Halford & Brough in the Morning - Things Can Go South Fast In The NHL

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, including some interesting NHL news (3:00), plus they look ahead to game three of the Stanley Cup final tomorrow, as Sportsnet's David Amber (27:58) joins the show.  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- Hit ball, right center field. And it is gone! Well, he squared out that one. It's one on high fly ball, deep left field, forget about it. My goodness, did he hit that. Oh, almost up to Hall of Fame. My, my goodness. The decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling.

So this was a decision that was best for my soul. Good morning, Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Wednesday! Happy Wednesday everybody, it is Halford, it is Brough, it is Sportsnet 650. We are coming live from the Kintec Studios and beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning. And Lydie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five 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 are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Got a lot to get into on a Wednesday show, guest list today begins at 6.30. David Amber,

Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host is going to join us. Yes it is, another day off from Florida in the Stanley Cup final. Doesn't mean we won't talk about it though. We'll look back on the Panthers 6-1 win in game three with David. Look ahead to tomorrow's game four. Lots of chatter about how the Oilers are going to try and react to that blowout loss in game three. We'll talk to David about all that at 630. Seven o'clock Frank Saravalli from Daily Faceoff is going to join us.

Is silly season finally upon us. Frank with the big breaking news last night of a fairly noteworthy trade that could come to fruition today. Chris Crider longtime veteran New York Ranger appears headed to Anaheim to reunite with his former teammate Jacob Truba. We'll ask Frank about more details on the trade if this is indeed going to kick off season ask what's gonna come next as we get closer and closer to July 1st 730 James Charmin host of the footy prime podcast is gonna join the show Canada wrapped up a successful Canadian shield tournament yesterday by winning the

Shield last night with a nil-nil draw against Cote d'Ivoire, but they lost in penalties very weird They drew the game they lost in penalties. Very weird. They drew the game. They lost in penalties and they celebrated and then they won the shield. Classic Canadian shield stuff. You know, we'll then pivot from the shield to the gold cup preview. Canada takes on Honduras at BC place next Tuesday. And of course, Jason, we are now officially and exactly one year away from the start of the twenty twenty six World Cup June 11th, twenty twenty six will be the first match. We are a year away

I believe the city of Vancouver is putting up a big clock to commemorate it today speaking It's so they don't they don't forget. Yeah, very cool. We don't gotta finish these Reynolds on the stadium. I'm a mascot yet the World Cup 2026, City of Vancouver. At eight o'clock this morning, we're going to talk to you, Vancouver City Councilor, Mike Klassen. We did effort to get the mayor, Ken Sim, on the show today, but he's busy.

I actually believe they have an event today commemorating the one year countdown with the aforementioned clock and everything. So, Mike Klassen will fill in instead of Ken Sim. He's got a clock unveiling. Imentioned clock and everything. So Mike Klassen will fill in instead of Ken Sim. We're going to. He's got a clock unveiling. I said clock. Yep.

The other one gets you kicked out of politics. Well, or elevates you. Not American politics. Yeah, that's true. We're going to talk to Mike Klassen about the PNE, the casino, the White Cap Stadium situation, the Canucks practice facility situation. And of course, as mentioned, the one year countdown

to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. So lots to get into with Vancouver city counselor, Mike Klassen at 8 a.m. two things of note, little business, little admin stuff at the beginning of the show. Every day this week, we're giving away two four pack of tickets to see the 2025 CONCACAF gold cup at BC place, Tuesday, June 17th, Canada, Honduras. We will be taking calls at eight Oh five and eight 15 this morning. Caller number five in each instance when the tickets, the number six Oh four two

eight Oh zero six 50 that number again, six Oh four two eight Oh zero six 50. Also a reminder, keep buying tickets for the sports net six 50 Jays care 50 to 50. Uh, it is in support of Canadian baseball. Sorry, Challenger baseball. It is supported by Tile Town proudly Canadian owned and operated since 1971. Our goal is to raise a hundred thousand dollars. The winner, of course, we'll take half given it's a 50 50 buy your tickets now at Jayscaregolf. Raffle nexus.com. When we hit $15,000, we will give away a signed Quinn Hughes jersey to commemorate the 15,000 mark. Again, jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com.

It's the Sportsnet 650 Jays Care 5050 for challenger baseball. Buy them today. Okay. That is everything that's happening on the program today. It was a lengthy rundown. So 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'm. We know how busy your life can be.

What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. Bit of a strange night last night in the world of sports.

