Halford & Brough in the Morning - Weak Pacific, Advantage Vancouver

Episode Date: September 11, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason talk all things Seattle sports with 933 KJR's Ian Furness (:57), they discuss what has been a busy last few days for the Flames, as Sportsnet Calgary's Eric Francis joins the show (23:47), plus the boys chat about the Pacific, and if it might be the worst division in hockey (35:12). 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.

702 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're

looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. Ian Furness from KJR Sports Radio in Seattle is going to join us in just a moment here. Before we get to Ian, Jason is going to join us in just a moment here. Before we get to Ian, Jason is going to tell you more about Kintec.

We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, Rafi, what are you waiting for? Kintec, to the phone lines we go. Ian Furness joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Ian. How are you? I'm good, gentlemen. How are you? I'm good, gentlemen.

How are you? We're well. We've had a few days to let game one of the Seahawks season sink in and marinate. And we have our thoughts on the matter. Curious to get your thoughts about a season opening 26-20 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday for the Seahawks. Well, I mean, ultimately, the NFL is a results business right like all it matters it's not like college football down here where you know you got to win by style points if that was the

case it would have been worse but they won their their 1-0 they made some changes and got things going in the second half offensively the defense really for the most part start to finish was really good you know just start with the defense last year. They were bottom third in the league in almost every category statistically. And by the eye test, maybe it felt worse at times, which was weird because there is some talent there. But Mike McDonald, the new head coach, is a defensive guy. So he came in and expectations were that he would elevate the play. It helped playing against Bo Nix, who is just adverse to throwing the ball,

you know, past the line of scrimmage. It looked like a Pop Warner quarterback throwing it out there. So that helped quite a bit. But defensively good. Offensively, it could have started worse. But they were able to kind of right the ship and make plays when they had to, including a key third down conversion at the end with Geno hitting Tyler Lockett with a one-handed catch.

And they got out of there with a win. It wasn't pretty. It probably was harder than they expected but they're one and oh and that's the bottom line um how is this offensive line going to progress throughout the season because it was the number one concern heading into the season and then the game started and I don't know if there's more concern than the number one concern, but, you know, George Pham got hurt too. We don't know what, frankly, what Abe Lucas' future at all looks like. So what do you think about this offensive line? Yeah, Abe Lucas, the right tackle, has been, you know,

really for a calendar year now. I mean, he got hurt or left game one last season in 2023 and came back, you know, came back for a couple of games here or there, but was never right physically surgery in the off season. And now we're just waiting. He has to sit out the first four games because he was on the PUP list. So physically unable to perform. So he's out in the first four.

So he's got at least three more. He's got to sit out tank gets hurt early in the game on Sunday. They went to stone Forsyth who's, you know, I guess option three or your third string right tackle. They've got Michael Jarrell, a draft pick, a late-round draft pick from a Division II school down here, which Division II is the same level as Simon Fraser, or I guess, rest in peace, Simon Fraser's football program was.

So, yeah, they're hurting at that side. And the trickle-down effect was massive. I was more surprised. I was, in fact, very surprised that the right guard situation with Anthony Bradford was bad as it was. The left guard, Lakin Tomlinson, who came in, he's a veteran and former Pro Bowler. He struggled early on.

Didn't get better as the game went on. Wasn't surprised the center was struggling. Connor Williams hasn't played a game in eight and a half months, including no preseason games. I think Williams will be better at center. Tomlinson should be better at left guard. And they just got to figure out that right side. It wouldn't be spicy looking at Chris Haynes start at right guard this week.

And we may say Jarrell or Forsythe, some competition at right tackle. If fans are out, we won't know until later today because they're off. There's no update on fan on Monday, and then they were off yesterday, so we'll find out later. If you had to put a percentage or odds or whatever on it, where would you put Geno Smith being the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback beyond this season? Ooh, probably a little over, I'd probably say around 65%.

They can, the contract easier to get out from under, but they have confidence in Gino. And, and, you know, listen, we saw that even on Sunday,

it's hard to find a, a solid quarterback. It's hard to find a good quarterback oftentimes. And, you know, Gino is probably, you know, somewhere in the middle of the pack. He's good enough. They've find a good quarterback oftentimes and you know Gino's probably you know somewhere middle of the pack he's good enough they've got a good running game they've got elite wide receivers and if they can protect when they protect him he's fine I just you know Bo Nix serves as a great

reminder that you know even drafting a quarterback in the first round doesn't it doesn't you know give you instant success and Seattle's never with John Schneider as the GM, and before that, Schneider and Pete Carroll, they've never been in a mode of rebuild since 2010, really. So they want to win. They've got guys they're paying to win right now. So unless they find a viable option that makes sense at quarterback, I think Gino's the guy next year.

It was a quiet first game for DK Metcalf. Also took some bad penalties. How much do you guys talk about his future in Seattle? And, you know, you see all these big contracts going for wide receivers and some of them negotiate pretty hard. What do you guys talk about when it comes to DK Metcalf and his future in Seattle? Yeah, he's kind of a, it's interesting, he's

kind of a polarizing subject at times down here. I look at him maybe a little differently. I think he gets a bad rap. I mean, the two penalties were both holding penalties. They weren't so-called undisciplined ones, which he's been criticized for before.

