Halford & Brough in the Morning - Who Could The Canucks Replace Boeser With In Free Agency?

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

In hour one, Jason Brough & guest host Jamie Dodd look back at the previous day in sports (3:00), they set up tonight's Canucks home matchup vs. the Jets (6:00), they chat about who the Canucks could target in free agency to replace Brock Boeser (12:00), plus they discuss the top stories from around the NHL with ESPN Hockey's Greg Wyshynski (25:56).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- Saved by Gustafson, rebound and John Merrill takes it away! Merrill saves it in! Full line nines and Matthew scores! That's our game baby! What a play! I hate to agree with Thomas Drantz. We've got a big Winnipeg team coming in and it's game to game from here on in. We've got to bring energy. Good morning, welcome to Halford and Brough here on Sportsnet 650. Still no Halford, he continues to I guess take time off a mental health reset after

his nasty run in with Laddie to close out last week. So I'm Jamie Dodd filling in for Halford for the week here. Brough, good morning. Good morning, how are you? I'm doing great. I am very excited for the week here. Bruv, good morning. Good morning, how are you? I'm doing great. I am very excited for the show today. Good morning. We've got a lot of guests.

We barely have to talk today. I know, it's fantastic. Really, the dream. A-Dog, good morning. Good morning. And Laddy is back. After my one day suspension, I am back. Serving his one day suspension for belittling a teammate.

I know you guys. Apparently when he called Halford basic, Halford went to head office and complained. teammate. I know you guys really when he called the Halford basic How would went to head office and complained? Yeah, I know you guys you guys probably made some excuse that I was sick But I want to clear the air that yes, I was a one day to camber his office and trashed it. I was pretty upset We're coming to you live from the kintex studio kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step I was gonna say I think laddie is gonna going to be a better teammate for this, for having gone through this after having taken some time away now. Alfred and Bruff is brought to you by the DeLari family of Honda dealers.

Experience the DeLari difference today. Visit your nearest DeLari Honda dealer today. This hour of Alfred and Bruff is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling, Vancouver's premier metal recycler. P pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid 11.70 Powell Street. And you alluded to it just a second ago, Brough. We got a big, big show today. And I know, you know, whether it's my show or when I'm filling in here, I say that a

lot. A lot of times I'm stretching the truth. I'm fudging the matter. A lot of the time you're lying. I'm lying to the audience. Today, no lie whatsoever. This is a massive, massive show coming up. I'll run through the guest list.

6.30, Greg Wyshinski from ESPN. We'll talk all things NHL, the interesting playoff races for the final playoff spot in both conferences. Some big games on the schedule yesterday, some big games tonight. We'll get into that with Wish at 6.30. At 7, Eric Engels from Sportsnet is on the ground covering the latest NHL-GM meeting. So we'll talk to Eric about what's on the agenda.

Are there any interesting changes that are being discussed that could come out of these meetings? At 7.30, Kelly Moore from C-Job in Winnipeg joins us to talk about the Jets. Of course, they are in town to play the Canucks tonight, so we'll get the lowdown on really the NHL's top team from Kelly Moore. At eight o'clock, this is the big one, Rick Tocket, Vancouver Canucks head coach joins the show and he'll talk a little bit about the Canucks for Kids Fund telethon the 35th annual edition of the telethon that's going tonight for the Canucks and Winnipeg Jets game but of course we'll

also have a chance to get into some of the many interesting issues surrounding the Canucks right now with Rick Tauket and then at 830 Brendan Batchelor closes things out for us of course voice of the Canucks right now with Rick Tauke. And then at 8.30, Brendan Batchelor closes things out for us. Of course, voice of the Canucks here on Sportsnet 650. So, Batch, Tauke, Kelly Moore, Eric Engels, Greg Waszynski. I guess we'll find time to do some What We Learns after we speak with Tauke at 8 o'clock before we speak to Batch. So, make sure you still send in your What We Learn 650 650 to the Dumb Bar Lumber text line. But as I said, we got so much to get to, let's go right to What Happened.

What Happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit bccsa.ca. Now the rest of the show is jam-packed, but what happened? Well the Canucks didn't do anything yesterday. They had the day off coming off the back-to-back set over the weekend. No practice. They'll get back to it with a morning skate leading into the Jets game tonight. But there was scoreboard watching to do, and most notably for the Canucks,

Calgary suffered a pretty nasty defeat to the Leafs in Toronto. Yeah, this was a big story, I guess, in three Canadian cities because Calgary obviously taken a big loss six to the Leafs, hurt their playoff chances. They've still got a game in hand on the Vancouver Canucks and they're two points back of the Canucks. So they're not done, certainly. They're still in this, along with St. Louis and Utah and the Canucks all fighting

for that final spot. But it was also a big story in Vancouver because of the standings. And Toronto, the team that actually won the game because the Leafs, I don't know how many people have been paying attention to this Leafs team out here. I know we've had our own issues out here and

the Leafs maybe aren't considered quite as interesting as they have been in the past, but, uh, there was a lot of criticism for the Leafs, especially after they lost to the senators and they had a big breakout period with two goals from Austin Matthews that actually ended up chasing Dustin Wolfe. So Dustin Wolfe only played two periods for the Flames last night, uh, in Toronto for the Flames last night in Toronto.