There was no Stanley Cup final game. There was no NBA final game. There was, however, a Canadian shield match. As we mentioned, it was a win, it was a loss, it was a draw, all in one. But Canada emerged with the shield after a nil nil draw against Cote d'Ivoire in the inaugural Canadian shield tournament. Canada essentially won the tournament yesterday and not essentially because they got to hoist the shield at the end of it. A lousy match against Cote d'Ivoire was very choppy and very uninspired in terms of entertainment. But in the end, a nice little warmup,

a tune up for the gold cup, which gets underway next Tuesday. Well, you know what's fun is that the Americans are really struggling. Okay. Right now. So, I'm with you. Team USA, they're also hosting the World Cup

and are the main hosts of this, considering all the games they have got and the American team looks awful. So I'm, I'm normally with you when it comes to dancing all over the failures of the Americans. And yesterday, the Americans got absolutely smacked four nil by Switzerland in a friendly. But Switzerland was up four nil by the 36 minute. And this was a disaster class. Now, the reason that I'm saying, but but but is because two Vancouver whitecaps featured in the starting 11 for the U.S. And I feel awful for one in particular, Sebastian Barahalter, the young

American midfielder having a great year for the Vancouver Whitecaps, makes his US men's national team debut and does so in one of the worst losses that the program has had in recent memory. So while I'm happy to see the US fall flat on its face, I do feel bad for Seb because he was right in the middle of that mess. He was on for all four goals.

And actually, Brian White was the other starter. Brian White got, or as I call him, Blanco, taken off at halftime. Right. So not a good performance there, but a good performance for Canada. I don't know how much of the match that you watched. I watched. I watched a bit of it. It wasn't very exciting at all. 40 plus fouls, nine yellow cards, one red to one of the support staff from Cote d'Ivoire. It was interesting because it's the exact kind of match that Canada sort of needed to play to go into a major competition where it's not pretty football

and it's not glamorous and you have to slug it out and see how you do. And I would say that Canadians did OK. They were able to hold their own physically. They probably weren't the better side, but to emerge with a nil nil draw after basically changing over your entire starting 11 from the four to win over Ukraine. It was fine. But you know, sometimes the beautiful game can be ugly. And that's exactly what last night was. Okay.

Let's get to this reported trade in the NHL because I think a lot of people are waiting for the deals to come. And this one isn't quite done. Uh, and it's a good thing we've got Frank Sarah Valley on the show today. Um, because he was the one that originally reported this. The Anaheim ducks are in advanced talk talks with the, uh, New York Rangers on a deal that would send veteran forward, Chris Crider to Anaheim.

Crider was in, you know, trade rumors all season and he was part of the list of players that Chris Drury reportedly sent out to the entire league and said, if you want these guys, let's talk deals. And depending on who you ask, that email might have completely tanked the Rangers season as they seemed a bit mutinous this year in New York. Eventually, of course, they acquired JT Miller and Miller played okay for them to start.

It looked like they might've turned it around a little bit, but ultimately they did not. And now, you know, a very busy off season starts for the New York Rangers with Chris Crider, one of the faces and one of the, if you want to use this phrase, culture carriers of the New York Rangers for like over a decade, is shipped out to Anaheim where they already got Truba. Very interesting trade, very interesting trade. So there's a lot of layers to this.

The first is that Chris Drury's continual overhaul of the leadership group in core New York carries on by way of Anaheim after last year trading away the New York Rangers captain, Jacob Truba under duress, I would say some very acrimonious circumstances, which I think in part led to the mutiny you were talking about. Drury, then several months later, turns right back around, gets together with fat Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat for beak again and consummates another deal. Now I'm not sure exactly how this one is going to play out. Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, Pat, million dollar deal that carries an average annual value of six point five million. So with no retention going on, you would assume that there might be other pieces

changing hands, according to a report from Sportsnet. Part of the package may include a forward prospect by the name of Kerry Terrence, a former second round pick of the Anaheim Ducks who could be going to New York. I do wonder if there's going to be other pieces involved when this is all said and done. And maybe that's why Frank said that there's no deal specifically in place, but the framework is there largely involving Crider. Now, I think this is interesting

for a couple of reasons. One, we had James Myrtle on the show yesterday and he was talking about the nine busiest teams from the NHL draft combine in Buffalo, which he attended. One of them was the Anaheim Ducks talking about how there's a lot of pressure for Pat Verbeek to try and make things happen with that lengthy playoff drought

that they've got going in Anaheim. They hired Joel Cuenville as their coach. That was obviously a very polarizing hire. They hired him to win because he's a veteran bench boss and he's won Stanley Cups and he's usually a guy that is ready to take a team to another level. But obviously it came with all of the scrutiny and controversy from his time in Chicago. But they went ahead and did it anyway. Now they've gone and made a move for a guy from another one of the busiest teams at the draft combine, which was the New York Rangers.

And Myrtle said on our show yesterday, Rangers got a lot of guys on the wrong side of 30 and they got a lot of contracts that they'd like to move off of, including Chris Crider from last year. So they kind of jumped the queue here. Get this done during the Stanley Cup final. It'd be very interesting to see if this is the first domino to fall in the offseason. Who else do you think they want to move?

Zabana? Zabana Jets got to be right at the top of the list. Yeah. And then who knows after that? There's a lot of there's a lot of old money and not the good kind of old money There's a lot of old money, and not the good kind of old money, the bad kind of old money. The one that's aging right in front of your very eyes

and not giving you return on your dollar in New York. They're an old team. Do you remember how bullish everyone was on the Rangers just a couple of years ago? Because you looked at players like Zabana Jad, and you said, okay, he's a good player. He's a good center. And then, then you thought about, um, well, they got a couple of young guys in Lafreniere and Capo

Caco, uh, highly drafted players. Lafreniere was first overall, Caco was second overall. Yep. Um, and then you had Adam Fox who won the Norris trophy. And then of course you had Shisterkin in goal, plus a few other good young players, including, well, Philippita was there and there was pretty high hopes for him as well. And now all of a sudden, like it seems like everything has gone south, you know?

