Halford & Brough in the Morning - Who Is The Current Stanley Cup Favourite?

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest hockey news and notes with NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:18), plus the boys hear from the listeners and debate who the current Stanley Cup favourite is (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.

Frank! Cerebelli, cerebelli, cerebelli, Frank! Cerebelli, Frank! Cerebelli. Frank. Frank. Seven oh three on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody. Haliford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Free. Haliford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice

for debt help with over 3,000 five star reviews. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Frank Cerfali from Daily Face Off is gonna join us in just a moment.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Frank Cerfali from Daily Face Off is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off our two hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominock at Jason dot mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. So our next guest is a presentation of angry outer liquor and he joins us courtesy the Power West Industries hotline. It's Frank Sara Valley here on the Haliford and Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How you guys doing? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it So round three the Eastern Western Conference finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us Eastern Conference final starts tonight, but before we look ahead

I do want to look back as we cut the playoff field from eight teams to four of the four teams That were eliminated and what comes next for all of them I know you covered this over a daily face-off, but I wanted to dive deeper into it here Let's start with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the most recent Exodus from the playoffs. We've talked a lot about what's already happened past tense. So let's talk about what's going to be coming next for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Everyone assumes Mitch Marner is done in Toronto. Will the Maple Leafs roster purge stop only at Mitch Marner?

Yeah, I think it's a fair question to ask. Look, I mean, police roster purge stop only at Mitch Marner? Yeah, I think it's a fair question to ask. Look, I mean, the first person that comes to mind next is John DeVaris, does it make sense to resign him? But I think the question should extend well deeper beyond that. I think this is a moment in time where everything should be on the table, at least as a thought exercise to work your way through it.

The next question would be about Morgan Riley. He's a guy that was victimized with his lack of foot speed in these playoffs, and that deal is probably not gonna age that well when you consider the term that's remaining on it. Does it make sense for the Maple Leafs to get ahead of that, find some cap flexibility, find a team that could use a defenseman, is starved for a defenseman

and have him prop up their team for the next couple of years? In the meantime, definitely one to ask. And then there's the further question and people are going to, their heads are going to explode, but what about Austin Matthews? I mean, Mitch Marner isn't alone in the lack of playoff success Austin Matthews is really kind of right there with him a guy who's Goal scoring in the regular season is more or less cut in half when it comes to the postseason He scored in 23 of the 68 postseason games that he's played

This is a 400 plus goal scorer in his career one of the most gifted goal scorers of all time that actually had a better pace now so vet skin was at this age and yet Doesn't have any playoff success. That's meaningful to speak of it's not really just that that I think is part of this conversation But what about these chronic injuries if this truly is a significant back injury? Which many people have been alluding to that hampered him all season long, how many of those back injuries ever really actually get better? And I'm not saying that the Leafs or suggesting that the Leafs will

trade Austin Matthews, but I think you'd have to at least explore what that thought looks like if you're in their front office to say, do we really need sweeping changes here? Is this just about moving some of the pieces of the core around to see if we can find a better fit? I'm sure that's what the answer will be. My thing is everything should be on the table. Does that include the future of Brendan Shanahan? Well, it does because it's also a natural inflection point, just like Mitch Marner.

He doesn't have a contract for next season and beyond. I believe his four-year deal is wrapping up that made him the highest paid executive in hockey. And with that, some natural questions. There's a new ownership group, of course, with Rogers taking full control of MLSE. Keith Pelly is in his first year as CEO. Like these, with the lack of success in the postseason, some great regular seasons, Brendan Shanahan no doubt deserves credit for turning the leafs around.

They were a laughing stock before he got there. He, you know, reinvigorated that franchise, but the fact that the Canucks have won more playoff rounds in that span of time, that's kind of crazy. Tavares, his cap hit is $11 million and Mitch Marner is just below $11 million. So if they don't bring those guys back, they're going to have a ton of cap space to play with.

Does it all need to get done in terms of filling that backlog this off season? Or do you think it's possible Toronto would say like, okay, it's going to be really hard to replace regular season, Mitch Marner and Tavares had a bunch of points for us too. The UFA list isn't great. And I don't know what the supply of available players is going to be this off season

in trades, but is it possible that they might have to look at taking a step back next season? Doesn't have to be a massive step, but maybe a step. Maybe that's not the worst thing. Look at the Carolina Hurricanes. Look at all the guys that they lost from last season's team. That now I think they went into this year with tons of flexibility. We're able to pull off a massive trade for Miko Ranton and that didn't work out.

