Halford & Brough in the Morning - Whitecaps Manager Vanni Sartini + What We Learned

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini (1:36) ahead of their playoff wildcard matchup tonight in Portland, plus the boys tell us what they learned (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.

803 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford 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 3 of the program.

Vanni Sartini, Whitecaps manager. Huge match for the Whitecaps tonight in Portland. He'll be joining us in just a moment here. Hour three of this program is brought to you by Campbell & Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. We're coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews.

So, what are you waiting for? Kintec. So, obviously, the match being played tonight in Portland is not ideal. Everyone knows it was supposed to be a BC place, but due to scheduling conflicts, they got to play it in Portland. However, however, it might not be the worst thing. If yesterday's match in the Eastern Conference showed us anything, it's that away teams in this one-game wild card can go on the road and get a win.

That's what Atlanta did in Montreal yesterday. That's what the Whitecaps are going to hope to do tonight in Portland. Joining us now, Whitecaps manager Vanny Sartini here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Vanny. How are you? I'm good, guys. How are you? We're good. How are you? I'm good, guys. How are you? We're good. How's Portland? Portland is good.

A little bit colder than Vancouver, but, you know, I'm actually at a cafe now, having my espresso, so the interview is going to be very energetic. Good. Good. Vanny, when you told your players that, oh, we can't play at BC Place, this game's going to have to be in Portland

what was their reaction? Well, of course not only the players but also myself we were a little bit frustrated because we earned the right to play home and it wasn't possible but immediately after we shifted the focus on, guys, let's be focused on what we can control,

because that's the only way to try to win this game. Unfortunately, we cannot control the fact that the stadium was booked more than a year ago for an event, and so it is what it is. We tried alternative solutions to bring the game on a neutral pitch and everything, but the league wanted us to play here, so

again, it is what it is and I would say it needs to add an extra fuel for the game tonight for us. The form wasn't great down the stretch. Not many wins in your last few games. What needs to change tonight against Portland? Yeah, you're right.

We went to a rough patch and, you know, we lost a couple of positions because in the last games we didn't win. To be honest, I think we hit the lowest point a couple of weeks ago when we lost against Minnesota. It was, I think, a bad game in terms of quality and everything. After that, we had two games against LA and Salt Lake where we actually played well and we didn't deserve to lose. So I think we need to start from that performance and just to be, I would say, much more clinical, close to their goal. Because we missed a lot of opportunity in the last two games.

A penalty kick, three opportunities in front of the net. Tonight it's a playoff game and, you know, the difference can be done on margin. You were saying, guys, yesterday about the game between Montreal and Atlanta, and so we need to be extremely, extremely concentrated in the final third. In moments like this, managers will often lean on their leaders and their best players to pull a team out of a funk or get them focused or make them not focus on the negatives but focus on the opportunity at hand in this instance i would say that guy for you your leader and your best player is ryan gald so what have your conversations been like with

ryan going into this match without putting all the pressure on him but also acknowledging that if you guys are going to get a result tonight in Portland, he's probably going to be a major deciding factor in that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we need to embrace the pressure. We need to be ready to perform under pressure. And the best player needs to be even readier to perform under pressure. So Ryan knows that he's one of the players that needs to step up today and needs to help the rest of the team perform in a way that's going to give us the win.

The standings have been so tight all the year that the playoffs are really open. Even if we are the number eight seed, I think if we win today, we can go all the way. I think if our best player switches on like they did for three quarters of the season, I think we have a great chance to win tonight.

I've got to ask you about the other Scott, Stuart Armstrong. What exactly has gone Stuart Armstrong. What exactly has gone on there? What exactly is going on there? Nothing crazy, guys. It's the classic thing that you,

when someone arrives in the middle of the season after doing his holidays and he needs a lot of time to get back in shape and be ready to play. So I'm going to make you a parallel with another guy

that was in the same condition as him that is Olivier Giroud for LAFC. He did his first good game against us after three months that he arrived. And he did his first 65 minutes that he looked like Giroud against us at the beginning of October. We had to wait for Stuart. Unfortunately, he had a calf problem in the meantime. Enter team is welcoming on the team has been a little bit slower than we expected but we need him now because you were talking about Ryan but Stu too is a is a he's a very good player as a DP he's a player who played the Champions League game

he's a player who played the playoff game from Championship to go to the Premier League. So tonight is going to be really important and can give you the breaking news. Tonight it will start. Oh, nice. Excellent. Well done. We're talking to Vanni Sartini here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650, one of the rare scoops we get on the morning show here. That's good. I do know that Steve Nash addressed the guys yesterday,

co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps. What did Steve Nash have to say to the guys ahead of the do-or-die playoff match tonight in Portland? Yeah, it was really nice, first of all, for Steve to come and share a little bit of his wisdom. I think he has a lot of experience of playoff games and how to perform in that. And he said the thing that they look simple, but they're not. So to enjoy the moment, embrace the pressure. And if you want to be a good player that is respected even at the higher level, or if you have an aspiration to be a player that wants to play in a different league,

those are the games that you need to step up. But not in a way where you try to win the game by yourself. Try to do what you're supposed to do without any fear, without any restraint and try to go all in for that. I think it was really, really nice the fact that the guys heard this kind of words from a legend of Canadian sports. And I think it resonated even better than any words that I could have said or whoever of the staff could have said during the day. What's the atmosphere like in Portland?