Well, maybe not everything. I don't know what people think of Schuster. I think Schuster can still pretty good goalie, but I think Adam Fox has regressed a little bit and people are wondering if he's, you know, certainly in the caliber of Quinn Hughes or Kil McCarr. I would also put him as,

I think everyone on that team is on notice right now, not available, but is on notice. Yeah. Because right now, not available, but is on notice. Yeah. Because right now, with the dismissal of Peter LaVillette and bringing in Mike Sullivan and systematically moving out Goudreau and then Jacob Truba and then Chris Kreider,

like these are all warning signs to the group that not only. I don't think they need any more warning signs. Right, but it's not, now that the status quo is not okay. It's the status quo is already being changed right in front of your very eyes. And Aaron's only got a year left on his deal. And then he's an unrestricted free agent. He's 33 years old. He's had issues in the playoffs.

He's a smaller player. What are you going to give him? Are you going to give him a big new extension and lock up another player in his thirties? And it's why the JT Miller acquisition, I wondered about it from the Rangers perspective. It was like, I realized they needed to try and salvage this season.

Well, that didn't work. And then going forward, you got this 32 year old with four years left on his deal at an $8 million cap hit. Is that going to help them or is it going to turn in to an anchor for them? Because, you know, look, we're seeing with players, you know, they get to that age 32, 33, some of them are still able to play pretty well and others

fall off a little bit. I don't know what happens as a band of Jeb, but he's the same age as JT Miller. Some of them are still able to play pretty well and others fall off a little bit. I don't know what happens as a bandit, but he's the same age as JT Miller. And I think sometimes when you have a team that obviously has some issues, I don't know what they are, but there's some issues going on there. I don't know if they hate their GM or they didn't like the coach or whatever's going on there. They're less likely to do all the things that you need to do in order to stay in shape as you get into your 30s.

And then Kako's already been traded away. And Lafreniere, who they gave a pretty big contract to extend, long-term contract extension, $7.5 million. Now that one could still turn around and age very, very well. But what if they've just locked into a player that is going to get like, I don't know, 45 points a season, you know, all of a sudden you look at this team and it just goes to show how quickly things can turn around in the NHL. And we know that here in Vancouver and you're like, you know, not so bullish anymore

on the New York Rangers. Speaking of teams that have a potential veteran anchor, and not in a good way, also out of the Eastern Conference, I do want to turn our attention to the Pittsburgh Penguins, another team that could be facing a very interesting off season, again, after the dismissal of Mike Sullivan

and the hiring of Dan Muse as their new bench boss. Did you happen to see the article yesterday from the athletic from Josh Yohei titled, what I'm hearing about Chris LaTang's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins? Well, it sounds like long to make a long story short, you can add some context here, but it sounds like the Penguins are just stuck with Chris LaTang. So that must've been nice for him to read. story short, you can add some context here, but it sounds like the penguins are just stuck with Chris LaTang. So. So that must've been nice for him to read. Usually when stories like this come out, you feel like there's something more to them than

an author being, Hey, I'm just curious about the future of Chris LaTang. When you start getting anonymous sources and you start getting reports like this, you kind of start to wonder what's really going on behind the scenes. What am I talking about? You might be asking. Well, yesterday, Yohei had a very, very thorough look at Chris LaTang's future in Pittsburgh.

I'm going to read a couple of the meatier parts of the article. Several team sources who were granted anonymity to protect personal relationships said LaTang and his play were the source of incredible frustration for head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season. The mental errors have always been a part of LaTang's package. Still, the former Penguins coaching staff became somewhat confounded when the mental errors began to multiply as his physical ability dipped. So that's it after 20 years. So long, good luck. I don't recall saying good luck. Yohei then goes on to write, so training him would be the easy solution, right? Well, hold on. Latang is a full no movement clause.

And according to more unnamed team sources, they believe that Latang is quote unquote unmovable. Why would you put something out there like this? Why would you say publicly that you've got a problem defenseman with a bit of term left on his contract that sources within the team say is unmovable? I do wonder if there's something going on here with regards to everyone not named Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, all the veteran guys anyway, either to try and light a fire under them to play better or light a fire under

them to maybe wave their no trade clause and try and accept a move. Although I don't know how you'd be able to move Latang out, given everything that the previous coaching staff had to say about his play. The Penguins are the San Jose Sharks a few years ago. That's a very fair assessment and a very fair comparison. And everyone should have seen it coming. I still look back on the Eric Carlson acquisition and I guess I understand what they were trying to do.

They were trying to squeeze every last drop out of the Sidney Crosby era in Pittsburgh and they were just trying to bring in an old, you know, stacked team, right? But old took over and I never understood having Eric Carlson and Chris LaTang on the same team. Didn't make sense to me at all. You need players that can defend as well.

