Halford & Brough in the Morning - What's The Likelihood Of An EP40 Trade This Season?

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest trade rumours with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:13), plus the boys ask the listeners which teams worry them as far as upsetting the Canucks to finish at the bottom of the NHL standings (27:00). 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.

Sarah Valley. Sarah Valley. Syra Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank.

Frank. 702 and Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford, Brough of SportsNet 650. Halford Brum of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal can get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. This is them online at Sands. Dash Trustee.

We are now in Hour 2 of the program. Frank Saravalley from Victory Plus is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Dot Mortgage. We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio, make 2026 your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech custom orthotics.

Our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor. It's Frank Sarvalley here on the Halper, and Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? Good. Morning, boys. Good. How are you guys? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this as always. We appreciate it. So since the calendar is turned from 2025 to 2026, Lee's Petterson's been putting up some points for the Vancouver Canucks.

No wins for the Canucks as a team, but Pedersen, four goals, five points in the games that have been played in January. I scored another one last night in Ottawa, another one the night prior to that in Montreal. I say all this. this lengthy preamble to ask about where things are out with regards to trade chatter around Elias Pedersen. I know Darren Drager had a report the other day that teams might be showing renewed interest

or more interest as we get closer and closer to the deadline. What are you hearing on this front, Frank? Yeah, I'm hearing that there's definitely an uptick and interest and I guess you'd call it calls being made to the Canucks to inquire about Pedersen's availability. Now, I've gotten mixed returns on what exactly his availability is. Now, some of the teams that I've talked to have said that they do not believe the Knucks are at this point in time interested in moving him.

But I think what's really changed is in this marketplace, everyone's looking around and seeing what these centers are. are going for now with new contracts and they're saying, hmm, 11.6 really isn't as big of a risk as it seems. Now, the other part of that, which is really important to point out, is Petterson holds all the cards now and it's going to be up to him to determine if, where, and when. And so if the Canucks want to do this. They'd have to engage him at some point, which you mentioned the Dregor report yesterday. They have not approached his camp. But the intriguing part is that the calls are definitely coming in. Is there a team in your mind that makes the most sense for him?

The most sense? I don't know about the most sense. There's a couple of teams that seem like better fits than others. And one that stands out that I don't think. think has been talked about enough is the Detroit Red Wings. I think he sort of more fits their age scheme and where they're heading. I think they're a team that is slowly but surely getting their act together, and he could provide that high-end skill that I think they're missing at the center position. And I imagine the connection, the Red Wings have already had some chats, as related to Quinn Hughes.

Right. And they have a previous deal history as well, going back to Phil Horonick. Yeah. I guess that brings it all the way back to the original question of would Pedersen welcome going to Detroit? Well, that part I can't answer,

but what I'm more curious about than that is what is his overall state and feel of things around the Canucks? Is he looking for a change? change of scenery? Is he happy in Vancouver? Does he want to be there? Does he feel like he's part of the solution in terms of helping get this team back on track? Does he feel like that the competitive window has passed this team by and now it's going to be a while? I don't know what his appetite for all those things are. And that's the interesting truth to find out.

In terms of timing, and this is more of a league-wide thing, how much impetus is there to try and get something done prior to the Olympic break? Or is it over that Olympic break that a lot of general managers might further sink their teeth into trying to make some moves, take stock, re-evaluate things, and get another gauge of the market? Well, there's a push and pull, really, because the teams that have players that are participating in the Olympics, absolutely, and know they're moving them. Like, the best example is Rasmus Anderson playing in Sweden, is, you know, the flames want to make that trade before he goes there to play more high leverage hockey.

Sure. But the pull is those teams that want to acquire him unless they're signing him right away, which might be part of it, to be honest, or unless they have designs on signing that player to a long-term deal, and what happens over the following couple months after the trade isn't necessarily as big of a deal, the poll is they want to also wait till the other side to see if he's able to come through injury-free. So there's a lot of risk and not just are we in hold your breath season for players that are on Olympic rosters trying to just get to the tournament in Milan, but also for teams that are trying to move these players.

