Halford & Brough in the Morning - Your Ice Rink Is Too Small, Italy

Episode Date: December 4, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest hockey news and notes with Sportsnet NHL writer Luke Fox (1:34), plus the boys preview Sunday's Seahawks matchup at Atlanta with ESPN's Brady Henderson (27:54). 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.

I'm going to be able to be. 7.02 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. Halford Bruff, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub of the morning is brought you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal can get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are now in our two of the program.

Luke Fox, NHL writer from Sportsnet. It's going to join us in just a moment here to kick off our two. Our 2 is brought to by Jason Hamanuk at Jason.Morgage, the most metal of all the mortgage brokers. 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.com. We're coming to live from the Kintech Studio. Now's the time to maximize the benefits of custom orthotics before the year runs out. Visit kintech.com.

To the phone lines we go, our next guest, as mentioned, NHL writer for Sportsnet. dot CA. Luke Fox joins us now on the Halford & Brush Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Luke. How are you? You know pretty good. Just walking to the rink in Raleigh, North Carolina here. Oh, nice. Yeah, right. The maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs. I'm going to start

with a Leafs question, but it's not really a Leafs question. You spoke with Austin Matthews and William Neelander about this NHL not sized Olympic ice issue that's going on right now. For those that missed it, they're building the rink in Italy, but

it's too small. And I know that everyone's getting their reactions right now. What did Matthews and Neelander have to say? Did they get their talking points from the NHL or NHLPA ed or did they talk off the cuff about this situation? I think they talked off the cuff because I think this has come as a bit of a surprise to everyone. So Pete DeBoer, who's unemployed in the NHL but is an assistant coach for Team Canada,

has actually been over there to Italy to check it out because he has a bit more time on his hands than some of the other coaches. and he made an appearance on Real Kippermborn Monday, I believe, and he said, just kind of mentioned, you know, just casually, yeah, the rink's about, you know, between three and four feet shorter than a normal NHL-sized rink. And, you know, that came as a surprise, I believe, to the PA, to the league, but it quickly made the rounds.

And, yeah, I talked to Austin and Willie yesterday, and they had both caught wind of it the day before on Tuesday. and William kind of didn't know what to say he's like that's that's kind of crazy he's like I don't know how it's going to affect the game and Austin was a bit more captainly you know he wears the C for team USA and he kind of said you know yeah it's a surprise but I don't care if the ranks 100 by 100 we're going over there to play we've waited for this for so long and we'll we'll adjust and I'm kind of of two minds one is you know this is going to be a showcase for NHLers who are used to playing on a very specific dimensions and that, you know, something like that could throw them off.

And then part of me is like, well, they're all going to have to adjust. These are professionals. They can make the adjustments. It's kind of like a winter classic or something. Everyone's playing on the same ice. So there's no excuses. But the other concern is that it's not even done. So they probably won't even have much time to test it before the Olympic tournament begins

in early February. The women will be on the ice before the men. So, you know, the NHLers might have a look at how it's going, but the construction is another issue. So wild times, but not unfamiliar for, you know, countries scrambling to get their Olympic facilities in order. Where is Austin's game right now? And I ask this question, not so much because I'm interested in the Leafs.

I'm more pre-scouting the Americans. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You know, so I watched Connor Bredard rip that goal the other night, the wrist shot where he kind of changes the angle, pulls it in. And he went to school on Austin Matthews as a young kid and tried to pattern his wrister off Austin. And Austin doesn't have that shot anymore, guys. Like that, that's what's concerning. He's still good defensively. He's still a beast in the face off dot. He's getting. his points, like he's hovering around a point of game, but he's coming off an injury that they don't want to talk about. He was injured last year. He just

doesn't have the same jump. His shot doesn't have the same pep on it and he's deferring more watching him every night. He's passing it a little bit more instead of being that kind of like beast-like attack mentality. I have the best shot in the world and I'm going to be goalies

clean. We haven't seen that much. So if you're rooting for Team Canada or Team Sweden, that's probably good news. So I know you mentioned this a little bit, but can you go into why he isn't shooting a little bit more? Is it injuries? Is it confidence? And if it is an injury, what specifically is in the injury? Because I know injuries are a hot topic in Toronto and nobody can seem to figure out which injuries the Leafs actually have because the Leafs don't say anything ever. Yeah, and the Leafs don't say anything ever because, I think a large part because the captain doesn't want anything said ever. He's extremely private and his voice carries as much weight with that organization as the GM or the coach.