The Flames have another game tonight against the Rangers in New York. And I, and I do wonder if they'll just go right back to him. To Wolfe? Yeah, because you know, he only played two periods. He's young. Last night.

He can handle it. He can do it. It sure sounded like in the post game, that's what they were thinking. Yeah, they were, they were basically saying like, well yeah, we pulled them because we want to keep them all rested up for, they got a bunch of games. So I don't know.

I have no idea who's going to start tonight, but I think it is interesting to know that all four of the teams that are in the race in the Western Conference for that final playoff spot are in action. The Canucks host the Jets, the Flames are in New York to play the Rangers. The Blues are at Nashville.

Blues are the team that I like, don't think about as much. Yeah. They're probably going to be the one that ends up getting this. They've got a pretty comfy schedule, especially at the end of it. They play a lot of Chicago, a lot of Nashville.

And then Utah is at the Edmonton Oilers. So that's going to be a tough one for Utah, but also, you know, a tough one for Edmonton. Yep. Considering the way they're playing. How would you kind of power rank the four teams that are in the race for the final playoff spot? Based on chances to get it?

Yeah. Is it crazy that I might still have the Canucks first? teams that are in the race for the final playoff spot. Based on chances to get it? Yeah. Is it crazy that I might still have the Canucks first? Is that crazy? Yes. I mean, as much as I want to disagree anytime I comes to Drantz, I think Utah is in the driver's

seat based on the way they're playing. Yeah. And then I don't know, Vancouver and St. Louis together, and then Calgary's last. Yeah, Calgary is last and the result last night, I wonder if we're starting to see the bottom kind of fall out for Calgary and so many people have been wondering all year, when does the

collapse come, right? Like, hey, nice story, you guys are overachieving, Dustin Wolf's been great, but can it last all season? I want to hear why you have the Canucks number one. I want to encourage them to try and sway me. Well, just simply, I mean, they're the team in the playoff spot right now. Now it's very, very narrow, right?

And that could be totally different after tonight even. I just don't think any of these teams are very good. And so I kind of look at it and it's like, well, they have Quinn Hughes. He's the best player on any of these teams are very good. And so I kind of look at it and it's like, well, they have Quinn Hughes. He's the best player on any of these teams. They're all deeply flawed teams. Yeah. I can at least make the argument.

I, it's not like a, what's your uncommitted hot take here? But I'm like, no, they're clearly better. No, these teams are all like, they're all mid for a reason. But if you're looking for edges, that's a pretty significant one. What's Utah's biggest weakness? From a hockey's perspective, they just like, they look, their talent looks like they should be better than they are, than their record is.

You know what I mean? They've, they've only won 22 games in regulation out of 67. So they've found a lot of ways to lose games. And I wonder if their biggest weakness is just a lack of maturity, a lack of experience that causes them to come up short in big games. And I wonder if their biggest weakness is just a lack of maturity, a lack of experience that causes them to come up short in big games. Now, I think you could point to like, they have some nice players on the blue line, but it's not like they don't have a stud back there. It's not a star studded blue line by any stretch. So you could point to that as a weakness, depth, all those things. But I think that's their biggest weakness

more than anything is just they're a young team who has been in this position before. Um, okay. Uh, in the East, uh, we can talk to Wish about this a little bit, um, but the Rangers still hold that wild card spot. So it's a big game for them tonight too. Um, where they play Calgary. It's so confusing trying to keep all the teams

together, uh, Montreal, Detroit and Columbus, all chasing Columbus. Man, I really jinx these guys. I, I apologize to the Columbus blue jackets and their fan base for getting on their bandwagon. I got on their bandwagon right after they hosted the stadium series game against Detroit. And they didn't even really play that well in

that stadium series game. I think Detroit badly outshot them, but they got the win and I'm like, this is such a good story. I'm going to have to ruin it. Until you got involved. I'm going to have to ruin it. They lost 2-1 to the Devils last night. And the other score that might be of interest to

people, the Minnesota Wild beat the LA Kings three to one. I don't know what to make of Minnesota and I don't care. Um, tonight's opponent from Winnipeg. So the last time these teams met back in January, it was in Winnipeg and I think most of you will remember, but maybe want to forget that the Jets absolutely dominated the Canucks.

That was the game where Kyle Connor had a natural hat trick in the first period and it got worse for the Canucks. They were down six nothing early in the third. I think Hoeglund or ruined Hellebuck's shutout bid late in the game. So they lost six to one. The Canucks next game.

Remember we were talking about the Canucks and they were like, you know what? They'd have some bad games, but they always respond well. They laid another huge egg. They came home and lost five to one to the LA Kings. In a game I thought might be JT Miller's last in a Canucks uniform. I watched it and that was the game where he

looked completely checked out. Uh, there was that goal that came from the point where he lost a battle along the wall and then barely tried to get out to the point. Um, he ended up playing another six games for the Canucks, but those two games, the game in Winnipeg and then home to return against the Kings were a very low point

for the Canucks. So we all hope that the Canucks come out with a big effort tonight. We expect them to, they are coming off a tough loss to Utah. They know they're in a playoff race. They know Winnipeg is a good team, so they better be ready to roll.