And actually, I did a breakdown on those for my show, and it's not as egregious as people think. So you notice him more because he's 6'5 and 236 pounds. And one of the holds was actually, to be honest with you, just a brutal call. Like it wasn't even a hold at the goal line. Charminé was in the end zone already. It was just ridiculous.

But, you know, the catches or lack thereof on Sunday, I think what that did do is it helped everybody else. It certainly helped the run game. It certainly helped, you know, I mean, look at Tyler. I mean, Tyler had, what, five catches, four were for first downs, I think. Because Patrick Sertan, arguably, if he's not the best cornerback in the NFL, he's number two behind Silas Gardner. Denver does something that every team does.

Seattle never did this with Richard Sherman, for example. Sherman never shadowed the other team's number one guy if they had such a thing. But Sertan did. So that's fine. Those two guys can cancel each other out, and that opens things up for everybody else. And that won't happen every week. So DK, I'm a DK apologist. I think the guy's fantastic.

I think you can't build a guy to look better and play. And he works hard. He competes. So the contracting will be interesting. That will be an interesting thing because, yeah, these top guys at that position are making $30 million a year. But you don't win without that guy in your roster, not as presently constructed.

So I think he'll find a way to keep him here for a long time. How upset are Mariners fans right now with this franchise and the leadership and the ownership? Well, it's amazing, guys. Like, they're in contention for both the division and the playoff spot, sort of. I mean, when I say sort of, they're four games out of a wild card with two teams in between them before that final wild card spot. They're four and a half out of the division.

I mean, they lost an opportunity last night. Houston lost against Oakland. They could have gained the game, but they're four and a half out with 17 left. It's funny because I was trying to think about this. You guys can help me with this. It might be good for my – I needed some help from my show today. So if you do it in hockey terms, right, they're nine points out of first place with 17 left to go is that in

it no okay it's no yeah it doesn't feel that way right no and fan graphs gives them a five percent chance of making the playoffs that's normally what i go to i just go to these probability websites and be like that's what it is yeah and yeah and usually it's pretty close although at one point they were 98 back on on June 18th or whatever. So who knows how those work? But yeah, they're hated by a lot of people out there. It's crazy. I don't think the people, the fans, Kate, the players, they are so fed up with the ownership group.

And it trickles down to the GM who now we know is coming back in Jerry DePoto and there's just this this feeling of just absolute disdain for ownership and management that it's hard to get past it's it's a weird dynamic because yeah fans want their team to win but at the same time they just really can't stand what's going on in the front office. And it's, it's hard and they're very oblivious to it. They don't care. They, you know, DePoto, you can make the argument. Yeah.

He's built a good, great pitching staff and all that. Yeah. He has at the same time. The other part of the other side of the coin there is that, you know, they, they can't hit, you know, they just don't hit. And we saw what happened again last night. If their pitching staff isn't great, and there are some issues, Castillo's now on the injured list, and, you know, Kirby wasn't great last night, bullpen's not as deep as it used to be.

If the pitching's not perfect, they lose games. And, you know, there's just no – the lack of spending money, you know, things like that. It's such a different sport, guys. It's such a different sport than the other three in hockey and NBA and NFL because there is no salary cap. Yeah. And this is a big market team.

Like, this is, it's media market 12 in the United States of America. Like, that's a big market team. You cannot get past that. And we, you know, you can add on to that. We don't's a big market team. You cannot get past that. And we, you know, you can add onto that. We don't have a state income tax. Like it should be easier to spend money and get players here. And yet they're reluctant to do so. They'll build a new bar tavern across the street.

They benefit from and do stuff like that. They'll invest in the restaurant business, but they don't invest in the eyes of the fans. They don't invest enough in the product on the field. The owner's not rich enough. He's a billionaire, but he's not rich enough. That's the crazy part about professional sports now. Like, yeah, he's rich. Yeah, but that's not.

No, but here's the thing. They were the fourth most profitable team in major league baseball last year. Oh, that's infuriating. And that's where the problem is. i probably should point out yeah they they they are one of the top 10 most profitable organizations year in and year out in major league baseball they make more money than two-thirds of major league baseball if, if not more, every year. And the fans feel like they don't invest it back in the product. And honestly, even if you or I own the team, guys, or any of the three of us did, it wouldn't matter

because the way sports franchises appreciate, they make money every day just in the appreciation value of the organization. It's kind of like the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates fans are all upset at them, but they've got a beautiful ballpark so people still go once in a while so their attendance doesn't go down to like 3,000 a game. It's exactly the same

except for Pittsburgh's a far smaller market. Here's the problem. They've got issues with their regional sports network down here that they own. They own Root Sports where the games are broadcast. And because of that, and I think the number I heard yesterday is interesting. Root Sports only reaches four and a half households of 10 in their viewing area.

And, you know, that's a problem. But, you know, if you're completely dependent on payroll on your local television deal, when there is revenue sharing in Major League Baseball for, they put all the money together for local television, and there is a revenue share element involved in Major League Baseball, you've got a bigger problem. They're just cheap. There's no way around it.