And it's had a trickle-down effect where now no one's talking about injuries. Everyone's being very secretive. Like not just, it's timelines, it's when it happened, it's up or lower, it's all very vague. and I think part of that has to do with the privacy of the captain who feels like some of his injuries in the past have been targeted so he's had a bad wrist he's had a bad back we don't know what the latest one is it happened when he went after Nikita Zedoroff he crunched him into the boards

awesome got angry and usually he brushes off things like that and he went at him and ran into him like a brick wall and the sense is he pulled something but I don't know the specifics. He's not saying the specifics. So, you know, the reason his game has lost a little bit, I think, has to do with injuries and then

not being as confident because of the injury history. That's my theory. Troy Stetcher. I didn't expect him to be playing 24 minutes a night and leading the charge for a resurgent Toronto Maple Leafs team.

another former Conuck Dakota Joshua seems to have found his game tell us what you think about both those players right now Troy Stetcher like oh my goodness so they get him on waivers

and we asked Broube about him and he's kind of like well he shoots right we need a right shot that's kind of why we got him he shoots right he didn't really have a lot to say he's like I know he's a competitor

but he came in with very low expectations. And now Chris Tanev, another former Canuck, and Brandon Carlo, who are their top two right shots, are out long term. Carlo looks like he's headed for surgery. Tanev's skating alone, but can't take contact.

Both these guys are weeks, if not months away from playing a hockey game. And because they have no one on the right side, and because Barubei really likes a lefty, righty balance, all of a sudden, Troy Stetcher's shot right up the charts and is now the right side of their shutdown pair

with Jake McCabe. His minutes have gone through the roof. He scores a goal the other night. He's got a couple apples, and he's been a really valuable guy to the team. His teammates absolutely love him. And he plays with a desperation that's been lacking on this roster guys.

He's like, I'm on my seventh team. I just got put on waivers. Like, I feel like I'm fighting for my NHL life. He always played like that, though. He's just so competitive, so competitive. He has limitations for sure. Yeah. And I don't think playing him 24 minutes a night is the answer,

but he was a fan favorite in Vancouver and not just because he was from Richmond. It was because he was undersized and he always was willing to be part of the battle. Yep. And they're seeing that in Toronto. And I don't, I'm not saying this is sustainable, but it's refreshing right now. because exactly what you're talking about,

you know, him laying it all on the line type of mentality and feeling like he's got a battle for his career, there's too few of those guys in Toronto. There's a comfort level that's set in, so he's been a breath of fresh air. Is the happiest fan base in Canada, the Ottawa Senators fan base? I think so.

And that might be by default, just because things are so miserable in Toronto and Edmonton and Winnipeg with no hellabuck and you know I don't think anyone had high expectations for the flames Canucks you know

they didn't make the playoffs last year so I feel like and then Montreal's kind of scuffed a little bit so yeah I would say so like Ottawa's on the come up they just got their captain Brady Kachuk back so that's giving them a bit of a boost and

they're playing in a pretty mediocre division. I wouldn't have expected the Atlantic to be so mediocre, so any team that gets hot, all of a sudden looks a little bit better than they might if they were playing in one of the tougher divisions. Is that the one positive for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

They've won a few games and they're all of a sudden, what, three points out of third place? Three points behind the Ottawa senators actually for a playoff spot and the teams in front of of them, Detroit and Boston, you're kind of like, eh, you know, the teams below them, Buffalo.