They end up in the end way better off than they were. I think with Stankhoven and Hall as compared to Nacius and Jury, and they get additional picks and everything else that comes with it. And now they're back in the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in seven years with a team that was expected to do seven to ten points worse in this regular season and they actually look stronger now than they did when they had all of those pieces at this time last year. Hockey's funny that way sometimes and I'm not saying that that's always going to be the norm but I think one thing that drives me crazy listening to people talk about this sport and listening

honestly more to executives and how they think about it is everyone is so concerned and so afraid about what they're giving up that they seem to lose focus on what they're getting in return. And some of that includes opportunity, options and flexibility that you otherwise wouldn't have had to enter into conversations and thoughts that you otherwise wouldn't have had to enter into conversations and thoughts that you otherwise might not have been able to. You never know what's out there in the universe for you.

You know what? I think that's such a great point. And I thought more executives might take that approach after the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, which was just an exercise in opportunity for players that hadn't been given it. I remember William Carlson being talked about in Columbus, like, ah, this guy's probably not going to make it.

Then he goes and gets the opportunity in Vegas and look at what he's done with it. I often have that thought with the Canucks. There's that fear of going out in the wilderness though, I know. And it's understandable because you're like, ah, we don't want to be these guys or we don't want to be these guys.

You still do need talent, but I'm a hundred percent with you. What are some examples, or can you come up with any examples? I'm sorry, I'm putting it on the spot of just like teams that have said like, we're going to give opportunities, right? And like, well, and guys seize that opportunity.

But it doesn't even necessarily have to be of like someone that's on another team or in your own organization to provide new ice time to, or, or given them a chance. Cause some of those opportunities only come up every so often. But I think the best example is the Rantanen deal, right? Like, look at that.

Like the hurricanes take a huge swing. They were crushed by fans and by media on deadline day saying, how could you have Miko Rantanen and trade him? And it's, it's first off, it's a reminder that it's bigger than one player. So anyone fretting over Elias Pettersen and what happens next, whichever way they go. I mean, making the decision to get off of that contract, if that's what they end up doing this summer and potentially getting nothing in return for all the reasons that we've talked about, I don't know that that's necessarily the worst play.

You end up with tons of opportunity to do other things. There's an opportunity cost to everything. And look, like, why don't they like, and this isn't to make it a Kane centric thing, but how many teams actually go out there and pull the trigger and acquire a game breaker that we've made fun of the Canes for not having for so long, they go out and get him. He ends up not being a fit because he doesn't want to stay. And they turn around and say, okay, that's fine.

No big deal. We tried and we're always going to continue to try and push the envelope to make decisions that we think makes us a better team. Even if your team is, they didn't end up having this be the case, but even if they ended up being lesser in the short haul as a fan, if you're sitting there on your couch, isn't that exactly what you want your team to be doing is turning over every stone possible to try and find those guys? Cause it's almost impossible to do. I'm glad you brought this up. I'm also glad you mentioned the word stone because I did

want to ask about a team that has done this in their history granted it's a short history but we alluded to them already the Vegas Golden Knights. Jason talked about it in the opening segment how it wasn't a super impressive performance against Edmonton. They didn't look great and it was over in five probably justifiably and I didn't even take it back to the series win against Minnesota. I didn't think it was a super convincing series win even though it was in six. There was a bunch of overtime games in there as well and I know you wrote about this for daily face off pointed out that maybe they looked old because they are just old and if this is a team that follows in its past history of making big bold moves could we expect to see another one in Vegas this summer? Look I don't think you can ever count it out. I think they're always trying to chase

and find that next shiny toy, whether it's by trade, whether it's a free agent signing. Like, could you really rule out the Golden Knights as being a team that could take a run at Mitch Marner? People are saying, hey, look at their cap though, where are they gonna find that space? The point is they make the space if they can get their hands on the player. Um, so I wouldn't count them out for one second, but I think you're right.

I think they're looking for the next iteration of this team. I mean, just go through and look at their ages. So many of the guys, the real drivers, the movers on that team. Are on the wrong side of 30 Patranj real drivers, the movers on that team are on the wrong side of 30. Patrangelo 35, Braden McNabb 34, Tomas Hurtle 31, William Carlson 32, Mark Stone 33. Jack Eichel turns 30 when his next deal begins. It's not to say that they can't win.

And I think the Golden Knights are a better team than they showed in the postseason. They didn't have the juice and they did go out with a whimper, which was pretty surprising. They struggled to score. They were overmatched and overrun physically, which was kind of a surprise. They looked slow. But it also doesn't mean that that's what the Golden Knights are going to look like next year because that's not typically how they've done things. when they have a disappointment, they come back with a vengeance. How is their reputation among like agents, players, rival executives with regards to the way they conduct their business?

Because I could see on one hand, people will be enamored at the fact that they're aggressive in their pursuit of championships, but other people might see that as a tad ruthless. And we've seen countless examples of guys that have kind of been ushered out in not so ceremonious fashion. So based on your conversations from around the league, is it a desirable place to play or do people approach it with a little bit of trepidation now given their history?

