Halford & Brough in the Morning - You Need To Have That Dog In You

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat hockey playoffs and a bit of 'Nucks with NHL.com Canucks & In Goal Magazine's Kevin Woodley (2:32), plus the boys tell us what they learned (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

803 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford 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 in hour three of the program. Kevin Woodley is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers.

Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com. We're coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered by Power West Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters most. Visit them at powerwest.ca today. They keep the lights on.

Currently in Toronto, they're doing the end of season interviews and Craig Barube was just asked if he wants them to resign Marner into Tavara. What'd he say? He said, 100%, absolutely. So everyone's like, okay, well, Borube wants them. Let's make it happen.

Borube, you're out. Along with everybody else. Maybe. He said, run it back. Maybe it'll be different next year. Maybe. Borube's like, oh, I'm sorry, I thought you meant you wanted me to trade them.

Sorry, I heard trade, not sign, I heard trade. Well, if you're Borube, you want those guys. Do you? I think so. In the playoffs? I don't think so Okay, well, then what's the alternative for next year with Craig Berube and Toronto? You need some guys with some heart? Yes, pull up by your boot. Yeah, I don't know guys that'll compete in the playoffs You take away Marner and Tavares from that team. How are you gonna replace them? I don't know

You lose Marner Tavares and you don't make the playoffs because of that But if you make them correct Ruby, but if you keep them and make the playoffs, and they don't show up Then it's the same thing so either way yeah Right next year, but it can be like okay. We would trade them now. Yeah running it back would be I was running it back would be criminal I'm seeing running back. I'm seeing running it back comments coming through now. Woodley is on hold media Well, what they can wait our next guest is a presentation of white rock Hyundai. It's Kevin Woodley. He's not waiting any longer He joins us now in the haliford and brush on sports and 650 what up kev No grit no grind no greatness. Did you guys see that today? Well, that's it. That's what you need

You need a little more heart phrase becomes a condemnation. Holy smokes What would you do if you were in charge of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kevin? Well, I'd just be in charge of the goaltending and it's not the problem. No, it's not. It was fine. It was absolutely fine.

And you know what? The other thing too, like under a Baru ban, I think it kind of got overlooked. Like, except in moments and that's the crazy part. Like overall, their defensive profile continued to go up. Like they did all the right things defensively and then they just have these moments when they forget all those things.

And it's not even about defending, it was about just like turning pucks over in bad areas and just giving away goals. Like the kind that the goalies didn't have a chance on. And it's like, so it's again, how others have said it, it feels like it doesn't matter what you put in, in terms of like trying to change things, just in key moments, there's just these mental blocks

that this group can't get past. And so it makes for fascinating theater from a distance. I'm glad people making a crap ton more money than I do have to try and figure out how to fix it because to your Guys's point and don't underestimate this from a business standpoint Like yeah, okay. It's really easy to say we're never gonna win with with those guys or with Mitch Marner but getting in it's the first step to having a chance to winning and Without them how much harder is that And so it's fixing it without causing other problems.

Cause it's clear, there's guys that get you there. But then once you're there and there's enough proof for this group, the next step may not be. Like there's just not enough to get into. And is it part of this? Like I'm fascinated to see what happens with Florida Carolina.

But the way the Panthers are playing right now, there's a chance this is over quick and everyone's like, oh, see, this is just the Panthers. Are we giving enough respect to Carolina? They took care of New Jersey in five games in the first round and took care of Washington in five games. Freddie Anderson's save percentage, which is, I'm sure, partly to do with

the team in front of them, is at 937. They are very good defensively. And I know New Jersey was in full strength and I know people still wondered if Washington was legit, but this Carolina team seems very tough to break down. Absolutely. They're relentless. They keep coming at you in waves.

And it's not just, that's the thing though, like they defend by having the puck in the other end for long periods of time as well, right? Like they just keep coming. There's been talk about, you heard Spencer, actually, if anybody hasn't watched it already, watch Spencer Carberry's post game where he talks about what they do, how relentlessly they do it,

how consistently they do it, how it never changes, how they've been building to this for years, which sounds a lot like Florida in terms of like when it comes to a game seven moment, the guys talk about how it's not. It's just the same thing they've been building towards every year. Like they just keep playing the same way. And it's a bit of an indictment locally, I hate to say it, but because how many coaches

in how many years, and even though Adam Foote should be a continuation of Rick talking, and it's not really, you know, it was a decision to walk away as opposed to a fight. Like this is what consistency gets you, you right whether it's Paul Maurice or Rod Brynnamore is a way of playing that over time just becomes second nature so that in big moments you don't have to change anything you just keep playing the same way and I guess the test is going to be and again because it's Florida the other

end maybe this isn't fair but is it enough to get you all the way? Because only two teams get to the final and only one wins it, right? So to be there as consistently as they have, I think speaks to the consistency of the approach and the consistency of the staff behind the approach in Carolina. And are they getting enough credit? Probably not. Will they continue to not get enough credit if this is over quickly? That will probably continue to happen. Freddie Anderson, you're right.