Otherwise it's not going to look too good. The Jets have won five of their last six, including Sunday's OT win at Seattle. That comry started for Winnipeg, so I guess we'll expect Hellebuck tonight. The thing about Winnipeg is they can pretty much coast to the top seed in the West. There's no one that's going to challenge

them for top seed. But if they are motivated by winning the president's trophy, and that's something that Winnipeg has never done, either the current version of the jets or the old version of the jets that moved to Phoenix. Um, they are in a race with Washington. They're the only really teams left in the

president's trophy race. And again, the Jets have never won it before. So perhaps that's a motivating factor down the stretch for them. It could be. I wonder if they're looking for an edge to avoid the complacency that we see creep in for teams in this position sometimes. Right. And, you know, I always think back to classic examples, that record-setting

Tampa team that ended up getting swept by Columbus because they were just like didn't have a single meaningful game for four months leading into that. And they're like, Oh wow, these guys are trying really hard. And I, you know, Winnipeg is not quite in that position in terms of their record, but as you said, they're going to coast to the top seed in the West. That's one of the, one of the things I want to ask Kelly Moore when we chat with him about the Jets team is how much concern is there about that complacency and what are they doing to try to avoid it? It's not showing up in their regular season results. Certainly. I mean, they are just such a complete team. It feels like they've

got their style of play and how they're going to win games just completely locked in. And then they have Connor Hellebuck. And I know they won with Comrie and Nat the other night anyway, so it's not like they can't do it with Comrie, but it's the, it's the kind of thing, and this always struck me about Tampa too, with Vasilevsky is the team is so well constructed in front of the goalie. And then even if you take advantage of their

mistakes, they've got the best goalie in the world back there to clean everything up. It's so, it's so difficult, I think psychologically for the opponent. Winnipeg better go on a deep run this postseason. Otherwise talk about a wasted opportunity. Yeah. It's so wide open.

And I go back to, um, what was the year? They had a really good year. There was like five or six years. It was the year of that Vegas, the first, first year of the Vegas. Yeah, they went to the conference finals. They went to the conference final and they lost to Vegas and I remember thinking like, oh, that's tough man.

You get all the way there and you lose to an expansion team and I know Vegas wasn't your typical expansion team, but the Washington Capitals found a way to beat them in Stanley Cup finals and the Caps escaped the sad club with that win. Good for them. That was a long time ago, but I remember saying like, oh, you never know when you're going to get

back in that spot. Yep. And the conference finals and, and people push back on it and they were like, look at this team. Like they're so, they're, they're set. That team was stacked. They're set. And I was like, yeah, but.

It doesn't work like that. But you never know. And then, and then eventually like, you know, a lot of those guys from that. You never know. And then eventually like, you know, a lot of those guys from that team are gone now. Look at Bufflin, Truba. I mean, the entirety of the, of the right side of that, of that defence that included Tyler Myers.

Um, yeah, you mentioned Wheeler. Um, the coach is obviously different now. So to get back and take advantage of what's going on, um, like just league wide, there's not, you know, I, I do think either Dallas or Colorado is going to be really tough in the playoffs. Um, you know, Vegas is still out there, but you know, Winnipeg, I saw a stat the other day too, despite the fact that they've had this amazing season, they've only had nine sellouts in Winnipeg all

season long, which goes to show that there are probably some economic headwinds facing this team as well. I'm not exactly sure all the specifics of what's going on with Winnipeg and the reason why they can't sell out their games, despite having a really good team. I know things are tough economically. I know things, I know it's a small market, but

it's also a small arena and it's a really good team. Now I remember back in the day, like people sometimes ask, well, why did Winnipeg move to Phoenix? And part of it was the Canadian dollar, which was low. I mean, Quebec city moved as well. Um, but the other thing was like, they weren't

stacking that arena. No, like they weren't selling it out every time. So I think there's always that feeling of like, Oh, business better be good in Winnipeg. And so they need that for that reason. But also they've got a couple of key pending UFAs and Marcus from Cloverdale texts in, he says, thoughts on Canucks replacing Besser with

Ehlers in free agency this off season, eight season 20 goal score and in the 94th percentile for skating speed. We kind of talked a little bit about Ehlers yesterday saying, man, this guy is going to get paid because Rantanen isn't going to go to market. There's Marner, there's Sam Bennett, and then there's Nick Ehlers.