No, it's still a desirable place to play. One, it's a place where you can win. One, it's a place where you can win. Two, it's a great setup in a no-tax state. It's a market that's super passionate. It's a great place to live. And I think everyone kind of goes into it now with eyes wide open a realization that this team is ruthless, that they will launch you into the sun if you don't perform or if you feel like you're a guy that gets in their way of being successful.

And with that though, there's also an expectation that when you get there, they treat you incredibly well. So for your time that you're there, it's awesome being a golden knight. The problem is the inevitable, which is kind of what any hockey player or coach or executive goes into it with, which is, I know at some point I'm leaving here. I I'm either going to be traded, bought out, whatever it is. Um, and then same thing as a coach, I'm going to be fired, whatever it is. Um, they just know that that day probably comes a little bit more

swiftly in Vegas than it might elsewhere. And in the meantime, you're treated like a prince. Frank, this question might seem like it's coming out of left field, but in looking around for players that might fit for the Canucks, it's incredible how many no move clauses out there are out there and really restrictive no trade clauses. What is the feeling of executives in the league maybe about how many of these are there? Are they good for the league

and is there anything the league can do about it? Well, the league can certainly limit them if they wanted to. Um, I think the league has advised teams at every turn possible to make sure that you're judicious in limiting how many you're handing out and in what form. Now, some managers turned, they turn a side eye to that because they say, well, I have to do what I need to do to get the deal done. And if that's the last thing holding it up, like more or less they end up acquiescing. And their thought process is, well, I'll just find a way to work my way out of it.

Hockey players are loyal. And if they find out that the team doesn't want them there and that the public, the fans, the market might find out in short order after the fact that the team doesn't want them there and you're holding them up. Look at some of the flack that Mitch Marner is getting today. I've seen it on social media in the last 24 hours.

This is the guy that didn't wave his no trade to help our team. Yeah. Well, it's not really Mitch, like Mitch Marner earned contractually that right to do so, so I'd never fault the player for that you're given that right, exercise it to the best of your ability. If you feel like that's what's right for you and your family, but teams, they don't really view them as hard and fast rules.

They view them as, Hey, there's always a workaround here because I can just, you know, if need be, I can try and put the boots to this player and make life as difficult as possible. And more or less, they end up getting someone that in the end, 90% of the time acquiesces. Well, it's, I also think it's an advantage for those teams like Vegas and Florida in the, in the no state or the no tax

states where how often have we seen it go down? Okay, well, I'm willing to go to there. If it comes down to this, I'm willing to go there, but that player gets to control the process. Well, and that's huge, right? It's so it's not even necessarily about not waving. It's saying I will wave, but I will only go, how many times have we seen a player say to a team, just one?

That's why I didn't really understand why the Bruins were crushed about the Brad Marsh hand trade. In the end, that was the only team he was willing to accept the trade to. Yeah. How much of a return are you going to get when that team also knows this is the only team you're going to accept a trade to? You lose all your leverage.

And so, yeah, it is a huge part of it. Look at where Marner is right now. Will the Leafs end up trading his rights before July 1? It's only going to end up being to a team that he wants to exclusively pre-negotiate with if that's the case. News out of Boston that just dropped. The Bruins announced today that Don Sweeney has been given a two-year contract extension

through 27-28. The reaction on social media has not been 100% positive from the Bruins fan base. What does Sweeney need to do this offseason to get the Bruins pointed in a better direction? First off, this is no surprise. I know that there was some thought process from Cam Neely or a question at their post, uh, season news conference, say, what is the future of Don Sweeney? And he said, I need to decide. Bruins fans are ruthless.

Like they've arguably had one of the best runs of success of any team in the last 25 years. They have the most wins since 2000. They've won a Stanley cup. They've been to a couple of Stanley cup finals. They're competitive just about every year. It's won a Stanley Cup. They've been to a couple Stanley Cup finals. They're competitive just about every year. It's a cyclical sport to be that successful year in and year out. Are there things that you can point to or pick at and say, Hey, he didn't get that right or, or this was fouled up. Like, I don't, I don't really understand that. Like no general manager

in this league, no general manager in pro sports, that's a thousand. It's a line from Ken Holland that I think about frequently, which is, you know you're going to make mistakes. You just hope that you're not giving up home runs and grand slams. Speaking of general, oops, sorry about that. No, I just said that sticks out. Why is, like who, why are you? Why is anyone crushing Don Sweeney? Anyone would, almost any team in the league outside of maybe three or four would trade their team's success

for what the Bruins have had. And first thing on Don Sweeney's list, I would imagine is to figure out the coaching job. Cause Joe Sacco technically still has the interim tag, but I assume that they're still going to conduct interviews and maybe go in a different direction there. Before we let you go on the subject to general managers, what's next for the vacant gig with the New York Islanders?