He's the ultimate. Just get him there healthy. Sure. When he's healthy over the last two seasons, he's been one of the best goalies in the league. The problem is staying healthy. And by closing out both series in five games, they've given themselves a chance Reality is he wasn't even healthy throughout right like he missed games in the first round they got through with Kochetkov So this is those fewest games he played to this point

My question is what happens as we get into five six seven of this series? Because the last time other than playoffs and his play falls off when they do the last time other than playoffs that Freddy Anderson started six games in a row was 2001-2002 in his first year with the Carolina Hurricanes. So I'm fascinated to watch that. But you're right, like his environment is good. 901 expected save percentage is good. The only guys in the playoffs better,

Jake Gautinger at 903. Kochakov was 912 when he was in and Anthony Stollers was higher than that as well. So really good defensive environment for Anderson, but it's not like he's the only one. Like the same can be said for Jake Gautinger with the Dallas Stars, right? Like plus 900 save percentage, well above league average, uh, you know,

an environment that compared to say Stuart Skinner with the Edmonton Oilers, like Jake Ottinger's environment is 20 points easier so far. Real quick. Why, why does Anderson keep getting hurt? What is it about him or his game? Um, it's probably, well, I mean, in the first round he got run, right? Yeah.

We got run and he hit his head on the crossbar. So, you know, like, like at that point, you're just, that's just bad luck. Bad luck, right. Yeah. And, and, you know, guys, and, and I actually, I would go a little further, but we don't have the entire show for me to condemn the NHL's

inability to protect goaltenders. Oh, right. Well, feel free. I mean, a lot of fans are wondering if things might have been not along. But like honestly, how many guys got hurt? Like, and then I saw somebody say, cause Aiden Hill and this is the problem, we do it to ourselves. Aiden Hill sold a few. And so then the Edmonton series, I see people going like, Oh my God, like goalies, they can't be touched. And I'm like, are you kidding me? We've lost three guys to injuries already because the guys, and this, I knew this would happen as soon as they went to the video

Review because it it's kind of in the mindset throughout They know that guys would get hit they get hammered puck didn't go into the referee go Well, don't worry if it was the goal. It would have called it back Well, no, there's this thing called goalie interference And the only time it gets called is after a goalie gets hit in the head and hurt like Anthony Stoller's and then Aiden Hill sells one the next day. So yeah, like I digress but You know

There's a reason we've they lost three guys in the first couple rounds of the playoffs to entry and some of them are back And some of them didn't make it back in Anthony Stoller's case But you talk about hitting guys in vulnerable positions and I'm sorry, Sam Bennett leaned into Anthony Stoller's head. There is no more vulnerable position than a butterfly. The Oilers, Calvin Pickard won six games in a row until somebody fell on his leg. Like the accidentally on purpose crap is, it drives me nuts. So anyways, whoo, I could bring this whole segment going this way. We'll leave that one.

Um, the narrative around Connor Hallebuy, probably not going to change going forward, even though he started to play better, uh, in the Dallas series. Do you have any theories on what happened to Hallibuch? Yeah, absolutely. Um, I do. And honestly, he did play a lot better in the second round of the playoffs. As a matter of fact, his, uh, adjusted save percentage in the second round of the playoffs was, oh, the exact same as it was during the regular season, exact same and we're talking

about the hard trophy. You know what changed between the regular season and the second round of the playoffs? An environment. He was 870 on the road overall in the playoffs, 879 in in the second round, which is like 24 points below what the regular season was. And this is a two-way conversation. This isn't just me saying, oh, it's about the team. He's got to be better as well. This is actually a little bit of condemnation of the whole hard trophy talk.

Like Hellebuck deserves another Rezna trophy. But from a goal saved above expected perspective, Darcy Kemper was actually first in the NHL this season. His environment was actually significantly harder than Winnipeg. Winnipeg is a great defensive team, and that is a big part of the numbers that Connor Hellebuck put up this year. But it's a hard trophy discussion when those numbers fall off a cliff in the playoffs, and there's no question that he lost his game in the

first round but the team also lost their game we have there's a lot of focus on the Maple Leafs and can they play playoff hockey like the Jets in the regular season on the road gave their goalies a 900 expected save percentage the Jets in the playoffs on the road gave their goalies an 870. Like that is a significant drop in drop in your ability to defend. And so I do think there's a hell of a specific component to this that teams know that he relies and is one of the greatest there may be in the like conversation for one of the best all time and anticipating and reading the game.