What do you expect it's going to be like in Portland tonight? Yeah, I expect it to be really hot because, know every time when we play here, I think... So from a neutral fan's perspective, this is one of the stadiums that I like more in the league. It really looks like to be in Europe at the game. From the atmosphere, from the Portland fans are to be honest amazing and tonight it will be 22,000

Portland fans and maybe 200 the Whitecaps fans so those 200 Whitecaps fans needs to do a hell of a job and we know

that they're going to be behind us and we'll do everything to do it but again it's been hard but in the last

couple of years since it's been the coach we've already won here twice and so we know But, again, it's been hard, but in the last couple of years since I've been the coach, we've already won here twice. And so we know how to do it, we know we can do it, and we'll go for it. What did you see from Portland in that last match at BC Place, the 1-1 draw? I know in the postgame you said you guys thought you thoroughly outplayed Portland in the match.

I tended to agree with that as well, I was there. But I'm curious what you saw from Portland that you might be able to take into tonight's match. Yeah, that's exactly what I say. They're a very dangerous team, even if you have played them. Because they play this very risky, very offensive system with a lot of quality up top, with players that don't probably sometimes work that much defensively but they cheat a little bit so in transition they're kind of lethal so we need

to outplay them but we need also to be more clinical. Last game against Portland we tied because we missed a lot of chances and we could have scored three or four goals and at the end in a counter attack we scored a non-goal. It was unlucky but that's Portland in a nutshell because they have three or four high, high

quality players. They have Evander as a number 10 that is one of the best number 10 in the league. He can make something happen in every moment. So we don't have to feel safe and secure if we are outplaying them and if we are in the game like the best team, but we need to be extremely organized to avoid counter-attack. And again, I'm repeating myself, but we need to be much better in the final third and finishing our chances. Well, Vani, I want to say this. You guys got dealt a bad hand here,

but everything is still in front of you including a win tonight and then if you do that you will get to play back at BC Place and you'll get to take on Olivier Giroud and LAFC

in the process there's a boat show yeah sorry so that's the luck tonight sorry Vanny go get a win

do what Atlanta did yesterday in Montreal and then we can continue this conversation when you guys take on LAFC in the next round yeah so in Montreal, and then we can continue this conversation when you guys take on LAFC in the next round. Yeah, yeah, so the next time, and then, okay, and we'll be open to, you know, play even if they're,

I don't know, they're a spaceship. Enjoy the espresso, Vanny. Good luck tonight. Cool. Thank you. Thank you. Vanny Sartini, Whitecaps manager here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Okay, that'll be interesting, if only because Atlanta set the table Danny Sartini, Whitecaps manager here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Okay.

That'll be interesting if only because Atlanta set the table for what the Whitecaps need to do tonight. I'm trying here, folks. I'm trying to get a little bit of optimism. Portland is questionable defensively. I don't even care about Portland. I don't even care who the opponent is. Yeah. There are this week, and it's hard because I think sometimes when people don't know exactly how everything works with the landlord and the tenant and how this

situation came to be, I think a lot of people hear criticisms and they think that they're lobbed at the white caps or BC place. I was just saying like, this is a, it's a bad situation. I think it's kind of untenable. I know they're trying to work on a new tenancy agreement it's just not good and it's not good for sport in the province no it's not good

for sport in the city it's not good for vancouver as a sports city it's not good for any professional sports organization to go through this i just keep coming back to leverage yeah what leverage the lions and the whitecaps have and they don don't have any. What other stadium are you going to come play? Right. But none of this is good. No, it's not good. It's not good. And so I'm trying to put all that aside and say, you know what?

Maybe they can go down to Portland and they can get something done. You know, maybe they can lean on Ryan. It was funny. One of the things they were talking about, like the Steve Nash parallels to, you know, basketball playoffs. And there was a Jimmy Butler reference thrown in there at some point talking about maybe Jimmy Buckets. Gauld can go Jimmy Buckets. We'll just take it over in the playoffs.

I hope something like that can happen. Right? I hope something good can happen. Because this week has been largely negatives. And it would be nice to try and have a positive. So they got a chance tonight in Portland. Let's give away a $50 gift card to white spots. Speaking of positives.

