Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Whitecaps Are The Best Team In MLS By The Way

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason react more to the news that the Canucks have let go General Manager Patrik Allvin ahead of President Jim Rutherford's press conference this afternoon (3:00), plus the boys discuss the Whitecaps excellent 2026 campaign thus far that currently sees them sitting atop the MLS standings with Caps radio commentator Asa Rehman (26:27). 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.

Happy Friday, everybody. Halford, Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brubb in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt? If you are, Sands and Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands-trustee.com. We are an hour two of the program. AJ from EJ's Pizza is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to by Jason hominock at jason.

If you love giving the banks more your money, then don't let Jason shop around. the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Down Mortgage. We're coming to you live from the Kintech studio. Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech. So our next guest is also the first guest that we're getting on in the aftermath of the biggest offseason move that the Vancouver Connects have made so far, AJ, from AJ's pizza joins us now on the Halford

and Bradshaw. Local pizza proprietor. What up, AJ? What is going on? Hey, the first step to a climbing Mount Everest, right? That's good. Listen, you got to take it. I have an AUA fee guys

Yeah, shoot So who are we cheering against? Against? Great question. Like who are we cheering against? Edmonton. I'm cheering against. Edmonton for me.

Okay. It's usually Edmonton and I'll stick with that. Because there's a good question because we spent last week trying to figure out what team we were going to adopt. And I don't think we really came to a conclusion. Edmondson in Minnesota. Yeah. Who are you cheering against? Tampa.

Tampa. Tampa, why? I'm not really a, I know I'm going to say something. I'm not really a Cooper guy. Oh, my. Oh, boy. This is a spicy pizza. Oh, boy. Why not?

Why not? It's twofold here. It's twofold because I'm turning AJ's into a Habs bar. Okay. So if you show up in any Habs gear, I have a housewarming gift for you. Oh, my. But it's only game days. Yeah.

And it may come in the liquor. would form. This is impressive. So we had much of y'all. My beer league uniform is we're the Canadians. We're the Canadians. So I'm going to show up in my not washed hockey jersey. And be like, where's my free stuff? Just make sure you wear and you skate. Give you my free beer. Okay. Well, you set the table nicely here because the habs are in action this weekend. And it's on

Super Sunday where I believe we have four and I know we have four NHL Stanley Cup playoff games and there's a bunch of NBA playoff games as well so it's the time to beat AJ so let's get this. So Sunday we've got 16s. Listen, 60s is going to be great. Yeah. So we've got

the HABs promo. We've got Happy Hour all day and we've got I think it's seven games for NHL and three NBA, seven playoffs games at AJ's. Yeah, it's going to be amazing this weekend. And remember too, it's happy hour Saturday from 2 to 530 right right in the mix of everything. Okay, I should

say no more and just tell everybody, go to AJ's this weekend. It's the place to be, especially if you're a Habs fan. AJ, thanks for doing this, bud. We appreciate it. Yeah, you guys have a great weekend. Enjoy all the games. Yeah, you too, thanks. That's AJ from AJ's Pizza on East Broadway here on the Halford and Rough Show on SportsNet 650.

Wear your abs gear. You can get drunk. Coopo, Coop, but do. Not a coop guy. Not a coop guy. You know what? I actually like that. Because everyone's a coop guy.

Everyone likes a coop. Okay. Do you want to do some ask us anything? We'll try not to do too many like non-hockey. Let's just do Canucks ask us anything. Okay. Capitol Hill, Ron, ask us anything.

Okay. Which, there's, these are the two questions here. We'll answer the first one. First. Okay. Which former Canucks coach would you like to advance the furthest in the playoffs? Great question.

Green, talk it, or torts? Well, it's not torts. Because I don't. Not torts. So it's either. Locket or green. Green. You think so?

Yep. Talk it. It's hard to cheer against sit. Right? Like I want the penguins. Yeah. That's an easy one actually. I don't want the Flyers to win that series.

I want the penguins. I don't really want to cheer for Talket. Can't do it. Can't do it. No. It's got to be great. Not the way things ended. Yeah. Greener got fired.

Greener didn't leave. Greener got fired. And he's done a really good job this year. Not the Talk it hasn't. And I do put Ottawa in that small group of Canadian teams where I'd be okay, not really, but sort of. The Brady-Kichick-Chuck factor. I would not want to see him smiling.

It would honestly be hilarious if they upset Carolina. Because there's pressure. There's pressure on Carolina this year. Like, they're in the number one seed in the east. Their fans are tired of like, we're a great regular season team, right? I mean, Kinex fans would be like, well, I'd love to be a great regular season team and then not get over the hump in the playoffs, right? but for Carolina, I mean, if they lose to Ottawa, that would be shocking.