They're just cheap. And, you know, I mean, Roots Sports is a problem. problem it may go out of business who knows what's going to happen next year with baseball they've lost every other entity including the Blazers out of Portland the Kraken obviously hell even Gonzaga basketball's pulled off of there too so yeah they're they're they're struggling. We're talking Seattle sports with Ian Furness. NBA expansion. I was under the impression that once the CBA was figured out, once the TV rights deal was figured out, that the Sonics would be back. And yet the commissioner was asked the other day,

is it coming? And he was like, we're still not ready yet. How much talk is there in Seattle about the NBA expansion? Yeah, a couple of things. Don't believe anything he says. Don't believe anything in terms of it's on hold or there's a delay. It's going to be here either 2026, 2027. I don't even pay attention to anything being said by the commissioner

in the commissioner's office because I know what's going on behind the scenes. It's going to be here. The plan's in place. Staff's in place. It's moving full steam ahead. I've always thought all along, and I've been told by people in the know, so to speak, because it's the same ownership group as the hockey team, and there may be another element to ownership too.

And that's an interesting dynamic that you guys will call me on sometime soon. But I think it's 2027 is my guess. There's some people that are optimistic and say fall of 2026 in two years. I think it's 2027, but the NBA will be back here within the next three years, Max.

So who are the owners going to be expected? I think it's 2027, but the NBA will be back here with the next three years, max. So who are the owners going to be expected? Well, it's basically much of the same hockey ownership group led by David Vonderman. And he's got to sell his share. He hasn't already in the, in the Boston Celtics because they're for sale. He's got a minority interest there.

And once he does that, and they've already, they haven't sold yet. We hear rumors about who's going to buy them, but yeah, it'll be Bonnerman and those other investors as well. But they, I just know this, watching how they run the hockey team, there are no ownership issues here at all.

That's in place, done deal. They're going to be fine. It's, yeah, it's full steam ahead. It's in place. Done deal. They're going to be fine. It's full steam ahead. It's that whole same group. Is it going to be the Sonics again, for sure? Oh, yeah. You know, it's funny, guys. You appreciate this with the Whitecaps and their

history going back to the 70s. And I'm sure Timber fans would as well, although nobody cares what Portland takes. When Adrian Hanauer, who's the owner of the Sounders, although nobody cares what Portland takes. When Adrian Hanauer, who's the owner of the Sounders, when they brought him back to the MLS in, when was that? Like, oh, eight, I think it was when they started. When that happened, he had a press conference. He's like, yeah, we're going to do a name the team contest.

And people lost their mind. What are you doing? Like, you're maybe not going to name the soccer team the Sounders. He just got hammered for that. A couple days later, he was like, yeah, okay, it's the Sounders. He grew up a Sounders fan,

which was weird. The Sonics are going to be the name. They retained that right. They got to retain the right to the name Sonics, and I think they have the championship banner in a museum around here somewhere that's about all they don't go to the city but it'll definitely be the sounders there's no doubt hey and what do fans down in seattle think of the nhl's salary cap once they've started to learn it and how

restrictive it can be i mean we're in vancouver here. There's injuries to the goalies. There's a bit of a curious case going on with Thatcher Demko. And the Canucks are reportedly poking around the goalie market. And it's like a salary cap issue. It's so restrictive that you have to think hard about how you're going to add, for example, a third-string goalie. And I'm wondering what people down in Seattle, some of whom or a lot of whom might be new to following the league on a day-to-day basis,

think of the NHL's hard cap because it is the hardest of the hard caps. Well, right now they think nothing of it because Ron Francis has gone out and spent a bunch of money in the summer. It doesn't seem to affect these guys down here. It honestly hasn't been anything that they've been discussing because, you know, with the Montour,

Stevenson, now Larson contracts, Matty Beneers, I don't know if they even think that there is a salary cap down here. It doesn't feel that way. It's because you guys don't have any superstars yet. That's exactly it. I mean, they're not – yeah, I mean, everyone – the highest paid guys are in the $7 million range, right?

Yeah. And I always point out there is no salary cap because you can slip down to Vegas and see that you can circumvent it if you're smart. So what does it matter, right? They certainly – it doesn't feel like, you know, Kelly McCrimmon and McPhee and those guys in Vegas operate with a salary class. Well, they're going to figure that out.

We were just talking about the loss of Jonathan Marcheseau and how much it's going to affect those guys. That guy scored 42 goals from last season. He just walked away. Yeah, no, it really hasn't been a factor here. And I think it's just because of what you said. They haven't, you know, everybody they've had to resign or when they've gone out and they've picked I mean you know the argument down for some you know for the diehard fans out here was a lot of they

overspend and overextend themselves with the the long-term deals with you know Montour and Stevenson and um you know the veneers contract is different I think it's, to me, the Veneer's contract feels really, really player-friendly for maybe a year or two. I don't think he certainly isn't playing into that contract level right now. Didn't last year. It took a step back. But if Matty Veneer is, you know, with the cap going up every year, if Matty Veneer progresses and, you know,

just gets back to where he was as a rookie of the year two years ago, that's a really team-friendly deal later on. so that's kind of a unique one in that regard you know you could make the argument about stevenson them on tour and the the you know having a seven-year deals for those guys and a little bit too much there but it feels like that's the way of the nhl right you kind of have to go down that road a little bit to get guys and frankly they feel two big needs you know a one or two center and a top pair defenseman that can move the puck a little bit. Any hype for the Apple Cup this weekend?