A third caller to 604-280-0650. 604-280-0650. We'll get a $50 gift card to white spot. Friendly reminder. Friendly reminder. You could not have won anything from Sportsnet 650 over the last 90 days. A-Dog was very clear about that.

604-280-0650. Call in, win 50 bucks to White Spot. Go ahead, what we learned. Do you think A-Dog was a tattletale in elementary school? I don't know, were you? Hall monitor.

Snitches get stitches. Definite hall monitor vibes out of A-Dog. No, I was actually quite the opposite. I got in trouble a lot. I was the class clown. Yeah, I can see that. Teachers did not care for me.

Making up songs all day in the back of the class. I can't get through to this kid. Yeah, I was not popular with the teachers. He just told me every day isn't what we learned. He's got that little mischievous smile. Why don't you learn then? How can we stay mad at him? I learned that Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers have agreed on a contract extension for the Stanley Cup winning head coach.

And no real surprise there. Maurice had a funny quote, as he normally does. He said, there really was no negotiation. They made me a nice offer and we shook hands and I said, thank you. And that was it. He also said, I'm interested in coaching the Florida Panthers for as long as they'll have me. It's great coming to the rink. And my first thought was, I wonder how that makes the Winnipeg Jets feel. Because Paul Maurice, the guy who is interested in coaching the Florida Panthers for as long as they'll have me and says it's great coming to the rink, quit the Winnipeg Jets in one of the,

I don't want to call it unprecedented. I'm sure coaches quit in the past in the NHL, but not very often. So I thought about this the other night. What happened? What exactly happened? Is it as simple as they just needed to break up we've all been in a relationship before where you know one person looks at the other and they're like yeah we just can't keep doing this and both people recognize it but that

doesn't mean that they're bad people individually or that they're flawed they just weren't meant to be together because the jets were fine after he left. Yeah. They made the playoffs. They had a great regular season. They stunk in the playoffs last year. Now they're the best team in the NHL. Paul Maurice went to Florida, went to a Stanley Cup final.

A year later, won that same Stanley Cup final. Paul Maurice added, I also get to wear shorts a lot. That's probably part of it. Maybe it was a weather thing. So your question for Paul Maurice is... Hey, what happened? Yeah, kind of. I don't know

it just it's usually i think there were some personalities in that jet's room okay i think wheeler was an issue okay it was his way or the highway i think is what it was in that dressing room and not everyone went wheeler's way no no but but they got rid of that they got rid of it it couldn't have of it. It couldn't have been that. Wheeler was still there when Maurice quit, wasn't he? Yeah. I can't remember the timing. But I know they made changes.

And let's be honest, I think moving guys like Wheeler, Pierre-Luc Dubois. But, I mean, they still have a lot of the guys that have been there. Like, Scheifele's still there. Hellebuck's still there. Neil Pionk's still there. They moved a lot of guys out there. Like, Leine was there. No, I know. The churn has happened

for sure. It's just those situations, usually when a coach leaves and has great success elsewhere, you're ready to put the crown on the coach and be like, man, I'm so glad he got out of that situation. But you look at the situation he left, the Jets have been okay. As a matter of fact, they're the best team in the NHL right now.

So I think it's maybe just one of those very, very rare scenarios where a good coach and a good core group of guys, they just burned out on each other. And they've met in a, and again, in a very rare resolution, both have gone on to pretty decent. And they're all like,

and this weather is oppressive. Yeah. I mean, the Winnipeg still has the weather. It's so cold. And then in the summer, they got the mosquitoes. What a difference from Arizona. Imagine, like, your job is in Winnipeg.

Yeah. Oh, no, now you're in Florida. Oh, okay. That's a little different going to the rink. Yeah. Nicer. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure, as an older gentleman, I'm sure he appreciates it.

Right? He's like, I want to retire immediately when he's in Winnipeg. Then he gets to Florida, he's like, ah, I could do this for another 20 years. Sure, why not? He'll be, he's good. I mean, he will be he's in Winnipeg. Then he gets to Florida. He's like, I could do this for another 20 years. Sure. Why not? He's good. I mean, he will be there for a while. He will. Right.

Although, tiniest caveat before we move on. The style and system that they play is very taxing. Florida. It's very taxing. Yeah. We saw that when the Canucks played the Panthers and got a win, even though they didn't have Barkov and they didn't have Kachuk, that was a very physical game. Yeah.

Very physical game. And that's what he demands. And that will wear on you mentally and physically. And not that it doesn't work because it absolutely has. And I think that their roster is built and tailored a little bit more towards that style than Winnipeg's was. Well. I think so.

Back in the day when Winnipeg had Bufflin and. Right, but near the end when it was like, I think he really had to coax some stuff out of some guys. Maybe. Yeah. Maybe. So that's maybe it. Like, Maurice is a good coach.

