Halford & Brough in the Morning - Will The Canucks Try And Trade One Of Their Top Prospects?

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with Ottawa Senators writer Trevor Shackles (5:03) as the Sens get set for playoff action for the first time since 2017, the boys do some Ask Us Anythings in relation to the likelihood of the Canucks trying to trade a top prospect in the off-season (11:18), plus they chat some more 'Nucks with analyst Bob "The Moj" Marjanovich (27:08). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

702. Now 703 on a Friday. It's a Fiesta Friday here on the Haliford and Brub show. A little more down tempo Fiesta. This is like the end of the Fiesta. When do you want to take a siesta? After you had a big AJ's pizza. Well, you were getting a little muy caliente last episode. Last episode. Last segment. Oh, okay. You had an episode last episode. You had an episode.

Last episode on Helford and Brough. We are in hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at jason.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.mortgage.com. This entire program, the entire shebang, is brought to you by Sands & Associates. BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews.

Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orth, working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, here's the owner and proprietor of AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. It's AJ here now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

What up AJ? What's going on? Little rough first hour, huh, boys? We had some technical difficulties. We had some relationship difficulties. We're still working our way through. And you know, you stole my AUA. Oh, tell me. But that's okay. We had some relationship difficulties. We're still working our way through. You stole my AUA.

Oh, tell me. But that's okay. Well, no, it's just, you know, I was going to ask you guys if I had to hold your feet to the fire, which Canadian team would you cheer for? Oh, yeah, it's Montreal for me. It's got to be Montreal. Some people would say Winnipeg because everyone just feels sorry for Winnipeg. That's the other one.

Like your little brother. Yeah. I like to, you know. That's okay. I lost their team once and they're such good fans, but it's Montreal for me because it's like I don't want Winnipeg to, I don't want Winnipeg to have something on Vancouver. That's fair. Right?

That's fair. I don't need that. Montreal, if they win another Vancouver. That's fair. Right? Like I don't need that. Montreal, if they win another one, it's like the Yankees having a long break without winning anything and then they win the World Series and you're kind of like, yeah, throw it on the pile of championships. Are you adopting a Canadian team? Am I?

Yeah. I know. You know what? I am, but I can't say it on the show because no one will come into AJ's. Oh man. You're not doing the Toronto, are you? I told you, my wife's good friends,

their kids, they're huge, they're huge Leaves fans. You know, I got a cheer for them. I know it's terrible. This is an appropriate way to end the segment, AJ, what's going on? No, no, listen, listen, I got another one for you guys. Okay, okay. Real quick, I got another one because Jimmy Aces has a couple picks of all the number one seeds.

Who do you think gets knocked out? First round. Okay. So I don't think Vegas is going to lose to either of the wild cards. I don't think Winnipeg is going to lose to the, you know what? It's Toronto or Washington. If of the four it would be Washington. I think it's Toronto.

I think it's Toronto. Okay. I think Ottawa has a better chance of upsetting Toronto than Montreal has of upsetting Washington. Although I think both are possible. Jimmy has the caps in the East and Vegas in the West. I could see Washington maybe. I have a hard time seeing Vegas another one, but I don't doubt Jimmy Aces. As we recall, he was like the only person on the planet to take the

commanders going into Detroit in the NFL. Also, I brought Besser going to Florida, the trade deadline. He was not perfect. Right. No, he's had some misses. He's had some misses, but I don't know. I don't know. He really likes these two. We'll see. Okay. So we're down to the end of the regular season here for the connects. still got some games including ones this weekend So it's the last chances for everyone to take advantage of AJ's specials on hockey game nights Let us know what you got going on this weekend, bud, right? And I mean Sunday Masters happy hour all day aim and corner. It's gonna be great sound to be on Jim Nance Wonderful wonderful way to spend the Sunday beautiful. Okay. Thanks for doing this today, but we appreciate it

Everyone go check out AJ's this weekend. care, buddy. Have a great weekend. Thanks. That's AJ from AJ's pizza on He's Broadway here on the Haliford and Bref show on sports net 650 my favorite Yankee Rushing it. What are you doing? It's got his Lakers stuff. He's also a cowboy I forgot I could have guessed that we will ban you worst person Please go visit his restaurant We will turn our attention now to the other half of the Montreal Ottawa game tonight We talked to Eric Engels from Montreal in the previous hour joining us now from the silver 7 Trevor Shackles joins us here on the

Halford and brush on sports net 650. Good morning, Trevor. How are you? Good morning guys. I'm good. How are you? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this. So I actually want to start with you the same way we started with Eric last segment, not with microphone difficulties, but getting a sense of how excited the marketplace is because it's been a longer playoff drought for Ottawa than it has been for Montreal eight years since their last playoff appearance. How excited is this Senator's fan base going into the postseason?

