeah, I'm interested to see what Brad has to say.

I know there'll be a lot of questions about what his main objectives are, you know, like obviously we have these massive big things hanging over the Leafs Mitch Marner, John Tavara, it's Matthew Knife needs a new contract etc and you know how the season unfolded and how that series unfolded right they were in full control against Florida and things slipped away and you know game five and game seven is how it's going to be remembered by a lot of Leaf fans, those two no-shows at the most important time. Hopefully there's been a bit of time for people to reflect and feel positive.

I mean, we just saw what Florida did to Carolina. We saw what Florida did in the first round of Tampa. It doesn't take away from the issues the Leafs had in not getting through that series, but hopefully there'll be a level of measured approach. And I'm sure that's something that Brad Trey Living will be preaching is like, let's look at this as the full body of what's happened.

But I think the bigger question is not so much a post-mortem about what went wrong as much as looking forward to what is the new iteration of the least gonna look like. Because these are some very, very big decisions. And some of these decisions I'm sure have already been made but you know how how do you move forward you know if Mitch Marner leaves and you know John Tavares you know what's going to be the situation there what kind of price

tag is Matthew Nye's going to come at and how do you replace you know the talent that's leaving and how far off do you see what Florida is able to do and if they're the benchmark, right, or Edmonton, how do you compete with those types of teams? You know, what are the least need to do to beef up their lineup moving forward? So there's a lot on the plate there and I'm sure Brad Trey Living's gonna address as much of that as he can, you know, he has to be somewhat transparent but at the same time he's gonna hold his cards pretty close to his chest knowing that, you know, he has to be somewhat transparent, but at the same time, he's going to hold his cards pretty close to his chest,

knowing that, you know, he's got to figure a lot of things out between now and July 1st. I know we're not supposed to look too far forward, and there's still games to be played in the Western Conference final, but it's hard. It's hard not to look ahead right now at the potential Stanley Cup final that's staring us in the face because I've talked to a number of people here and they said, like, you can't ask for a better Stanley Cup final that's staring us in the face because I've talked to a number of people here and They said like you can't ask for a better Stanley Cup

I love you had told everyone at the beginning of the tournament when all 16 teams were still alive that this is what you were Going to get at the end almost everyone would have been like yep sign us up for more of that given the drama of last year and this mini dynasty that the Panthers have bought and the Narrative behind, you know Connor McDavid trying to get that elusive first ever Stanley Cup also comes at a time. And we talked about this yesterday where the NBA doesn't exactly have the most marquee matchup on the books for their final. And, you know, you can speak candidly here.

It's a safe space, David. You guys quietly behind the scenes there talking about and anticipating how great a Stanley Cup final this could be if it's Edmonton, Florida again. Yeah, I mean, listen, just as from a pure hockey standpoint, I think you hit it on the head. And it almost feels like it could be a full circle moment here. We all remember when Wayne Gretzky had his breakthrough, the Islanders were on, you know, just finishing up a fourth straight Stanley Cup, beating the Oilers in pretty decisive fashion. And Gretzky and Messier and Curry and all the guys went back to the dressing room and they heard the Islanders celebrating and they sort of said to themselves that's gonna be us

next year we're not gonna let this happen again. The next year it was a rematch it was the Islanders versus Edmonton and Edmonton goes out Gretzky gets his first cup. It kind of feels like that could be the storybook ending that we're witnessing potentially in two weeks between the Oilers and the Panthers for the Panthers been there, done that, were the champions, were the dynasty, as you said, can the Oilers kind of go in there and unseat them? You know, this is going to be a great, if it happens, it's going to be a fantastic matchup.

Uh, I, I can't wait. I, you know, you, you hit it on the head really, like if we started, you know, to start a set like a playoffs and said, this is how it's going to shake down. I think a lot of pure hockey fans would be like, I can't wait to see that. And there are just so many storylines there and are the Oilers beefed up and ready to deal with a Panther team that to me just have the clearest identity of any team in the, in, in sport sport really. They know what they do, they

do it well and they do it unabashedly and they're not shy to be the bullies. Even just last night Bennett a little kind of shoulder shrug to the head of Freddie Anderson. They know who they are and they're not embarrassed by it and it's been greatfully successful and are the others ready ready for that and is this McDavid's moment so yeah I listen it's fantastic and you know there's some work to be done clearly for the Oilers but you know they're rolling right since that second game versus LA they're 11 and 2 they'll be going in with a ton of momentum the Florida Panthers are going into the Stanley Cup final with a ton of

momentum and it makes for what could are going into the Stanley Cup final with a ton of momentum, and it makes for what could be a dynamic, dynamic Stanley Cup final. Well, as you mentioned, before we get there, the Oilers have to get there, and they'll get their crack at it tonight. A reminder to all of our listeners, we are gonna be joining that one in progress

after Connect Central with Sat and Dan tonight, and it's the Oilers' chance to go to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals. David, thank you very much for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the game tonight. It should be great. And we will be doing this next week talking about the Stanley Cup final. My pleasure could be if the Oilers win tonight, game one will be next Wednesday on my usual slot. So, yeah, we'll be keying up.

What should be a fantastic game one, but we got some work to do. Let's see what happens tonight. Thanks, buddy. Appreciate this. Take care, guys. David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Hour one in the books, hour two coming up, Adnan Virk is going to join us on the other side of the break to talk a little baseball. Mike Kelly is going to join us at 730.

NHL analyst for NHL Network and Amazon Prime. Eight o'clock. It's the Drancer and a reminder at eight 30 it's what we learned. Get yours in now. Dunbar Lumbertex line is six 50, six 50 hashtag at WWL and tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. You're listening to the Halford and Bref show on sports net six 50.