And I think, I think Ottawa's good. Ottawa is a good. I'm worried about Allmark. Me too, but he could also be really good. But you never know with him, right? Like, he won the Vesda. He's played well down the stretch for them. He's obviously had a very inconsistent season.

But I just think they're a good team overall. They're solid in every area if Allmark delivers. So my take on that series right now is that Ottawa is probably the team you know there's always one house money team in the playoffs where they're going in and they don't. And I know Ottawa got in the playoffs last year

and somebody said that last year. Like the capitals a couple years ago and they just somehow got in. No, because I never really get, they didn't play with the looseness and the freeness of a team that wasn't expected to win. I think Ottawa has it

because as you pointed out, if there was ever a year that Carolina was a, expecting to go through because of all the reasons you said, but also because Florida's not there. Like, that's been the team that's ended their season to the last three. So,

for them to, I could, there could be a world where they look past Ottawa. I know no one really does that, but just in the sort of sense of we feel we have bigger fish to fry later in this thing. And the team that's ended us in the conference finals a couple times in Florida's not there. I could see, I can see it. Teams that go to the Stanley Cup

final often have a tough first round. Yep, for sure. The second question, which former Canuck player are you cheering to advance the furthest in the playoffs? Tyler Myers, Quinn Hughes, Silovs, or Pod Colson? So those are the four choices? Yeah, see, like, I, this is hard because are we going to separate the team from the player?

Because, I mean, I like Pod Colson, but I don't want the Oilers to go far. They're out. I mean, it's not going to be Hughes. Definitely. No. So I think for me it's between Myers and Seelovs. Is Seelov's even going to be the guy for Pittsburgh? No, Skinner.

Right? Yeah. But I also don't want. It's been 50-50. Seelves has been getting a lot of time. But they usually go with one guy in the playoffs. I would like to see Tyler Myers personally have success. But I don't really, I don't really, I'm not cheering for Dallas.

But I'm not cheering against Dallas. Well, I'm cheering for Dallas in the first round against Minnesota. I'm going to say Tyler Myers. Okay. Yeah, that's my choice there. That's a good one. I mean, none of them are great. You know, I want to see everyone fail.

Okay. In this instance, Myers. Safety, Mike, with an ask us anything. Safe and up, Mike. Okay. With Alveen getting fired, is there a case that he was one of the worst Canucks GMs of all time along with Benning? Okay, I'm going to finish this.

Some highlights include resigning Pedersen, Demko, Besser, early, and to massive contracts, mishandling Besser overall multiple missed opportunities to trade him Bruce Boudreau debacle first round pick for Pedersen Marcus Pedersen there's more okay so here's the thing I personally don't think of Alvinas doing those things

yeah me neither you know and it's that's whether that's fair to Alvin or not I don't even think of that he's been the general manager I feel like Jim Rutherford has been leading the ship. And it's going to be interesting to hear Jim Rutherford justify this firing. It very much will be. Right. Like, what are you going to say? Is this, are you going to look back and say, well, you didn't get it done? Or are you going to say, well, this was more about looking forward. If I was Jim Rutherford and I was spinning this, I'd be like, this was about moving forward.

And we just didn't feel that Patrick was ready for this job. I'm going to be moving on at some point. We need someone that can stand by himself. And then you could say like I'm, you know, maybe Patrick wasn't ready. And that rests on on me a little bit. Some accountability. Some semblance of accountability. So I appreciate safety mics ask us anything because there's been some bad general managers in Vancouver. If you're going to do like a Mount Rushmore or power ranking, you would have some choices.

But I'm kind of with you. When they write the obit and the epitaph for. Alvin's tenure as general manager, I think it's going to be all about who he served underneath as opposed to what he did. Like there was almost a lack of autonomy that kind of prevents him from owning

a lot of these moves. You know, so many of these, you go back and you look at the Benning era and there were so many moves that were explicitly Jim Benning, you know? Like guys that he really liked or former first round

picks that he had scouted prior to and they had Jim Benning's fingerprints all over them. They were Benning-esque moves. You just don't have that with Alvin because you always had the feeling that he wasn't the one truly orchestrating things. You know? Totally. When you talk about the Pedersen.

He was the guy like doing the grunt work and then when you talk about the Pedersen contract, you talk about Rutherford. When you talk about the Hughes trade, you talk about Rutherford. When you talk about the Miller trade, you talk about Rutherford because Rutherford was the front-facing guy. Yep. So I don't know where I would put a mic.

I would say if there's a special category for guys that ultimately didn't really do anything. He worked the phones. Remember when Stan Smeal was the acting GM for four days? Remember that?