Oh, everyone's just absolutely stoked. I mean, I think just the fact that they hadn't even really been close in any of these previous seven seasons that people just want competitive hockey, right? So Ottawa is absolutely stoked. I know, yes, I do not live there, but just being close with this fan base for so many years, yeah, people were starved for

this and I think when you look back at the highlights from the 2017 run, that building was electric. So they are so ready for this, even if it's just one playoff round, you know, people going to take anything at this point. So yeah, a lot of energy in that city right now. Speaking of the one potential playoff round, how many Sens fans are hoping that it's a battle of Ontario? I think everyone, to be honest. I mean, would people be nervous, myself included?

Absolutely. Obviously, they have their own four against Toronto in the playoffs. But you they have their, you know, their own four against Toronto in the playoffs, but you look at their record this season, their three and O against the Leafs. I think every single time they've shown up very well. Um, especially when you compare them to playing in Tampa, like honestly, Tampa worries me a little bit more. So I do think Ottawa matches up pretty well against Toronto.

Um, I think every single game would be just a nail-biter against Toronto. And it would be a lot of great battles and things like that. But I think they would have a shot. I don't think they're necessarily the better team per se, but I think in a short series, yeah, I think they could absolutely beat the Leafs. First year on the job for Travis Green a big success he gets him back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years. What kind of reviews is Travis Green our former friend Travis Green played to in his first year in Ottawa?

Yeah you know I think he's done a pretty good job I think like any coach there's gonna be some warts I don't think people loved his usage of Travis Hamonek at least up until now. You know, he's even scratched the last number of games. So I think overall, you know, he's done a good job with defensively. They've been a much better team than they have been in years.

You know, the special teams has been not incredible, but solid enough. And I think there's just been more of a buy-in from all the players this season. So I think when you compare to DJ Smith who was coaching for probably a couple years too long in Ottawa, yeah Green has been a nice breath of fresh air for the team and yeah it's definitely been a quite a difference compared to previous years. How much of it just came down to they got some goaltending this season?

Oh, and then that's definitely a huge part of it, right? Like not only has Omar been solid, you know, Levy-Marylinan was phenomenal in his 12 games. Even Anton Forsberg has been, I'd say of late the last couple of months has been quite a serviceable backup, so yeah, like goaltending can kind of erase I'd say of late the last couple of months has been quite a serviceable backup. So yeah, like goaltending can kind of erase some of those warts throughout the season. But at the same time, like defensively, they're still, they're not, you know, they'd be like

bottom five in terms of chances against this season. They're more kind of middle of the pack there, but yeah, I think having Olmark back there sort of makes it so that I would be confident, not confident, but like in any series, they have a shot just because I feel like he can steal some games. Here's one for you. Who would the Senator's most valuable player have been this year? Be it Stutzel was the leading scorer. Kachuk was the heartbeat of the team,

but I don't think they're going anywhere without Olmark, but he only played in 42 games this year. But Stutzel was the leading scorer. Kaczuk was the heartbeat of the team. But I don't think they're going anywhere without Almark. But he only played in 42 games this year. Who would have been the Sens MVP if he had to pick one? I mean, I would pick Stutzel. I think he's probably been the most consistent. You know, without him, the offense definitely is less creative and he's certainly their most skilled forward. I got to also give a small shout out to Jake Sanderson, who's just been absolutely on fire the last few months. And I think if he wasn't saddled with Travis Hamnick earlier in the season, he, you know, maybe he's even getting some down ballot, uh, Norris votes.

Um, but yeah, I think, I think, uh, Stutla is definitely the one that without him, it's, it's tough to create offense and they already struggle to create some offense, especially at five on five. But yeah, I'm giving the overall MVP this season to Stripla. Is Brady Kachak going to be ready to go for game one? I know he's out right now. I mean, whether he's like fully healthy or not, I think that's a different question. I bet you he's not, but I would be absolutely shocked if he's not playing in game one.

You know, this is a guy that wants to win so bad and the way they're talking about it, it doesn't seem like it's some, you know, something that he's going to be out for a month or two or whatever. We know that teams are super secretive with their injury updates. So we'll see. But yeah, I'd be absolutely shocked if he's not playing. The Sens and the Habs play tonight. The Sens are on their way to the playoffs. The Habs can get in with a regulation win this evening. Hey, Trevor, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this today and set up the game.

We really appreciate it. Enjoy the playoffs, man. It should be a lot of fun. Yeah, thanks so much, guys. Yeah, thank you. That's Trevor Shackles from Silver Sens. No, yeah. Here on the Halford and Brough Show. Can't blame the mic on that one. Can't blame the mic on that one. Dang it. It's Ask Us Anything Friday on the Halford and Brough Show. Text your Ask Us Anythings into the Dunbar Lumber. Text line 650-650.

Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and runner warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dumbarlumber.com. And don't forget if you want to be entered into the contest for best ask us anything or best what we learn, $100 gift card to AJ's Pizza. Greg the Postie and Lad Wasson Texan, I never cheer for the other Canadian teams, but it's hard not to like Montreal. Plus them winning might prove to our ownership and management that rebuilding works. Let's cheer for the teams that rebuilt properly.

That's from Greg in Ladwassen. I'll cheer for the Sens and the Habs, no problem. Easy. You don't even break a sweat. You don't even, you don't feel the same jealousy and envy that I do as a sports fan. No, I wouldn't want them to win the cup. Oh, okay.