I mean, the latest one was Blake Coleman who's banged up in Calgary now. Look, Dave, they just went through it with Chris Tamp. They'd prefer to not wait if possible, but you need teams to materialize with authentic true offers. And a lot of teams are pulling back because they're not ready yet. One other Canucks one before we move on on on some other NHL news. Z. Bouillon, I was watching your hit with Bucci on Victory Plus this morning prior to the show starting. And I noticed that both of you brought this up that he was made a healthy scratch of previous night. He was back in last night.

I think he played 22 minutes last night. And so there's a rotating door of young defensemen in Vancouver that are getting parked as healthy scratches. But I did notice that both you and Bucci mentioned it. Did it raise eyebrows when you saw that Buiam was a healthy scratch, a grand total of 13 games into his NHL, or sorry, is Vancouver Canucks career? It did for me because I just look at him

in a little bit of a different light since the trade. and maybe in a different light than the other players that are going through that revolving door. I mean, this guy is expected to be, you know, really the next blue chip player on your blue line, the next rising star. And no one's saying that he's going to be Quinn Hughes. That's an incredibly tall task and shoes that are unenviable to try and fill. And so the pressure that's associated with that, I'm sure, isn't easy. And have there been mistakes? Have there been turnovers?

have there been glaring errors, of course. But my point would be in your market where everything is under a magnifying glass, give this kid a chance to get comfortable in play. He's barely been there over a calendar month. Just play through it. This team isn't going anywhere this season. They're not making the playoffs.

And I understand the idea of setting a standard and trying to reinforce that and accountability. I just think what it does is instead of allowing a player to play free, it ratchets up the pressure on them that much more to try and play perfect hockey when that's not what's needed. He's the type of player with his gifts that I just think needs to be celebrated for what he can do as opposed to really harping on the things that he can't. And again, not to say that he can't be better or can't be cleaned up,

but I just thought it was a little quick to go to the healthy scratch. we're speaking to Frank Serr Valley from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650 We were just talking about this in the previous segment And I know you guys were talking about it as well How significant is Braden points injury As it pertains to obviously the future weeks For the Tampa Bay Lightning

But more importantly, I would say his selection For Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics Yeah and that's really the part that we're left lingering And needing to know I mean, week to week is pretty ambiguous at this point in time. We're like three weeks from the start of the tournament. So my guess, because this has been shrouded in relative secrecy, the answers that I'm getting back in text messages and phone calls are pretty similar

to the ones that were reported, not good. The text message I got was brutal. it's a really unfortunate situation and timing for him. It seems like the initial thought process when watching the game. Brian Boucher was calling the game. The first thing he said was, oh, that's an MCL sprain. The fact that John Cooper said yesterday that they've avoided the worst and that his season isn't over would seem to confirm that it's something along those lines.

and that could be something like a six four to six week injury to keep a player out now are they saying week to week to keep the door open that he can heal up in time for that the Olympics but team Canada and their brass like there are no secrets um everything is being shared amongst teams um with regards to the Olympics so they and obviously with john cooper has the coach. They know exactly what this prognosis is. The question is, can he hit the timeline to be back? That part is going to take a little bit of time to digest. Yeah, when Kube said his season isn't over, at first my brain went, oh, that's good. And then I was like, wait a minute, the season's still got a long way to go. So I don't know if I'm particularly encouraged by that. Hey, Frank, we were talking about Zeeb Bouem and young players and how to, you know, allow. them to make some mistakes and you know there's a lot of people in the fan base in Vancouver that are now quite invested in Zeve Bouillon just wondering your

thoughts on Matt Vei Michkoff in Philadelphia why do you ask no I'm just it's it's not just talk it I'm just curious about you know I don't get to watch many Flyers games like how is he playing is is the is the dynamic between him and his head coach, like, is it problematic or is this all just part of the process? I don't believe it's problematic. I'm sure there are Flyer fans that are unhappy with, maybe that's the best way to say it, unhappy with the deployment and usage. He's averaging, I'm just looking at these last 17 games here. He has one goal. and 17 games, six assists, and he's averaging 14 minutes a night, 1421.