A little bit weird having it in week three of the college football season. I was actually disappointed they're playing it at Lumen because I was thinking of coming down because I love Husky Stadium, and I love Husky Stadium in September, but going to the Seahawks Stadium, it's just not as scenic.

Well, yeah, there's no real buzz. There's only 36,000 seats sold in a 65,000-seat building. If it was played at Husky Stadium, it would be probably sold out. If it was in Martin Stadium in Pullman, it would definitely be sold out. It was, you know, as the rotation goes, it was supposed to be in Pullman this year. Instead, what they did when they, now this is the greasy part of it. So the athletic director at Washington, Pat Chun, he was the athletic director at Washington State.

He cut a deal to extend the Apple Cup, including this year's neutral site game in Lumen Field at the expense of Pullman, the businesses in Pullman, et cetera, to be in Lumen this year as a so-called neutral site game. Third party, the Seahawks over, the Seahawks group that runs Lumen Field first to go are operating the game. It's not a home game for either team. And then Shun went to Washington.

So there's a lot of bitterness there because there's really no reason for it to be being played at lumen it just if you're going to continue the series it'd be pullman this year seattle next year back and forth we go instead they have this weird neutral site game that no one likes it's not a part of either team's school's season ticket package. So you're selling tickets from ground zero. And really, it's so poorly run right now. They haven't advertised, marketed at all. So unless you're listening to sports radio or you get your clip on the news or something, you know, like the average fan that is kind of like a

periphery fan doesn't even really know what's going on, you know. And it's just a weird deal. It's a weird dynamic for sure. And there's a lot of Washington State fans. I'm a Wazoo alum. We'd rather just tell those guys to pound sand and hit the road and not see them again. So there's just so much bitterness and emotion tied to it.

There's a lot of people that just have no interest. Ian, this was awesome. As always, thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Enjoy the weekend. Lots of good sports on the horizon. We'll do this again soon. Thanks, fellas. Anytime. Talk to you soon. You too. Thanks, of good sports on the horizon. We'll do this again soon. Thanks, fellas.

Anytime. Talk to you soon. You too. Thanks, Ian Furness from KJR Sports Radio in Seattle here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Coming up on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650, we're going to go from Seattle to Calgary. Eric Francis from Sportsnet in Calgary is going to join us. We're going to talk a bunch of Calgary flames here.

They made two minor moves yesterday, signing a defenseman, Jared Tenori, inviting another defenseman, Tyson Berry, to camp on a PTO. What does it all mean, big picture, with these guys coming in? Are the Flames up big moves on the horizon? We'll find that out next. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. 7.31 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

Halford Cruft, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Gruft of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver Honda is Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts. This sounds like a cheery version of the Mortal Kombat theme.

Yes. Sonya, you can. What did you say it sounded like, Ladi? I was thinking like a soccer video game from like 1997. Like the menu music? Yeah. Oh, you guys are the best. Andy, remind me, there are dozens of texts, dozens,

asking for your thorough, encapsulating review of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Don't spoil it. Save it for what we learned. All right. But people want to know. We've been talking about it all week. It was a highlight of Andy's week. Thousands of losers out there.

I'm thinking best picture. That's a throwback to the old station. For your consideration, I hear it's getting Oscar buzz. Okay, out of the phone lines we go. Eric Francis from Sportsnet in Calgary joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Eric. How are you? Morning, boys.

Let's play some hockey. Yeah, we're getting pretty excited. All the sort of check marks in the lead up to the start of the regular season, they're starting to happen. You got the golf tournaments that every team is having across you know Canada and the U.S. you're starting to hear about PTOs and minor signings and Calgary got in on that action yesterday uh Jared Tenorti comes aboard uh Tyson Berry comes aboard on a PTO so I gotta ask is it is it too much to read the tea leaves here and suggest that there might be bigger moves afoot like maybe moving out some defensemen

now that some are coming in or do these moves exist in a vacuum oh i i i mean i guess ultimately look i i think rasmus anderson for the next year and a half is going to be the subject of plenty of trade speculation but But other than that, really on the blue line, I don't see anybody moving out anytime soon, but that would be a significant move because he is, you know, they're one A, one B defenseman. But I don't read it that way. I read it as you've got a blue line, just chock full,

an organization that's just chock full of young defensemen. It really is their strength in terms of their prospect pool. But, you know, you're going to need veterans, character guys to teach them and mold them and shape them and all that sort of stuff. So that's kind of the idea behind it. Both Tenorti and Barry are coming off, you know, basically non-NHL seasons, really, for all intents and purposes, but are both considered to be great guys. They're both, you know, mid-30s or, you know, 33 for Barry.