He didn't work the phones as much as Alvin. Like you don't think he's working the phones? Stan Smeel was the most successful GM in Canucks history. He was very popular. Recent history at least. Right. Yeah. So I don't know. Jay with an ask us anything. How would you convince PD to stay in Vancouver this offseason and train under the team's supervision.

That's a last year question. I don't even think that's a, that's not one of the first 12 questions you would be asking him. How would you convince PD to wave his no move clause and go to any team that would take him? I thought it was very telling that we played audio from Elliot Friedman's 32 thoughts. Now, 32 thoughts dropped this morning, but it was prior to the news that the Cucks had fired Patrick Alvinas general manager. So Frege didn't have that information at his disposal, but he was still talking about how the Kinex need to stop looking in the past

and they need to start looking forward. And then he laid out the decisions. And chief among the big decisions when the Kineks are talking about moving forward is Pedersen. Like there's no dancing. I don't even think you mentioned Adam Foote. I think it went right from Alvin and Rutherford and then right to Pedersen. Which kind of talks about, it really crystallizes.

how much of a handcuff he is to this organization right now. And how much what he's willing to do and where he's willing to go is going to set the course for this team. And Freach seemed to suggest that a trade would be possible. Like he said, it's not impossible. Because there's a lot of people that are wondering, like, is this, can you even move them?

Yeah, my take there was that they have to explore it. And they have to explore it in a meaningful way. I don't, they don't have to explore. They have to get it done. Yeah. And that's where you... They have to get it done.

And look, I'm okay if they don't, if they don't retain, but they might have to take back a bad contract. Like instead of saying, hey, Elias, we'd like to work with you to potentially find a new home. I think it's going to be like, we need, the end result has to be that you have to be somewhere else. Like, that's how it should be framed. And then you work from there. Just you think PD is like, why? Yeah. Like, am I not doing a good job?

We're like, we can't explain all this. we're looking forward. We're not going to work in the past. Been blocking quite a few shots out there. Yeah, and you have to move on. Right? This is, but again, could the player thrive somewhere else?

Absolutely. Absolutely. The possibility is there. I'm not saying it's a likelihood, but it's a possibility. Could you live to regret it? Perhaps. But that is all stuff that's in the past.

And that's rearview window. Rearview mirror stuff's here. You know, you've got to be able to start fresh and say this is a, new era of Canucks hockey. You can't do it, Pedersen here. You can't. It's impossible. Can't do it. Rick from Colonna, ask us anything. What do you want to hear from JR most in his presser? What is the most important question? That's a good one. That is a good one. Where did you go wrong? And then an honest answer. Yeah. Because if you can't admit that mistakes were made,

my my feeling is that the philosophy of the organization has to change yeah and i think brotherford came in and right from the very beginning he was like uh you know i know all of you want to get back to the playoffs right away and that was like the first mistake it was like no we want the team to be built methodically and patiently and you know so so you can produce a team that can consistently make the playoffs because you've built the right core Um, you've got plenty of help from below in terms of prospects. You're making lots of draft picks. You're developing these guys.

So that hopefully when you have successful players and you get to the point where you're like, oh, I don't know if I can afford this guy. There's someone to replace them. And he's like, I know you want to get back to the playoffs right away. Right. And it's, it's like that philosophy has to change, you know. And, and I think, I mean, they've kind of been forced into this rebuild, right? there's no way they wanted to do this thing, right?

It's like they're kicking and screaming into this rebuild because there's no other option. There is no other option. The only, okay, the only other option they would have would be so ridiculous that it's just not even worth talking about. Yeah, it's beyond the pale. And that would be trading to continue trade first round picks. Rather like trade this first round pick

for a guy that can play in the NHL. Keep chasing. That is the only, Can't do it in free agency. No one will come to Vancouver and there's no one really worth pursuing anyway. And you've got no assets to trade. Like nothing that's really worth all that much. You know, Philip Peron, if you trade him, even if you trade him,

he's not going to turn the team around. The return isn't going to lose a good defenseman then. I would like, just to answer the question as we move on to another one, I would like to hear a lot along the lines of what Brad Tree Living said in early March before he was fired. And it was full responsibility is on me. Failures here. Start with me.

And I take accountability. I think that would be a great step to take in the aftermath. Especially when Jim Rutherford's media availability is going to be shrouded, shrouded in you know, the, oh, well, Patrick Alvin was your fall guy. It's great time to take responsibility and accountability. Yeah.