Very good coach. But that's a very physical style that they play. I do wonder how much of a toll it's going to take on the guys, especially if they keep doing these deep playoff runs too, right? Anyway, Mu Cal that. I think they've already tuned him out because they got blasted by Minnesota last night. Yeah, it wasn't a good game for them. Lost 5-1.

A couple ones that I wanted to get caught on, what we learned from last night. Guys, I'm phoning it in. I learned that Jacob Truba, my God, nearly killed Justin Barron yesterday with just a colossal open ice hit. In that match, in that game where the Rangers already put a beatdown on the Habs, there's nothing worse than getting beaten badly on the scoreboard and then having one of your guys, cleanly by the way, no penalty for Truba on the play, no suspension coming having one of your guys, cleanly, by the way, no penalty for Trouba on the play,

no suspension coming. It was a thunderous hit. Thunderous. Guys just don't expect that anymore. They don't. That's what it is. You know who didn't expect that, I think, the other night? Jake Gensel when he got trucked by OEL.

Did you see Toronto was all up in arms about that? He got fined, right? OEL got fined. I've never seen a market cry more about a fine in my life. Right? I was about to chime in. Never. It's a conspiracy.

How dare you fine him $5,000? He took $5,000 out of OAL's pocket. It's a conspiracy. We had. Guys, don't worry. I got paid millions to leave Vancouver. Yeah. He's like, it's fine.

He's like, don't cry. I grant nothing. There are guys that work at this company that think that there's a legitimate conspiracy with George Peros and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's ridiculous. It's crazy. It's absolutely ridiculous. Imagine being part of a fan base that thinks the league is out to get it.

But at least we've got a reason. They always point, he's a former Hab. Hold on. Hold on. At least we've got a reason. He's a former Hab. Vancouver fans have never complained about a reason. We've got a reason. He's a former Hab. Vancouver fans have never complained about a monetary fine for a player. Yeah, we don't care about that.

Unless it's like a Cap recaptured. Way bigger problems. Cap recaptures money. I mean, the Paralyser. We're far more scarred. However, he didn't even get suspended a single game. So you guys all know what the conspiracy theory is, right? The Paros hates?

Paros hates the Leafs because he got knocked out by Colton Orr. What? When the Leafs were playing the Habs. That's what they think. They legitimately think that. You didn't know this? I didn't know this. I don't go down the darkest holes of the internet.

This is out there in plain view. Go look. You'll see it. Do you know how many games he played for Montreal? The fact that they're crying that he's a big Montreal owner? I don't know, like 50? 22. 22?

He played 22 games in his entire career with the Habs. Our conspiracies are way better. Like, Campbell's son was on the team. It's a way better conspiracy. Yeah, there's way more at stake. Your conspiracy theories suck. Yeah, it's no good. It's no good.

I was shocked that they were so upset about a fine. Anyway, so that came from Jacob Trubis' head. Colton Orr was a tough guy. Yeah, it was no good. It's no good. I was shocked that they were so upset about a fine. Anyway, so that came from Jacob Trubis. Colton Orr was a tough guy. Yeah, it was a big punch. But didn't he just land on him? Was he actually knocked out? He was KO'd, yeah. I thought he just landed on top.

Okay, and the other one, we mentioned that the Preds finally won a game, right? Kudos to the National Predators. They beat the Boston Bruins 4-0. Sharks, the last winless team. Yeah, which is... Not surprising at all. Okay, so I've watched two of their games now,

one with Celebrini and one without. They stink. They are not good. They're not... Okay, so Chicago last night had some issues. Chicago went from being really bad last year. Chicago did not manage the puck well on their own end. That was dreadful, but I thought they had moments where they,

I don't want to say like they took over the game, but they looked dangerous on the attack. Connor Murphy seemed to pass the puck to the Canucks a lot. Yeah, like that was a problem for him. I'm like, don't do that. Do the opposite of that. He's a gunslinger, Connor Murphy. Noted gunslinger, Connor Murphy.

Was he the one that hurt Konzik? I think he was, wasn't it? I think he might have been. Yeah. Yeah, it was. You're right. Can't pass the puck, but he can injure guys. Chicago went from being horrible to not bad.

The Sharks wanted to do the same, but the Sharks are still pretty horrible. Seven games minus 16 goal differential. They have no defense in their goaltending state. Have you seen any of the postgame interviews with Tyler Toffoli? Yeah. He's just sour immediately. He says it all the time. He's like, we stink.

I know I've only been here a week, but we stink. He signed there, right? Did they give him a lot of money, right? They gave him a good point. They must have. But I was shocked that he did it. I know he wanted to get back to the West Coast and probably back to California. He seems like he's at his wits end, though.