And so, you know, these are obviously just crack fillers. You know, there's a chance that Barry could come to camp and then sign with someone else, too. So I don't read too much into it other than the fact that they're just trying to add character and leadership because that is what this organization actually believes is their strength, character and leadership. They're light on talent and depth, but strong on leadership. Who are some of the good young defensemen that they've got,

and will we see any of these guys in the Young Stars tournament coming up? Yeah, we will. Hunter Bristevich was a guy. Oh, yeah, that guy. Yeah, you guys have heard of him. So all of a sudden, this fan base is all excited about him. And he's going to play in the American Hockey League this year, most probably. But yeah, he'll be at the Young Stars Classic.

And Zane Parekh was the Flames' first-round pick this year. And there's a ton of buzz about this guy, you know, breaking all sorts of records in the Ontario Hockey League for goals as a young defenseman. And, you know, those are the two guys who kind of highlight that list. There's another guy that you won't see at the Young Stars tournament, but that the organization's very high on is Danil Miramanov. He was acquired in the trade that got Hannafin to Vegas,

and he's kind of slated to be a top four defenseman this year, even though he's young and kind of an unproven NHLer. So those are the three guys the organization's really hyped about. What is Nazem Qadri feeling right now about the team he's on? Not necessarily his role or anything because he'll be expected to play well and provide that leadership and character. But this is a guy that a few years ago

was playing on the Colorado Avalanche and won a Stanley Cup with them, playing very high-level hockey, and now he's on a team with less than Stanley Cup expectations what does he think about all this I would love to inject some truth serum in him and really find out you know he said all the right things at the end of last season I asked him after you know kind of the final trades were made last year the team had been you know basically decimated and started its retool rebuild

whatever you want to call it. And he was kind of short on words. I don't think he said all the right things. But by the end of the season, I think he'd been talked to and they decided, you know what? You know, you got to tell everybody you're on board. Like, I'm not saying he's not on board. I'm just saying I think he needed to know. He needed to say the right things for people to believe it.

I will say this you know nazem qadri gets has a bit of a rap for you know um i don't know what the question the word attitude problem but i will i thought last year he was definitely their mvp he was their best player last year uh he played right till the end of the season uh he really did lead by example and i really do think that there's a very good chance that the way he responds to this sudden, you know, complete 180 by the organization going from, you know, he signed up to try and be a, one of the, you know, complimentary pieces for a team, you know, in the mix.

And now he's on a team that's clearly rebuilding. I think he's going to embrace the fact that he's going to, he's a leader of this team. He's, you I think he's going to embrace the fact that he's a leader of this team. He's going to be counted on for leadership and also to be the number one player up front for this team. So I think he really did embrace that last year. And he took two young wingers under his wing last year, Connor Zeri and Martin Boswell.

So they were the stories of the year for the Calgary Flames last year. Two rookies who broke through and no one expected them to. He had them on both sides of his line and they thrived. stories of the year for the Calgary Flames last year, two rookies who broke through and no one expected them to. He had them on both sides of his line, and they thrived under him. So I think it bodes well for the future for him, you know, continuing to buy into what's going on here. But if the Flames could trade him, and they wouldn't have to retain salary, and they could get a decent return back it wouldn't be you know a salary dump or anything like that would they entertain it well i think i think anything's on the table yeah

and i do think listen i think at the beginning of last year he's making seven million a year for i think the next five years or something like that i think everybody considered him to be a untradeable like jonathan huber though but uh i'm here to tell you that that's not the case anymore. After the year he had last year, 75 points on a pretty bad team with two rookies on his wings, I think he's extremely tradable. I think a lot of teams would kill to have him as their second-line center just like the Avalanche did when he helped them win the Stanley Cup. So I think the Flames would consider anything at this point in time

because, you know, even though he is signed for another four or five years, is he really part of the long-term plan here? I don't think so, but we'll see. Right now they see him as instrumental in shaping the youngsters around him. Is there a sense that Craig Conroy is going to keep going with what he's done? Because you look at since he came on board, and it's like Toffoli, Zadora, I'm going to try and run through all of them. Lindholm, Tanev, Hannafin, Markstrom.

And I was like, oh yeah, Manji Pani got traded too. He's really, really been active in his first 10 or so months on the job. I mean, he's probably not going to say out loud what his plans are, but if past behavior is an indicator of what's to come next, like what's stopping Craig Conroy from keeping making deals and restocking? Because he does have assets to move out. Yeah. And he's got cap space to weaponize. And I know that's something he's talked a lot about using at some point in time. So I do think he'll be active you know, active as, you know,

probably more in the new year. I think right now this organization is bracing the calm. Listen, outside of this horrible Johnny Goudreau tragedy, which, you know, has really rocked this city, it's rocked the hockey world, but this city has really taken it hard. You know, yesterday at the golf tournament, that's all the players were talking about and the candlelight vigil in this city and really taken it hard. You know, yesterday at the golf tournament, that's all the players we're talking about and the candlelight vigil in this city and all that stuff.

So that has been, I hate to use the word a distraction, but that's been on top of everyone's mind. Of course it has, yeah, of course. Yeah, yeah. And this organization has just been lamenting the fact that for the last two years, all there's been is distractions and trade rumors. And, you know, everybody knew last year

a whole bunch of guys were either going to get signed or get traded. And it was a big distraction. Hey, some people could say that's an excuse, but either way, they're coming into this season in a relative calm state. And it's now just a case of let's let these youngsters show what they've got at camp.