When a lot of people are accusing you of having a fall guy. it's going to go. I know, I know Freege talked about, like, you can't keep looking backwards, but I do think that's a fair question for Jim Rutherford, because I think, you know, if you say, where did you go wrong, that's going to direct how you're going to go forward. Like, looking back on the past is one thing. Taking accountability for your actions is kind of different. Because I don't think you need to necessarily try and consistently explain away why things happened in the past. You can say they happened. It wasn't good enough. It's on me. And I'm either going to fix it or I am also going to suffer a similar fate to my general

manager and I'm going to suffer the consequences for it. I disagree a little bit with that. I want some I want some explanation on where you went wrong. You can't just say like, oh, it rests with me. Well, yeah, of course it does. You're the president of hockey ops. Of course it it rests with you. Where did you go wrong? Yeah. I don't necessarily need it. But I get what you're saying. I need it. Yeah, I know you do. It's cathartic. Look, I think, you know, because I can change anything.

Judgment of character has been way off with this group. And character is important. Like, listen, does everyone that wins a Stanley Cup or a championship in every sport, are they great people? Not always, but they have attributes that make them great players. And a lot of the time, great teammates.

It's not always, but, you know, like, The judgment of winners. The judgment, let's forget like good person. Okay. The judgment of winners has been way off. JT. Ultimately not a winner. Yeah.

Pedy, ultimately not a winner. So you just want the president of hockey apps to say it, even though you know it. Yeah. Okay. Well, I want him to recognize it because, no, no, no, it's not just saying it. It's actually believing it.

Well, but I don't, to me, it almost, it's not going to have. happen. It's not going to happen, but I think it's important. But to me, the reason I want the accountability, and I want him to say, like, the failure stops with me is because in Toronto,

that was Brad Tree Living's last salvo. He, to a degree, fell on his sword. He said, the failings of this team are on me. And then Keith Pelley came in and said, they sure are. You're gone. Yeah. Well, Mike Gillis had a similar kind of last gasp. And then they're like, oh, you think you're going to get back to the way you want to do things?

No, you're fired. Because this is another, to me, this is a whole other step in trying to reimagine and redo what this organization is all about. Right? I don't know. That's just how I look at it. What else we got in the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket? A reminder, get yours in.

We're only going to take a brief 10 minutes sojourn on the other side to talk some white caps. We're going to talk to Acer Ramon on the other side. White caps are back in action tonight against Lully, supporting Kansas City. but if you want to weigh in on anything, Dunbar, Lumber, text on a 650, 650. Also, a reminder, it's Askes in anything Friday, so get those in as well. Harry in Calgary,

when do you think the Canucks will make the playoffs again? I don't know, man, four or five years. But you might get, you might get like a surprise season along the way. Like, if you look at Colorado, and the long story of how Colorado got here, remember they had that one crazy season where it was like a PDO bender,

that they went on. And then right after, didn't Iggy sign with them? Yeah. Jerome, I was like, this team is... They're on the rise.

They're on the rise. And then they were horrible. Sometimes if you have young talent in there and, you know, you catch lightning in a bottle, you can make a put... But, you know, who...

Honestly, Harry, who knows? Well, I would look to... It's just so unpredictable. But I think with the level of talent that they've got right now and the fact that there isn't much already in the system in terms of prospects. They haven't accumulated a bunch of first round picks going forward.

This is going to take a long time. Yeah, like I'd use a more recent example. And I'd use the Chicago Blackhawks. This is now year six on the outside of the playoffs looking in. It's year three completed since Connor Bardard was drafted. This is third NHL season. they had 71 points they were not close to a playoff spot

and I read some Kyle Davidson remarks yesterday because he got extended his general manager and he was saying that I mean they're not counting on being a playoff team next year they're counting on maybe taking steps to potentially becoming a closer playoff contender but they're not expecting it next year either I'd say in a rebuild the minimum is five years

minimum Yeah. You know? What happened in San Jose this year, it was great and it was exciting for them, but it was also an anomaly. They played in a lousy division. They banked a lot of points off some really bad teams.

And they got a generational year for Macklin Celebrini, who, by the way, going to break, we should mention broke Joe Thornton's franchise record for points in a season with 115. And Macklin Celebrini did it in his second NHL season. at 19 years old. Yeah.

Like, so you, just understand. San Jose got that close to the playoffs with an all-time performance from a teenager. They found their guy. Yeah. What does it, Jan's called it? The capital D dude.

Yeah, he's a capital D. He's an all-caps dude. Every letter. And he is, he's surpassed Bedard on the value charts. I don't know by how much, but it's a significant margin. He's a top five player

in the NHL already. And at 19, think about it. He almost willed his team to the playoffs, granted a down year with a lot of asterisks, but also almost willed Canada to a gold medal at the Olympics. So that's... But he failed. But he failed.

But he failed. But that's... So that gives you an idea of the high end of a rebuild. When you're getting an elite level... Yeah. I mean, you're ready to put him in the conversation with Coucher.