I don't think anybody's intimidated by Buffalo. Now, Florida's interesting because they're the two-time defending champs and they're last in the Atlantic, but we all know that they played a lot of hockey and they've got some key injuries. How do you handicap this division? For me, it's like, the only thing I'm pretty confident is that Tampa Bay is going to win that division. And that Buffalo won't make the playoffs, maybe. That might be the, the only other one I'm really confident. But you're right, you're right, it's, it is crazy. It's a wild division.

Florida watching them firsthand the other night, it is scary. They do not, they look like a shadow of themselves, the buildings, you know, a quarter empty, you know, and that might be being kind, low energy, Alexander Barkoff, just a reminder of how valuable he is to them. And the fact that he's not coming back anytime soon, if at all, it'll be at the very end of the regular season, I think the chances of them missing are very real. And that's frightening.

I'm not willing to write them off yet, but that's frightening. So when you talk about the Leafs, this is really encouraging, that no one is, it's not like three teams are taking the division and running away with it. The other encouraging thing in Toronto is that Joseph Wall has been lights out since he came back. And I had my suspicions. We think of Jeremy Swaven missing a chunk of training camp and not getting into the rhythm right off out of the gates into the season and Joseph Wolfe took a

personal leave. It didn't join the team until November and I was like, how's he going to jump on this moving train? But he's been fabulous. Now they have to be careful about overworking him but the two things that if you're a Leif's fan you should be encouraged by is the division is kind of crummy

and the goal he's been playing amazing. You mentioned the loss of Barkoff for Florida and everyone kind of realized if they didn't already know it already. This guy is very very, very valuable. I'm curious after, you know, 26 games or how many of the Leafs have played, what is the reaction to not having Mitch Marner anymore?

Yeah, it comes up by a certain segment of the fan base. But I think, you know, there's pretty smart hockey fans in Toronto, and they don't think this has all been caused by losing one player. they know it's multiple things. The defense has been pretty lousy. The injuries have piled up. Marner isn't maybe as big of a topic of conversation as one might expect. I think everyone felt ready to move on at least get a look at something different in Toronto.

So he gets brought up occasionally, but it's not like, oh, if we had Marner, we'd be just fine. Why'd we fumble that situation? It's not as big of a talking point as you might expect. Are they going to have to turn that blue line over? It's getting pretty old. It is getting old. And it's going to be tough to turn over because all these guys have term for years and a lot of them have trade protection.

Carlo's name was one that was coming up as a potential. And like guy to move, I saw them on some trade boards. They actually took calls on them just to see what the market would be on them over the summer. big right shot, experienced and he still has some term on his deal but now he's headed for surgery so you don't trade a guy that's going under the knife sometime soon and the other guy that gets talked about

is Morgan Riley and he's having a great offensive year but he has a full no move so that would be a really sticky situation and the organization hasn't shown a willingness to make it uncomfortable with guys with no moves to the point where they actually wave them

and the most recent example of that is Marner. So the players in control of that situation, he's been great offensively, but he still has defensive lapses that drive the fans nuts. But I agree with you. It is a pretty old blue line and I think that's why Stetcher's stuck out

is he moves the puck. They have a lot of guys that do the same thing, which is off the glass and out. We're speaking to Luke Fox Sports Net NHL writer here on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. Okay, let's go around the NHL talk about some of these other stories here Luke. Tom Wilson leads the Washington Capitals and goals, points,

penalty minutes, hits, he's doing it all for them. We've talked about his team Canada candidacy. I know you spoke with a few people about this as well, so one, what did they have to say about Wilson being on Team Canada? Two, is he on your team Canada? I think he is. I think he is.

And part of that's because you can take an extra forward. Part of that might be the shorter ice. Like, less room to hide from Tom Wilson when he's coming in on the forecheck. But he's the right now he's the most impactful skater on a

really good Capitals team. And I think he's earned it. And I think he plays the kind of brand of hockey that Team Canada likes. The other thing when you talk, they like guys with rings. And he has a championship ring. I mean, it's a little, might be a little dusty now,

2018. But the decision makers, Doug Armstrong, John Cooper, they love guys with rings. They love guys that are proven winners. So I think that gives Tom Wilson an edge. In goal, we've talked a lot about Jordan Binnington.