And hopefully a couple of them really show well breakthrough and uh they still talk about making the playoffs but that's that's part of your nhl contract you have to say that when you go into every season and uh i i believe a lot of the guys in that room probably believe they can make the playoffs if they get off to a great start but uh the reality is that's not expected certainly in this city i know you wrote about it for sportsnet.ca and i and i just wanted to you know maybe so our listeners could hear uh the candlelight vigil and i saw some of the images that came from out front of the saddle dome and i mean there was a lot of different takeaways from it the sheer volume of people that showed up the emotion that that collective had uh what was it like covering it watching it obviously a

tragedy for um you know everyone involved and then you know people that covered johnny goudreau to experience and then try and write about it in the aftermath so what was that like yeah it was powerful and and geez i got goosebumps just talking about like it it really was you know 13 minutes of silence you had some great speeches from Backlund and Conroy and Lanny McDonald and 10,000 people there holding up their phones or candles. And for 13 minutes, all you heard was a drone over top and sniffles and crying. It was quite, I don't think I've ever, well, I've certainly never been part of anything like it. Blake Coleman, Rasmus Anderson, other guys I spoke to yesterday

who were pretty close with Johnny echoed the sentiment that I had after that vigil, which is just how proud they are of this city. And Johnny left this city. Johnny, you know, and a lot of people were really hurt, frustrated, angry, furious, different emotions, but there was a lot of people were really hurt, frustrated, angry, furious, different emotions. But there was a lot of emotion when he left. And everybody just, they didn't forget about that. But despite that, people showed up like he was still a Calgary Flame.

Because at the end of the day, we're all humans. And what happened was awful. And I think people here really felt connected to Johnny Gaudreau because he was, I'll call him a homegrown talent. Obviously, he's not from here, but they drafted him, took a chance on him, and they hit big with him. But I think for everybody to just kind of forget about what had happened two years ago in the summer when everybody's hearts were broken. Listen, we use the term heartbroken pretty loosely.

What just happened to the Gaudreau family, that breaks hearts. And I broke this city's heart in a big, pretty loosely. Um, what just happened to the good roll family that breaks hearts. And then I broke the city's heart, uh, in a big, big way. So, uh, I was really proud of the way that this city responded and showed the love

to the good roll family who are going through unspeakable, uh, emotions right now. Just, it's just, and I, I think it was quite heartening too, to see both of Matthew and, and Johnny's wives at the memorial really pay tribute to Calgary and how much it meant to them that Calgary had shown that love.

So they felt it for sure. Eric, very well said. And thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. We'll catch up again as we get closer to the start of the season. Thanks, boys. Look forward to talking hockey. Let's do it.

Yep. Sounds good. Thank you. That's Eric Francis from Sportsnet in Calgary here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Of the eight teams, I'm going to put you on the spot. I love doing this. Eight teams in the Canucks division, including the Canucks. So Canucks, Oilers, Kings,

Vegas, Calgary, Seattle, Anaheim, San Jose. Which one could surprise in either a good way or a bad way? Vegas. Are they the wild card for you? I mean, the only way. Which way would they surprise, up or down? I think Vegas could miss the playoffs.

You think Vegas could miss the playoffs? So I've got the Leafs potentially missing the playoffs, and you've got Vegas potentially missing the playoffs? Red meat for the listeners. Here's what I know. And I said this earlier, and I'll reiterate it again. The rank and file, boots on the ground, lunch bucket guys that had to carry the load and get them into

the playoffs when hurdle and stone and everyone else were on ltir is hurdle overrated yeah i thought it was a horrible decision to go and get them horrible i was dumb and i you look at it, and it wasn't just Marcheseau, right? Marcheseau was the big one that went away. Like, I look at it, and I'm like, I think they're going to miss, like, the Carriers of the world and guys like Alec Martinez and all these guys that did the heavy lifting when the stars either were unable to or were forced to be held out because

they were so far over the cap and they had to stash guys on ltir like vegas was not a stone cold lock for the playoffs last year that wasn't an impressive regular season they got in as the last seed and what happened they went into the playoffs and they were out in the first round. Right? Could this division be the worst division? Is it probably going to be the worst division in the NHL? When you think about

Calgary's not going to be very, Calgary's in a rebuild. So probably not going to be very good. I don't think Anaheim and San Jose are there yet. Seattle, they might be a tiny bit better. I think they'll probably be in the mix for a playoff spot,

but I don't think they're terrific by any means. And then you've got the Canucks, Oilers, and the Kings. We know the Oilers are good, and the Canucks and the Kings, you expect them to make the playoffs this season? Yep. I think it's – But the division does not look all that great when you compare it to – well, I don't know. It's a good debate because if you go to the Atlantic, for example,

you've got Florida, you've got the defending Stanley Cup champs, and then you've got three teams that have been good for a while, but we kind of don't know what to expect from Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay. And ditto for Detroit, Buffalo, and Ottawa because we've been waiting for these guys to break through and they just haven't been able to yet. I think the answer is the Pacific because I think the Pacific is going to have three of the worst teams in the NHL in it.