He's a top five player in the league for sure. You know? We'll just finish this off. Okay. And we'll talk a little white cups for like 10 minutes. What's the percentage chance that they still blame the Miller Pedy Rift, the surprise of Tocott and Hughes leaving and the Demko injury on everything. If they do.

If we hear it again, I'm going to lose my mind. You're going to lose my mind grapes. Can you imagine if he starts it out? Oh, we had a tough year. What we had. we had an issue between two of our players. I'm glad I had the text that brought this up, actually. Because if any of it comes out,

if I hear one reference to how many injuries they suffered this year, I'm going to unplug and I'm never coming back. Okay, we got to go to break. We couldn't recover from it. Halford's Joker arc. Seriously, like no more injury talk ever again. When we go, we're going to go to break. When we come back,

Acer Ramon's going to join us for a little white cap stock. More connects talk to continue, because in case you missed it, it is official. Patrick Alvin is out as general manager of your Vancouver Canucks. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app.

732 on a Fiesta Friday here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt if you are? Sands and Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands dash trustee.com. We're in hour two of the program. Aisa Raimond's going to join us in a moment here.

The Play-by-Play Boys of the Vancouver Whitecaps. We should share that via Brendan Batchelor, Jim Rutherford will meet the media at noon today after the player's availabilities. Okay. Player media availability today. Locker Cleano Day is at 10 a.m. And it's all going to be on Sportsnet 650, of course.

Rutherford's going to meet with the media at noon. Okay. We are. And I will be on the golf course. Yeah. Craig asked, are either of you going to be on the call today? You're not going to ask me about the culture thing?

I'll phone in from the course. On Zoom. Hey, Jim. Hold on a sec. Hold on a sec. Damn it. How did he get through? Yeah. Instead of identifying yourself as Jason Brown's Sportsnet 650,

you should have your location on the car. course. Four left. Or you do the George Bush. Say your questions. Now watch this drive. Is this the culture problem? We are an hour two the program. Hour 2 is Brad to

by Jason Homonock at Jason. Dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at at jason.mortgage. There's only two things that could take us away from Canucks talk on the day that Patrick Alvian got fired as general manager. One is pizza.

The other, the Vancouver Whitecaps. joining us now, the play-by-play voice of the White Caps, Aza Ramon, here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Good morning, Asa. How are you? Good morning. Doing well. I was curious to see if I would still be on the show. I know it's a wild morning. You've got a lot to get to.

So, yeah, I won't take too much of your time. Appreciate being on now. Buddy, I just want you to know that we bumped an NBA guest. We bumped some other guests, but we're like, no, we're keeping ASA and, of course, and AJ because he gives us free pizza. but also the white caps deserve it and the white caps do deserve it. You know what I want to start with actually. This

article and the comments that Thomas Mueller made prior to tonight's match a reminder, it's a 7.30 kickoff BC Place against sporting KC and it was a push I'm paraphrasing here but a push for more fans to show up to BC place and as he said it

pack the lower bowl. I wonder you know being around the team as much as you are where you thought the inspiration or impetus was for this push because, you know, as far as the league goes, the attendance figures for the white caps are great. And it's been a very good start to the season. So where do you think Mueller was going with this one, Asa? Yeah, I think that he's enjoyed his time here. He loves the atmosphere and the environment at B.C. plays. But I think he knows that there's still a little bit more. This is always

going to be a hockey town. I think he referenced that as well. That's not changing. But he also comes from a part of the world where hockey or soccer is number one. one. And I think that he knows that there's a little bit more here, especially when it comes to the fans showing up. And I think he's aware as well about the uncertainty around this club going forward. And

he's kind of calling out absolutely everyone. This is the most participated sport in B.C. And there are more people that can't come out and support these games and watch these games. And it's the best team in town right now as well. And to everyone that is showing up, 25,000

at the last two games, is enjoying the environment, the experience, and the wind. So it's something that I guess he's just calling out, yeah, those extra few people to really fill the lower bowl. It has been great all season long, though. The atmosphere has been awesome at B.C. place. Yeah, it's a really interesting one. Not to put everything in a Canucks lens,

but it is fascinating to watch Mueller. And the way that he goes about fulfilling his role, right? I mean, we talk about the Canucks this year and all the leadership positions that have been on the team, especially with the players like Hughes and Pedersen and Miller and all the failings that they've had. And then you get a guy like Mueller and I'm watching, you know, video

on social of him meeting with the fans. And he's doing a signing at the Adidas store next week. And he's actively calling out people and not necessarily in a shaming way, but more in a, I'm curious about how this market works. He's made remarks about the sporting

landscape of Vancouver as well. So there's a part of understanding the responsibility of what he's there to do. But Also having a curiosity and a real interest in the city that makes it a really cool dynamic to watch play out on a daily basis. Yeah, it's a great point. And what a week, guys, with all the content, all the stuff to talk about baseball stuff that came up earlier this week. And you guys just been killing it. One of the things that kind of popped into my head with that scenario and as unlikely as it is.