I've probably used this line with you guys before, but we used to say that Hasek had a brain like a computer and a body like a slinky. Well, Hellebuck has a brain like a computer. And so what do you do? You take his eyes away. You create screens, you create broken plays. Almost half the goals that went in on him in the playoffs

were screens or broken plays, where he is not allowed to play to his greatest strength. You get him on his knees in a butterfly in the crease and he has similarities to Stuart Skinner. They are limited lateral mobility. They have a narrow butterfly physically as imposing as he is when he's on his skate edges and holding his blades. He has limitations and delays to his movement Eastwest once you get him on his knees. And so on a Wednesday in Winnipeg, one of 82, that may be the scouting report, but nobody is going at it with the veracity that teams go at it in the playoffs. And I think a combination of him not being able to, because he was fine with both broken plays and screens in the regular season, he was above

expected, but it crashed hard in the playoffs. And part of that is him. And part of that, that is the defense in front of him, not being able to clear out the bodies the way they did in the regular season, guys going out to the points to block shots, not only not blocking them, but not even being in the right lane as they go out. So he is a part of this for sure. But the team cratered in front of him and the numbers back it up. How much of a legitimate conversation is it now for who should be the starter for the U S and the Olympics in 2026?

Jake Audinger was great in the second round of the playoffs. He was absolutely, his adjusted state percentage in the second round was plus 2.3% and Hellebux was plus 1.7. They were third and fourth of goalies in the second round of the playoffs. Again, I don't think people recognize on the flip side, much like the Hellebuck regular season conversation. Jay Gautens over the last three seasons has been slightly above league average goaltending.

Dallas defends as well as anyone. And so in the second round, though, he took it to another level. And so like a lot like the goalies at this upper echelon at the elite level, like they're sort of, there's a standard and can they, can they arrive in big moments? Like Hellebuck got them to the gold medal. I don't think anybody blamed him that they lost the final against Canada of the four nations. So, no, right. If they're having this conversation, I'm open to it. My point would be, it's not default Jake Ottinger, right? Like he's a great goalie, but before this season,

Jeremy Swainman will be in the conversation. A healthy Thatcher Demko has shown a higher ceiling than either guy. Like a healthy Thatcher Demko last season, if he stays healthy, he wins his first Vezin instead of Hellebuck getting a second. Like his ceiling on his game is absolutely as high, if not higher than both those guys.

So, totally willing to have that conversation, but it's funny because they went head to head in the second round, one guy won, and the other guy didn't, it's like, huh, well he should be the starter for the Olympic team. Well, I got three years before that, that says he's performed at a league average level. Is he capable of what we saw in the second round? Absolutely.

But the numbers have been inflated by a great defensive environment for the last three years. So doesn't mean he, he couldn't do it behind team USA at the Olympics. Doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a shot. I'm just saying the way these narratives get built about these guys in the moment, especially in the playoffs, where the light shine brightest and maybe that's maybe that's why Otter deserves more credit because nobody's been able to break down his game or maybe it's just that the defense doesn't allow them to get to it. And this is now going to be what three conference finals in the last four years for him as a 26 year

old number one goaltender. Like there's a ton to love about Jake Gautinger's game, but a lot of what we see in the results on the numbers is a, is a product of what's going on in front of him as well as his game. Uh, where's the narrative on Stuart Skinner? Um, this is, this will be interesting. Can you protect them off the rush?

Like, can you protect them off the rush? Like can you protect them off the rush? Don't forget the first two games in LA where he wasn't good, it was almost all high danger. Nine, nine goals on 19 high danger chances. The biggest thing Picker did was come in and the team started defending better. They give up 19 high danger chances in the next three games combined. But the thing that Picker did was stop the high, high danger stuff. And so we saw he's coming off consecutive shutouts, Stewart Skinner with Pickard hurt.

And what happened in those games? Vegas, one of the top rush teams in the NHL generated nothing. They were smothered off the rush. This is what Edmonton did to get to the cup final, what they didn't do in the first two games in LA. The first game against the Kings that sort of led to the end of Stuart Skinner's time in the crease in the playoffs in the first round, they gave up more high danger chances and they gave up more expected goals against than they did in any single game of their

run to the cup final last year. For whatever reason, they defend better in front of Pickard. They found that game with him and they've continued it with Skinner back in, especially the last two. The Vegas Golden Knights had three high danger rush chances in the final two games combined and none in the final game. None with their season on the line. The Oilers didn't give them up a single high danger chance off the rush.