Yeah, it sounds like it's a two horse race at Belmont. I'm always a little careful to characterize in hopes that there's not some late third entrance. But it seems like Mark Bergevin and Matthew Darsh have both had second interviews and it sounds like both of them are of the understanding that they're finalists for the position. Is Patrick Waugh going to come back regardless of who the general manager is or are they going to be given free rein to hire their own head coach? Free rein to hire their head coach and it's interesting that both of those guys, Darsh and Bergeron, are natural French speakers.

I don't know what their relationship is like with Patrick Wa. Does that help? Do they have a friendship and understanding? Maybe there's new life for Patrick Wa on Long Island that otherwise might not have been there had someone else been hired. Not that that's necessarily a calling card, but just makes you wonder. And the other part is though, they're going to have to wrestle with a guy that's been very vocally critical of his predecessor. Frank, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

We appreciate it. Enjoy game one of the Easter Conference final. And it should be a good one. Yep, sounds good. See you guys. See you later. Thanks. That's Frank's our valley from Daily Face Off here in the Helperton Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. It's time now for one to watch brought to you by Delaney's OK Tire.

Only one game in the National Hockey League tonight as mentioned Stanley Cup playoffs, game one Eastern Conference final, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes from Raleigh. Tonight's one to watch Brad Marshawn, a favorite here in Vancouver and also in Toronto, maybe tonight in Raleigh. So I relatively slow start to the playoffs for Marshawn He only had one point in his first three games He was goalless in his first six but man alive

Marshawn is really heated up for the defending Stanley Cup champs as of late He is now tied for the Panthers lead with 12 points in 12 games this postseason He was he was awesome in that game seven against Toronto He was everywhere finished with three points a goal and two assists plus three rating eight shot attempts, three on goal in just over 16 minutes ice time on that third line in Florida. He led the Panthers during the entire second round with eight points against the Leafs. Of course, scored the overtime goal in game three. Granted he bounced it in off Morgan Riley,

but he really got Florida going in that series and he's going to be one to watch tonight as Florida looks to advance their third straight Stanley Cup final Okay Is there a read to go with that? It's time to put on your toyo tires whether you drive a car light truck or van Toyo tires are designed to perform in all kinds of conditions visit Delaney's okay tire in Langley and Alder Grove Okay, tire service repair and tires. Okay We've got an open segment on the other side. So text in to the Dunbar Lumber text line. One question, who do you consider the favorite

to win the Stanley Cup right now? And give us a reason why. We can also get into all the other stuff that happened over the weekend. If you want to talk a little PGA with Scotty Scheffler, no, probably not. The white caps. Classic. Nil n no, probably not. The Whitecaps. Classic soccer score.

Nil nil draw at Austin. The BC Lions started their preseason over on the island against the Stampeters. They lost to the Stamps. What else? Oh, the Abbots for the Canucks. You mentioned the Abbots for the Canucks. They drew or they split their first two games

in their series against the Colorado Eagles. Anything you want to talk about, any questions or comments about the Vancouver Canucks, text them into the Dunbar Lumbertex line at 650-650. You're listening to the Alfred and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Mick Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's

Show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. I Love a four-day work week. Don't get me wrong. I love not coming into work on Monday the only thing That I hate is we miss 80s Monday by starting on I mean Big Bang Tuesday is great Don't ruin but 80s Monday has become often one of the highlights of the week every day is 80s Monday for some people though it's true Rough slowly dying over here season seasonal allergies Yeah, it is a reactant season folks for sure

You are listening to the haliford and brough show on sportsnet 650 haliford and brough of the morning is brought to you by sands and associates learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% With no more interest visit them online at sans dash trustee Calm we are in our two of the program We are at the midway point of the show and our two is brought to by Jason hominac adjacent mortgage if you love paying Too much for your mortgage then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage prior to going to break Jason Brough asked the listening audience

Who's your Stanley Cup favorite right now? Who are you picking in the final four to hoist? Lord Stanley's mug and just over what a month less than a month. I think it'll be handed out I think what's the last date June 17th? Who is the Stanley Cup favorite Jason a lot of people were texting in about Dallas. Sheldon from Surrey. As a stars fan, it's crazy that the stars haven't even played their best yet and are somehow playing in the Western Conference final. Liam and Calgary.

I think the favorite is Dallas. Otter is getting real hot. Rantinen is Rantinen. They are healthy. I know Ed Edmonton is getting Ekholm back, but I still like the Dallas defense more. And the stars depth is incredible. One more here, Dean and Cloverdale. Ed Edmonton is getting Ekholm back, but I still like the Dallas defense more and the star's depth is incredible.

One more here, Dean and Cloverdale. My pick for the Stanley Cup is Dallas. They're going to have a tough series against Edmonton though, but Dallas has all the bases covered, goaltending, depth scoring, coaching, elite defense and centers. I believe Edmonton is less so on goaltending and defense.