But the fact that you have, you would potentially or could have another major sports team in the city, I do feel that you kind of have these clubs that are able to push each other. I was in Toronto for a while when the Raptors won the NBA championship, and then you had the Blue Jays having their success. The Leafs were doing well at the time as well. And I do think that there is some sort of carryover effect because you can't help but look over at what the other teams are doing in the market. And this is a great example.

When you're seeing the Whitecaps do what they're doing, and now the Canucks kind of making their moves having to, to make these moves, you do see that, you know, you have to be pushing each other. So that's been fascinating to watch and curious to see how it goes forward. Another city that kind of comes to mind when it comes to this is Boston and the way that they've all kind of succeeded around the same time. I think that these things happen for a reason. There's something to it.

So it has been cool to see Thomas Miller because he does it so differently. You know, we really haven't had anyone do it the way that he does where he understands what needs to be done on the field, on the pitch, and then off of it as well. And he's selling the game so well, it's really neat to be around as well. And the second he steps in front of the mic, he has that aura, obviously, and he just grabs your attention. So those comments resonating this week when he spoke to the media on Wednesday. This is a tough question, but when it comes to Thomas Mueller, I think it's a fair one.

What makes a winner? You'd have to ask Thomas Mueller? Is that the easy out? Yeah. You know, yeah, he obviously had a lot of success early on. But I go back to the other point. I think being around that culture as well helps. And it's so hard to, I think, turn that around.

And it's one of those, it's the word that just gets tossed around. Too much. Too much. But you know what, you know what when you see it? You know what like a culture is, I had a hockey coach tell me, I can't explain culture, but you know it when you see it. And I think it's kind of the same way with a winner. Like we talk about character and it doesn't necessarily mean like you're the greatest

person in the world, right? Or you have all these virtues, like, but you know a winner when you see it. Yeah. And I think that that's, yeah, another good point because they had this winning culture before Thomas Mueller arrived. And maybe that's part of what attracted him to this. it seemed, but going on character alone, I think that the white caps have

done a very good job at identifying that part of it. With Andres Kubas, when they brought him in, Ryan Gould, I think those were the kind of first steps to building that culture and bringing in good character guys that could also perform on the pitch

and then from there they've retained those that core as well. Enronko Veselinovich, Tristan Blackman's another one, where there are people sniffing about into Miami at the start of this season and they made their priority to keep Tristan Blackman with the Vancouver

White Cubs and that I think says a lot as well. In the past with the caps, they've kind of let these guys go and I know it's been frustrating for the fan base but it's hard to really build something when you have a cults hero like Eric Hasley have success and then go Camillo

is another one that comes to mind you know you feel like you have that star and then it goes it's hard to build that culture when you have people kind of coming in and out. They finally kind of kept this core together. And we're seeing what's happening here now on the field with the top team in MLS. We're speaking to Vancouver White Caps, Play-by-Playman, Acer Ramon, here on the Alford

and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Caps are in action tonight, 730 from BC Place against supporting KC. You know, we talk about Mueller and we talk about culture. We really need to talk about Sebastian Burrhalter, if we're going to mention all of these things. because I think on the team, like you've got a great dynamic in the Mueller's the face and he's the veteran leader

and he's the experience and he's incredibly important. I would argue, though, that no one may be more valuable to this team than Burrhalter for a variety of reasons. But I'm curious, having followed the team as closely

as you have and having called as many games as you have over the last few years, how remarkable has this rise been to watch Burrhalter where he came from to where he is right now? It's been incredible.

So many great stories. with this team. He's one that stands out, obviously, especially from what we've seen over the last two years. We've known that he's a student of the game, obviously, some of the coach Greg Berhalter, but when you see him kind of take his game to the next level, it's what really stands out, because that's sometimes the hardest thing to do, right? You can be this player that has tons of potential, but to actually see it out and kind of elevate your game is maybe the toughest thing. But he's learned from Andres Kubas, learning from Thomas Mueller, and he applies it. every week. And yeah, he's playing at his

best right now. The highlight that stands out, Thomas Mueller referenced it as well when he tracks back wins the ball and then finishes it with the winner against Portland a couple weeks ago. It just epitomizes who he is and what he's all about and yeah, bright, bright future for him. Not sure how long.