Dallas thrives off the rush. If the Oilers let them get to it, Hellebu skating can be exposed. If they don't, he has a chance to play position to position, spot to spot, in-zone goal-tending. And the last two games, I can count on one hand the number of times he ended up outside his posts and on his belly. If you keep him over his knees and balanced, somewhat relative, he has a chance to get you to the Cup final. If you keep him over his knees and balance somewhat relative, he has a chance to get you to the cup final. If Dallas creates dynamic East West offense, they might need Calvin Pickard to come back in the game.

Kev, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it today. We appreciate it. Enjoy game one of the Easter conference final night. It should be a good one. We'll do this again next week. No grit, no grind, no greatness. Hopefully I put in a little of the first two for you guys this morning. It was great, very gritty. Thanks buddy. Take care guys.

Kevin Woodley, NHL.com and Engel Magazine, a presentation of Wyrok Hyundai here on the Haliford and Bruff Show on Sportsnet 650. Is that wedding bells I hear? Okay, so this is what we learned. I gotta take a deep breath before I do this one. Okay, so I know that a lot of people in the Dumbart Lumber Text Message In Basket

have clapped back, does the kid say that anymore? About us talking about this, about this story being a story quite frankly. The Bill Belichick Jordan Hudson romance. For those of you that aren't up to speed, Bill Belichick, formerly the celebrated multi Super Bowl winning head coach, the New England Patriots, who is now just about to embark on his first season as the head coach at the University of North Carolina,

has a new girlfriend. Bill Belichick 73 his girlfriend is 24, her name is Jordan Hudson. She has been very prominent in Bill's life over the last 12 to 18 months. Very prevalent on social media, very front facing and pronounced across all types of media. The sort of infamous CBS morning news, the Sunday morning interview where she jumped in in the middle of it and got a lot of attention, posts a lot on social media.

There's a book tour going on right now, the Bill Belichick's new book, and she's kind of leading the charge behind it. So the story, as I, in this roundabout way, get to it, is that in a new article in the New York Times, the New York Times is reporting that Jordan Hudson has told at least one person that she and Bill Belichick are engaged to be married.

And that is taking the internet by storm as we speak. It is everywhere right now, all over Twitter, every social media platform you can imagine. Every, every outlet now is rushing to try and get confirmation that Bill Belichick 73 is going to marry his 24 year old girlfriend. Is he going to have a bachelor party? Can we go? I'm a good bachelor party guy. I like to have a good time. I can be mobile at a moment's notice. Something tells me that she's going to be a bit of a brideszilla. No way. Okay. Seems like she likes to control the situation. All cheap jokes

aside, and there are many to be made And we're not above them. They were not above them. I understand why some people are I heard the One more I heard the honeymoon has a sponsor who's that Jason Viagra? Yeah, there it is Really? Oh cuz he's old and she's young. Okay, it's a good sponsor. I get it. They got deep pockets. Okay, are we gonna- do anyone want to get another one? Other- other system? I'm putting an end to this. No more jokes.

It's not a hard sponsor to get. Come on. What? We add one more. Just when you thought we couldn't go up a little more. Okay. It's a sponsorship that always rises. For a variety of reasons people like I don't want to hear about this I don't care and I get it there are

far more worrisome important stories in the world even in it even in a non-spin a sports context there's an NBA finals on the horizon we're down to the final four two different leader this fascinating. I don't care. Hold on. Let me cook. Let me cook. Let me cook here. So I understand why at the end of the day,

it is just a dude and his girlfriend at its core, right? The crazy part about it is that nobody, and I stress nobody, has any idea exactly what's going on here. There's a lot of theories. The most obvious one is she after his empire and his fortune and his wealth. There's also the other one is everyone just jealous of Bill Belichick because he's got a young, attractive girlfriend at the age of 73. Maybe they actually love each other. Michael, have you ever thought about that?

There's the other one. I was just getting that one. Maybe it's true love. Is Belichick totally on board with all of this? And it's like, yeah, I want her to take this role in my life and embrace the business side of things. Might I suggest that the fascinating part of this is Bill Belichick has been known for being the guy that controls everything. The freakiest of control freaks.

He's the one that says, know your role, do your job. No distractions. Don't talk to me. No distractions. He's the guy and now all of a sudden there is a 24-year-old woman who's in his life and she seems to be the one in control. And that's what I'm saying. No one has been able to explain that. Yeah. No one has been able to say, how does it go from this to this?

Is it just because of love? As a dog says, can love change minds that much? It can. I have no idea what's going on here. It is one of the most unexpected and I want to stress how unexpected it is. If you had told me anything about Bill Belichick like predicting the future, I would have been like, I could see that. Well, it's like, not this.

I know he's not Belichick's age, but it's like, oh, DiCaprio's got a new girlfriend. She's 19 or whatever. You're like, yeah, that's what, he likes them. It tracks, you know? He's got a type. Yeah, yeah. Once she hits 25, she's out of there.