And I would say those are the big three among the forwards. Also Neil Pionk is a pending UFA for Winnipeg. So they could lose some key guys next season. The other dynamic, and we can touch on Ehlers in a second here, but the other interesting dynamic for Winnipeg is how much is a rapidly rising salary cap going to hurt them, right? Playing in the smallest market in the NHL, dealing with economic challenges, we always

just kind of assume, oh yeah, Canadian teams, they'll spend to the cap, right? Especially if they're good, they'll have the ability to spend to the cap. I don't know if that's going to be true for Winnipeg in the coming seasons when the cap really spikes. So you add that in to just how good their team is this year, the potential of losing some key guys. And yeah, there's I think there's a lot of pressure to make this year count. I'm kind of surprised they didn't do more at the deadline,

especially you look at it like now, I think they were in on Brock Nelson and it just didn't work. But the, you know, they have Vlad, uh, Nemesnikov as their second line center. The 2C has always been an issue. Yeah. You probably like to upgrade that. On Elers, I think Elers would be a great fit. I mean, if you're, we're sitting here talking, they desperately need more speed.

They need guys who can, you know, carry the puck through the neutral zone. Dynamic catalysts, offensive catalysts. Nick Ehlers is that guy on the market, especially once you get past Mitch Marner, but there's going to be so many other teams that are thinking that. And then the other thing is what's the other attribute that we were talking about yesterday that the Canucks desperately needed in their top six. It's, it's toughness.

It's grit. It's a, it's a mentality, right? Also creativity. That's not Ehlers. You also need more creativity. No, I know, but so you can solve one of those issues with Nick Ehlers or at least start to solve it, help solve it, but it doesn't address

the other one and now you've just spent a ton of money on Nick Ehlers. So that would be my number one target, but it's not as if it's like, it's still fraught with issues and potential complications, even if you get them. What would you think of a top six that includes Ehlers, Pedersen and Leckermackie? You know, like that's talent wise, that's good.

Is that too light? It depends who the other guys are around, right? Like I think you can, I think you can win. What about Garland? Yeah, that's the thing. Right? You bring Garland, like is Garland going to be a part of it? Does Niels Hoeglander push for more? You know what I mean? Like they've already got a bunch of guys there. So I think you could insulate those players and have the size and the toughness around them. It's just, it's tough to do from the Canucks position.

Speaking of guys that can carry the puck up the ice through the neutral zone and gain some entries, are we, are we basically not expecting Hedl to play for a while? I mean, they didn't have a practice yesterday and usually like to see a player have a practice now. Sometimes the protocols change when things get dire or desperate. Let's use desperate instead of dire for the Canucks. Um, but like tonight, I'm not expecting to see

Philip Heidel out there. It would be a surprise. Now there, I think there is still a possibility we get a good news update from Rick Tauke at after morning skate today. They'll do a full team morning skate because they had the day off yesterday. Whether that's good news he's in tonight or just good news.

He's going to come on the trip with us. We'll see, but it would be pretty surprising considering missing the last game, not having practiced since his injury history, all of that. If they have Phillip Heidel in the lineup, which means it's going to be likely another game where it's Pedersen su Suter, Bluger, Amon down the middle. And you got to find a way to control play and generate offense against the best team in the NHL, if that is your center group. Do they need to get better up with Pedersen or Suter or anyone who's not Bluger?

I don't know. They like, they've tried that. Yeah. He's, he's started on lines with Ped peterson. He's been moved there during the games He started on lines with suitor Hasn't done much to brusk peterson Peterson and Besser should in theory be something But it should be like let's load it up and then put them together and nothing happens

The thing is you can't say oh get best put Besser with peterson to get him going Like who is the peterson's not getting anyone going right now. That's not going to work. I guess Hogan Landers playing pretty well. So maybe that gives Besser a little bit of spark, but there's no center that you can point to and say, Hey, we've got a guy struggling. We need to get, go get them going. Let's put them with this center. They just don't have that player right now. Yeah, man. So you can try putting them with Patterson, but I don't think you should expect all of a sudden this massive turnaround from Brock Besser as a result.

Their first power play is going to be something to watch. Oh yeah. Are you going to ask, talk about that? Are you going to ask him about his comment? Why were Myers and Hronik out there together? No, probably not. No, no, more his comment about, you know, there were plays to be made there. Why weren't they made? Well, to tease. Let's preview a little bit of this. Preview one of the questions that I want to ask Tucket, not specifically about, okay, in that

moment, why weren't guys making plays, but that commentary that, hey, we've talked to them about this and we're actually a little frustrated that that message isn't getting through that, you know, we're telling them, but it's not being translated onto the ice. We've heard that a few times. That's not the first time we've heard that.

And it stands out so much to me because last year it was so notable. It felt like everything Tauke was emphasizing got almost immediately translated onto the ice. You could hear him talk about it and then you could see how the players talk about it and then you could see how the players were executing it and how it was making them successful.

That was buy in. We were talking about it. Oh, there's buy in. There's alignment. There's buy in. Everyone's aligned. Understanding. There was all of it, whatever buzzword you want

to choose and this year it's just been so different. And so, yeah, I want to ask Tauke. And I mean, why does he think it's been so different? Why has it been so much more difficult to get the message through, to get the players on board and executing what he's selling? Yeah. Do you think he's going to be-

I'm also going to ask him about the days of the week. Do you think he's going to be in a tight- yeah, right. Do you think he's going to be in a talkative mood today? We'll see. I mean, he's coming on, you know- How can we soften him up a little bit? Well, we're going to ask him about the telethon today. All right.