They look at a guy that was a lot more productive last season and say, well, what's the difference here? Why did this guy who burst onto the scene with 26 goals and 63 points? Why is he on track for, you know, just over two-thirds of that? and I think the answer truly lies within Madh Vey Meechkhov himself and Rick Tockett hasn't been shy in talking about the fact that he didn't arrive in shape and I know that some Flyer fans have asked me particularly over these last few weeks well it's January shouldn't he be in shape by now

it's really hard to catch up when you're behind the eight ball but I think the biggest thing that stands out is a lack of maturity that look he's a 21 year old kid just turned 21 in December that is really figuring things out for the first time on his own and I don't think it's come as seamlessly for him as it has for some others and he's got some work to do so foot speed has been his biggest issue I think since entering the league the thing that everyone's drawn to is creativity his hands his vision and also really his willingness to battle and compete. He's one of those guys that's not afraid to mix it up

and to play physical, but it's the skating that's going to separate him from truly being an elite player in this league and not. And so he's got some work to do to get there. Yeah, it's funny. I mean, whenever we talk about this, you know, our text inbox is, you know, when you bring up the fitness thing, it's like, sounds like talk it with Pedersen or the battling thing,

Sounds like Talkett with Kuzmenko. And it's just, I feel like a lot of the criticisms of Talket in Vancouver that were on social media, traveled to Philadelphia. And the Talket critics in Vancouver kind of pass the torch to the ones in Philadelphia. And I don't know who's right. That's why I said, why do you ask? Yeah, yeah.

But I mean, I don't know who's right, but I just do think it's interesting that it's playing out that way. And I wonder if the flyers are going to have to have some sort of conversation with Mitchcoff to get them on the same page because I never did feel that, you know, for example, Tuckett and Pedersen ever actually did get on the same page. Yeah, and I don't know exactly how it ended up playing out. but when he was the only center left after Miller and, was Horvats still there when Tocke was there? No. No, I didn't think so. But when he was the only center left,

and then that's the sort of the criticisms that surround his game, maybe he didn't see a path forward for the Canucks to compete. And maybe that's why he ended up moving on. I'm just speculating. I think that's very possible. I think it's very possible. Right. So then, and I understand that the criticisms travel,

look, a lot, like, this is a totally agnostic Rick Tocke. It's not about Rick Tocke. It's about all NHL head coaches. They all have their blind spots. And when they go from one team to the other, they're generally not starting fresh with a new way of doing things. They're basically just trading one win breaker for a, another one with a different logo.

And that's, I'm not, I'm not, that's not a talk of thing. That's everyone. Think about the guys that have been with seven different teams as head coaches. Like Rick Bones? They've got a closet full of them. And they do the same thing with the same words and the same meetings and the same commentary post game with their assistant coaches while they're having a beer that just go from team to team to team.

It's wash, rinse, and repeat. That's not me being critical. it's just, that's a fact. That's life. It's funny that you mention that because my next question was going to be about Rick Bonas, the aforementioned coach of seven different.

This is seventh job, right? If I'm not mistaken. How surprised were you that Columbus fired Dean Eveson, that Rick Bonas was the first guy off the unemployment line to get a job? And then what the outlook is here?

Because I would think that hiring a guy like bonus would be more for a team that was, trying to make a run or getting into the playoffs. And while I know that the Blue Jackets aren't that far out, they have a lot of teams that they need to leap over in those Eastern Conference standings to get into a playoff spot. So with all those questions asked,

what did you think about the news that Rick Bonas was taking over for Dean Eveson and Columbus? Well, that is what they're trying to do, clearly, is to make a push to get in. And the way I view it is Rick Bonas is probably, and this isn't not a negative again. probably the only coach that would agree to a contract just to finish out the year. Sure.

I mean, how many other guys are going to drop everything that they're doing and say, oh, yeah, I'll coach for at least three to four months with nothing else guaranteed. So that's part of it. I am, like, if you had taken the Blue Jacket season in a vacuum and said clear regression of players and 10 shots, is the biggest guy that stood out, and it's not really a shock to me that he had his season high in ice time last night in bonus his first game.

But to go from 50-some points last year to like four goals and 12 points this year has been jarring, that plus the multiple blown third period leads that were definitely concerning. It's not all that shocking that Columbus made a coaching change, but then you have to remove the vacuum, which is this team drastically exceeded expectations last year and maybe the most unenviable coaching situation possible. You know, the job that Dean Everson did in the wake of the Johnny Godreuxo tragedy and how that team played and came together is like nothing short of magical. So the work that he did last year, you would think would have bought him more time than a half

season basically this year. And so that was the part that was surprising. then to make the change without really a lot of long-term vision, hey, we're just stop gaping this until the end of the year before we can then decide on hiring potentially our seventh coach since 2021. And yes, I'm including Mike Babcock. It is a really interesting play. Yeah, I mean, I know we had Don Waddell on the show

and when we talked to them. And this was everybody out of Columbus said the same thing. They lauded the job that Everson did last year under very difficult circumstances. So I'm with you on that. I was surprised that he was the first to go. I thought it might have been a guy like, let's just say Sheldon Keith maybe in New Jersey, because that's been a very difficult season for them. And there's this whole Dougie Hamilton situation that continues to kind of twist in the wind.