I believe Florida is fairly beat up and is getting a bit worn down. Yeah. On that Florida point, you know, just watching Matthew Kachak, it's hard for him to get around the ice right now. He's nowhere near a hundred percent. No.

They are so deep at forward though. And you know what? It's interesting about them. Like the others have incredible forward depth, but it's been reflected more in the scoring disparity. Not that it has in Florida. Florida's had a lot of different guys step up, but the style that Florida plays. I mean, that's the quintessential definition of heavy hockey, how they play.

Right. They pin you in deep. They went a lot of battles south of the goal line. They make life hard on you all the time. They're like stick on stick, puck on battles. Like they excel in that. Shoulder on shoulder. They really, like I used it a couple times. They suffocate, they smother,

they do those sorts of things. Every guy that they bring in seems to be able to adapt to that style of play, no problem. Like how is Chris Tann of feeling right now? He must be so beat up. Yeah. That's what they do. That's just it.

It's a war of attrition sort of. You just keep wearing them down and wearing them down and wearing them down. And then you saw it by the time game seven came around Toronto, I think part of it was they were out of answers. Like it takes a lot to play that style of hockey and play it successfully. You just get overwhelmed. Yeah. You know, I could, I can make a case for every one of these teams to win the cup.

I mean, Carolina, they're so good defensively. And if you're of the defense wins championship mindset, which I usually am, I know you do need offense, but you do need to have to check. I do wonder if they have just enough scoring and enough of that, like, you know, that X factor, that the thing that they brought in Rantanen for. Sure. To have that game breaker.

I don't know if they've got that game breaker. So I'd probably put them last to be perfectly honest with you. Fair. Of all the four teams. Dallas, you know, everything those textures said is absolutely true. And for them to be fully healthy now, plus they've got Rantanen. Yeah.

I mean, they were already a good team before they had Rantanen and what they traded away. I mean, I really like Logan Stankovic as a young player, but you know, I think his best years are ahead of him. They're not right now and Rantanen's best years are right now and they're probably better than Stan Kovans will ever be.

How about that? That's no disrespect to Stan Kovan. And then you get the last two teams, you got Florida who's been to two straight Stanley Cups already and they won the last one. Now you can look at that as a positive that they're that good. You can also look at it as a negative that they've

played a lot of hockey and they might be worn down mentally and physically. I don't know about mentally though, cause it's Florida, nobody cares. It's not like Toronto or Edmonton or Winnipeg or whatever. So I heard. And then, for me, I gotta say it goes against some of my rules, but the way that Edmonton played, actually it doesn't go against my rules because I feel that if you want to win the cup, you gotta check, check, check, check, check, check.

Because that's how you get the puck back. And it's not playing defense passively or just sitting in the structure and, and, and breaking up plays. Like you have to aggressively defend because if you don't aggressively defend, you don't get the puck back quick and you need to get the puck back quickly. Because if you're the Edmonton Oilers, you want to go on offense. And if the Oilers are committed and are able to

check as well as they did at times in that Vegas series and at times in that LA series. Now the thing with Edmonton is sometimes you never know what you're going to get, but those last two games of the Vegas series were like, I'm sitting there watching it and knowing the fear that I have of a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup. I was just like, oh my God,

this Oilers team is learning lessons. And it's like, uh-oh, they're becoming self-aware. That's not good. And they still have McDavid and Dreisaitl. And I don't think any team has the offense that Edmonton does when they're rolling. No, Florida would be the closest, I'd say. Florida would be the closest in terms of depth of scoring. So I guess what I'm saying is I think if I had to pick a team right now, if I had to pick a team, I'd pick Edmonton.

Yeah, I'd pick Florida. But I think that's going to be the Stanley Cup final. And more importantly, I hope it's the Stanley Cup final. Can we all just go back here and understand how much last year delivered from an entertainment perspective? We're going to credit regular season and postseason. I mean, the NHL was crowing about the Stanley Cup final and rightfully so. That was their best Stanley Cup final in decades. That was as compelling as it gets to be able to have those two teams go back to the dance would be a

godsend and you would never think in a billion years that the NHL will be clamoring for an Edmonton Florida Stanley Cup final. But here's what we've got in part because I think that the two best teams left. I like Dallas as much as anybody else in terms of talent. I still think in terms of the highest end, Edmonton bests them. And in terms of being able to play playoff hockey to perfection, I think Florida bests them. I think Florida is built for the playoffs

unlike any team we've seen in an awfully long time. And it's the reason that they're in their third consecutive Eastern Conference final. Like if you wanna talk about, well, what's the difference between regular season and playoff hockey, watch Florida go for 60 minutes. It is the perfect embodiment of the kind of style you have to play when the whistles are getting put away.