Right? The kids. The kids. It's all about the kids here on the Alfred and Bruv Show. So hopefully that softens it up a little bit? Well, we're going to ask him about the telethon. All right. Right. So, you know, the kids, it's all about the kids here at the Alphard and Bruff show. So hopefully that softens it up a little bit. But as I said, you know, we'll get into the hockey stuff as well. And look, credit to talk it in his time here in Vancouver. He's been pretty like he doesn't.

I know there's been moments this year where he's been frustrated with Pedersen questions or whatever, but generally he doesn't shy away from questions. It's also happy to get into stuff. It's also kind of like a good natured frustration, if that makes sense. Like he knows he doesn't, he probably might want to fly off the handle sometimes, but he always has this like frustration and then he's like, like, I know you guys got to ask this question. Like, I know, I know you guys got a job to do and he'll kind of joke about it, but like, the PD, PD, PD all the time. I know you guys got a job to do and okay, I kind of joke about it, but like The PD PD PD all the time. I know I know you guys got a job to do like it

He's kind of apologetic and being frustrated. Yeah. Yeah, he does. What was the one recently? Oh the The taking the a off Besser thing. Yeah. Yeah, although he was kind of joke He's still joked around because the guys the guys that he was targeting weren't there. Yeah. And he was like, frustrated. He was like, dang it. Where are those guys? Those cowards. Why aren't they here? I wanted to look them in the eye. All right. We'll take a break here. Greg Wyshinski from ESPN joins us on the other side. We'll dive into the playoff races in both conferences.

That's coming up next year on Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650. Canucks talk with Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. We'll dive deep into all that's happening with the Vancouver Canucks. Listen 12 to 2 p.m. on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Halford and Brough, here's Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd filling in for Mike Halford for the week. Halford and Brough is brought to you by the DeLari family of Honda dealers. Experience the DeLari difference today. Visit your nearest DeLari Honda dealer today.

This hour brought to you by Northstar Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling. They recycle, you get paid. 1170 Powell Street. Send your text in 650 650 to the Dunbar Lumber Text Line. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dumbarlumber.com. Now joining us from ESPN, he is Greg Wyshinski. Wysh, what's going on man? Hello everybody, I'm good. I took a week off, I went to Punta Cana. Wow. In the Dominican Republic, and I mention this

because it is entirely possible that there are more people from Canada in Punta Cana than there are in Canada right now. I cannot believe how many Canadians I was surrounded by in the Dominican Republic during this vacation. I've got a buddy going there in a few days, you told me we were going to the Dominican. Yeah, exactly. And they all changed their trips from Palm Springs

to Punta Cana. Yeah, exactly. So I try to keep, you know, low profile. Uh, I'm not, I'm not looking to, to have a bunch of hockey conversations while I'm on vacation, but it's. Biteable when I'm wearing a devil's hat and I'm surrounded by people from Toronto.

Uh, so I had six different conversations with people about Sheldon Keefe while I was there. That sounds fun. What a relaxing vacation that is. So I just want to start broadly. We've got pretty interesting playoff races in both conferences for that final spot right now. Which side do you find more compelling? The Western Conference, Playoff Race, or the Eastern Conference? I gotta be honest with you, I mean it's kind of become a thing where it's one spot open in both thanks to the recent jump from Ottawa. And the East is interesting and only because I

wonder who actually wants to get it. Like the Rangers obviously would love to be a playoff team but ultimately they know they're inherently flawed and they've already begun the process and trying to remake the roster whether it's trading Truba earlier this season or bringing in JT Miller. They're clearly a team in transition right now so even if they get in I don't think that their expectations are to do much of anything. The Blue Jackets are a great story. And then you get beyond that and, you know, Detroit breaking the drought would be interesting. But to me, the West is much more compelling just because of just some of the swirl of stuff around these teams.

I mean, Vancouver, obviously, we all. St. Louis firing their coach because Jim Montgomery became available. The living embodiment of the guy checking out the other girl meme in the NHL. You know, you have Calgary basically propped up by a rookie goalie who, if they get in, is clearly gonna be top three for the Calder and maybe even has a shot at winning it. And then, you know, you have Utah kind of just

stalking the field right now. And they've, I think they're six, six, three and two since Jersey came back. So like they've, they're healthy for the first time, for the most part this season outside of Conor Ingham going into the assistance program. And so I think the West race to me is a little bit more intriguing as far as I don't quite know how it's going to shake out. Who would you pick today if you had to from

the four contending teams for that final Western Conference playoff spot? Well, I hate to say this considering where I'm speaking right now, but I had Utah in before the season and I'm going to stick with them. I think they've been really, really good defensively since they got healthy on the blue line. They reset things. They got Durzie back. They got Marino back. They've been averaging, I think, about a goal and a half per game at five on five, only

behind Carolina and Winnipeg over their last like 10 games. I mean, it's been really impressive what they've been able to do. If they can get Logan Cooley going, I think they're going to be all right offensively. He obviously scored over the weekend his first goal in six games at the first point actually in six games. And so, you know, Keller is still killing it and Gunther is still killing it. So they just kind of need Cooley to get going to give him enough offense down the stretch. And then if Amelka can keep doing what he's been doing and they're going to have to ride him a bit more with Stauber as the only other option other option there. Um, I think they'll,