Give us an update on where things are out there and where you see that situation playing out, because of all the things that are going on in New Jersey this season, that Dougie Hamilton issue, it's just been bubbling all year long. It has really since the summer and probably even, toward the end of last regular season. But, I mean, your point is really well made. Like, of all the coaches that could have been gone, Sheldon Keith was on the list.

At one point, Craig Barubi was, Jim Hiller, Scott Arniel. I mean, it's been a long list, and to think that the wheel would turn and land on Eveson, is definitely surprising. But with regards to Hamilton, look, this is a situation that needs to be rectified. There's no, doesn't have to be,

by this deadline, but it's in the New Jersey Devil's best interest as this team has festered and dropped in the standings because it's created a really uncomfortable dynamic on a couple different fronts. One, you've got a player that knows that the team doesn't want him there anymore. So it's not only impacting his play, but also just human nature in terms of locker room chemistry and dynamics. And the other half of that coin is, is that essentially for a team that tried to acquire Quinn Hughes, the reason why they couldn't, in part, is because they didn't have the cap space and flexibility

because of vetoed trades to do it. So not only does he know that the team doesn't want him there, but without even saying anything, I'm sure there's some side eye from other players in that room, like, hey, this is the guy that stopped us from getting the brothers all united. So that is a really tough place to be in. And they've got some surgery to do to change this situation. And it's going to involve some kind of retainment of money with no return, likely, in order to make it happen.

And that's just to fix it for now. Where's this value right now? Because it's a $9 million cap hit. They're in year five of seven. So you're going to have to bring on two. more seasons of that. I mean, I think he makes up 11% of their cap right now. Like, it's not an insignificant number.

He's got 12 points in 41 games. He's 32 years old. I mean, he can still play, but I'm just wondering where the, if there's any value and if any team could say that might be something of maybe a reclamation or we could get more out of him than he's giving right now. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm curious to get your thoughts on it. Yeah, I do think there is value there. value in not having to give up any assets to get him and at a reduced cost.

Like we can't take him at 9.5, but we'll take him off your hands at 7. Something like that is probably the type of conversation that's ongoing. Look, 22, 23, Guggy Hamilton had 22 goals and 74 points. I know in some ways that feels like a lifetime ago, but still can move relatively well. we know that he's been banged up at varying points over the last couple of seasons, and that certainly hasn't helped his case. But I believe that someone will take him on in that just ballpark, it's $7 million range if they don't have to give anything up.

And that's really what they're working through right now. But then, of course, the devils have to eat that money for a bit. Frank, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it as always. We appreciate it. Thank you guys. Have a good day. Yeah, you too, thanks. That's Frank Ser Valley on SportsNet 650. A presentation of Angry Otter Liquor.

Plus program members save at Angry Outer Licker. Like 1499 off Bud Light 24 packs. Wow, what a deal. You can see more at Angry Otterlicker.cr.cr.s. Will the Canucks finish this season dead last overall? That's where they are in the NHL standings. And let's try and handicap this race to the ball. bottom in our next segment.

Okay. I'll throw the question out to the listeners for the Dunbar Lumber text line. If there's one team you're worried about to finish worse than the Vancouver Canucks, who is it and why? Text into 650, 650, 650. This is a very depressing conversation to have, but it's the one we're having. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and renter warriors for over 50 years.

Visit them at one of their three. relocations to serve you or online at Dunbarlumber.com. You're listening to a very depressing, another very depressing episode of the Halford Abrupt Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. Good Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford, Grubb, SportsNet 650. I love this song. This sounds like we are heading to another story on entertainment tonight. It has a rip-in guitar solo coming up, just to warn you. Okay. Heads up.