We're like seven games into the year. They're bad. He wanted, he was like, you know, they're going to have into the year they're bad he wanted he was he was like you know they're gonna have will smith they're gonna have celebrini i'll maybe be but i don't think he realized because i'm not sure he's gone through one like that where you go somewhere where they're totally at the beginning of the rebuild and it's like you've got young guys but they need to learn how to play he's in montreal for a bit wasn't he yeah but they weren't in rebuild mode not like this not with the time he was there 2020 to 2022 habs yeah they weren't in rebuild mode. Not like this. Not when the time he was there.

2020 to 2022 Habs? Yeah, they weren't in like this. Not like this. Not where you're designed to be terrible. Not Sharks level of rebuild. Because the Sharks were one of the worst teams in the modern era last year. Yeah, they hollowed out last year. Yeah, and finally, I felt bad for Jake Allen last night. I learned that he allowed all eight goals.

Did you see the eighth? Yep. The eighth one was just like a kick in the teeth. Janice. And he goes by JJ, probably because his name is Janice. Moser scored. Sorry.

Say that again. His name's Janice? I think it's Janice. It's J-A-N-I-S. Oh, let's call him Janice. I'm like, why do you go by JJ? Oh, okay's call him Janice. I'm like, why do you go by JJ? Oh, okay. Anyway.

They won a face-off in their own defensive zone, and he played Plinko off the glass from his own blue line. It took a crazy carom. And Jake Allen was behind the net trying to catch it, rimming around the boards. Jake Allen, I got it. He's like, no, you don't. Much like the seven other goals that went into that.

You do not have them. He was screened out by the official, too. He hit a stanchion and went behind the official. And he's like, I don't know where this puck is anymore. Those are tough. That was Janice Janice? Janice Moser. What's the other J stand for, if it's JJ?

Two Janices. I don't know, actually. It's a good question. Janice Jerome. I'm on his page right now. The first J stand. Janice Jerome. Janice Jerome?

That sounds good. We need to get this guy on the show. That sounds like a couple. Do you know Janice and Jerome? Yeah, they played for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Played Pictionary with them the other day. Give us a mook out because we've got to end this. Send your what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650.

We'll read them on the other side of the Alfred and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Big Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets weekdays 3 to 4 on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. Now for my favorite part of the show. What'd I say?

Talk to the audience. Oh, God, this is always dead. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. On the show. 835 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of 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 3 of the program. It is what we learn time. Hour 3 is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers.

Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. Straight to the humanoids for what we learned. Before we do that, though, A-Dog, are we prepared to announce the winner of the $50 white spot gift card? We did callers in the previous segment. Caller number three was the winner. Are we ready to announce this live on the air

right now? Yes. I could not filibuster any harder. The winner is Tony in Richmond. Congrats to Tony. You've won a $50 white spot gift card. And can I just say it's funny taking callers for these

prizes because every single winner so far, all three days, are guys that have never won before. They're like, oh, I've been a long time listener, but I've never been able to win before. Going the caller angle is a different thing altogether. I'm glad. I'm very glad. So a lot of happy winners.

Someone asked in the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket earlier, do the gift cards work on Vancouver Island? And I was like, I don't know why they wouldn't. That's a white spot. Yeah. It's another jurisdiction. I don't think they're geo-blocked. I'm like, unless you have a 250 area code, in which case, no,

they won't work. No, I'm just kidding. Anyway, okay, let's fire up the dot matrix. Keep an eye on What We Learned. Let's go. Joven with What We Learned. No one is happier than DeAndre Hopkins, who went for mayonnaise-eating Will Levis, throwing

him a jar to now Patrick Mahomes. The league needs to build a cult against the Chiefs. Don't trade anything to them. There was another one from Mike that came in, and he said, what I learned is that the Kansas the Chiefs. Don't trade anything to them. There was another one from Mike that came in, and he said, what I learned is that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to win another Super Bowl.

I just saw that they've landed DeAndre Hopkins. This is BS. How the hell have they landed a player like that? I believe this conspiracy for the Chiefs. They get everything. I hate them. Well, okay. Hopkins is in his 12th season.

He's 32 years old. I mean, he's still DeAndre Hopkins. Fourth round pick? Is that all that it costs? It's a fifth round pick that could become a fourth. Ah, okay. Conditional fifth.

Hopkins has done very little this year. Part of that is, yeah, he's playing for Tennessee and he's getting balls thrown from Will Levis, but this is not like they're getting prime deandre hopkins that being said they're pretty desperate in kansas city rishi rice is out for the year because patrick mahomes decided after throwing an interception i'm also going to take out my number one wide receiver so that was bad um the offense looks stagnant and last year they did go out and make a trade at the deadline

to get Mecole Hardman back from the Jets. He was with Kansas City left. He came back, and then he quite famously scored the walk-off touchdown. So, you know, they've got history with bringing guys in and making it work. It's more of a move that's in name than in actual how it's going to play out on the field because I'm not sure how much Hopkins has left in the tank, but they needed

to do something and they did it. That's how I'll classify that one. Pat the Pylon with what we learned. Pat says, I still am traumatized by that Chicago goal song. Agreed. I had to mute my TV three times last night to avoid hearing that stupid song.