And like that became, you watch the Penguins, they're just horrendous, defensively, horrendous. And Carlson would get beat through the neutral zone easily one-on-one. Like players would blow by him. And then Chris LaTang, like both these guys were terrific defensemen, but they're old now. They're still in the NHL, but they're done. As elite players, Chris LeTang, when the Penguins won their first of two back-to-back cups a few years ago, it's the best he's ever played.

Yeah. He was incredible. And that was nearly a decade ago. He was such a good player. That's the best he's ever played. Because there was always the question about LeTang. It's like, how good is he? Is he truly a number one?

You know, a lot of people would say, yeah, he's kind of like in the Mike Green comp. And then other people would say, no, no, no, he's better than that. And there'd be debates about whether you should play for Canada or whatever, you know? Um, and he really played like a great number one defenseman to the point where it really was

incredible that the Penguins won the cup the next year when he wasn't available to them. I mean, that run was, because they were without him, that run was unlikely. Now, fortunately for them, they ran into a Predator's team in the final that had their own injury issues. But if you look at this Penguins team right now,

outside of CID, what do they have? Like they're gonna be dreadful. And like why give Tristan Jari that big long-term deal in goal? That was ridiculous. I remember when that was signed. Tristan Jari, relax. Yeah. Okay. Heir to the Jari Bodega, if I remember when that was signed. Hey, hey, hey, that's Delta's Tristan Jarre. Hey. Relax.

Yeah. Okay. Heir to the Jarre Bodega, if I'm not mistaken. That's right. Yeah. And I think as long as the Penguins go into next season, and I think they're going to be dreadful, horrible dreadful. The questions about whether Sid's really going to finish his career in Pittsburgh are only

going to accelerate if only because people are going to sit there and go like, I feel sorry for Sid. Like this is not how Sid should go out. So what I'm wondering- So Malkin only has one year left on his deal. Yep. That one's easy enough to clear up. No, no, no, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Malkin has one year left on his deal. We've heard a few times on this show from various guests that Sid isn't going anywhere until Malkin. Like he's not going to leave Malkin there. I wonder after this season or maybe even at the trade deadline this season, if Crosby comes into play and I'm going to keep asking it, even though

everyone in Pittsburgh will come in on the show and be like, Sid doesn't wanna leave Pittsburgh. Sid has said he wants to be a penguin for life. Well, we'll see, because it gets to the point where it's embarrassing. Okay, so what I wanna know, instead of looking at it retroactively,

is what you're talking about, what comes next? And I do wonder if articles and leaks and anonymous sourcing of this kind and this ilk are going to continue in an effort to continue to shake up this organization in the only ways that they have imaginable. So they've already done one. What is that article going to achieve though? Like are you saying that they're trying to get LaTang

to wave his no move clause or are you saying that they're trying to get LaTang to waive his no move clause? Are they trying to get him to retire? Because also in that article. My answer to all those would be yes. But I think what they're saying is unmovable, not in the sense that he has a no move clause. No, they're saying it's unmovable that nobody wants him.

Yeah, if he would waive, they're still unmovable. Nobody would wave. Yeah, if he would wave, they're still unmovable. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So what would that accomplish? Trying to get anything to be different than what it currently is. I think that sometimes it's almost like the disruptor idea that you just go in and you replace a veteran Stanley Cup winning coach with a 42 year old guy named Dan Hughes, who's never coached at the NHL level before.

Can you imagine the job for him? Yeah, I think like what? Read the tea leaves here. I feel like there is there's an undercurrent of we're going to try and switch as many things up and try and honestly, it's the disruptor idea. You come in and you just create some chaos under the surface in the hopes that something will change, not necessarily knowing where the change is gonna go

or what the change might look like, but understanding that the status quo can't keep happening. Like, I mean, how much longer can you do this for? You've got a certain finite timeline with Sidney Crosby. I'll allow them that if they play out this year and Malkin plays out the final year of his deal and then he's done,

suddenly things become slightly clearer, but you still have the issue of LeTang, Carlson, Jarry, take your pick from there, because there's a lot of other issues that Dubas has to clean up in Pittsburgh. I think Carlson could get traded if the Penguins retain a significant amount. I still wouldn't recommend it for any team

that's acquiring him. But then what are you looking at? Are you blowing on your team? Like it's a mess in Pittsburgh. It's a mess. And I know that Dubas was given specific marching orders when he went to Pittsburgh. He was like, keep the band together.

It sells tickets, people like these guys. But man, this thing was, people like these guys. Um, but man, this, this thing was, this thing was the same as San Jose. When I, when we were all looking at San Jose, not everyone, but I think a lot of us were looking at San Jose and going, what are you guys doing giving term to all these old guys and bringing in all these old guys, you know, and like and what do you expect to happen?

This is a league that is getting faster and faster every year with young players with crazy amounts of talent. And you're gonna say, I'm gonna put together a team of guys in their mid thirties. You're gonna be bad. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the Hal Ferdinand Breff show on Sportsnet 650. Coming up on the other side of the break,

David Amber, Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet NHL host is going to join the program. Uh, we'll talk to him on another day off from the Stanley Cup final. Game four goes tomorrow night from Florida, the Florida Panthers lead to one in the series, of course. We'll talk to David about the blowout in game

three, how the Oilers are going to respond in game four. That's. We'll talk to David about the blowout in game three, how the Oilers are gonna respond in game four. That's coming up on the other side of the break. You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info,

and even the post-game show. Listen four to six p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. ["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.