In Anaheim, Calgary, and San Jose. Yeah. Right? But I think you could make that argument for bad teams being in the Metro, for example, with Columbus and Philly. Philly was almost a playoff team last year. They're not a good team, though. No, but they're better than the three I just mentioned, I'd say. Washington. Hey, you know what better than the three I just mentioned, I'd say. If you were to give me...

Washington. Hey, you know what? Washington's weird because Washington... The Islanders. I don't think the Islanders are very good. They made the playoffs. Washington loaded up. I'm saying, if you're going to talk about a division,

if it's at its worst, how low does the basement get? I think the division is just your total points. Yeah, I would look at it at how many. That's the qualification. I would look at it how many cupcake teams there are. And remember, that San Jose team last year was one of the worst teams. Well, if you're talking about how many cupcakes, it's probably the

Canucks division because you got Calgary, Anaheim and San Jose. Right. That's what I'm saying. And then, of course, you're calling Vegas a cupcake now. Right. So there's four cupcakes in that division. You know, San Jose was bad to the point where I'm not even low-key. I'm just key concerned about throwing Celebrini in that mix. We all remember, dogs, you remember how bad the San Jose Sharks were last year. Like a truly horrific hockey team.

One of the worst teams of the salary cap era. The likes of which we haven't seen in a long time. You know, like who gives up 10 goals with regularity? Yeah. You know, like it was bizarre. And then they beat the Oilers. And then they beat the Oilers. Yeah, right.

It was bizarre when they beat the Oilers. And firing Gene Gunn. And we all kind of knew it was going to happen too. Yeah, it was great. We're like, if you guys can do one good thing this year, although it turned out to be a bad thing because it really kick-started the Oilers. And firing Gene. And we all kind of knew it was going to happen too. Yeah, it was great. We're like, if you guys can do one good thing this year, although it turned out to be a bad thing

because it really kick-started the Oilers season. Well, the Sharks had Magnus Krona starting games for them for how long? The Kronaberg. Yeah. The Trey Kronar.

So they weren't exactly going for it. We'll put it that way. Bryson Langley texts in, did I hear correct? Did he just say Toronto won't make the playoffs? I didn't guarantee it.

Those are our hot takes. Those are our hot takes. Those are hot takes. I'm not high on Toronto. I think their blue line stinks. And I think they've got some issues, some lingering distractions up front with Mitch Marner. I realize these guys are a playoff

lock almost. They have been for, I don't know, a long time now, but it's not hot. It's not a hot take. It's like, I don't think Anaheim's going to make the playoffs. If you're going to take, it's got to be hot. I'm not high on them. You're not high on Anaheim?

No, I'm not. I'm not high on Toronto. I don't think Bradshaw Living has done a very good job. I think he left Calgary in a terrible spot, and I think he's gone into Toronto and he's overpaid for Chris Tanev. He's overpaid for OEL. I look at that blue line and I say, okay, it might be a tiny bit better,

but I still don't think it's very good. The goaltending situation, I think that could go any way. Yeah, they've got some good players up front. Matthews is always going to be good. Nylander's a really talented player, solid player. But the Marner thing, it's a massive wild card to see what's going to happen with Mitch Marner. How's Craig Berube?

Is that going to fit or is that going to be like torts coming into Vancouver and it's just a disaster? It doesn't work. He tries to get them to play a brand of hockey that doesn't fit with their identity and what their best what do the Leafs have in terms of depth what does their forward group look like right on those big three okay I'm just gonna push Tavares's Tavares's there's easy it's an easy pushback well no the only reason like I the two the ones that we have here they're they're just different stylistically like i agree with a lot of what you're saying is that i think eventually

the bottom might fall out there and this might be the year right however the blueprint remains the same on regular season success which is you lean on your big four they play great they feast on whomever and they get you to the playoffs back to vegas for a Bobby McMahon can put him over the top Max Pacioretty who by the way we should clarify now this is weird because when I first read the report the report was they were expected to sign him yeah but then this morning they announced that he's going there on a PTO but then his agent Alan Walsh shockingly Alan Walsh was on social media I know I can't believe it either but Alan Walsh was on social media. I can't believe it either, but Alan Walsh was on social media, and he said,

Patrick Reddy's basically going to sign a contract with Toronto, so the PTO thing is a formality. This is all very confusing. I don't know why they have to do this song and dance. Okay, push back, because I'm going to hammer harder, because I'm looking at their defensive pairings right now on Daily Faceoff. Morgan Riley and Chris Stanov together. That's great.

OEL is there. Well, is it great? It's not close to Hughes and Hronik. Second pairing, OEL and Liljegren. And the third pair, Benoit and Jake McCabe. But that's not a good defense. But you understand what you're talking about. You're talking about them falling from a playoff spot to out.

Yeah, and I think it's possible if some of those other teams finally get their act together. Teams like Detroit and Buffalo and Ottawa. But the pushback would be that that blue line that you just read out might actually be better than the one they had last season because they added Tanev and they added OEL. OEL is a third pair guy. They might be addition by subtraction by not having Giordano there.