But I'll cheer for them in power. Yeah, the first round. No, I'll cheer for them up until the very end. Nah, you don't want to get to it. Second round. It's too risky. Nah, I'll do it. It was too stressful last year with the

Oilers one win away. Flying too close to the sends. Well, the Oilers, I never would. I would do it specifically for the habs and the Sens because they don't offend me. The Oilers, I never would. The Flames, no. The Leafs, no. Yeah.

The Jets, I don't really care about. I guess whatever. But the Sens, the Habs, yeah, I'd cheer for them just because it's been so long. The only thing I struggle with the Oilers is I do want to see McDavid win a cup one day. Yeah, I guess. But let's get that Canucks cup out of the way. Sure.

Guys, come on. Then he can have all the cups he wants. Jeremy from Steve'ston asked a good question here. Now that the Canucks position of power seems to be the defense, which is weird. Power's doing a lot of heavy lifting, but yes. With Willander coming on the right side, Mancini cementing his role, Meyer's still going to be around

for a couple more years. Will this force the Canucks to possibly explore a trade involving Hronik for a young scoring center or winger? I feel like we could probably plug Willander into play with Hughes next year. This would make Hronik expendable and possibly our only blue chip trade to get a young

stud forward into our lineup. I don't see it. Okay. So we'll need Hronik when he use leaves in two years. Sat and Bic. Yeah, I don't think so. But I do like, I do like Hronik on a different pair.

Sat and Bic had a conversation on the post game show last night and Sat kind of framed it like, if you want to take an academic approach to how the Canucks are going to operate moving forward, you have to work within the parameters of what you kind of know the management group is going to do, and not what you think that they should do, or what other teams are doing.

Like they are in win now, compete now, playoff now mode. Training Hronik makes little to no sense in that like dynamic or sphere because they want to be as good as they can be next year. Like Alvin, we just read the quote from Alvin, uh, in the intro segment talking about he's happy with his blue line as currently constructed, you know? Like, and also I don't think you can consider Tom Wallander a plug and play next year. That

seems like a big. We haven't even seen him play in the NHL. Right. They won last night by the way. So they're into the final, right? It's Western Michigan, the Stangs. That game took forever. Yeah. I noticed that the BU Penn State game was going awfully late, but I guess it's because it got a late start.

Same arena. Yeah. So anyway, yeah, BU and Tom Willander off to the final against Western Michigan. And then I, I, I understand that there should be some optimism in the blue line on two fronts. One granted they had to rob Peter to pay Paul to do it, but they did make it better. I don't know if it's a hundred percent fixed, but it's a lot better than what it was, especially early in the season when you had the Brandstroms and the Julesons and the Jardin playing it. The other part of it is it settles everything down. And let's be honest, if you're gonna say of any NHL team,

what's the hardest position group to round out? It's probably your defense as opposed to your forwards. Unless you need centers, then it's really hard. Then it becomes difficult. Now, do the Canucks need centers? Yeah. Oh. Well then. Reid in Vancouver asked us anything, which Canucks stat, if you were told at the beginning of the

season, would mislead you to think, oh, this season is going very well. Probably their road record. It's a good one. You know, if you would have told me that the Canucks went 21, 14 and 6. very well, probably their road record. That's a good one. You know, if you would have told me that the Canucks went 21, 14 and six, so not only above NHL 500, just above 500, I would have been like, oh yeah, it's a good season. 21, 14 and six. What about their special teams?

They have the fourth best penalty kill in the NHL. They don't have a great power play, but they're above average, they're 14th in the NHL. If you had told teams? They have the fourth best penalty kill in the NHL They don't have a great power play But they're above average or 14th in the NHL if you had told me that they had the fourth best penalty kill and the 14th The best power play be like yeah, they're probably back in the playoffs. Yeah special teams look good They're plus well, you got to add them up and if it's above 100 you're in good shape there, but they're above There are a lot of signs from this season if you had told me that Pew suitor and Kiefer Sherwood were to post career highs and goals by a considerable margin, I'd be like, awesome depth scoring. That must mean we'll have ton of goals this year.

How many goals do they have? They're way off last year's total. I knew they were off. I went and looked at it last night. I didn't realize they were way off. But so that's almost one of those glass half empty stats. They're like, man, they're way off last year's goal total with Pugh, Suiter and Kiefer-Sherwood giving them way more offense than anybody expected. If the Canucks are going to trade, this is a big if. Okay. Cause like, I don't think a first rounder, their first rounder is going to get it done for, you know, if they're going to meaningfully address the center position

with a good young player that has potential for the top six, I don't think you're going to meaningfully address the center position with a good young player that has potential for the top six, I don't think you're going to get that with a first round pick. Picking a prospect. Picking a top prospect, I think. Yep. Of the three, DPD, Willander, Leckermackie, who are you most likely or who are you most willing to

part with? Let's say the team said you choose one of those three. Okay, let's work through this. DPD's off the board for you. Let's just start there. It's not happening. Not on my watch. Not on my watch.