He'll stick around with the vanc for Whitecaps because I know a lot of people would love to have him on their team. A, so we got a lot to get into on today's show. So I want to thank you for taking the time to do this. Have a good call tonight. Enjoy match. There's just two matches left at BC place until that long 96-day

layoff for the FIFA World Cup. So enjoy tonight's game, man. Sure's one thing I wanted to mention. You guys were talking before I came on about some accountability and the Knoch's taking accountability. And it kind of reminded me of me basically in every argument that I've been in where it's like, I know I'm right,

you know I'm right. How about you just say it and then we can move on? And I feel like that's basically what you're saying there. And I had had to make sure that my wife left the room before I said Yeah, yeah. Hopefully we'll hear something similar when Jim Rutherford meets with the media at noon today. Thanks, buddy. Appreciate this.

Have you. Enjoy the match. Be careful of your wife. Yeah. Also be careful. Aza Raimann, play by playman of the Vancouver Whitecaps here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Okay. So should we reset for the people that are just joining us, Halford?

Patrick Alvin has been fired. Patrick Alvin is out as general manager of your Vancouver Canucks. It started the whole. whole thing started this morning with a report out of Sweden that Alveen had been let go. Insiders confirmed it and then not too long ago the Vancouver Canucks confirmed it. Jim Rutherford's name was attached to that statement. It was Jim Rutherford, president of hockey ops, announces that Patrick Alveen has been relieved of his duties. So what's going to happen today is the players are going to meet with the media as they do.

at the end of every season, and the Canucks season is over. It ended it last night with a 6-1 loss in Edmonton, which was perfect, given the way their season has gone. They were not close to the Edmonton Oilers. The players are going to start meeting with the media around 10 a.m. And then around noon, after the players have finished, Jim Rutherford is going to meet with the media. We'll be carrying that, by the way, on Sports in 650.

for the purposes of just laying everything out, the Vancouver Canucks have put their press release forth with the customary quote from Jim Rutherford. Would you like me to read it? Yes, I do want to hear that. The following is from Jim Rutherford, President of Hockey Operations, following the announcement that Patrick Alvin

has been relieved of his duties as general manager. Quote, I would like to thank Patrick for all of his hard work over the past four seasons. Under his guidance, we have accumulated a lot of good young talent and he has helped us lay the foundation of our rebuild. This season was disappointing for everyone in the organization

and we understand how frustrating it was for those who care about the team. Moving forward, our goal will be to continue to bring in younger players who can grow together with our current group and form our next competitive core. So there was nothing. Thank you for your attention to this matter. No, he didn't say that. There was nothing about, like, why?

It was just, he did a great job. The season wasn't very good. He didn't say that. He said he thanked him for all his hard work. Right. Don't get acquitted. We are now in the process of looking for the next fall guy. I mean, general manager.

But that is a totally, you know, someone texting, and I think they said the best question for Jim Rutherford is, why did you fire Patrick Alvey? Then he'll have to answer that today. Yeah. Or he won't. I hope someone asks it that clearly, right? Like, just like, why...

No, no, no. Oh. Why did you fire Patrick Galvin? And then just stop. Yeah. Don't, no add-ons? Nothing. No disclaimers.

No preamble. No context. Why did you fire Patrick Alvin? Yeah. He'd great. Yeah. I don't know. He would be forced to give some very difficult answers if he answered it honestly.

Yeah. Because right now, this entire dismissal is in the context of he's taking the fall for you. Yes. I don't know how that's as plainly and as cleanly as you go. Sorry? You go. You ask. I got plans.

I got plans. Oh, come on. I'm napping. Are you cat eating for your breath? I have work. I have commitments. I also have commitments. Okay.

To get in some R&R. Well, send laddie. here's a thing I'll do it oftentimes the discussion of the questions and the think pieces about what questions to ask

often lead to better answers than the press conferences themselves because it oftentimes does not behoove the guys at the podium to be candid and open and to be perfectly honest I wonder if Rutherford's going to be going up there

in part having to dance around some things because he's not so certain how much longer he's going to be around. I'm surprised that they're doing this if we're going to be perfectly honest. I am because, again, is this confirmation that Jim is safe? That's what I'm wondering. 100% confirmation that Jim is safe. That's what I'm wondering. Yeah. Jim Rutherford was the one who got to do the press release.

Jim Rutherford was the one quoted talking about Patrick Alvin's dismissal. Jim Rutherford's the one that's going to meet with the media right after the dismissal to address the firing. Does it mean that he's safe? I don't know. Will he act like a guy who's safe? That's a great question.

So I think another good question for Jim Rutherford is what are you looking for in the next guy? What are the qualities that are you looking for? And is this, are you looking for your replacement too? That's what it is. I mean, it's got to be, right?

Oh, just wait. We've had several texts flooding in right now, all suggesting the same thing. Would Rutherford step down? Like, announced that today? No, no. Maybe not announce it today, but is that... Not until he has a successor. Is that the next step?