Okay. Okay. I get George Michael's sports machine vibes off this. It's definitely a TV show. Here it is. Or maybe we are now back to some sort of sitcom in the 80s or the 90s. Sort of saved by the bellish. Yeah.

A little bit. Yeah. I just figured we'd find the most upland. lifting and entertaining music possible for what could be the most depressing segment of all time. Ah, yes, hey dog, before we get to the most depressing segment of all time. See the contrast there? I do need to remind you that you are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brup in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates.

Get out of the penalty box of debt and back into the game with a financial fresh start. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program with the midway point of the show. Hour two is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you,

visit them online at Jason. Dot mortgage. Finally, I will remind you that this segment of the show is brought to by the Duick Auto Group. Big day today for me, my friends. There's a new Halbro car on the way. Nice.

I'm saying farewell to the 2025 Cadillac Optic, which I've been driving for the last few weeks. Lovely car. That's the one with the massage chairs. let me tell you, those don't even work anymore. You're going to miss that car. I have worn them out. And to the next owner of that car, I apologize.

Sorry, but I'm getting a new car. It was a well-loved. Yeah. I think it's interesting how half-ver can lie down face first on those chairs. It's like, it's unusual. You don't see that. They recline just enough. It's a little selling feature there for the guys at Duick.

If you want to tell the next owner when you're making your, pitch. Does your new car have the decal, though? I don't know. I haven't seen it yet. I'm going by I hope it's a bigger decal. I hope it's like really obnoxious. I hope every time I get a new car, the deccal grows by a small percentage. There needs to be an arrow pointing up to the driver's side window in the Halford.

There he is. Could you imagine? I remember the first time I took out the first Halbro car and within minutes on the road someone took a picture of it. This is my life now. It'd actually be kind of funny if they made the decal smaller each time until like like Michael Scott TV levels. Anyway, I do need to remind you, this segment of the show is brought to you by

the Duick Auto Group. Find out why nobody beats the Duick Deal and why nobody has since 1926. Visit Duick Jam on Marine Drive. Visit them downtown. Visit them in Richmond or visit them online at the duikato Group.com. So the worst team in the National Hockey League. Who is it? At least according to the standings, it's your Vancouver Canucks mired in 32nd and dead last in the National Hockey League. The question, Jason, will they stay there for the remainder of the year and through game 82 of the regular season. Okay, before I get to your text into the Dunbar-Lumber

text line, and there was one team that kept on coming up as a possible threat to the Canucks finishing dead last overall and having the best odds at picking first overall, the Canucks have 37 points in

46 games. That's bad. The Winnipeg Jets are directly above them. four points up on the Canucks with a game in hand and the Jets have won three in a row. And I think most people expect them to maybe not make the playoffs, but do a little better than they did in the first half of the season. Okay. Which brings me to the team that a lot of people are worried about.

And that is the Calgary Flames, who have, like the Canucks, played 46 games. Now, they are five points up on the Vancouver Canucks. That feels insurmountable right now. Well, that's the thing. That's a thing. Like, when I look at this Canucks team and I think about the second half of the season, I just don't see any good reason that the Canucks are going to string a bunch of wins together. Especially with Demko possibly getting shut down for the,

the season. Nobody is going to put this team on their back. And the team itself has already acknowledged that this is a lost season that will be used to get a top draft pick and get youngsters some experience. Kiefer Sherwood may have already played his last game for the Knox. And there could be more veterans shipped out before the deadline. Now, on the other hand, there could be a couple the guys that return to the lineup. But I don't think there should be any reason to rush Philippaedal back, Marco Rossi back, any of these guys that are hurt. If you're hurt,

kick your feet up, you know, get healthy. Take your time. Take your time. Calgary does have a good goalie that might be able to steal them some good games in Dustin Wolf, but they might trade away some key guys soon. Yes. Rasmus Anderson, Nazim Codry, those guys could be gone. St. Louis, I think, is a candidate.

Their goal differential is actually worse than the Vancouver Canucks. Yeah, it's hideous. Minus 44. The Canucks are minus 41. So the Canucks are catching up in that area. Anaheim and Chicago aren't very good, but Anaheim got a win last night. And they're now 10 points up on the Canucks. Like that cushion, I don't know how the Canucks overcome that cushion. The Blackhawks, too, you know, there are eight points up on the Canucks.