It is time for David Amber. He is on the hotline, baby. It is time for David Amber. He will talk some hockey, maybe. I'm on the hotline baby it is time for David Amber he will talk some hockey maybe I'm on the hotline baby I waited in the shrooms talking I remember what I was doing at 23 pooping in my pants there's a massive butt coming here guys no one's fighting Rick talking no one wants to fight Rick talking I'm on the hotline baby it is it's David it is it's David Amber it is It is, it's David, Amber. It is, it's David.

He's on the hotline. 633 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford and Bruv, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Bruv of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at sans-, gas trustee dot com. We are in our one of the program.

David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host. It's going to join us in just a moment here live from Florida. Ahead of tomorrow's game for the Stanley Cup final. Our one of this program 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. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver to the hotline we go powered by Power West Industries.

David Amber joins us here on the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, David. How are you? Doing well, guys. How are you? We're well. Thanks for taking the time to do this. As far as I understand it, the Edmonton Oilers returned to practice yesterday a spirited skate after their Blowout 6-1 loss in game 3 and it seemed like the topic of conversation for most guys following that practice was of two things one They need the rebound after a not great performance in game 3 and 2 the ability to be a little bit more Disciplined than they were in game 3. What was the bigger of the two takeaways for you, David?

Yeah, I think they're just, they're literally just putting the game three performance in the garbage. They're dropping it essentially is what I gathered. Um, you know, the way they're looking at it, as they lost game two and overtime double overtime and that's heartbreaking and they got their butts kicked in game three. But at the end of the day, they both count as one loss. And at the end of the day, they're down two to one in a series that's been very tight.

They basically say, we're not hitting the panic button. We all played collectively poorly and we're gonna be better. The discipline stuff, if you'd kind of dig through the weeds and look closer at it, there was 140 penalty minutes handed out, but 122 of them were in the third period when the game was done and it just got stupid.

And some of those penalties were simply the refs trying to calm the game down by just handing out misconduct, you know, like the way you'd hand out candy at a birthday party to kids. So there was eight misconducts and the Oilers were coming unglued a little bit in the third, but I think they were basically just trying to show some pushback against what they thought were some of the tactics the Panthers were using. That's the way they described it. So I think we can kind of push all that aside and the Oilers are planning to hit the reset button and that's sort of their objective. We're going to come out much stronger and better and more prepared than we were in game three.

That's what they're saying at least. What did you make of the Vander Canes comments after the game that the Panthers essentially are better at getting away with it than the Edmonton Oilers? Well, you know, it's funny. Let's go right back to game one. Sam Bennett falls on Stuart Skinner and the Oilers challenge. The challenge is denied and Brad Marchand, I believe scores on the power play just seconds later.

Um, you know, and then you saw Bobrowski get sort of upended in game three and does, you know, sort of a full triple lundy and you know was the contact sure could there have also been an embellishment penalty sure i mean the lines are very the margins are very close but we know sam bennett specifically just has a great way of finding his way into the blue paint and you know oops accidentally falling on the goalies and it hasn't just been this series it's been throughout the playoffs really so and and more often than not, he's gotten away with it. So I think that's what Evander Kane was alluding to. I mean, so that I mean, Kane took two offensive zone penalties in the first period that were pretty blatantly clear, you know, so

it's tough. I think they're a little frustrated. the end of the day. The Panthers had 11 power plays in game three guys, 11. That's the most power plays any team this year has had in any game. That's 1400 games. So at the end of the day, you can understand the oilers frustration. Like really, every time we, we sneeze on someone, we're going to the boxes, sort of how they're looking at it. So, um, but I think, again, I think it's all just working, working the refs as best you can to sort of get that next call. If you want to take a closer look at the ledger, the Panthers have had 17 power plays, the Oilers have had

16 power plays. So through three games, it's been incredibly even. So that's another way you could look at it. But all that's not going to matter guys. I mean the Oilers need to come out better. They can't be taking high sticking penalties 200 feet from their net. Their penalty kill has been atrocious, right? They've allowed five power play goals in the series. That's not going to work. And their power play has been anemic at times. I mean the whole narrative of game three could have been different had the Oilers scored

on one or two of the power play opportunities they were given. So there's a lot we can sit there and look at the officiating and you can do this, but I think at the end of the day the Oilers recognize they have to play better, smarter, stronger and with better finish and those will be you know how well they execute at the end of the day will come down to if they can win tomorrow's game four. Yeah. What do you think about how the Panthers are really playing it physical on dry-side Olympic David? Not that they shouldn't. I guess you just got to find a way if you're the Oilers to try and free them up through the neutral zone because if the Panthers are able to get in their way, legally or illegally, that takes a lot away from the rush. I mean, especially McDavid, but Dry-Cytle coming through the neutral zone with speed

is also pretty intimidating. Yeah. I mean, I think part of it was what the Panthers were doing. Part of it was the Oilers and their top players were equally as bad. I mean, McDavid did not have a strong game, dry saddle, he had seven minutes of power play time, he had zero shot attempts. I mean, that's shocking. Right? I mean, for the top goal scorer in the NHL. So that's not going to happen again. You know, give the Panthers some

credit. One adjustment I felt they made was on the power play. Bouchard likes to kick it back to McDavid winding up through the neutral zone with speed and in games one and two they were allowing McDavid to enter the zone pretty freely and get the Oilers set up on their power play. They actually kind of packed the line as best they could and made the entries much more difficult for Connor McDavid specifically and I'm sure that's something the others are gonna make an adjustment of their own on, because you're right.