So now it comes down to Lechromachy or Willander. I think, and by I think, I mean I know, that you're gonna get more in return if you include Willander than if you include Leckermackie. Yeah. I think that's true. I think so. Just a promising right shot defenseman. But you know what else?

But now they have more D than forwards. Right. You gotta trade where you have the most stock. It probably benefits, it's a weird way of saying it. You gotta rob the richest Peter on your team. That's right. Who is our richest Peter? It probably benefits the Canucks more

that Willander hasn't played in the NHL yet. Do you know what I mean? Because he's like the mystery box. It could be anything. But what if they trade him and then he's in the NHL? Well, that's the risk. Oh my God, this guy is amazing. You see, that's the risk.

That's the risk with not seeing a guy play in the NHL. But that's the mystery box of the whole thing. I think if you were to put Will Ander and a first on the table, I think you'd be getting a significant asset back. And if you look at your blue line as currently constructed, you're okay. You're okay.

You're in good shape. Yeah. Now, you're anticipating that DPD and Man Senior are gonna do a lot of heavy lifting because they're gonna have to ascend and almost make up for what you lose in Willander. But it's tantalizing. You just know though, if you trade Willander,

he'll be turned into like a franchise defenseman, right? Like it'll happen. It'll be Canucks Luck. I mean Canucks Luck, yes. Yeah, he'll be like this perennial like. I feel like we need to stop doing that with every Potential trade well, but he's a top tier prospect though It's like if it were to happen like that's the kind of guy I would happen to it's like it's not like he's like a

Middling prospect he's like a legit like, you know top pairing D prospect So like if you trade this guy not in terms of scoring though, not in terms of scoring but I think he could be like You know comparison might be like can he be a bXa in the NHL that would be great You know I'd probably be better than that. He actually was pretty good player man. He was He was on it. He was on a shutdown pair with Dan Ham. Yes, I think he was very reliable was he perfect No, but I think I would be thrilled thrilled will and real game bXa Yeah, the problem with prospects.

I don't know what you think his ceiling is, but I don't think he's gonna have much scoring. No, I mean, I don't think he's that kind of defenseman. Marcus Patterson, the number five. I do think that there is this issue with, and every organization and fan base is guilty of it, and quite frankly, prospects writers too, is everyone falls in love

with the prospects. Sure, yeah. Everyone does. You overvalue them. And no one wants to rip on a kid and be like, this kid's not gonna make it. No, and also- I do occasionally, but-

Right, and it's fun. I enjoy it, actually. People should do it more. Yeah, but when you look at it, you're like, the promise of untapped potential is always tantalizing. That's why we're probably more excited about Willander now than quite frankly we are about Leckar Mackie because when he's got to the NHL level one you see what his limitations are but two it like oh he still has work to do right that's I don't want to wait for that yeah it's like well now stronger now his unlimited

potential went to somewhat limited potential. And that's the prospect game in a nutshell. Well I think there's still a lot more from Leckermacky that we haven't seen. Sure, a hundred percent. This is a guy that's just gotta get in the gym and get stronger. Like I know his story's not written,

don't get me wrong. Yeah, yeah. But when you see it. Why are you writing them off so quick? That's gonna be my think piece for the athletic when I eventually go back there. Hey Doug's gonna post a video that's like, Halford, Leckermackkey is limited. Yeah must be traded

ceiling reached question mark Yeah, I guess start editing your words together. Yeah, but This is what happens when you see them like you kind of almost get reminded of how hard it is Yeah Like you don't they're only a handful of players Get to go into the NHL light it up right away And I mean a handful like and you're you're talking, even guys like Celebrini and Bedard, like they're racking up points like crazy,

but they're also like minus 900 and they're on losing teams. Like it's going to take them a while. And those guys have got superstar potential. I, if you were asking me, by the way, I would ask, I would trade Leckermackie of those three. Wow. I would keep DPT. I would keep Willander.

Um, I, I just would. I mean, it's a very, very tough decision because I actually like Lekker Mackie's game. He's got a good shot. I just generally think wingers are easier to find. You could circle back and resign Besser. See, my answer was on the- My answer was on the- Not that I'm advocating that, but I just

think, I don't see, prove me wrong kids, like I don't see Lekker-Mackie being like a big time difference maker. I see him being a good complimentary player. I think with the, how hard it is sometimes to find quality top four defencemen, I'm not talking about the number ones. Like I'm not talking about the number ones. Like I'm just talking about a guy that you feel

comfortable with in the top four. If you could have a future of Hughes, Horonic, DPD, Willander, and you've got those guys, you've got the big four. Now you haven't signed Quinn Hughes yet, but that might, I mean, if, if you can keep two pairs that you feel really good about at all times, your team has a, has like a,

a, a, a higher floor than most other teams. And that's why I'd pick them. Granted it would be a gamble cause we haven't even seen them at the NHL level. I don't, we don't know for sure that he is going to be a top four defenceman. We don't know frankly, I mean, DP, we all love him, but he's got work to do.