They're not very good, but, you know, they're going to get, is Boudard back yet? He was going to, you know, like he. He had the flu last night. Yeah, the flu, right. But having him is going to help. And you talk about teams where someone can, they've got a star level performer in Connor Bedard. I don't put it that way.

I don't think it's even worth talking about the last two teams, Anaheim and Chicago. is a 0.1% chance that the Canucks would somehow rally to make up a 10 point deficit. What about the Rangers nine points up on the Canucks? Probably unlikely too. Okay, the one team that I think is a bona fide tank contender is Calgary. And for these reasons. One, they're banged up right now. Blake Coleman just went on IR. Zane Perak got hurt the other night. Pospicils on IR. So those are guys that matter for them, right? They will trade Rasmus Anderson. that's going to be a big loss from their blue line. Once that happens, I wonder if they'll move out even more pieces.

Now here's the thing to keep an eye on. When you get out of the Olympic break, Calgary does not have the same advantages as say a Vancouver who gets one of those extended home stands. Like I think the Canucks have an eight gamer right after the Olympic break. Is that an advantage for the Canucks? Well, let's park the bus on that for a second. Let's say hypothetically speaking, they figure it out or maybe they get more points at home.

Coming out of the break, Calgary goes right on the road and plays, I think it's 8 of 11 on the road. Then if you go down the stretch to the very end of the season, they have a super tough road swing right at the end of the season where they got such a weird trip. It starts in Colorado. Then they go around. Then they go back to Colorado for another road game

on the same trip. Perfect. What a weird road trip. Anyway, I think that Calgary could give the Canucks a real push, but that being said, the Canucks are terrible. I mean, by every metric imaginable, they are fully deserving of being dead last in the NHL. There's very few statistics you can point to that would suggest that they're being hard done by

or they're not getting the bounces that are not getting the breaks. they get out shot with regularity. They don't have particularly good goal tending. They lack top end talent. They don't really have a bona fide goal score or point producer. They got injury problems. They got a head coach that doesn't really seem to know what he's doing at times. Like they tick all the boxes for being the worst team in the NHL.

They're five points clear of Calgary right now with good reason. I think they will be able to hold on and be the worst team in the NHL. They're designed to do it. They are absolutely designed to do it right. right now. What we're seeing right now is kind of what the worst case scenario was, at least from an outlook sound like, if you ever imagine prior to the Quinn Hughes trade, what would this team look like without Quinn Hughes, not injured Quinn Hughes? Like he's coming back one day. Like Quinn Hughes is removed. You're seeing it. They had one star level player and he's gone.

And he always had the puck. And this is what it looks like when you didn't want to pass it. And this is right. For good reason. Kept it. For good reason. He kept it. This is what it looks like when you have no star players. Zero. They went from having one to having none. They went from having a guy that was a difference maker on a nightly basis. And quite honestly, a guy that could go out and win games on his own,

which is a hard thing to do in the National Hockey League. I remember when Sack him on the show and he's like, when Quinn uses on his game, he's a top five player in the NHL. And you take that for granted when you have him in your employ. Because you just come to expect the certain, marvelous things that he did on a regular basis. And now you watch it. And there's nobody masking all the mistakes that they make.

All those mistakes that Adam Foot points out in the post game where they were just there, but they had a couple of mistakes. There's no one that makes up for those anymore. What are they going to do about Thatcher Demko? Shut them down. And then could they just, that's a, that's a bonafide kick the can down the road. Could they just roll? them into the OR and just be like, fix everything. We have the, we, we, we got the time. Just,

just give them, I don't know, you know, give them some plastic surgery if he wants it while you're there and just, just, just, Peter Griffin, Bionic Man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the, we want to fix them, but we don't want to spend a lot of money. I think the issue, he's got a plunger for a leg. I think the issue, that makes you my work. I think the issue right now, and really the, The most telling thing that Foote mentioned about Demko's health was that it wasn't just one thing he was dealing with. Yeah. He's dealing with a couple things right. Well, that's why I say, just, okay, we're going to put you under for like probably 48 hours and we're just going to, we're going to fix everything.

Well, I appreciate it. Because we have the time. While I appreciate the bit, I honest, I do wonder if this is his life now. Like, his body's just broken down. You've played sport. You've played a sport with a guy who's got a new injury all the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he's like, now it's my knee.