Without that sort of ability to get his speed going through the neutral zone and being that dynamic threat that he is, it really did. It took more time for the others to get positioned and ready into their power play set. And, you know, they were only one for six on the power play. So yeah, I think Florida, that was the game plan. We're going to body.

These guys are going to be physical. We're going to get in their way. We're going to obstruct them and we're going to drive them nuts. And quite frankly, it worked to perfection. One thing I'm looking for though, guys is, is your list to get a lead. They, they did not trail in their four games against Dallas, their four wins against Dallas. They didn't trail for a single minute. Dallas have to keep opening up the game, changing the game, allowing Oilers these transition rush odd band rushes because they

were trying to score so badly. Florida has not had to do that. Edmonton has only led for 27 minutes through three games. Conversely, Florida has led four times as long. So the Oilers have been chasing the game every single game it seems. So, you know, game one they won but they had to come from behind to do so. I really think the Oilers, it's incumbent on them to have a much better first period. They've allowed multiple goals in the first period of every game so far in the cup final. It's just a hard way to play. And it puts so much pressure on Stuart Skinner and so much pressure on your defense to not allow that next goal.

And you can't focus as much on scoring or defending. So, um, it's, it's, I think that's a key thing, a much better start, hopefully get the lead and, and make Florida feel uncomfortable. Cause for the majority of this series has been Edmonton has been playing feeling very uncomfortable David what's the latest on? Stuart Skinner Knoblock wouldn't go to Calvin Pickard in game four would he?

That's the big question and he didn't say he wouldn't you You know, he was very, you know, he chose his words very carefully. I think you're going to ride with Skinner. I think there's a few factors there. I think first of all, Skinner's A game has been proven to be pretty good. You know, whether you're going to get his A game or not, you don't know, but when he has his A game, it's pretty good. His records in games four through seven historically are, since is sensational. I'm not sure how much of that plays in,

but I think they'll at least recognize when he's had struggles early in series, he's been able to correct himself. And I think it'd be, you're asking a lot of Pickard, who's a great battler and looked pretty good in the third period. He's a perfect six and O in the post season, but you're asking a lot of them to kind of jump in, you know, after having not played, you know, he's played

one period in the last what month almost. That's really asking a lot. Yeah. I think obviously if you lose game four, that's your, that's your, you know, that's your last sort of final card to play is okay well we're changing up our goal tending we're putting Pickard in in a must-win situation. I'm not sure they're ready to do that just yet, but, but again, he was, you know, he's about to have his news conference. It's just a zoom call today. The others aren't skating today. They're just doing a zoom call with their head coach.

And I'm sure that's one of the first questions that's coming up at seven o'clock Pacific time, so in 17 minutes. And that's one of the first questions I'm sure we'll be asked of them is, have you decided on your goal tenet? um, I know you're you're not in toronto right now, but I'm wondering how much they're discussing the possibility of brad marshawn to the leafs this off season because that speculation is picking up a little bit I imagine there's a number of teams that are um, you know, I think If nothing else, we've seen how productive Corey Perry is at age 40.

You look at Brad Marchand and his skillset at 37. Marchand is probably going to want a three year deal. So I imagine, and I think seeing what he's been able to do coming off an injury, even this year and how effective he's been able to play. And also it's not just what he's doing on the ice but I've talked to a lot of the Florida players you know like the guy just comes in and he's he's that perfect kind of combination of rambunctious but intense. I don't know if that makes sense but he's not coming in and grinding everyone he's coming in and he's light

but he knows when it's like okay it's game time boys buckle down and that's just leadership that so many teams could use, including the Maple Leafs. And you know, that winning pedigree, that winning attitude, you know, whether it was the Four Nations, the World Cup in 2016, the Stanley Cup with the Bruins, like the guy is, you know, he's a winner. And we're seeing that right now. So there'll be a lineup of teams. I'm sure the Leafs will be one of them,

which would be just the ultimate. I mean, it's funny seeing them in a Panthers jersey, but it'd be just ludicrous seeing them in a Leafs jersey after what he's done to that franchise for the last decade or so. So I'm sure they'll be in the bidding or at least have the conversations, but there's gonna be a long line.

Brad Marshand will be able to choose his next destination. And who's to say it's not right back here in Florida. Guys seem to be really enjoying playing under Paul Maurice, under these nice conditions. And, you know, he probably looks around, he sees Bennett, he sees Kachuk, he sees a bunch of guys who are aligned with him style, stylistically. And, you know, he probably you might feel this is the perfect fit, guys.