Of course he does. He's only like 20 or 21 years old. Of course he does. But we don't necessarily know that he's going to reach that level, but that's just the bet that I would make, but I get the people that would push back on it. Some people have a really skewed view of what That's just the bet that I would make, but I get the people that would push back on it.

Some people have a really skewed view of what a good draft pick and then NHL career translates into. Someone wrote back with a laughing emoji, you'd be happy if Will Enders is as good as BX, he's a first rounder. If you go back and if you were to relook at BX's draft, BX played 800 games in the NHL. He was a top four defenseman for the majority of it. He played on multiple playoff teams. He went deep in the playoffs.

Good, solid 10, 12 year NHL player. That is a first round. I think the reaction is based on the fact that most people want Will Lander to be a star. It's like, yeah, but he's not gonna be. He's not gonna be a guy. No, with that attitude. But he's not gonna be.

Oh, come on. But here's the thing. That is. You don't know that. But that is such a. I do, based on his profile. Oh come on. You don't know that. I do. Based on his profile. He's not gonna pile up a ton of points. Remove Will Anders trajectory from this entirely. He could be a star defense defenseman.

Remove Will Anders trajectory from this entirely. All those kids growing up wanting to be Chris Tanev. Yeah, here you go. If you were to redraft that draft too, Chris Tanev would be drafted and he would have been drafted in the first round. Absolutely. These are the defensemen that went in BX's year. It was like Ham Hughes, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny O'Duya. Those were the upper echelon career guys in the NHL from his draft class. You put BX right there. You can say BX was the second best defenseman drafted from his draft class. You put BXR right there. You can say BXR was the second best defenseman drafted in his draft class. If you were to go back and do it,

he'd be a first round pick. You have the benefit of hindsight here. Like getting to the levels that he did is extremely difficult. And if you get that in the first round, you've knocked that first round pick. Right now, if it's a top two or three pick, that's where you're talking about the bars

higher, you want a superstar player out of there. A mid-round pick on the first round, you get 800 NHL games out of them. Pack your bags and be happy and go home. Moj is going to join us next to Alfred and Bruff Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Strance.

Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to two on Sportsnet 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. It's the Moj. I did not eat four burgers. Yes, it's the Moch. I don't wanna go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg.

Yes, I love food. It's the Moch. I went online and kind of did a little surfing. Jamalani. Yes, it's the Moch. Halper's fine, but you know, Bruff is just grumpy all the time. Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch, Moch,

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It'll be epic. It'll be overtime paying 50 people, but it'll be worth it. You are listening to the Halford and Bruff Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Bruff in 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-trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program. Bob the Moj Marjanovic is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Homonock at Jason.Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Let him do exactly that, though. Seriously, visit him online at Jason.Mortgage.

To the phone lines. We go It's the moj here on the halferd and brefs show on sportsnet 650. What up moj? You know, I kind of have a vision already You know how like they have like the new york philharmonic orchestra or whatever they do like a pop hit Yep, you know what I mean? Yeah, like they'll they'll just do like a pop song Maybe get like the vancouver symphony involved in this moj. I don't if you know this, but both my parents played in the VSO for 40 years. So I have connections. There you go.

I have connections. You got hookups, man. Now you just need the budget. Yeah, it'll cost a few bucks, but it'll be worth it. Oh, man. This is the golden age of sports radio. So we're unlimited budgets across the board. Are we in the Arjun Nimla countdown, Dave,

for his debut at Vancouver, at Nat Bailey Stadium for the Vancouver Canadiens? Is that where we're at right now? We're gonna try and squeeze as much life as we can out of the three remaining Canucks games, and then we'll focus on if he's gonna, yeah, Latty already said he's gonna land, is it guaranteed that he's gonna land in Vancouver?

He's already hitting bombs for the season on the road. Oh, okay, that's perfect. There you go, all right, great. Okay, so Moj, let's try and squeeze some life out of these remaining games of the Vancouver Canucks. What did Rick Tauke want to see in the last games of the regular season, and is he seeing it?

I think he is. I mean, it's something that I asked him prior to, probably about a week ago, prior to going on on the road. He said this was an opportunity, he wanted to see character from these guys. Right. I mean, the playoffs at that point were still vague remote possibility, but he wanted to see character. He wanted to see his exact quotas.

I want to see who's in and who's out. Who's still giving it a hundred percent. And, you know, we also talked about players building up some confidence for next year and the guy he specifically pointed out in the quote in my column for black process, Dakota Joshua, he said, you know, this is an opportunity for Dakota. We've seen some, some things the last few games where he's kind of picked it up. And I think the code of Joshua's game has, you know,

been very noticeable the last week or two. So there's a player right there who is using this time to build some momentum heading into the next season. But from a player's perspective, there are players that are trying to obviously cement their case for next year. You talk about DPT, of course, being one of them. And there's guys out there that even if they're not coming back, they're playing for jobs for next year with other organizations so and you know you look at this team and what they did the last couple of games particularly the game in Dallas it's just a good sign and it's something that you know you'd like to see because clearly they're not on the bus they're not on the beach already