There's zero ice because the battles are so intense and you have to manufacture scoring chances out of grit and grind. That's what it comes down to. So I think we can all admit that all four teams, uh, that are still alive in the Stanley, they're all capable of at least getting to the Stanley Cup final. I don't think anyone would be shocked if Carolina clamped down on Florida and beat them in a seven game series. And I don't think anyone would be shocked if Dallas beat Edmonton or vice versa.

Um, it's a little bit different and I just wanted to throw this out there in the NBA. And the cool thing about the NBA this year, and frankly for the last few years, is that there's all these different champs. Gone are the years of super teams in the NBA. So the NBA will have seven different champions in seven years.

And this is a league that you can't often say is all about parody, right? And there's still a massive difference between the best team in the NBA and the worst team in the NBA, like there's a bigger difference in that compared to the NHL. And a lot of that is the nature of the game and the nature of, of the salary cap as well. Aggressive tanking in the NBA still too. But yeah, for sure. Yep.

Um, now that being said, there is a clear favorite of the four remaining teams and that is the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Canadian SGA. Let's go. Um, Oklahoma City will play Minnesota, which might catch some people by surprise. The Timberwolves? Really?

The conference final? What? And then the New York Knicks will play the Pacers in the Eastern Conference final. And no, you did not just hop in a time machine and go back 25 years. Yeah. Rick Smith is not playing for the Pacers.

I think this Knicks Pacers thing is going to be a lot of fun. Knicks fans are going wild right now. They are out of control in New York. But for the most part, it's been fun to watch because the Knicks have been so bad for a couple of decades now. And that is one of the flagship teams in the NBA.

And for them to be matched up with the Pacers in the StarCraft Final, it's hilarious because they did have that longstanding rivalry and they had some great series. You had Reggie Miller versus Spike Lee. It just seems like a long time ago now. Now you see Spike Lee is like, oh, he's an old man. Right.

But also just the difference in those two cities, New York and Indianapolis. Like, and they both just make fun of each other. Um, Oklahoma City, clear favorite though. And I'm really torn on that because I've never, ever wanted Oklahoma City to win a title because they stole the Sonics. Yep. That's fair. And Oklahoma City, it's just like, you know, this

is what bugs me about the Grizzlies too, right? Like if the Grizzlies had moved to a big, cool city, you know, I'd be like, all right, fair enough. They moved to Memphis. And I guess if you're into music, Memphis is a cool city, but it's not big. The Sonics moving to Oklahoma City made it worse because it's Oklahoma City. I saw something on social media where the get in price for game seven, game seven, Thunder Nuggets, the get in price was like $125. It's the market. I think it was 185, but yeah.

I mean, whatever. I mean, it's just like, really? That either your biggest game in franchise history and you can get in for 200 bucks? Give me a break. Yeah. One horse town, Oklahoma City. That means that.

But on the other hand. Yeah. Canadian. SGA, one of the best players in the league. And, you know, I kind of pride in your Canadian players too. So it was a tough one for me. Yeah. I mean, I understand the long standing hurt of stealing a team, especially one near and dear to your heart and then relocating them. I've kind of been able to move past that and largely because of what she

Gilded Alexander, who's probably going to win his first ever NBA MVP next week. I mean, it's been, it's been a masterclass of a season for him, right? Averaging the kind of 32.7 points per game. It'd be grudgingly. I will admit they are a, they're an excellent, excellent team. There's a reason that the betting favorite. The interesting thing was that a lot of people were saying, well, they're going to need to prove some sort of playoff medal in order for us to consider them a legitimate viable candidate

because there's been great regular season teams in the past that have fallen short. Being able to dispatch of Yo Kitchen Murray and a very good Denver Nuggets team, who also underwent a very tumultuous season but kind of caught fire in the playoffs to be able to eliminate them, get through them in game seven. I think that's why they're a betting favorite going into this final four in large part

because that was sort of their signature, their flagpole moment as an organization. Like, okay. They pumped them. Yeah, we got thrown into the deep end against a defending champion. One of the aforementioned seven different teams that have won over the last seven years. And we were able to beat them.

And that's kind of the playoff experience that a lot of people wanted to see them get. So, I mean, it's been funny because on this show we've spent minimal amounts of time talking with the NBA. We are trying to get someone out of New York to preview the Eastern Conference Final because I'm not going to lie, of the two series to the layman and the casual fan, Nick's Pacers is going to lie of the two series to the layman and the casual fan. Nick's Pacers is going to be way out in front, way out in front in terms of coverage.