She's out of there, right? But this is different. This is different and I and and everyone and that's what the interesting dynamic for me is that everyone is in a race to try and figure out exactly What's going on love changes people but no one is winning the race love changes people I have never been more confused this to like, you know when you're always looking at you suggesting this is gonna be a rom-com Or a thriller. Yeah, you go always looking at you. Are you suggesting this is going to be a rom-com or a thriller? Yeah. It could go either way at this point. I'm not taking any bets. Have we ruled out the possibility that some sort of voodoo or hex

could be involved? This is also being reported by the failing New York Times. Yes. This winter, producers at NFL Films decided that a new season of its sports docu-series, Hard Knocks, would focus on Belichick's efforts to build the North Carolina football program ahead of the 2025 season. HBO agreed to air it.

I mean, why not? Yeah. What that, that's great content. It's amazing. You know, no one expected, that's another thing. No one expected Bill Belichick to be coaching the University of North Carolina. Nope.

This season, not exactly known as a football school there. The article goes on, but days before they were set to announce the series, Ms. Hudson demanded she be granted content approval and partial ownership of the show. According to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized by producers to speak to a reporter, NFL films pulled the plug. with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by producers to speak to a reporter.

NFL Films pulled the plug. Yep. They were like, even though this is awesome content, Bill Belichick going to North Carolina, let's see how that plays out. She was like, yeah, I want a piece of this. I don't want to control it. And they're like, not worth it.

And this has been happening over and over and over again, applying for patents with Bill Belichick's catchphrases. There's about eight of them that went through the US Patent Office, making sure that there's a stake in all the different productions that are going. She's trying to monetize Bill Belichick for herself. And that's what a lot of people are looking at and saying, if this is indeed what's happening, where's Bill Belichick for herself. And that's what a lot of people are looking at and saying, if this is indeed what's happening,

where's Bill Belichick in all this? And Bill Belichick's still kind of front and center, just in a very un-Belichickian way. They were saying on the Infinity Sports Show before us that there was, usually the college teams have a person appointed to deal with the media and handle all the requests they get and North Carolina Suspiciously hasn't been using theirs and they haven't been able to contact anyone because you have to go through

Bill Belichick's girlfriend to get anyone at the school Bill Belichick for the show tomorrow. Just reach out to Yeah, also, it's wild. It's also by the way, it's the University of North Carolina not NC State Okay, I'll try again. OK, we're way up against it for time. We got to go to break. When we come back, more What We Learn is Get Yours In. Dunbar Lumber Text Line is 650-650.

Hashtag it, WWL. You are listening to the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post game show. Listen four to six p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. ["What We Learned Time"]

Now for my favorite part of the show. What does that say? Talk to the audience. Oh, God, this is always dead. Talk to the audience. Oh, God, this is always dead. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time on the show.

8.36 on a Tuesday, happy Tuesday everybody. Halford and the brough in the morning is brought to you by Halford and the brough. Halford and the brough. He's the brough, I'm the Halford. It's Halford and the brough. I'm gonna miss the timing on this one now. Ah, what the hell.

Halford and the brough 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 sands-trustee.com. Now back to Halford and the boys. This hour of Halford and the Bruff is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers.

Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. No, this hour of Halford and the Bruff. You gotta say it like that for the rest of the sake. The Halford already did his, what we learned. The brough doesn't have one today. Can we go to quickly here because we went way

late. Okay. So, uh, laddie, you're starting go. All right. Well, there's audio coming out of Toronto as all the players and coaching staff are doing their exit interviews. You want to dive in you guys, you want to hear

some audio, hot audio from the Toronto press conference. Yep. Let You want to dive in you guys? You want to hear some audio? Let's go. Hot audio from the Toronto press conference. Yep, let's go. What do you got? Game seven loss. How will they learn from this one? Character and toughness I call it. We have a lot of that here on this team

and we just have to learn to do things a little bit differently in big games and big moments. And that's the difference of getting you over the hump. That's all it is you guys. They just have to do things a little bit differently this time. Differently. Yes.

We were trying to do things the same. Yeah, that's why they lost. We always do. I didn't know you wanted us to do different things. Did Craig Borube say, I call it toughness? Yes, that's what I call it. He also, I'm gonna play this clip. He also, I'm going to play this clip. He also had a very, listen to this one guys, a very Jim

Benning moment when he was asked why they lost in their last round to the Florida Panthers. They capitalized on them opportunities. That's the bottom line. They capitalized on them opportunities. Because Stone Cold said so. And then he was asked if you would want Marner and Tavars back, which he was very quick to answer.