No, the next step is him finding a general manager to take over for him in a couple years or whatever it is. He's not the general manager. Well, yes, he is, kind of. I debate... That's the whole part of the problem. No, I argue that, though. I kind of argue that. That's a whole part of the problem.

I think is... And this is what they're going through in Toronto with the realignment. Yeah. and the lack of alignment that they saw. And they don't know if they're going to have a president. Or are they just going with a GM and that GM will report to Pelly? Who's basically ownership?

And I don't want to be... And I don't want to be wishy-washy here, but I don't know if having the president of hockeyups and then the general manager is a good thing or if it's too many cooks in the kitchen. I honestly don't know. I think it can work. Yeah.

But I also think it can create baked in dynamic problems like what we saw with Elvina and Rutherford. Because I don't think that was entirely a personality-based thing. I think part of it was for sure is that Rutherford couldn't keep his hands out of the fingers out of the pie. He just couldn't. It wasn't as in nature. And it wasn't something that he had a disposition to do. I think if you have the right personalities in place, you can do it.

But in this instance, the dynamic, I mean, let's call it what it is. It never seemed super clear what Alvin's role was and what Rutherfordfordford. for the role was they had titles but those titles seemed nebulous for fluid fluid yeah right it seemed like whatever it befitted Jim to answer the questions

of a general manager he would do it unless it was too far down the ladder like too low on the rungs on the ladder where that was that was an alvean answer the dueling press conferences after the queen hughes trade forgot about that was absolutely bizarre. A lot of people don't, like, when I was on the presser with Alvin and asked him the culture question,

there were four or five other reporters on a phone call. It was like three. With Jim Rutherford. It wasn't, it wasn't on the air, but it was, it was dueling calls. Dude, call what is it? What it was? It was the A team and the B team. And unfortunately, you were on the B team.

I don't mean to like, but I got the A answer. But you got the A answer. But there was the select journalist that got to talk to Jim. And it was, I think it was murder. IMAC and Farhan. Maybe another one was in there. I'm not... Don't quote me on that, but that's essentially what it was. And then there was the rest of the people

that got to talk to Patrick. And they were going on at the same time. A PR masterclass. It was bizarre. Right? I mean, if you want to ever a clear cut moment where there was a real divide in how the front office worked and

who was in charge of what and who was calling the shots, look no further than the Quinn Hughes trade. Patrick's plate was full, so I took it off his plate. But I mean, that could be a justification for relieving him of his duties. You could say, you could come on and say, like, look, it became apparent to me that Patrick was not ready for this job. Sure. Sure.

And that's how you could frame it. You could. And you could say. The only problem is you were the guy that tabbed him to be that guy. 100%. And then you let him keep rolling for another two months. You let him work through the trade deadline. You let him orchestrate as far as I can understand.

And Peach had this in the province this morning. The Garland trade was orchestrated by Alvin. The Myers trade was orchestrated by Alvin. Bringing in Lucas, David Kompf, as a Hail Mary was an Alvin move. Yeah. So he was still doing stuff. Very important fundamental moves for this organization a month prior to his dismissal. And all the scouting for a very important draft.

And now he's not here. That's another question for Jim Rutherford. Do you have any scouts? Did you keep his dossier, his folder? Right, yeah. Did he take any notes that you can use? Yeah. This guy here apparently is a big body, high compete level.

I mean, we laugh, but those are all viable questions. Yeah, what's going on with your scouting staff? Yeah. I mean, they're the ones that are like, this is the most important draft in Canucks history. Yeah. Do you need scouts for the draft? On occasion, it helps. Drafting off vibes is underrated.

Yeah. Just do it off vibes. I do like a vibe draft. I really like the look at this kid. That's his brother. This kid, that he doesn't even play hockey. That's the guy that took us for our seats. Hockey player.

I like the cut of his gym. For as hectic and scattered as this show has been, although it's been a fun one, definitely. It's very fitting now that we go into the final hour of the final show of the week with our usual hit with Rick Dollywold. Dolly is going to join us next on the day where the Canucks have fired

their general manager in case you're just getting on to the radio or you're just firing up the Halford and Brough show. It is official. Patrick Alvin is out as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. The players are going to meet with the media at 10 o'clock this morning. Jim Rutherford is going to meet with the media at noon. So it is going to be an action-packed day of Canucks news and notes and information. And who better to talk to than Rick Dollywall on the other side. That is coming up next. Don't go anywhere. Don't touch your dial. And don't change the station. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on SportsNet 650.

Rutherford's going to meet with the media at noon. Okay. We are in. I will be on the golf course. Patrick, do you have a culture problem that needs to be fixed? Now watch his drive.