The series might not necessarily be as good because it'll be dead honest. Minnesota and Oklahoma city has more talented players and more star power in that series. But the markets, the history, go back and watch the old 3430 with the great Nick Pacers rivalry. Like that, to have that reborn and to have this renaissance in New York with this team, also, there has been a bit of good fortune

that's gone on in this, right? The powers of the East have fallen by the wayside. Yeah, New York played a part in Boston's downfall, but so too did Jason Tatum's torn Achilles. Of course. There's there. It's it's this sort of magical ride that the Knicks have been on to get to this point. And now if you're looking at it, I think a lot of people are considering the Knicks the favorite here, partly because of the way the Brunson's played and to have them get back

to an NBA final, because now you've got the anything is possible narrative, right? Kevin Garnett yelling from the clouds because you look at the last seven years and you're saying, why not us? There's a new champion every year in the NBA now. Like why not us? Knicks fans very much like, why not us right now? Um, I just wanted to mention this cause this was special and kind of near and dear to our hearts as

Vancouver Canucks fans because we wonder if ever it's going to happen for the Vancouver Canucks. Well, I don't know how many people watch it was on. Well, I don't know how many people watch, it was on sports night, I don't know how many people watch the FA Cup final over the weekend. It's great. Crystal Palace, which has been around for 120 years. Great name.

Crystal Palace. Awesome name. A soccer team in England. They are in the Premier League. They finish 12th every year. They are. They're regular. They're right there. 12th every year. They won in the Premier League. They finish 12th every year. They are right there.

12th every year. They won their first major trophy because they were able to upset Man City at Wembley in the FA Cup. 120 years without a major trophy. I don't know if anyone saw the clips of the fans in the crowd, grown men crying. And I don't know if it's going to be like that when the Canucks win the Stanley Cup in, I guess it's going to be about 70 years based on the Crystal Palace timeline.

Give or take, a decade. I imagine it will be. I just thought that was terrific. And I think it's, it's just a great thing that in European soccer, there are like lots of ways to have a successful season. You know, you can, um, you know, you can obviously win the league.

You can be like, you know, Liverpool and win the league and go to Europe and win Europe or whatever you do, Man City or whatever, all the big teams that they're expected to do that. But also for the smaller teams, you can get promoted. Sure. From the second division up to the premier

ship, or you can survive relegation. That's a big one too. But you can also go out and win the FA Cup. A lot of trophies that you can win now. And that's how a lot. But the FA Cup is so cool. And they kind of had a magical run too, just because until they got Man City,

I mean, I think they beat Villa, which is good. Yeah, they did. Yeah, it was in Europe this year. But I think everything just kind of opened up for them. Sure. It also speaks to what other clubs place their importance on in terms of competitions. So other teams might have looked at the FA Cup and been like, this isn't going to be our number one priority this season.

We're not going to field our best squads in the matches. We're going to have squad rotation. That allows a team like Palace to go and do this. So the scenes out of Palace were amazing. Like you were saying, people just overcome with emotion, having supported the club for so long and no major trophies in the trophy case. And finally, they were able to put one in there. And the way that they did it against a giant like Man City,

playing the underdog role to perfection and turn, including in the final, like the possession metrics were like 79 to 21 score early. And on they did they scored in the 18th minute and it was a local kid As a scored and he's now in the England Knicks as well They stopped the pen Dean Henderson stopped the penalty there was a bunch of moments in the match where Henderson came up huge in that city pushed and pushed and pushed couldn't get that equalizing goal city did not look good though No, they weren't great and it wasn't a good year. Erling Haaland called it a disaster year for them

because they're gonna walk away with no hardware. Yeah, nothing. Whatsoever, right? When you're getting out-trophied by Palace, it's not a good season for you, let's put it that way. Oh, by the way, your Vancouver Whitecaps played this weekend. Jesper Sorensen, who we had on the show last week,

great interview with Jesper, by the way. I saw the folks on Whitecaps. Reddit really liked the interview. They posted it on White. Oh, that's good. Yeah, that's good. Go listen to it, by the way. You can download I believe it was Friday show that we had Jesper on. You can download that. He called it the Whitecaps worst performance of the season in a nil

nil draw in Texas to Austin in the heat. Thirty two degrees at kickoff, apparently, even though the game was played at night. It was hot. It was sweltering it was awful to watch The least aesthetically pleasing sport I've seen in the last couple months nice stadium that got nice really nice stadium Everyone wears green Austin seems like a pretty cool place Yeah, just a miserable match and yesper said it clear as day after the match He's like it was really bad. We played horrible, but here's the difference. It's hot. Yes. It's too damn hot. It's too damn hot Here's the difference

the whitecaps Got something out of that match They got a clean sheet and they picked up a point on the road in a match where they played terribly That's the difference. If you want to boil it down to one particular thing that this year's and this iteration of the Whitecaps as opposed to previous ones is they never had the maturity and sophistication as a group

to go out and acknowledge we're not playing great, but if we can dig in, we can get something out of this. It was one of the biggest failings of the Sartini era, to be honest, is they would often go, and there was an understanding that if they played Vanny's style to perfection, it would look great and they'd get the result, but if they didn't, it would be like a four-one defeat on the road

with a red card or something like catastrophic. And this was one where it was gross, it was ugly, it was a Tuesday night in Columbus, but my, they managed to get a point out of it. It was a good road point for the white cats. So did their schedule ever get altered because of the. They're keeping the match.