Personally then, would you like to see the team re-sign John and Mitch? 100%. Thank you coach. That's how they ended things. And then there was another clip where they asked the question that everyone's been asking about the pressure from the Toronto fans and the pressure of playing in Toronto.

So they want to hear the coach's thoughts on all that chatter. And here's what he said. Craig, on the question of pressure, one of the things the Panthers guys said is they felt they could leverage it against your players. Did you think that was a factor in the series at all? No. I don't know how they can do that, but maybe they could call me up and tell me. Like I said, pressure is pressure. I understand it, I do. It's a hard market, and it's a great market though.

You've got to look at it that way in my opinion. But pressure comes from inside the locker room. That's it. That's, you know, your teammates are the most important people and that to me is the only pressure. So the coach. Well, that's such a, I mean. The coach is not true though. Well, I just said it was. No, it's not though.

Like he's just like. Are you saying he lied to us? No, no, no, he's just. Jason Braff. Craig Gourbet is a liar. I saw it. I heard it. I mean, he's just like the pressure comes from the teammates

I mean he should say it should come from the teammates it should come from method, but it doesn't maybe it doesn't right and you're wrong He's in the room Jason. What are you doing? He said the pressure comes from within the room. He calls it pressure I so the brough says he's lying That's the headline for the video. Uh, I, I. So the bruff says he's lying. That's the headline for the video. Okay. Bruff. Rube is liar.

Uh, I think it's just kind of a Pollyanna response. I mean. A Pollyanna response is saying that the outside influences get to you. The hardest of the hard men say we don't hear what's outside the room. We only care about those guys inside. Yeah, but they do hear because they have ears and phones. I'll go back to what I said by the way download out their ears take away their phone honestly

Seriously earmuffs sorry Alfred can you imagine your mom just for me? Can you just like okay to walk into the arena now? We're all gonna we're gonna blindfold you and you're gonna wear your big sign on the door says earmuffs Yeah, it's your mouth this for me. You can say anything now bitch. No phones allowed Okay Back in our one download the podcast by the way Apple Google pet set or wherever you get your podcasts download it. I said I get What the Florida Panthers were doing in the aftermath of their game seven victory. I think it was a multifaceted approach.

I think they genuinely believed that their opponents were caved in by the pressure of the market and the fans in the media. I think they honestly believe that. I also think that, um, they were a little put off that the entire story of that second round series was about Toronto and not about the Florida Panthers. Maybe a little bit. Yeah. You know, like honestly, how much credit have we given Florida? Not because they're undeserving or anything, it's just we've been focused on the collapse as opposed to the victory. Well, it was a spectacular way to have your final two home games go.

Now, I'll say this. If I'm a Maple Leaf right now, I hate, hate what the Florida Panthers have done to me in the last 48 hours because not only did they just end our season but they've also sort of in a weird way. Had a little pity party for you. They had a pity party for you definitely definitely had a pity party for you. Sometimes it's nice to get the pity. Sometimes. It could happen to a better team. Now the final point I want to make on all of this is that this isn't just about the Florida series. And I think this is what the Panthers missed when they were trying to do this pity party

and what everyone's missing here is that this was the culmination of nine years of failure after failure after failure. And sometimes it was at home and sometimes it was on the road. And sometimes it was in front of fans and sometimes it was in the bubble. And sometimes you got beat by the best team in hockey, which you might say is the Florida Panthers.

And sometimes you got beat by Eunice Corpusso in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sometimes you came up against a good opponent. Sometimes you didn't. The only consistent thing that the Leafs have done over the last years is not crumble in the face of pressure. It's crumble in the playoffs That's the difference just crumble just crumble. Mm-hmm Variety of different crumblings the soft crumble hard crumble whatever game seven game five There was a game five against members of best of five sure against Columbus once once the deciding game came up high scoring games

low scoring games Right fire wagon hockey lock it down hockey. They just can't win in the playoffs and my doesn't have to do with the market though That's silly what I don't like that. I do think it's a component And they're pro athletes. Yeah, give me a break. They're human beings Yeah, but I don't know once you reach that, you should be able to filter it out a little bit. But it's easier said than done. You'll never win if you can. And I mean-

Everyone's wired differently, man. Some people take criticism well. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes it's motivating for people. Sometimes it's paralyzing. There's got to be someone in your life you know that just can't handle criticism. It melts down when they get criticized. Yeah, exactly.

For those of you that don't have the dog cam, Andy is now gesturing at Greg aggressively. There's some people that just can't handle it. I remember all those of you that don't have the dog cam Andy is now gesturing at Greg There's some people I remember all those times you went home crying Yes, that's exactly what we're talking about people like that exists as a thought as well as a thought exercise I don't have your entire team made up of characters like that. I don't know it seems like I just find I mean, okay Maybe there's a good point there pours. You just made a good point Don't keep going Look, let's just seems a little crazy. He, stop. Yeah, stop. Don't keep going. Look, let's use this. It just seems a little crazy to me, that's all.