It's going to make July 1st really interesting. If it's Florida, it could get resolved before July 1st, but it could make July 1st very interesting when you have Bennett and Marchand and of course Marner and a few others still figuring out whether they're going to be calling home next year. You know what I find interesting about Brad Marchhawn? And I wonder if it gives him some perspective that could be valuable to the Leafs is as much as you say, he's a winner. And I agree. He's also lost some huge games in his career.

And again, I wonder if that just gives you perspective. He had a quote, it was earlier in the playoffs and the Brad Marshawn story and narrative was starting to get going and you know, people would go to him for like wise old man advice. And he was like, you know, like, I think it might've been about pressure in Toronto. He's like, you know, like two teams play, one

wins and one loses. So he's like, what is pressure? You know that going in and yeah, he's won some games, but I think about, you know, the loss to the blues in game seven of the Stanley Cup final. I think about the loss to the Panthers in the first round when the Bruins had that great season. He lost a Stanley Cup final to Chicago, you know, and what was it, two goals in how many seconds,

15 seconds or whatever. Like he's been part of some big losses in the a Stanley Cup final to Chicago, you know, and the, what was it, two goals and how many seconds, 15 seconds or whatever, like he's been part of some big losses as well as some big wins. And I wonder if that just gives him the perspective of like life goes on regardless. So let's just keep playing and trying your best. I think that's an awesome point.

I mean, he's had heartbreak. In fact, it's funny when I think back to that Florida Boston series, Boston sets the record for most points in an NHL season. They're up three to one against the Florida team that barely made it into the postseason. And Marchand in the dying seconds of game five has a breakaway with the series on his stick. He scores series over four one Bruins go on. over four one Bruins go on. He didn't score and ultimately they lost in seven games and you're right. He has had incredible heartbreak and he's had the ability to bounce back from that and that's been something that seemingly certainly in Toronto has been a problem is as soon as things start to kind of come unglued that they completely unravel as we saw in game seven this year versus Florida. So to have that ability to shake it off essentially is huge.

And you always hear goaltenders talk about that and you hear, you know, pitchers, you give up a home run, you can't sit there and think about your last pitch, what's your next pitch going to look like? And that's got to be the attitude that he must take to shift to shift. Okay. We gave up a goal that last shift doesn't mean we're going to give up a goal the next shift. And I think that is a valuable asset. And you know, Paul Maurice has had nothing but really effusive praise for him.

It's almost like having another coach on the bench, you know, like we have just someone with that much life experience and not much playing experience, good and bad, that he's be able to play upon that doesn't allow the bigger moments to bury him and a lot of teams could use that right when it's about trying to get over the hump. I mean I think that's a big reason why Corey Perry resigned in Edmonton. It wasn't just that he could be such a worm on the ice but it's also just he can really calm guys down even if it's the star players you know. Corey Perry has seen a lot in all his 20 years in the NHL and that's invaluable. And I think you're right, Brad Marchand could

be that same sort of beacon for whatever team he ends up on. We're speaking to David Amber, Hockey Night Canada Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. David joins us live from Florida, head of tomorrow's Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. David, in your mind and in your eyes, who's the leading candidate for the Con Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP right now? Oh, man, that's such a good question, right? Like if Florida wins the cup, can Nick David win it again? I said that I mean, Sam Bennett. Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. Sam Bennett has 14 goals. He has eight goals in his last eight games. He scored in every game in the Stanley Cup final.

He's injured goalies. You know, like as much as I, you know, like those aren't insignificant moments. His presence has fell upon the ice. Sam Bennett would clearly be the front runner to me. And a little bit of a sleeper is Bobrowski. What if Florida wins the next two games and allows one goal in each game?

They've been out shot in every game, right? He had 46 shots against him in games one and two. Yeah, he clearly didn't have to be a superstar in game three. But if you do think back to that first period, the Oilers had four power plays, and Bobrovsky at times was under siege, and he was stopping everything. So he would be the sleeper, but Bennett would be the front runner. Clearly if the Oilers win, I see McDavid as the guy. You know, Dry Cytl has three overtime goals

and has been very good, but you know, we kind of, we've been treated to, you know, we're just sort of take McDavid for granted a little bit. Right? The guy has 11 multi-point games in the playoffs. He has 31 points in 19 games, but I feel we might be I've been trying to talk this into existence as an agent of chaos But I also feel like it might be even too mean for us the Halford and brush show to wish this into existence that if the Oilers lose again and

Connor McDavid wins the cons might again like oh That will never happen again in NHL history. If it does happen, a guy winning consecutive playoff MVPs in a losing effort, like there's only six of them all time. Yeah, seven. Yeah. To have someone do it not twice, but twice and back to back years. I mean, that's a crazy thing to carry with you for the rest of your career. So and it usually goes to like the huge underdog, like, you know, like I

was a Jagger. Yeah. Yeah. The Ducks are Ron Hextall with the rest of your career. So, and it usually goes to like the huge underdog, like, you know, like I, I, was it Jagger? Yeah. Yeah. The ducks or Ron Hextall with the flyers in 87. Like it's, it's that sort of sort of situation. Yeah. I think the voters would be like, I'm not voting McDavid cause this would be too mean. Cause the right thing would be probably to give it to him. I mean, he's got a pretty healthy lead in terms of scoring. Like he's got 11 more points than Sam Bennett, for example.