I find this very strange. And there was another What We Learned unsigned that came in. It said, Chicago is still playing Chelsea Dagger as a goal song. Will the Canucks still be playing Simple Minds in 2037?

Yeah, Chicago, it's time to move on. It still makes my eye twitch, man. I just don't like it. But it's over, man. Like, you gotta... It's their brass bonanza. Why would they my eye twitch, man. I just don't like it. It's over, man. Like, you gotta... It's their brass bonanza. Why would they change it? Well, Hartford moved.

Yeah. You think Chicago should move? No, I don't think Hartford would still be playing brass bonanza. They'd move... That song, for me, represents an era that is long gone now. Also one...

Long gone. Also an era that they've been very clearly trying to divorce themselves from. Well, not the success so much, but yeah, I know what you're saying. I mean, they didn't bring back Patrick Kane for a particular reason when it was clear that there was some mutual interest there. They have not really gone about celebrating those teams in that era in a very demonstrative way. You know, it's like they're trying to separate themselves from that.

And I mean, that's just a, that's an audio cue. It's something that you hear. And what do you think about that era? Right. So it's very strange that they're still doing it. Sarah, did you see the crowd, by the way? A lot of empty seats there. A lot.

Sarah from Edmonton. What we learned. MVP one, Hughes. MVP two, Lankanen. Yeah, you could have a pretty good debate about who's been the MVP for the Canucks so far. Hughes has been far and away, I think, their best player, but Lankanen just providing them what they need, especially considering the start that Seelovs has had.

It was a bad start for him in the Calgary game. Wasn't all that much. Well, he played fine against Tampa Bay, I suppose. But Lankanen, can you imagine if it was Seelovs and Patera? No. That would be tough. Or Vendelia, Spencer Martin, all over. Yeah, exactly.

By the way, on the subject of Patera, he played the most recent Abbotsford Canucks game. Great results, right? They got skunked 6-1. Now, I wouldn't hang it entirely on him because they opened the season with like four or five road games. Interestingly enough, Abbotsford will have their home opener. I know where you're going here.

On Friday. Okay. Because we were just talking about Lankanen. Who's backing up Lankanen right now? Seelovs. Would it make sense? Doesn't need waivers. Would it make sense to send Seelovs down to Abbotsford,

have him play in their home opener on Friday night, and then just bring him right back up on Saturday and he can sit behind Lankanen? He gets a game. It'll probably be a fun game. It's the home opener. That'll be a nice little nugget for the Abbotsford faithful. Get to see Artie Seelovs come in.

I don't know. I'm not a general manager. That's all you can say to Artie. Go down to Abbotsford. It'll be fun. Yeah. Get a game in. He's been there before.

Knows where everything is. Be a big star in Abbotsford for the night. Amro the actor, what we learned. I learned that the Canucks have a baseline that is still formidable in the league, even without key pieces. Yeah, they don't have Thatcher Demko. They don't have Dakota Joshua. Petey hasn't been up to his potential so

far this season. And yet the Canucks only have one regulation loss in their first game, in their first six games, they've won three in a row. And I bet if you were to ask Rick Tockett, how do you think you guys have played? Like, are you happy with how you played? He'd probably say, yeah, I'm reasonably happy,

but I don't think he's... They haven't played a lot of good teams yet, though. I don't... Well, I just don't think he's seen his best from the... I don't think the Canucks have given their best. They've had some good performance. I mean, they got a shutout against the, like, I don't think the Canucks have given their best. They've had some good performance. I mean, they got a shutout against the Flyers, but they also gave up some sloppy chances against, I would say, Chicago,

especially the Susie Myers pair. Had some tough moments yesterday. It's good, right? Like, it's good that you can play, not have your A game, bring your B game and still get a result against Chicago. I think we had some dingus texter saying that we were blowing smoke up the Canucks, even though they're terrible and they didn't beat any good opponents. If you don't play your best and you're on the road and you come home and you win three or four, how is that a bad thing? Yeah. I don't get it.

Pick up as many points as you can. Like you said last year, right? Pick up the points early. I got to have a bad day somewhere else. Don't rain on my, I'm having a good day. I'm on a roll here. There's lots of sports to talk about. Go cry somewhere else.

For example, I want to read Colton and Nanaimo's hashtag WWO what we learned. Bronny's debut game wasn't quite like his dad's. He registered one rebound in two minutes. Yes, if you missed it last night, Los Angeles Lakers went ahead and did the thing with Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. in attendance. They became the first franchise ever in the NBA to have a father and son play in the same regular season game. I'll say this. It's cool. I know that there's a lot of haters out there.