The CONCACAF champions. They're keeping the match on the 28th. Okay. Because today they've got to play a Canadian championship game. In Winnipeg against Valor, that's on the docket. In Winnipeg. So they got to go from Austin to Winnipeg.

There must be a direct flight for that. I think that they're going to be playing a lot of reserves, B Squad. This is a squad. Some of you guys are just going to go straight back to, well actually, they've got to go to Salt Lake then. Correct. Can you imagine? It's a very busy week.

Can you imagine being the tourist agent, like the, not the travel agent, the travel agent for the Whitecaps. She's like, wait, you want to go to Texas, to Winnipeg and then Utah? Let's go. And then Mexico city. All right. Interesting.

So they go Winnipeg today, Salt Lake in a few days. And then they have a home game against Minnesota on the 28th of May. Which they're going to keep on the schedule. And then June 1st is the big one. Are there any concerns after watching the performance in Austin that fatigue needs to be monitored because you're going out to Mexico City. It's already hard to play there. They talked about it a lot in the past week because actually prior to the Austin

game, they had an entire week off, which has been a total irregularity for the Whitecaps because their schedule has been so compact every week. This season has pretty much been a multi game week. Yeah. So what happened? They got an entire week off and they came out with their worst performance of the year against Austin and a couple of players. I know Veselnich mentioned it. He doesn't like having the rest.

He'd prefer less training sessions. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. More games. Now, all that said, he would like he's like a kid. It was like, I hate practice. I like the games. Let me play the games, bro. Just let me play the games. And you know what? Part of that, yes, for Sorenson interview that we did last week, he announced that Ryan Gould would not be available for selection

for that June 1st match in the CONCACAF Cup final against Cruz Azul. So we've already got a look ahead to what the caps will look like as a squad and one of their best players who hasn't been available for a long time won't be available. So I do wonder how much rest they're going to bake into the recipe

over this next week and a half because that competition has, now we talked about taking different competitions with level of priority. That's become a huge priority for them. Like winning this opens up so many doors for you in terms of club world cup, the monetary reward, the ability to host the trophy of this caliber.

The club world cup is going to be a disaster. It might keep Jonathan David out of team Canada. Nobody is interested in this. I know, but so you know, Jonathan David is now. He's leaving. He's leaving Lille and he's about to announce what club he's going to sign with over the next little bit. Au revoir.

Lille. That's what he said with a little bit more of a French accent, but. Um. Au revoir. If he, there it is. If he decides to join a team that's in the club world cup, they have a mechanism that they can

add a couple of players to their roster for the Club World Cup, and conceivably, their big summer transfer would be it. So he might not be able to play for Canada in the Gold Cup this summer. Did you see that they're just giving away tickets to this thing, though? Understandably. And they've dropped ticket prices?

Why do they price these things so aggressively? I have no idea. They didn't even have a... Just get people in the door. They didn't even have a television rights deal for the Club World Cup up until like a couple months ago Like it's been a real line. It's just silly because you've got these amazing teams

Famous teams like man City playing teams that nobody's ever heard of I would that That's gonna be if the whitecaps get there is gonna be like Arsenal versus what? Amazing for us. Why I'm being it would be like Arsenal versus what? The white guys be amazing for us. Why I was being it would be hilarious It would be awesome because you get thrown into a tournament where it is every significant team from Europe, right? That's why they expanded the field. Yeah, the Giants of every but it's also like the New Zealand champ Yeah, well, that's what it is. It's literally a club World Cup. So you have to go from every lead, but it's a stupid idea

It's why why unnecessary it's dumb. No one's calling for it. No one wants this. No, including the players It's supposed to well what it it's supposed to be This is my gonna be my latest like this is really dumb idea with the fourth or fifth Best team in Europe and any Europe League not be better than the best team out of New Zealand, of course Why are they doing this? This is a marketing campaign for these teams so they can play games in North America. It used to be preseason tours, but then they

found the preseason tours were kind of lame because they were preseason games. So they tried to put this fake competition on where they're like, OK, Tottenham, come to, and Tottenham won't be in it, but come to North America and play some games that mean something. And that's all it is. It's a big marketing.

So there's the four nation. Basically, they're just hoping for the best and. Yeah, it's just throwing the tournament together. And all they need is some geopolitical strength. And this thing will really take off. OK, we're going on the road. We have against it for time. We got one final hour to go in the Haliford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650.

We're diving headfirst back into the NHL coming up next. Kevin Woodley, NHL, dotcom and Engel Magazine is going to join us for some hockey talk ahead of Game 1 of the Easter Conference Final tonight. You're listening to the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650.