I think they'll get in. I think they might sneak in. Can Ox play St. Louis later this week as well. And you know, Utah, they've, they've been playing some really good hockey, but I think St. Louis has been flying under the radar a little bit. And especially, you know, you go back to when they made the coaching change, maybe it took a little bit of some time for the, for the process to kind of sink in, but you know, seven wins in their last 10. And I know if they're scheduled down the stretch, a lot of people are looking at them as a team that has a really good chance. Are you buying that Utah has kind of leveled up

significantly under Jim Montgomery? Here's what I'm buying. I'm no longer playing this game with Doug Armstrong at the trade deadline anymore where it's like I don't know it's dire times. Could the Blues trade Kai-Ru? Is it so bad they might trade Kai-Ru? And then they do nothing, right? And then they like are a point out of the playoffs. I feel like we've seen this story before with this Blues team where you know it gets to the point of staring into the abyss and then all of a sudden they get the wild card. So I'm not doing it anymore. I'm done with it. Listen, they've got a lot of talent on that team and despite you know some deficiencies on their blue line and the adventure that is Jordan

Bennington, which I remain steadfast in saying he's an adventure even if he was lights out in overtime for Canada. You don't know from game to game all the time what you're getting from the Blues, but they've certainly been on a heater. And I think at last check, they do have the best odds over Calgary, Vancouver and Utah of making the playoff cut per staff leads. So if they got in, no surprise there. But they're just sort of, they're like Detroit in that way of being a team that's really

hard to trust even when they go on stretches where they look really, really good. If Detroit misses, what are the consequences there? I don't know, man, because that's the thing, right? Teams make coaching changes for different reasons. Obviously, the Blues make theirs because Montgomery is available, and Detroit makes theirs for one explicit reason, which is to make the playoffs for the first time since I think it's 2016. It's the longest drought they've ever had as an original six team. I mean, that's pretty epic.

So if they don't get in, I don't quite know what the fallout is. I mean, I think at this point, if you're the Illich family, you'd probably like to see a little bit more proof of concept from the Iser plan at this point. And there isn't. They've got some good pieces. They've got some good young players.

I mean, they haven't had much draft lottery luck in getting that like one guy to kind of tie it all together. But I mean, this is a field that Detroit at this point in their maturation as a contender should be able to break through. I mean, they should be Ottawa at this point, right? Like that's kind of where they should be and they're not. And so if they miss again, I don't know.

I mean, I feel like Iserman is like one of the most tough line guys in this league. Like, could you imagine Steve Iserman paying for the sins of the Detroit Red Wings? I can't. But you have to kind of look at this roster and say, all right, where is this all headed if you haven't made the leap yet this far into the maturation of this team?

You know, I was thinking the other day, I remember when the Red Wings traded Philip Hironic to Vancouver and I was kind of like, oh, I feel like Iserman's tricking us in some way. And Hironic, it hasn't been all perfect here, but for the most part, he's been as advertised. And you know, I think the Red Wings could probably use a right shot defender, another

right shot defender. And I just wonder like if trades like that, where it's kind of like, oh, what's he got up his sleeve and it turns out like not much. I wonder what the feeling is in Detroit, just about Steve Iserman. I know he would have to do a really, really bad job to lose the luster, but you know, Red Wings fans

were used to excellence for so long and it's been a while and it looked like they might, you know, they got hot for a while there and they were in a playoff spot and then they just fell apart again. But like, there's certain executives that probably get more credit than they're due. And in Tampa, which is where Eisenman made his reputation as a GM, he had Stamkos, he had Hedman. Okay, those are the two pillars he's building around.

And then they go and they have percolating in the AHL, Kucherov, Palat and Tyler Johnson as a fully made line basically. And they're being coached by a guy named John Cooper, who they eventually bring up to the big team. And they have all these other guys. I mean, and again, some of that is really good drafting and some of that is just the players are great. But it's really easy to turn a franchise around and make it a perennial

contender when that's your starting point. And I think that, like I said, the original sin for the Eiser plan might be having rotten lottery luck or just not being bad enough where they didn't get the best odds to pull some of the more generational talents out of the draft that we've seen since he's taken over. But they just don't have that level of franchise defining prospect right now. And that's tough, like when you've missed the playoffs for as long as they have, and you haven't come close to getting that guy,

and it's not like they swung and missed, they just haven't had a chance to get them. Well, they could have had Quinn Hughes. They chose not to. I mean, that's fair. I mean, that's fair. Like that's fair. But, but for the most part, like they've never won.