I know you wrote on your notebook the other day about Jordan Binnington, maybe not being the answer for Edmonton's goalie problems, him being the solution. I would even expand it a bit further. He might not be the answer for Canada right now. Although there seems to be an understanding,

and Jason's brought this up a few times. Like when Frege talks about Team Canada, it sounds like Binnington's going, almost regardless of whether he plays well during this regular season or not, but how concerning is Bennington's poor play going into these Olympic games if he is going to indeed be on

that team? It's concerning for me. It is. But you know what? I was a little bit concerned at four nations, and they backed him unequivocally. He was the only goalie they started, and he ended up getting the job done.

He's been one of the league's worst by the numbers, and how much of that is, all of a sudden, you're not getting up for games because you're playing behind one of the worst teams in the league right now and maybe that harms your confidence he's going is my understanding but I don't know if the leash will be as long

as it was in four nations put it that way two guys that are vying for spots on that team faced off last night when Montreal took on Winnipeg and it was Mark Shifley and Nick Suzuki and this was another one, Bruff and I were kicking back and forth where if he seems like in a fair world, both guys would be on Team Canada, but it's not a fair world. And I personally think that it would be Suzuki over Shifley

if you made me choose right now. Curious to get your thoughts, do you think it'll be both guys, one or the other, or maybe neither going for Team Canada? And yes, we'll get to the Bedard and Celebrini part of this conversation in a sec. I know. I know. So when we have these conversations, it's really easy to say, yeah, put them both on. They're having a great season, but it's like you've got to take someone off.

We'll take three defensemen to the Olympics. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, who are you taking off? I honestly, my guess is neither right now, and maybe that's not fair, but I'd like to see some youth. I'd like to see Celebrini and Bedard there, and I know the point totals that Sheifley's putting up, the way Suzuki's playing, it's tough, but yeah, my, goodness, I'm kind of glad I don't have to make

those decisions, although I'd like the paycheck. It is funny, though, you ask some people who are like, is this guy on your team Canada? Yeah, he's on my team Canada. Okay, tell us all the players on Team Canada. It's going to be like a 30-person roster. I mean, it's great for us as Canadians that were producing this much talent, but

you know what I was wondering the other day? Like, Doug Armstrong must be stressed out and busy because he's also got a blues team that could be selling this season. You always hear these rumors about, is Jordan Cairo available? I mean, the

Blues are one of the worst teams in the NHL. What do you think about the job he's got to do over the next few months with both Hockey Canada and the St. Louis Blues? Yeah, he's a busy man. So I was at the Panthers Leafs game in Florida, and he

was there. And then I was like, okay, the Blues must be coming through soon, or they must have just left. And no, they were on the other side of the country. So this guy's, on his off day, flying into Amherent Bank Arena and trying to get his eyeballs on, you know, I presume Sam Bennett and Brad Marshon

because they're a couple of bubble guys. And, you know, yeah, it's a big job, but it's got to be fun too to be able to make these decisions. But as for the Blues, I think he has a proven track record of cutting bait. I don't know if I'd say early, but earlier than some guys.

Like some guys let their assets get to the point where they have no value. And I think Armstrong is really shrewd at making the move. I think of Kevin Chattonkirk, David Backus back in the day, before their value falls right off a cliff. So, yeah, he's going to be a seller. Ten games tonight in the National Hockey League, including, yeah, you're in rally right now, correct? I'm in rally, yeah. Hurricane's least, yeah.

Beautiful. Okay, enjoy it tonight, Luke. Thanks for doing this, bud. Okay, thanks, guys. Thanks, Luke Fox, NHL writer from SportsNet here on the Hounford and Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Maybe the Canucks could call The Blues and be like, hey, is Pew Souter available? We're familiar with his game. Maybe now's the time.