No, he's still going. Let's use this as a thought exercise. Let's say that you're right, and that they have assembled a group of players, collectively, all of them, their one Achilles heel and weakness is that they can't get it done under pressure. Is it not insane that they've given them

nine consecutive years of biting at the apple, knowing that after year three or four, this group probably didn't have what it takes? And this goes back to what Wachinsky was saying earlier, that sometimes you need to shake it up in a significant, meaningful way. And what they've done instead is doubled down and then tripled down and then

Quadrupled down on a group that has never been able to get past the second round of the playoffs But game pressure is different from media pressure though. Okay We can have this conversation for the whole entire summer I want to get to some of the what we learns in the dumb bar limber text line that our listeners worked So hard to put together so hard to put together. Ahhhhhhh! What we learned, Human Art Edition, brought to you by AJ's Pizza on East Broadway.

Expand your palate with AJ's white pies made with rosemary and infused with cream sauce. Still haven't changed this read. Or garlic oil, only at AJ's Pizza. Order online at AJ's.Pizza. Todd has bad takes. What we learned, the joy of seeing the Leafs annual playoff failure is tempered by the pain it caused Kristanov.

So ask us anything, is Kristanov the most likeable player of seeing the Leafs annual playoff failure is tempered by the pain it caused Chris Tanev. So ask us anything, is Chris Tanev the most likable player in the NHL? How could anyone not think that guy is a good dude? Most likable player in the NHL. Apparently Brad Marshawn is in the running now. Everyone loves Brad Marshawn. A lovely human being. Yeah, he's up there for sure. Chet and Burnaby, what we learned, I learned someone was selling their Matthews jersey on Facebook for $26, a dollar for every point, playoff point he's ever had. Hey.

No, is that true? Yes. 26 points in the playoffs for Matthews, that's it. Total? Uh, that can't be right. That can't be right. Anyway, maybe it's a goal. Is that tendonitis?

Um. Okay. No, he was hurt. He was hurt. Okay, by the way, on the Matthews thing, I will say, having your, when's the last time, and has there ever been a time that you got a Jersey thrown on the ice in disgust in a game seven in the playoffs? Just doesn't happen.

26 goals for Matthews total. 26 goals. No, the biggest thing, the biggest thing, well, I know the Jerseys were, you know, one was something people were talking about. Marner got booed. Proper booed. I know the jerseys were, you know, one was something people were talking about. Marner got booed. Proper booed.

Yeah. He had the puck. He was getting booed every time he had the puck. Can't come back from that. No, I know. He's not coming back. And he was asked today if you're coming back and he said, uh, I need to, you know, this is too, too fresh.

I gotta talk to my wife about my future, but he did not say he wanted to be back and he won't be back. And I will be shocked at more than anything and it will be his decision. And I think it was pretty much made when they asked him to waive his no trade clause. And then the way this went, like there was no way, there was no way he's back. Yeah. I got one here from Henry, the British expat in Comox.

What we learned, a message for Halford and Bruff. You said a few weeks ago, City would crush my beloved Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, and we will have to settle for our perennial 12th place Premier League finish. Well, well, well, I forgive you. Seems like I predicted a Palace win and a Whitecaps win.

Well, Henry, the white caps didn't win. They drew nil nil on the road. However, I think he meant over messy. How long ago did he predict this? Oh, I don't know. This was months ago. Anyway, then he says, does this mean I have to predict a Canuck Stanley Cup victory in twenty twenty six for it to come to fruition? Don't do that. I will weaponize the stuff.

You've learned you just have to take your win and take the fact that palace now has a trophy. Yeah, that's stuff. We've learned. You just have to take your win and take the fact that palace now has a trophy. Yeah, that's awesome. That's great. Polish it every day, stare at it, look at it, take it out of the glass every now and again. Congratulations, Henry.

Jay with what we learned, there was a leaf's flag flying at half mass yesterday in Penticton at someone's house. The level of pain that someone would have to feel to get to that point. That is amazing to fly the flag at half mast. Uh, what we learned on Syntax, the FIFA Congress will be in Vancouver next year before the World

Cup kicks off. 211 FIFA nations will be in attendance along with legends of the game who would participate in a legends match. I didn't participate in a legends match. I didn't know about the legends match. I know they have a Congress, I guess every year where they announce future world cups or whether it's women's world cup or whatever, club world cups.