And I kind of get why. LeBron can kind of be insufferable at times. And he can kind of be a bit corny. But here's the thing. He didn't invent nepotism. Nepotism has been around for a long time. A lot of nepo babies out there are thriving. Right?

Go look at every coaching staff in the NFL. Why is it that all the coaches' sons have jobs? Is it because they're awesome coaches or is it because their dad's coached in the NFL? Go look at the NBA. There's lots of juniors kicking around. Right? But I think the Lakers feel like a gimmick. Sure.

Okay. Whatever. Who cares? Well, they're the Lakers. They're more than a gimmick. Sure, okay, whatever. Who cares? Well, they're the Lakers. They're more than a gimmick franchise. They're also the only franchise that's ever done this now. So they got that uniqueness to them.

Look, it's LeBron. LeBron is, when we were talking about the pantheon of NHL greats earlier, right, there's, the guys that are on a level, a shelf, a tier by themselves are Lemieux, Gretzky, Or, or I kind of would stop it there.

I'd put it up there. Maybe. Yeah. But it's rarefied. In the NBA, it's, and for me now, it's like I think Jordan is on the plane by himself because he also had the insane competitive streak that no one is ever going to have again.

But LeBron's played for two decades. He's won championships. He's won MVPs. He's also, like, aside from being kind of corny, he's never done anything even remotely, like against the law, controversial. The worst thing he ever did was the decision. Yeah, yeah.

Although he should have gone to jail for that. Prison! And then he also doesn't miss games he's an unbelievably uh finely tuned athlete yeah it's incredible right yeah so he wants his kid to hang around for a year okay he wants to have that moment yeah it's fine but it feels gimmicky it feels good but my counter to that was like uh lebron didn't invent gimmicks and he didn't invent nepotism. He's just doing the thing. Austin and Langley, what we learned,

just like I predicted through six games, Conor Garland is tied for the team lead in points. I always thought Garley was underutilized, but like Bruff said on Twitter yesterday, I think Canucks fans have gone from worrying about how much is left on Garland's contract to worrying about how much is left on Garland's contract to worrying about how much is left on Garland's contract. He has added a lot to the Canucks this season.

I know we all started kind of getting on the Garland bandwagon last season, but this season he has been tasked with helping Petey out at five on five. And last night he was tasked with adding something to the power play. He was out there. He replaced, uh, DeBrusque on PP1. And, you know, a lot of it is his ability to win puck battles and keep pucks alive. A lot of it is based on his ability to gain

entry with possession, uh, settle things down a little bit. And the Canucks went two for three on the power play. Can I throw a question at you? And Garland also scored even strength. Well, it wasn't really even strength. It was the Canucks had seven guys on the ice. Can I throw a question at you?

Yeah. Okay. Brock Besser needs a contract at the end of this season. Connor Garland needs one after the end of next season. I know that there are different times, so you can maybe spread them out. But now if you had to choose who would you prioritize more to keep oh man yes i don't know i honestly don't know it depends on the deal though it depends on the deal it depends on the contract i know but who would you just straight prioritize

it's a tough one right it's it's really tough i think they're just like equally important so to you know i i think they both bring something very valuable to the canucks um for some reason in my mind i'm like hesitant to commit long term to brock because i think brock would also have the larger contract demands because he had a 40-goal season last year, plays on the top line with JT Miller. And I don't know. I just feel like he would have the chance to say, like, I want eight years, I want a big cap hit.

And I just, I don't know, I'd just be hesitant, I think. Listeners, weigh in. Dunbar-Lumber text line, 650-650. You can just fire, we've got enough texts flagged. You can just fire off one word. I'd say Besser. But he's going to be more expensive. Yes, he will be, but I would still pick Besser. Nothing against Garland. I want them both back.

Why do you hate Conor Garland? That's my follow-up question. Yeah, you would say that. Yeah, I know. That's the trap. I guess you just don't respect. You've been trapped. Don't respect his game. No. That's all I heard. Joe the Whistler Ski Bum. Oh, he learned. I heard. Uh, Joe, the Whistler ski bum. Oh, he learned.

I learned we have the potential to be a heavy team. Would love to see Dak get a chance in the top six once he's back up to speed. Yeah. I mean, heavy, relentless. I mean, I don't,

even if Dak is back, I don't, I don't see that Canucks forward group is heavy. Like heavy to me is like a bunch of 220-pound guys leaning on people. The blue line's heavy. Yeah, JT Miller plays a heavy game. Dak would play a heavy game. But like Sherwood, I don't – Sherwood plays a contact game.

I don't know if it's heavy though, right? Garland plays a relentless game. It's certainly not heavy. But I love this mix of forwards. Yeah. certainly not heavy. But I love this mix of forwards. I really do. When you have a guy like Sherwood in there who's hard to play against

and Garland who's annoying to play against and then you've got the talent. This is the best forward group the Canucks have had in a long time. they've got the strengths of their team. If you're asking me, okay, what are their strengths of their team? Number one, the depth and versatility of their forward group.