He doesn't have any trade protection, by the way. No, I'm just on their site right now. Like, Kairu's got no trade clause, Robert Thomas. He's not getting traded anyway, Robert Thomas. You know, like, there's a lot of guys with protection. I was not aware of this. We need to have a show on. all the damn no-moove clauses

and no trade clauses in the NHL. You set me out perfectly. I hate them all. Yeah, they shouldn't be allowed. Did you know that there's some GMs? Not a lot of them. They're a dying breed now, but they refused to give them in negotiations.

George McPhee was one of them. I didn't realize this. So back when we were at NBC, I was on a call. And I think it was when McPhee first got the job with Vegas. And they signed, you remember Vadim Shippashv? He was like a KHL superstar and they brought him over

and I remember asking on the call is there any trade protection in the deal and Stephen Wino sent me a text AP writer who covered the capitals in McPhee for a while and he said McFeed doesn't do no movement clauses now go to the Vegas page and look at all the guys with

no move clauses full no trades I mean right of the top of the list Marner's got one Eichl's got one Stone's got one full no move clause Kelly McCrimmon, he's weak. Was it because people know Vegas' game plan now? If I'm going to go to Vegas, I need a no move. That's fair.

Maybe. They're just going to deal with it. I don't think... Is there a single team out there that doesn't have many? I don't think it's doable. I think it's just the way of the world. I think it's just the way of the world now. You have to give them.

But it stinks. It totally does stink. The one thing the NHL needs is more restrictions to make the trades. Should they put something in the CBA to to restrict no movement classes? Like the amount that a team can have? I mean, you could put something in the CBAs. but you would have to negotiate it for them players and I don't think the players are going to be willing to give it up.

The volume of them is uniquely NHL. We've talked to guys that cover other leagues and they're like, this thing doesn't really exist. Doesn't NBA have like two? Yeah. It's crazy. Right. And the idea is what you're suggesting.

Like if we're going to make the amount of personnel moves that we want to make because we're that league, you can't have restrictions like that. You know? And it does put players in a at times uncomfortable position. Like, you know, you have to get Alan Walsh to go out there and complain about, you know, leveraging it against the player. But also, what are they going to, what's the player going to do if the team just decides to bench them? Okay, we're going to bench you until you wave your no move.

Like, is there any recourse that the player has? You're like, sweet, I'm signed for like eight more years. This is amazing. But it puts them in a top spot, you're right? Yeah, but that's the thing with the no move clauses. It's like, well, you have one. But there are our ways. Then you start talking like you're the mafia.

You're like, we have ways of changing people's mind. But it grinds the value you can get for these players down. It does. That's why Quinn Hughes, with no trade restriction, and you could trade him to anyone, and they would be guaranteed to have him, if they're a playoff team this year and a playoff team next year, for two post seasons. Like, that to me is massive. He could poison the well, right?

He could. He could say, like, you see what I'm doing right now? He could be doing that for you. That doesn't really happen much, but I suppose he could. He's doing it right now. What are you talking about? That doesn't happen very often. except last game.

And the game before that had. No, I suppose. But man, if I was, I mean, the idea of being able to trade Quinn Hughes to a contender and just go pure futures, I know that's not what the Canucks are thinking. No. But I'd be like, I want your top prospect,

because this isn't going to affect your playoff team right now. You've got a good team right now, and you're going to add Quinn Hughes to it. Yeah. I want your top prospect. I want your first round pick this year. your first round pick next year and the first round I want three first round picks from you because you're going for it right now so don't worry about those first round picks you're going to trade them away in you're adding Quinn Hughes and you know what I'm going to take your

second round picks too like I want I would make this like a you know those WHL trades that are like all the picks seven first round picks into future drafts where they don't even have like a location or a year and if you're the Canucks you could even make the argument like don't worry we're going to trade some of these first round picks and get some players. Yeah, sure. Right? Like, they've done that before, but I would just go to any team and be like, I'm taking your future

because this is about the now for you right now. I'm taking all your future. You know what? You know how I said, I'm going to take your top prospect? I'd take your second best prospect, too, because you're getting Quinn Hughes. Yeah, and the incoming team is like, that's great. We don't affect our

NHL roster in the slightest, and we add the best defensemen in the NHL. It's a win-win. It's the rare win-win, except for your future because you kill it. And you know what else you could do? You just be like, you know what? Do you have a bad contract? Give it to us.