Like they've never had the first overall pick in any situations. And, um, and that's, it's just, it's just tough. It's tough to see that when, when you've, you've struggled like they have. And, and, and again, like I mentioned with Tampa, it's kind of essential to the plan to have at least one of those guys to build around. Elsewhere in the East, Columbus has lost four in a row and, you know, Bruff very publicly got on their bandwagon and instantly they go on a skid and fall out

of the playoff race. And it's kind of funny because they had that big seven, three win over the Rangers on the road. And it kind of felt like this, you know, changing of the guard moment, also almost in the Eastern conference where it's like, oh, the old and slow Rangers and this young, super exciting Columbus team. And then they immediately go out and lose four in a row, including one to that Rangers team. Is this, is it curtains for the Columbus Blue Jackets or

do they have another another push left in them to try to get back in this race? Well Jason probably didn't realize that Jett Greaves was gonna start giving away the puck like it's a sample in a mall food court like he did last night to Jesper Bratt on the game winner. I did not know that. Well I might have expected it. Yeah no they're, their trajectory is turning at the wrong time. And, and, and this is where you start to, this is what happens to any team that kind of punches

above its weight throughout the season is like either the magic is going to continue or you know, doubts are going to start creeping in and maybe the magic runs out. And the way that their offense has dried up over the last, you know, five or six games is kind of, kind of stunning when you think about what they've been able to accomplish for most of the season. I don't think their goal-hunting has been all that reliable to begin with. So, you know,

then now if you aren't scoring, you're depending on kind of a malfunctioning part of your team at times. And so, you know, the race being what it is and the distance growing further between them and the Devils in particular, it's tough. It's a tough time to hit the skids. But you know, they're also a team that has an insane amount of belief through unconscious, just unbelievable grief this year. And so, you know, anything can happen and it's not like they're going up against a bunch of world beaters to that last wild card spot. We've been talking a lot about unrestricted free agents and which ones might make sense for the Canucks.

I'm going to list three names and you tell me which one is most likely to get overpaid. Sam Bennett, Mitch Marner or Nikolai Ehlers? Sam Bennett. Well, here's the thing. He'll get overpaid if he leaves Florida. Let's say that. I mean, if he stays, and I think there's a good chance he might, only because Bill Zito's been really good with this post-season negotiation type thing that he's been able to pull off

with some of these guys, like Reinhardt in particular. But if he goes, I mean that's your essential ingredient for a cup desperate team, right? It's Sam Bennett. He's a winner. He's a win-at-all-cost playoff guy. And by the way, he's pretty good offensively too. So I mean, you know, Marner's gonna get whatever he gets. I still kind of believe he's going to stay in Toronto. I know that that's kind of a bizarre situation. I feel like the wind has blown back to, uh, uh-oh Marner, uh, because of the stuff leaking out around the Rantman trade. And we've had, you know, at least four or five months of peace time in the, in the great Marner debate. mean, Ehlers is great, but I think that

Dennett has that sort of je ne sais quoi of being the playoff win at all costs, spear a guy when no one's looking just to get your team a win type player. And so I think that's the point of separation and teams will overcompensate for that. So we saw the miserable disaster that is the Chicago Blackhawks here in Vancouver on Saturday

night and the Canucks actually got a blowout win, six to two over the Blackhawks. Not a good night for Connor Bidart and his return to his hometown. So we've been talking a little bit this week about what the Blackhawks might do in the off season. Do they go after one of these big free agents? What do you think they're going to do there?

Because Badaard continues to look just really, really frustrated. Yeah. So they're going to have to, I mean, they have to at this point because first of all, they don't have the horses in their pipeline to surround Badaard with the kind of talent that Alex Ovechkin had and Sidney Crosby had and Connor McDavid had within the first few years of

their careers. I mean, there's nobody of that caliber that's really coming through to be the next guy for Connor, right? And so, then you have to probably go out and surround them with with some high end talent. You know, that that could be offer sheets, or that could be us as. But if they leave next this coming off season, with another, you know, Tara Vine and Tyler vettusi level, who I'd be shocked. Like, I feel like they have to take a big swing.

He's just spent an entire season with, uh, with your, your franchise player looking like he's the lead singer from an emo band. He's so miserable. Uh, so you gotta do something. And, and I feel like they clearly have the capital to do it. They clearly have the cap space to do it and, and they have a franchise to do it. I mean, the cap space to do it and, and they have a franchise to do it. I mean, it's not like, I mean, like, look, they're, they're garbage in the standings right

now, but it's not as if the Blackhawks are not a, a, a potential destination for a free agent. How many teams this off season are going to be taking big swings with the rise in the salary cap? It, it, it feels like there are going to be some home run swings out there. Good time to be a free agent. That's for sure. I mean, yeah, I think Chicago is on that list. I think Utah is definitely on that list. I mean, look, they needed a year to stabilize and now

we're probably close to finally getting a name for the franchise and all this stuff. And now Ryan Smith can get aggressive and start to really flex the financial muscle of that franchise to bring in players. And by the way, now you also have a season of proof of concepts for the players that are there who can go and say, hey, this is a cool place to live and you want to come and be a part of this thing, which is something that probably doesn't get spoken enough about. you want to come and be a part of this thing, which is something that probably doesn't get spoken enough about. Carolina, obviously another one. I mean, you know, the Rantan dance is over. They're going to have a cap space opening up with some older players going USA.