I thought you tore your Achilles. Like I also did that. You know, like there are. I also play sports with a lot of guys that don't take care of themselves. Sure. But, you know, this is a little different. Well, Demko's is the inverse. I think he's grind, he's grinded himself down to the point where his body's not responding like it used to.

Yeah. It happens, right? I mean, we talked a lot about how he got the ascendancy of Thatcher Demko and how he got there was predicated a lot on hard work and a very, very determined and regimented training system. with Ian Clark, right? Ian Clark is known for that. Put the goalies through the ringer. They get, the star shines really bright, but it burns out.

It doesn't fade away. It burns quick. And I just wonder if that's what's going on here. What do you think, Lattie? Yeah, I think it's, eventually your body has a breaking point. I think we all know that and it's we're all older people. We understand that. And you can't exactly tell your body is like, don't work as hard because.

That's all you know. But you're also an NHL goalie. Yeah. You have to contort your body in various ways. Otherwise, you know, you get scored on. And the repetition of the practice that it takes to become an NHL caliber goaltender at Demko's size, it wears on you after a number of years. We talked about that in the wake of the Ian Clark Exodus was, you know, part of what made Demko an elite goalie was the way that he worked. Everyone talked about that, relentless amount of practice, relentless amount of repetition.

and it's great in the present when you're thriving and you're feeling good, but I think you know that the check's going to come do eventually. And this is, I feel bad when I hear him talk about his health because you can see a guy and you can almost feel the internal torment about not wanting to acknowledge the reality and just kind of push through like you've done with everything else. And also, he had a comment where he said, you know, I know, I know there's a narrative about me. Yeah. And I mean, that's a guy that there's a level of copium there. It's not a narrative. Like, you're not healthy.

It's not a slight against you. And I know the callous jaded media members will make it such. And, you know, but when you're injury prone, you're injury prone, you wouldn't be the first NHL player to, you know, have an issue with constant injuries. And we're not talking recurring injuries. Like there's new ones popping up, groin, knee, hip, take your head. And some of them are related to the original big injury, but some of them are just being a professional athlete. How about the fact that he was able to get, what was it,

$25.5 million from the Canucks? Yeah. Last off season. What a gambit. Yeah. That's where the agent gets a Christmas card every year for the rest of his life. Hey, it's Thatcher. I'm in Europe again. I'm enjoying life. It's great. We decided to take a nice cruise this time. Just wanted to thank you for that contract that you got me. See, okay.

I understand what management did is they took a calculated look at the risk of letting Demko go into this season where they believed he was healthy. They knew he was motivated. not just to prove everyone this health, but also to make the U.S. Olympic team, and that he was going to have a really good year and blow up and be worth even more. I understand that. And that was going to be also, I think,

the defining feature of this Kinnock's team. They said it themselves. They had great goaltending every night, whether it's Damcoe in there or Lankan in there, they'd have great goaltending. That's one where they had a plan and they had a vision and they had where they wanted it to go. and it blew up.

So I, but it blew up, you know, you can't say, well, nobody could have seen this coming. They could have saw it. They saw it coming.

They knew there was a risk involved. It was the one contract, I will say that, um, when it was signed, it wasn't the Besser one. It was the Demko one that I got a, that I got a few texts from people out of town that were like,

what are the Canucks doing here? Same. I got text spelled that one. Like that seems like a crazy risk. Yeah. And I said, I don't know if it's crazy. They're the ones that are going to have.

access to medical that we don't. And I do understand the flip side of it is you let him play out the final year of his contract and then watch a guy go nuke and you're left to try and sign him for even more money because now he's an integral, valuable part of your team. Yeah. And just to play the devil's advocate part, if you let Demko play out the final year of his contract, and let's say everything goes different, he stays healthy, he wins you a ton of games, he makes the U.S. Olympic team, bizarre a world.

at the end of it not only are you left to negotiate a much tougher contract Demko's got a lot of cloud in terms of what he's given you in the face of some pretty serious injuries like you challenged him to get healthy and stay fit and be that guy

and when he delivers on that the ball suddenly in your court to deliver on a contract like you you know I think there'd be some really ill will if they were to be after all that be like yeah thank you for your service away we go So I understand that, that dynamic.