Yeah, that will be cool. And what I will look forward to is seeing all those briefcases of cash. That's the best part. You know, being exchanged. Where is the Congress? Where's it being held? Vancouver Convention Center.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was hoping it would be like Moxie's. I can tell you, he won't be there. Dougie Hamilton. There's a deep cut. By the way, the last FIFA Congress where they had a, Moxie's, where they had,

Why are we here? Why are we here? Gianni Infantino would love the Moxistick. You still got those Fepito skins? Yeah. Andrea Pirlo is here, he'd love to try your pasta, Moxie's. The last FIFA Congress, it had guys, it was like Figo, Kaffu, Atabayor, Shevchenko,

and Seydorf all played in the Legends match. Are Figo's wings coming up? You ordered them about 20 minutes ago. Who are you? Do you still got those potato skins? No, we're sold out. Ah, everyone leaves. Scott with what we learned.

What do Crystal Palace and the Maple Leafs have in common? Both made grown men cry this weekend, although for much different reasons. We thought about getting Sam McKee not that he was crying no no no I thought yeah I said no I didn't say anything I was debating it yeah I was I'm still debating it because no he ran fresh anymore they have to be the next day he ran the gamut of emotions because after we had we had him on the show after game five so after game six

The main the Leafs did a great job of drawing everyone back in and you got to remember Matthews scoring the game-winning goal was the oh man He's figured it out. So two of the Leafs. I really like us tweeted summed it up perfectly I don't have in front of me, but it was a good tweet you get him back in and the significance of Matthews scoring was Even I mean and Sam was as big of a Matthews critic as anybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But even he said, he's like, this might be it. This might be different.

I felt bad though, because it's an amazing tweet. Every time I, yeah, sure, read it. Okay, game five, make them despise you. Game six, make them apologize. Game seven, make them despise themselves for apologizing. That's very accurate. Well, I wonder how many people like, and a lot of people replied to those like, Oh, I never apologized after game six. I knew this was going to happen. Oh, you knew for sure.

You knew this was going to happen when they went in, when they went in one game six in Florida, every Leaf fan was like, plan the parade. Maybe this is the turning point. Yep. Maybe this is the, like this, they showed us. And there's always something different about each team too, that you're like, maybe this is it.

And this year it was Craig Borube. And Craig Borube famously coached a St. Louis Blues team that had a chance to win the Stanley Cup in game six at home against the Bruins. It was theirs. They were, they were, there was like, this is it. This is our, this is our day. It's going to happen for us. And they lost to the Bruins in game six and everyone

figured, okay, well, the series is over. It's the Bruins, man. They're not going to lose game seven at home. And then they went in there when that came seven. And you know, that's, that's why there was so much faith, including myself. I thought Craig Brewer was going to change things a little bit for Toronto. You know, the difference between those two teams though? I think he's a good coach. That Blues team had heart.

That's true. Great. They had the dog in them. I'm not kidding. They had more dog. They had playoff performers. Needs more dog. The Leafs do not have playoff performers What do you think now a brubae actually that's interesting? Yeah, yeah, I think he's a good coach. I think I think he he just

He's probably totally flummox like what the hell just happened. I bet I bet right now I know he said all the right things to the presser But I bet right now brubes like this is gonna be way, way, way more difficult than I thought it was gonna be. Okay, we've got Aaron from Coquitlam lashing out right now. What we learned, Vancouver fans having fun with this is rich for me. Bye bye, Quinn Hughes.

That's fair. You know what, that's fair. Yeah, but we've all accepted that. Yeah, yeah. Hey, you know what's funny about both Leeds fans and Canucks fans? They're always like, you can't hurt us like we hate ourselves more than We are so damaged at this point. So are we nothing you can know but there's no we can say to each other collectively

Like Sam Mckee brought up a good point when I was texting him and he's like, you know You only ever asked me on your show when something bad happens to the Leafs and I was like, yeah, you're right Yeah, it's true. Mm-hmm. Good point is talk about good things part of this cuz nothing good ever happens. Yeah, still Okay, that means so yeah, we got music dang. Okay. I in case we didn't get here what we learned today. Don't worry We will try again Tuesday. No taste Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday long week. Oh wait. It's not it's a shorter week than usual But we will try better tomorrow or minor dumb bar numbers. Excellent is 650 650. we will try better tomorrow. Reminder, Dunbar number text line is 650650. We will try better. We're gonna try better and harder. Like the Leafs in yet another game seven.

You know what the Leafs didn't do? They didn't try better or harder. They just lost. Toughness, as you call it. I call it toughness. Yeah. We gotta get out of here for today but we will be back tomorrow.

Thank you all for listening and thank you all for contributing. Signing off, I have been Mike Halford, he has been Jason Brough, he's been Adog and he's been Laddy. This has been the Halford and He has been Jason Brough. He's been Adog and he's been Laddy. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

They capitalize on them opportunities. That's the bottom line.