they're still competing in these games and that's a good sign for the culture of the organization. Do you think it's hard these last few games for Brock Besser to stay focused? Man, you can understand his frustration. You know, when he had his 40 goal campaign last year, the attitude of the Knotts organization was, well, let's him do it again. Well clearly he fell short 25 goals, I mean, a variety of factors. He was injured for a part and then took him a while to get back into the groove after that injury, losing JT Miller. Um, I mean, there's,

there's a variety of factors yet. You know, the one thing I could understand best for his frustration with is that, you know, here's a guy who's what 10 years in the organization and they basically had very lukewarm or you could describe them as cold negotiations. You got two guys that show up from Pittsburgh in O'Connor and Pedersen and basically they're signed within a week. If you're Brock Bester, you know that has to stay. That does, but if you explain it to them, I think it's a little easier.

Like both those guys got reasonable contract extensions and combined their total money is not going to add up to what Brock Besser is probably going to get on his next contract. You know, Drew O'Connor signing, okay, what was it, a two year deal? That's not potentially, there's no potential anchor there.

And I think with Marcus Pedersen, they were so desperate to address the defense. And again, like Pedersen is the type of player that I think, you know, that contract is that, is that going to turn into a massive anchor if Pedersen, his game falls off? Probably not. I know the best, the best or one for me comes

with a lot more risk than the ones for Pedersen and O'Connor. Well, without a doubt. And from a business standpoint, I think what you're saying makes total sense. I'm just talking from a personal standpoint. Yeah, no, I get it. From a business standpoint, right?

I get it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, we all know the business of the sport and you know, the Connex basically, if you look at what they did with Besser, they, they were like, okay, let's see you do it again approach. And he didn't.

So from a business perspective, the Connex actually made the right call there. Right. Because they would have been paying him 40 goals score money. And, you know, maybe, you know, like he's a perennial 25 to 30 guy. So, but it's just like I said, from a human standpoint, from a personal standpoint, you can understand what the frustration was. Oh, totally.

Do you think the ship has sailed? Do you think there's any way they could circle back and take another chance? Do you think on the Canuck side or even Besser side, do you think Besser might be done? I think on both sides. I just think on both sides that this is now finished. I mean, anything's possible. Who knows what happens in the next little while, but you know, and it's like you said, do you really want to go out there and sign Brock Besser to a five or six

year deal and give him money? Right? We all wonder about where his game is going to be in three or four years given that he's not the fleetest of foot. And as we've seen with the absence of JT Miller, that's had an impact on Brock Besser's game. He needs to be partnered with a guy who's a play driver and who can feed him the puck. right now we haven't seen that in terms of what the Canucks are putting on the ice. What do you think the key is for the Canucks? If you were to pick one key for the Canucks to get back to the playoffs next season what is it? Well you know when you look at rosters you always want to have value right you always want to have young players who step up and play meaningful roles.

And whether it's LaKara Mackie next year stepping up and being say a 20 goal scorer, whether it's Vlander on the blue line, Pedersen kind of emerging. I know I heard you guys talking about what it would be like having a nice top four moving forward. But somehow, someway, that's where the Canucks have to strike and get lucky. I'm not necessarily get lucky, but just have somebody or maybe a trio of players step up that will give them value because you need that

to compete at this, you know, today's NHL. And to me, that's the big key for next year. Now, you know, I also heard you guys talking about maybe trading one of those players to address your needs upfront. So that's, you know, that's, that's an interesting situation because if you can make a hockey trade or maybe you trade a young defensive prospect, Patterson, V lander, whatever the case may be for a young prospect who is maybe a forward who can potentially be a top six.

Yeah, okay. But are you willing to go out there and trade one of these young pieces for a ticket that's making, that's an effective player, but it's still making whatever, six, $70 million. I don't know who'd make that trade. But at the same time, anybody who makes that trade obviously needs to get rid of that salary, wants to get rid of that player. So it's a tricky situation and there's no easy fix to it.

I don't know if you read the comments that Alveen made about Elias Pettersson. And by the way, that is the answer. Elias Pettersson finds his game next season. That's the answer for them to get back into the playoffs. But, um, he suggested that he would like Pettersson to stick around this summer because the Canucks have the quote unquote resources

to help him find his game. So this is going to, um, it's going to be interesting to see what he decides, because if he goes back to Sweden, everyone's going to be like, see what he decides because if he goes back to Sweden, everyone's going to be like, okay, well, the Canucks want you to stay here and you go back to Sweden, are you really all in? I know how this will play out. Um, but what do you think about that notion that

the Canucks have these resources here, um, and he should stay here for the summer? Well, unless he goes to like some Northern outpost in Sweden and lives in a log cabin and goes complete Rocky before he fights Ivan Drago. Um, I'd love to see him stay in Vancouver. I think the Canucks would love to see him stay in Vancouver because of the fact that they can

monitor the situation, right? It's not like he goes back to Sweden and you see him in a couple of months and he comes into camp and he's not where you want him to be by having him stay in Vancouver. The connects can not only probably implement some sort of training program with their staff, but they can also monitor his situation and see where he's at in terms of his off season conditioning. So for me,

this is more of a signal from the connect saying, um, we'd really like you to stay here because we wanna make sure that you're committed to your off-season workout program and that we're monitoring it. It's almost like they don't really trust him to go back home to Sweden and do his thing. They wanna have control because he's like,

yeah, he's such an important part of this team. You talked about it. I mean, you wanna talk about where the Canucks got to be down the road. Forget about getting value from young players. They need their $11 million man to step up and play to the contract that he's been given. So that's what I look at when I see the Canucks saying they'd like for Per-Peterson to stay here during the course of the off season. That tells me they really don't trust him to go back to Sweden and do his own thing