Number two would be – well, actually, it might be number one, just the fact they've got Quinn Hughes. And then if Thatcher Demko is in goal, that's another big one. But that's a big if at this point, isn't it? It's very split. A lot of people, Besser, a lot of people, Garland. There doesn't seem to be one clear-cut answer. That's a good sign, though.

It is. Right? That's a great sign. A year ago, it was like, how are we going to get rid of these guys? Yeah, right? And now it's like arguing, you know, recklessly over who they're going to be able to keep

and who they should Remember when we wanted to trade both Besser and Garland? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. You know what I mean, right?

But they're kind of like, all right, what sweetener are you going to give up to get rid of those guys? You know who should be ashamed of themselves? Other GMs who had a chance to get these guys.

You know what it's ultimately a sign of, though, right? Elite question asking by me. It always comes back to you, right? It does. It's the first time for everything. Yeah, that's it.

What we learned, not exactly the best night for a lot of goalies in the NHL. Pond hockey is alive and well. A lot of inflated scores across the NHL. Goalies are overrated. Yeah. You know who's a good team? I'm going to fight you. Like a really good team that could win the cup this year

as the rangers yep they are solid yeah i hope shisterkin's uh contract impasse like tears the team apart because i don't want good things for anybody but um they are very very well-rounded and i know jacob truba i'm gonna go back to this hit again i know truba is a very polarizing player and this is probably his last year in new york because they got to get that money out of there i when you have a guy that can hit that hard and no one else does it with that regularity like you you have to i know he's paid too much he's his generation scott stevens it's so much fun so much fun to watch kind of except when it's really really dirty very good artist very good uses his physicality in that regard too that's true.

I had one here from MD. Oh, here it is. MD and Richmond on that Joshua and Sherwood. Joshua and Sherwood are going to be a pain in the bleep together, literally and figuratively, for defenders. I'm trying to decide if I want to see Sherwood and Joshua on the same line. If you can have, like like one battering ram line that goes out there or spread them out a little bit

spread it out a little bit you gotta try it once this is kind of the same conversation we have about the D pairings yeah like do you want Hughes and Hronik to play together yes do you want them to have their own pairings yes I think I do want them to play together I still wonder if they might have to look at splitting up Hughes and Hronik you know what we don't talk about enough though when we're talking about the greatness

of Quinn Hughes is how much it is being facilitated because he up Hughes and Hronik. You know what we don't talk about enough though when we're talking about the greatness of Quinn Hughes is how much it is being facilitated because he loves playing with Hronik. Right? Tatiana in Langley, what we learned, Taylor Hall quipped in his post-game interview that Hughes and Hronik played half the game on a night where Hughes saw less than 20 minutes of

ice time. That's how dominant his performance was that he was able to have that big of an impact in his record low ice time for this season. Math was ever Taylor Hall's strong suit. Yeah, has he got his voting license yet, or is that still a work in progress? Hold on.

The open book exam? Yes. Voting license? Online test. Still working on it. How many times did you fail it? Six. And he admitted it.

Oh, man. Who do you think would be the most obvious guy for Hughes to play with if it's not Hironic? I think that's probably the biggest problem. Well, that there's not an obvious answer. That there's not an obvious answer. I don't know. I don't. Everything, I mean.

Myers, maybe? Probably. I know. The Myers is the one that jumps the line. He's just like. how about Brandstrom? But they're so similar. I know. It's great.

You like what? The Hughes-Brandstrom pair. If you like one quick use, what about two of them? But one's a dollar store version. Hughes-Darren A would be the most, would be more likely. Jarring to look at. Yeah, right? I actually want to see.

Get on his shoulders. You know what? Now that it's in my mind. Do it. Now that it's in my mind, I want to see Hughes and Braunstrom play together. Is there anything illegal about jumping on shoulders? Sorry? Is there anything illegal about jumping on your teammates' shoulders?

You just have to wear a big trench coat. There's nothing in the rule book about that. It's quite dangerous. Yeah. Okay, that's it for time today. Thank you all for listening. Thank you all for contributing. Congrats to our winner of the $50 gift card to White Spot.

We're giving one away tomorrow and Friday as well. And, of course, on Friday, we're also giving away a $100 gift card to AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Oh, and a friendly reminder, go visit AJ's today for specials. You can watch the Whitecaps. You can watch the one NHL game on the telly tonight. AJ's is the best pizza place in the world. Go visit them.

AJ's on East Broadway. We got to get out of here for today, but we will be back tomorrow. Signing off, I have been Mike Alford. He's been Jason Brough. He's been A-Dog, and he's been Laddie. This has been the Alford and Brough Show on Sports Night at 6.50.