They have a brilliant GM that is going to be aggressive and, you know, it's not to belabor the Marner point, but I mean, they work after Marner and they are going to have the amount of money that Marner is probably looking for. And if he is, if he's looking for the polar opposite of the Toronto media market, well, let me tell you folks, a little place called Raleigh that he might be interested in.

You mentioned that you think the Toronto might actually resign Marner. What is your thinking there? My thinking is that in letting Marner go, and this is the gamble that the avalanche took with Rantan in some ways. In letting Marner go, you are either confident that someone can come into your group and be 75% of Marner and you're going to be okay. That's nature's basically. 75% of Marner and you're going to be okay. So that's, that's natures basically. Right. Like, so, so Colorado wanted to resign rant and at a certain number, he fancied himself and his agent fancied himself as Leon dry.

Sidal. They said, we don't see you that way. Pack your bags. You're going to Carolina. Right. And then they said they're there in the back of their minds. They're always like, well, we can get a Martin nature. So he can be like 75% of Mico random. If we stick them on the ice with McKinnon and McCarr all the time and guess what? They were right. Like they've, the gamble has paid off so far, right? And, and, and we can get them for like half the price. So can you find that for Marner if you're Toronto and I don't think that they can, I think he's a really, really good player. I think the amount of crap that he takes in that market diminishes how good he is and he does so many things well. He's a 200 foot player. He loves being a part of

that franchise, which is the kind of buy-in that you want if you're the Leafs. And so I think at the end of the day, they'll retain him. I kind of do. But again, like, you know, there's going to be teams that are going to really, really want them and really, really pay them. And it's going to be interesting to see if, if, you know, this dance that they've done with Marner for this long ends up with him being alienated and wanting to go someplace else. Well, and as you, the point about ranting in and the abs and getting nature's in,

I mean, they did that well ahead of the deadline. They used ranting in to facilitate that. Like that's not an option for the Leafs. So if you let Marner walk, you've got to go and, you know, you just traded some assets for Scott Lawton. Like you don't have this incredible prospect pipeline or anything. Where are you even going to find the 75% of Marner guy? It's hard to do.

Well, but that's, I mean, that's my point. Like they didn't do that. And so what does that tell you? I mean, it either tells you that they think their championship window is wide open this year and that trading Marner meant they could not win the cup, which if you're the Leafs is delusional, because you're the Leafs.

But the other thing is they're going to keep them. And maybe that's ultimately where this all leads. He clearly wants to stay, clearly loves being a lease. And when, when that's the starting point, there's these things have a funny way of working out as, as I've classically said throughout my years as a hockey writer, his stuff is there. Yes. And usually the answer to where these guys are going to end up is where their stuff is.

Well, he does have a lot of baggage. So why does he, um, not just his-ups, his childhood stuff is there. All of his stuff going back decades. All of his stuff is there. Yeah his dad is there. I mean can you imagine him signing at another market and his dad having to become best friends with another member of the media? It's a lot of work. Can't put his dad through that. Wish, thanks for doing this, man. We appreciate it. Anytime, boys. See you buddy. That is Craig Wyshinski from ESPN. I do feel like there's just this inertia

that for all, like how long have they been talking about, well, we got to trade Marner or Nylander, we're going to have to trade Marner or Nylander. They re-up with Nylander. I just don't think there's like the imagination to do something different in Toronto. They're like, ah, well, I guess we'll keep Marner.

Isn't the fan base though, if they don't go on a run, those playoffs, and by the way, I'm worried this will be the year that they do it because nobody's expecting them to. Isn't there a worry that you're just tired of it? Yeah, but like. Like I saw, I saw there was an article in the Athletic about the Leafs raising some

season ticket prices by like 20%. Some of the cheaper tickets, which aren't cheap, but like in the upper bowl are getting raised 20%. And so I guess they feel like the demand is still there for tickets and there's always going to be interest in the team. But man, if I was a Leafs fan, I'd just be like, like, even if we lose this trade, I'm just sick of this group. Nobody cares about the regular season in Toronto anymore. The people who would be, like, upset if Marner stayed

are, like, the hardcore, like, the people who are, like, obsessed with the Fan 590, right? You know what I mean? Who listen all the time. I think if you're a casual fan, which there are a ton of in Toronto, they're probably like, oh, great, Marnerarner's back Yeah, Marner. He's good. Yeah Yeah, the guys I know and the thing with that's true You know It's it's the opposite of Winnipeg where you said like they barely ever sell out even though they're the best team in the league

The Leafs they've been bad. It's a sellout. They don't have problem. They don't have trouble making money So yeah, maybe there's going to be some fan frustration if they roll it back again, but it's like, they're like, well, we're the Leafs. Guess what? We're going to sell out and make a ton of money. Eric Engels is going to join us next. Eric works for Sportsnet.

He covers the Montreal Canadiens. So we'll talk a bit about the Habs rebuild, but also he's been down at the NHL GMs meeting. So we'll just get an update from those, from Eric. Coming up next on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650.