We're speaking of Bob the Moj Mark John of it's here on the Alfred and brush show on sports sports net 650 Moj is a presentation of the West Coast Auto Group a Moj I got to ask a set of things for you one BC Lions related and then we'll do a food one after that This one is from Scott and Suri, askmoj anything, which new addition are you most excited about seeing in the BC Lions lineup this season? Made a bunch of moves in free agency or you know, any other acquisition. Who are you most excited

about new guys seeing to play for the BC Lions this season? Dejon Allen, right tackle acquired from Toronto. Right tackle selection, off the board, I like it. I like it, it's great. Well, I mean, for me, that was probably one of the biggest areas of concern for the team last year and getting a player of his caliber and having him on that line.

And, you know, obviously bringing in David Foucault as well. I'm really excited to see what the offensive line looks like and he's gonna be a key part of it. He's gonna be an anchor. So for me, that's one guy that I'm really excited to see how he fits in. I mean, Mike Al is a nice addition, but I know obviously we know what Mike has done. We've seen him here in the past. Hendricks at D-line will probably improve that, but for me it's Dejohn Allen. He's the big ticket item. And finally, someone has one. When you're on the course, what is your go-to

And finally, someone has one, when you're on the course, what is your go-to food and beverage of choice on the turn after nine? I mean, I would probably just go with a hot dog. Yeah. I mean, nothing. Old reliable. A good hot dog with a good bun. All right? Like that's one of the things I always go to an argument with Taylor.

You know, he paid no respect to the bun. I remember this argument you had. The bun has to be, it's a huge component of a hamburger or a hot dog. You have to have a good bun. So yeah, probably just a hot dog. What makes a good bun? It's got to be soft.

Um, it's got to be not heavy, right? You don't want wanna get into those buns where you kinda like almost chip a tooth while you're, you know. A dense load. Although I would rather a chewy bun than a crumbly bun. Yeah, I don't want a crumbly bun. No, just it's a nice soft, chewy bun.

Like you're in good shape, so there you go. Moj, I think we've achieved peak hot dog status on the show. Thank you very much for doing this today. I was gonna tell you, you know, very quickly, like you guys were talking about Drance. Oh right, yeah, my insane fantasy football league with Thomas Drance. Yeah, well, the fantasy football league.

So check this out, I've never heard of this and it blew me away. So I got a buddy of mine, Lennison White Rock. He got into a league with his kid this year, right? Like a fantasy baseball league. Here's the kicker. They run four leagues year round. Baseball, football, hockey, and basketball.

And not only do they run these four leagues year round and like, you know, the same group of guys, you can trade LeBron James for Sidney Crosby. What? Are you serious? They both have for a second. Yeah, like they have crossover trading, which is just completely bizarre.

I mean, how do you value players? I mean, I don't understand it, but they do it. I don't even know who wins it. Do you add up all four leagues or do you go separate? I mean, who knows? But the fact that they have crossover trading where you can trade a Jamar Chase or I don't know, freaking Connor McDavid.

They're living in an alternate reality. This is actually pretty awesome now that I'm thinking about it. This is pretty great. Oh my God. Try to wrap your head around that. Well, we got an hour to try and wrap our heads around it. Still. Hey Moj, thanks for doing this today, bud.

We appreciate it. Enjoy the weekend. We'll do this again next Friday. Okay. So let's have a great weekend. You too. Thanks bud. That's Bob the Mojmar, John of it's a presentation of the West coast auto group. Great service, have a great weekend. You too. Thanks bud. That's Bob the Mojmarjanovic, a presentation

of the West Coast Auto Group. Great service, great selection and just over the bridge in Maple Ridge. Qualicum Golf Guy texted in, I think PD needs to train with friend and captain Quinn Hughes, not stay in Vancouver, build relationship and trust as well, work on skills and plays that they can use moving forward when playing.

Well, Quinn can come to Vancouver too. I think the organization, like Mo just suggesting that they just want to keep an eye on them, essentially babysit them, monitor them, make sure he's putting in the work. You get a baby monitor. But I also think they do have the resources, right? Like, you know, they've got their strength and conditioning guys. And if they put together a plan,

like normally I imagine what happens is that your strength and conditioning team or whatever puts together a plan for you and says, go do this plan. Now you can work out with your own pro or whatever, but this plan has to be done and these are the goals we've set for you and go achievement. You know, but I do think this is like a special thing with Pedersen, like they got to figure out

a few things with him, right? They got to figure out what's like, what happened to your stride, because it doesn't look the same. And again, it was never the prettiest stride in the NHL, but it was a heck of a lot more effective than what we've seen this year. Why is it that, you it that your first few steps are not the same as your first few steps from a few years ago? So get the strength and conditioning guys in there.