I'm not arguing with you because I like where you're going with this. In fact, I would love it if they didn't make the playoffs. Mine with Vegas was just straight up. If I told you that there was a team that squeaked into the playoffs with like, well, they have 96 points and were bounced in the first round

and then they lost the following players. Martiuso, Stevenson, Carrier, Martinez, Amadio, and Manta, and then they replaced them with nobody, you'd say, like, yeah, that's a team that could potentially miss the playoffs. So they didn't bring in anyone, right? They brought in Victor Olofsson. Ah, Olaf. And you know who they brought in, speaking of the Toronto Maple Leafs,

Ilya Samsonov. Right, right, right, right. Because they got rid of Logan Thompson. So anyway, but back to your Toronto one um i think i want to get behind it i think it's a lot of fun born when we had born on he had no time for it yeah absolutely i know like he basically called me an idiot on the air and i and i don't and you and you but you enjoyed it you enjoyed it when he was dismissive of me no no no no i like like this because the X factor in all of this, I think, is Berube. And it could end up being, he could come in and just mess the whole thing up. Like, say we go about Sheldon Keefe.

What did Sheldon Keefe do every year he was on the job as the head coach of the Toronto Maples? Look exasperated? I don't know. Hey, a little puffy at times, right? Probably the stress. But he got them into the playoffs, right? And so the one change,

the one fundamental change behind the bench, I would love to see it go that way, where Berube is just like the worst fit and everything that he tries to implement goes wrong. And I could see a world. I just don't like the lineup. I don't like the roster. No, but you like the high...

Whether you like it or not, you have to acknowledge that the high end is very high. Yeah. Yeah. And that's where it's like. Matthews, Marner, and Nylander. Yeah. They're really good players.

I guess Tavares. No, Tavares is out of that conversation now, frankly. But he's still there. He got his captaincy stripped, man. That's not a good sign. Actually, you know what? That's another part of it. That's another element.

When you amplify this, you can be like, it's a team in disarray. They stripped the captain. I like it. They stripped the captain. No, that's another element. When you amplify this, you can be like, it's a team in disarray. They stripped the captain. They stripped the captain. They gave the captain to, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they gave it to an American? An American player captaining Canada's team? Who's a young guy on the Leafs that's going to?

Oliver Ekman-Larsen. No, no, no. Oh, wait. Is it going to be like, well, maybe Matthew Nyes can take his game to another level. I don't know. Joseph Wall. Joseph Wall. I. Maybe he can. Joseph Wall. Yeah, Joseph Wall. I knew that he was.

Joseph Wall. Hold on. Now, that's another. Because we're going to do this all year now. So after the dysfunction in the room because of the captaincy. So you're locked in on Vegas missing the playoffs. I'm locked in on Toronto missing the playoffs. I like it.

Craig Berube messing up a good thing. And then the third one is going to be that they're reliant on a young goalie with health problems. Right? Because Joe Wall gets hurt. Yeah. Oh, man. This is good.

I like this. Lattie's fuming right now. And then they got Stolarz behind him. Lattie's been talking up Joseph Wall for, I've only known Lattie for, what, four or five years? It feels like longer, though. And it feels like he's been talking up Joseph Wall for wool for 20 years but we tend to do that i drag on but that's a fair acknowledgement that he's not uh he's not healthy all the time he's had his fair share well they went out and signed

a premier backup yeah so i think that tells you everything you need to know right as opposed to a non-premier backup in ilia samsona well or a spencer mart. Yeah. Dare I go there? Okay. Hours one and hours two are in the books. A reminder, go download the podcast. Apple, Google, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Hour two will be in the books shortly. Hour three is coming up. We're going to continue the hockey conversation with Mike Zeisberger from NHL.com. He's down in Vegas for the annual NHL player

media tour. He's written a ton on all these different stories that are going on around the league, so we'll talk to him about that. And then after Zeis, we're going to do what we learned. This is your 756 call for content. Please send what we learned into the

Dunbar Lumber text message in basket. Who knows how much longer this segment is going to last. We're openly talking about freshening up the show. By the way, I came up with another one. I was, I was scouring Twitter last night and I saw a meme of remember Alf. Yeah.

From Mel Mac. Love to eat cats. Yeah. Right. They're doing it in Springfield. So very timely. And then I remember that a big plot driver for a lot of the shows we liked in the 80s was you either add an alien and or robot character to the mix. Like Small Wonder, the robot girl.

Right. Okay. Or Alf, the alien. Did they add it or that was the main character? Sure. They didn't add Alf. It wasn't a story about the the tanners and then all the what if an alien came sorry i should rephrase we gotta freshen up this show

that was a plot driver for those shows we would be an addition to the show as a plot device so we're thinking about ways to freshen up the show what we learned might not be around for that much long alf never really took off until alf showed up, right. Alf was a big driver behind Alf. It was just Willie. That was the dad's name, wasn't it? Willie? I think so. Yeah.

I can hear Alf saying, like, hey, Willie. He does a good Alf. All right, we got to go to break. When we come back, Mike Zeisberger and what we learned. Before we go to break, though, I need to once again tell you about Tile Town. It is not the greatest amusement park on earth it is a place that sells tile as bc's favorite hockey team kicks off a new season receive 20 off any regular priced in stock tile