I know a lot of people out of market thought it was a crazy deal. And given the way it's played out. It was a crazy deal. Yeah, it really, really did not work out well for the organization. In a year where nothing's really worked out well, that's right at the top of the list of things that have gone pear shaped on them. Sucks. What's the best story of the season? Carlson.

Who was that? Which dog was that? That was laddie. No, no, seriously. What's the best story of the season? season is Alina's Carlson? Is that what we're leading with? Max Sasson. I saw, I got time for Sasson. I saw the TV broadcast led with that. And I was like, are we leading with Max Sasson? You kind of have to. Yeah. Carlson and Sasson combined for 19 goals this year. Kane and Besser have combined for 15.

Yikes. I wouldn't predict of that. Yikes. That's awful, right? I mean, in terms of an investment, it's a great investment in Carlson and Sasson, you're costing you nothing. Yeah, but they're not. moving the needle. They're just... You know, who else aren't moving the needle is Brock Besser and Evander Cain, right?

Yeah. It's been a bad year. There's very few, very few positive developments to have come from it. The young defenseman, that's been a struggle. Yeah.

I thought... But that's a predictable struggle, and for me, that's an acceptable struggle that you're throwing some young guys into the mix and they're making mistakes. But are they getting better?

Well, that we don't know yet. I mean, high test, are they getting better? No, I think they're struggling with their confidence right now.

But, but that's, isn't that part of the process? I always think about, was it, was it Peyton Manning that threw like 100 picks in his first year? He threw 28 interceptions

in his first year and his brother on a recent Manning cast put together this gigantic poster. Yeah. He got the football cards of every guy that intercepted Peyton Manning

in his rookie year and did like a big diorama. It was pretty good. Don't you think in some ways if you were, if you're one of those bad teams that drafted a top quarterback wouldn't you just want your quarterback to go out there and just see where the line is?

Like go out there and make throws. I think the concerning part is when you see young quarterbacks and they're in their first or second year and all they do is check down. Check, check, check, check. You have the elite quarterbacks and maybe you want to throw this into comparison

of like a defenseman or whatever, what you can get away with. Like, you have to make those hard throws. Yeah. You have to show something. But that's the difference between being a guy that can manage a game and a guy that can go win the game is when you're throwing and you're like, wow. Like that pass that Drake May threw,

that just got over the defender's hand. Like, that's the type of window. So wouldn't you want your young guys to go out and you be like, find that window? Yeah, it's such a day. Throw the ball. Don't be, don't be second guessing yourself because it doesn't matter. Like, it's like I'm not saying go up there and like, you can play drunk if you want. But I mean, I'm not saying, it would be fun.

Well, it would be dangerous. They should let them do that one. But like, let these guys find out where the line is. Sure. The issue with it, and you've seen this countless times in the National Football League, is when the young quarterback tries to make those throws that he needs to make to get that ascendancy. When he doesn't make them, they say,

I wonder if he can. Now there's certain guys that can. Drake May, he's shown it. Caleb Williams, for example, the throw that he made the Roma Dunzae and that comeback win on fourth down over the Packers, it's a throw like two or three human beings can make. On the run, under that kind of scrutiny,

under that kind of pressure. And that's where you say, okay, we think he's going to be okay and he's going to make it because he can make that throw. I watch Cam Ward played a bunch of games this year for Tennessee. There are legitimate questions, about if he can do it because he got thrown into the fire

and there were some very conservative games where it was checked down Charlie's that time and made some plays against the Seahawks with his feet more with his legs yeah and there's it's such a small window for NFL quarterbacks because you don't have the time in a lot of ways to see if they've got it or not

you have to make that call right away so when the guys get thrown into the fire there's a learning curve but also approve it and show me something and that's what they need to do. By the way, on the subject of the... But my whole point is just like go out and let those guys make mistakes and say like, if you don't make mistakes, you know, unless you're perfect, we're kind of going to be disappointed because you have to find out where that line is. You have to, you have to push it. That's all I'm saying. Okay, we got to go to break. When we come back, Reddy Janda's going to join the

program, Canucks Color Analyst for Canucks Games on Sportsnet 650. We'll talk to last night's game in Ottawa, we'll look ahead to the final game of this miserable road trip. The Canucks will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rick Bonas, a familiar face. Tomorrow night in Columbus. All that is coming up next with Randy Janda here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.