Maybe you need to work with a skating coach. Maybe to all the people out there that was talking about the tendonitis, keep them around for the medical staff. Right? Keep them around for those experts that know about that sort of stuff. It's just, you know, it's going to take some commitment from Pedersen and maybe, you know, he doesn't want to go back to, maybe he doesn't want to stay in Vancouver. Maybe he's like, I need a vacation. I need to go back to Sweden and be with my family, be with my friends. And that's going to help reinvigorate me. But like, if your team is telling you that we think

this is best for you, and I think we can all agree, I think if there's one thing that we can all agree on is that Pedersen needs to have a good off season and Pedersen needs to make strides physically and have a good off season, then if that is your best plan, then just do it. See, I. Show that you're dedicated.

I would actually go a different tact, maybe a little bit of a different route. And I would say that this is very much incumbent on the individual to, um, write the wrongs and solve the problems of last year. You inherently, every team wants a self motivated, God, I don't want to say this, but like a self-starter for players. Yeah.

I mean, this is a bit concerning, this whole thing. How much do you want to continually have to use the cattle prod to get somebody going? At a certain point, you're like, I'm tired of doing this, or we've got other players that we can focus on. There's a big difference between handing someone the tools and resources, and then forcing someone to use the tools and the resources.

Those are two very different things. Yeah. There's, you know what you could say, Hey, we are going to bring in the most driven and determined and motivated and focused people, and we're going to surround them with every tool imaginable and that that drive, combined with our resources, should translate into great things. What shouldn't have to happen is, we've got all these amazing resources.

We're gonna bring in players that have to be convinced to use them. (*laughing*) Joe in Smithers likes your baby monitor idea. They should just put one by PD at all times. Just have it hanging out. Yeah, one of those. Alvin could have it just cranked up all the time in his office.

Those ones they can see in the dark. Yep. A little green shadow rolling around in a sleep sack. Yeah. They should go all in. All I'm saying with regards to... Sounds like a nightclub. Sounds like the baby's in a nightclub.

I almost feel like it's... What is that bass I'm hearing? I hate... Like, when we keep going through these notes, I hate talking about this. Not because I don't like the topic or the conversation, but I feel it's like, it's kind of juvenile in a way to be like, now everyone, it's the last day of school,

make sure you read all those books your teacher assigned you and we'll see you in September. And then calling them a month in it's like did you read the Hardy Boys yet? Yeah the teachers like oh Patterson left his books in his locker. It's not even opened. Still got plastic wrap on there. Right, returning the books. Some still in their original plastic seal. That's gotta count for something right? You sold them on Facebook. No, I just feel there there's this, I mean, it's great. It's great that the organization has a plan.

You do need a plan. I do think that it's folly to be like, just go do your summer and we'll see you in September. Like, that's crazy. Like, you need- Where did Horvat go? I think that's what they did last summer. Yeah, just go.

And then Kuzmengo was like, Bali? They're like, not quite. Not exactly what we wanted. Right? Too much freedom. Was it Horvat that went to the Gary Roberts School and his skating got like a million times better? See, but that's the thing. Like sometimes when you-

Just send Petey there. There is that, it's like parenting. It's like, well, let's see what happens if we throw a kid in a scenario that he's not, like we don't guide him there. We don't tell him exactly what to do and exactly how to do it. Let's see what happens.

Sometimes they'll surprise you. More often than not, they'll disappoint you. My parents can confirm that. Disappointment can be surprising. Sorry? Disappointment can be surprising. It's true, but I understand that you gotta have that very fine line between like,

we have all these resources and they're gonna lay out a really great plan for you to attack and address the things that need attacking and addressing. But at a certain point, you have to be like, and you need to put in the work. That's across the board. And you need to want to do it. That's not just the Pedersen thing.

I think every professional sports team in every league is looking for players like that, that are like, I want to get better. I'm not happy with where I'm at. And I think the Canucks have some of them. I think Quinn Hughes is a model example of that because he speaks it on the regular. Like you hear him say it publicly. And I think the Canucks have some of them. I think Quinn Hughes is a model example of that because he speaks it on the regular.

Like you hear him say it publicly. Yeah, I wanted to work on this. I did, I got better. But then we've seen it. You've seen the progression of his game from when he broke into when he won the Norris. And you're like, there's a guy that goes back and talks about stuff like,

I didn't like my plus minus last year. I wanted, I want to shoot the puck more. And then you see the tangible results at the end of the year, like, yeah, he did hey, I did it. Those are good attributes and good qualities, but that's all self-driven. A lot of it is self-driven. Rick Dollywell, a self-starter himself. One of the best. Will join us next on the Halford & Brev Show on Sportsnet 650.