We'll take that one. Sure. We'll take your third best prospect now too while. We need some warm bodies. Please send us somebody. Give us a terrible contract. Yeah. Let's make this deal.

Let's go pure futures. You know who won't do that deal? The Vancouver Canucks. He's right. This entire segment was brought to you by the Doe Auto Group. Find out why nobody beats a Duick deal since 1926. Visit Duick Jam on Marine Drive.

Visit them downtown, visit them in Richmond. Visit them online at the Duick Auto Group.com. Coming up, Seahawks Talk, they are in Atlanta this Sunday 10 a.m. kickoff. Big road favorites, yet again, the Seahawks are. We'll talk to Brady Henderson from ESPN preview the game. That's coming up next on the

Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650. Canucks Talk with Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. We'll dive deep into all that's happening with the Vancouver Canucks. 12 to 2 p.m. on SportsNet 650 or wherever you get your podcast. 734 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. It's a thrash Thursday here on the Halperin' Brough show on Sportsnet, 650.

Halpernbrough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt back into the game with a financial fresh start. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We're in our two of the program. We're the midway point of the show. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN, is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason Homon. at Jason. Mortgage, the most metal

of all the mortgage brokers. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Dom Mortgage. To the phone lines we go, Seahawks are in action this Sunday 10 a.m. kickoff in Atlanta,

seven and a half point favorites they've moved up to now. Joining us now to break down the game are Seahawks Insider from ESPN, Brady, Henderson, here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Brady. How are you? I'm doing great. What's going on, fellas? Not much. I want to start today's hit talking about Ernest Jones, the 4th, who had a marvelous game on the weekend.

And what was a great defensive performance, maybe not so great offensively, but a great defensive performance by the Seahawks against the Vikings. Jones has gone viral this week for some of the clips that he had about his impassioned speech in the locker room after the win. It was a week prior. I remember maybe it was two weeks prior. he was the one that really leapt to Sam Darnold's defense after Donald had the four interception game. It seems like he's really established himself as a leader both in terms of the fantastic

play that he's putting forth, but also like being an emotional leader for the team. I know you wrote about him this week for ESPN. Talk to us about what you wrote about and this season that Jones is having both in terms of like Pro Bowl caliber play, but also being a very big key leader for this team. Jones is, he is just the real deal.

And for the life of me, I can't really figure out why, A, he was traded twice in the span of a few months. And then also, you know, he didn't technically hit free agency, but I think when a guy signs a deal that close to free agency, the agent has been able to gather, you know, agents have their ways of going about that. But, like, really gathering, you know, what his market would be. And he only got, you know, nine million and change per year. Because when you watch him play, I mean, it looks like a $15 million a year player. And then when you just hear stories about the kind of leader that he is, and you see that, too, it's just he seems like a guy who, I don't know, should be more in demand, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. But at any rate, the Seahawks to take it, he's a phenomenal run defender. That was the big reason why they traded for him last year was because Tyrell Dodson could not stop the run.

and I don't think Jerome Baker was all that better at it. But now you're seeing him make plays in the past game as well. And so he's just the real deal. And it was a fantastic pickup. And again, I think Los Angeles, you know, the Rams, they kind of have a thing about not really paying inside linebackers. Haven't really done that a whole lot under Sean McVeigh. So it may be sort of a more of like an organizational philosophy.