Only six goals. That's where I'd be like, oh, there's only six goals. You could point to that. Can't do that. Didn't turn the back of the net enough. But I don't know. I mean, I'd be very great question. Yeah. Right. I mean, playing it out could be a lot of fun, but it could also be kind of scary for the Oilers. If Florida wins, then you're probably not seeing a scenario where McDavid's getting three and four points in the next couple of games. You know what I mean? Like it probably would just start to continue on with this trend of Florida. They're not going to win

six one, but just maybe slowing down McDavid, which will make the vote easier. But you're right, almost out of, you saw the pain the guy went through last year. That would be agonizing. You saw the pain the guy went through last year. That would be agonizing. You know, it'd be better to celebrate someone. And it'd be very easy to celebrate Bobrovsky or Bennett. I mean, quite frankly, no one would bat an eye if Sam Bennett was, you know, he's just

been such a presence. That would hurt for Oilers fans though. That would hurt for the entire province of Alberta actually. Cause I think Calgary fans would probably be like, this guy won the conspite trophy? What? Yeah. I mean, this is the thing. He wasn't this Sam Bennett in Calgary fans would probably be like, this guy won the conspite trophy? What? Yeah.

I mean, this is the thing. He wasn't this Sam Bennett in Calgary. They would have just traded them away. I mean, he finally found a place where he, you know, all of his skillset was perfectly being utilized and he came into his zone. And the thing when he was in Calgary for about 20 games a year, he was really, really good and, and, and noticeable, but he was quiet forgary for about 20 games a year he was really really

good and noticeable but he was quiet for the other you know 50-60 games and when a guy is only putting up let's say 40 to 50 points you're not noticing him. Now in Florida you notice him on a far greater basis and again he's not like an 80 point guy in Florida he's still like that 50-55 point guy, but come playoff time, he is a difference maker. That's the thing. We've seen that, um, not just this year, but last year and the year before he leaves an indelible mark on each and every game physically. I mean, he had one of the best shifts of the year, right? In that last game where he hits put Coles in, he, he puts dry title into the boards. He then kind of retrieves the puck, goes in on a breakaway,

makes a nice move and beats Skinner. And that was a really important moment. That was the 4-1 goal. That buried the Oilers, essentially. So yeah, it would be, I'm sure Flames fans are sitting there. And how do you think Sabres fans are feeling when they see Sam Reinhardt score 57 goals last year? Like, Bill Zito deserves a lot of credit.

It's been, he's found a lot of reclamation projects and he's been able to scoop them up and force lane, he picked up off waivers and obviously Marchand and Seth Jones. How good did Seth Jones look guys? Yeah, he's looked, he's looked really good to the point where I do wonder if they're going to move on from Aaron Echblad after this because

there's going to have some, there's going to be some tough decisions to make for the Florida Panthers. Yeah, I mean Seth Jones has looked like the guy who earned that $9.5 million contract and that was ridiculed mercilessly the last couple of years because he's been horrible in Chicago and I think it was just a horrible situation for an elite player. He walks into an elite situation and here he is. He leaves them an ice time and he's been a big part when you talk about frustrating McDavid and Dreifel, he has been an incredible defensive force and a guy has been able to get the puck up the ice and do all the things

that have been needed to be done. So it's been an interesting series. I know all the talk right now is sort of negative Edmonton and positive Florida, but again, this could change on a dime tomorrow, guys. That's how close this margins is in. And I think that's what that's gotta be the takeaway. Like it was a horrible game by the Oilers, but it was one loss and they're certainly right there.

If they come out and don't play their best game, then this series will be over quickly. But I think at least mentally they recognize that and they're saying they're ready to rebound and hit the reset button and come out and show why they're in the Stanley Cup final for a second straight year. Well, personally, I think Florida's only advantage really is the state tax situation. It's not the fact that they've gone out and found all these great players in different ways, whether it's trades or reclamation projects, waivers, free agency. I think it's all

down to the tax situation that they've got there. David, have fun. Yeah, thanks guys. And yeah, it should be a really, you know, listen, it's good. It's been a really exciting series, interesting series, and you just don't know what we're going to get. And tomorrow night we're all anticipating another great game. Thanks David, appreciate it. That's David Amber, Hawkenite Canada Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. We got to go to break. Before we do though, I need to tell you about Jan Pro.

From waiting rooms to exam rooms and everything in between, Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected. For a free quote, visit JanPro.ca. Coming up on the other side of the break, daily face-offs, Frank Sarah Valley overnight broke the big news that Chris Crichter appears on his way to Anaheim. We'll get more details on the trade, whatever Frank's available to share with us. We'll talk offer sheets. He's got a piece up on daily face-off right now,

but the potential of offer sheets and everything else as we get closer and closer to the start of free agency on July 1st, Frank Sarah Valley coming up next. You're listening to the Halford and Bruff show on sports net six 50.