But that said, you know, they also look. could have hung on to him for the final year of his rookie contract. And so at any rate, I don't really get it, but it's, uh, their loss is the Seahawk game. Well, if you want to talk about executive, uh, level master strokes, like what Schneider, and I guess because McDonald identified him, what they were able to do there was amazing. Because when you do a mid-season trade, I usually think it's like you're trying to either jolt a team or fix something that's fundamentally broken. I don't know if you necessarily think you're going to find like a franchise caliber guy,

which is what they did. And when you stack it up with all these other. moves that Schneider's done, you know, getting rid of the Gino trade looks fantastic right now. The acquisition of Darnal looks fantastic right now. It seems like they were able to do a lot of really shrewd moves in a short period of time, which is why this team is where it's at right now, very early in the McDonald era. Yeah, I mean, if you go down the list, you know, if you point to like the 10, I would say the 10 biggest off-season moves, personnel-wise, I mean, almost every one of them

has been a home run. And, you know, Jerry's still out on a few of them. Obviously, you know, you don't really know what you have with the draft picks yet, but the early returns are, you know, really good. And, yeah, I mean, you know, the Darnold, the Gino-Smith trade, obviously is the big one, but DeMarcus, I mean, the other free agent signing is DeMarcus Lawrence. You know, Cooper Cup has been good.

The production hasn't been overwhelming, but I think he's a guy who I've mentioned this, that you've got to really look beyond the production to find out the kind of value that he's bringing. And then, you know, the draft picks. Graze Abel has been fantastic. Naguemann Worry is playing a huge role on their defense. Royo, you know, I haven't seen him break out yet.

So he's the guy that, you know, is still out on him in that draft pick, but by and large, just a fantastic offseason for John Snyder. And, you know, last offseason, you know, the one before this one, they really did not get a whole lot out of their freezing class. Now, I think they took a lot of really small swings, you know, short, inexpensive one-year deals. And I think part of that was, you know, he and McDonald were still really feeling each other out in terms of the kind of player that they wanted. And so, you know, they made a lot of signings that did not work out, you know, Tyrell Dodson, Jerome Baker, the two inside linebackers, Rayshon Jenkins, you know, the tight end that they signed Farrow Brown.

go, you know, on and on. But it was a lot of, you know, smaller swings. And so those misses weren't all that significant. And then, you know, they took some bigger swings this off season, and they connected on a lot of them. It does not seem that long ago that the Seahawks could not get pressure on the opposing quarterback. And now it's like, we're not even blitzing.

We're sending four guys. We have one of the lowest blitz rates in the league, and we're still getting pressure on the quarterback. How are they doing it? Well, it helps when you got four guys, you know, who can really get home on their own. And I think earlier in the season, I think earlier in the year, it was a combination of two things. One, you know, they had backups in the secondary, you know, because Julian Love was out for a while. Obviously, he's still out coming back, but, you know, Devin Witherspoon was out.

And you just had backup players in there. And when you send a linebacker on a blitz, you know, those guys get taxed a little more because now the heat is on them to really step up in one-on-one situations. And I think McDonald just didn't want to put those guys, you know, Ty Okada in, you know, in tough situations. But the other part of it was he didn't really have to, you know, because the front floor was so good at getting home on their own. And, you know, I think that this, one of my local radio friends here has posed the question of, is this the best defensive front in franchise history? Not the best defense.

Obviously, the Legion of Boom is the gold standard, and it might be tough to top as a defense, you know, as an entire defense. And the secondary was what that defense was built around, and the linebacker core was great with the Hall of Famer and Bobby Wagner. But in terms of just the front four, I think this might be the best one. the Seahawks have ever put together when you just look at what they're capable of doing with, you know, and obviously there's more than four guys in that group, but just the

84 guys that they can put up front at any given time, you know, that 2013 Super Bowl team had some great players in play favor on Michael Bennett, but they did not have anything close to the duo of interior guys that, you know, Seattle has now with Byron Murphy

and Leonard Williams. And just the depth of this group, you know, Clint, Clint, Clif Averill and Michael Bennett, those guys played like 80% of the snaps sometimes because it was them and it, you know, the drop off to the next couple guys on the edge was pretty significant. But now, you know, you've got, you've got a pretty solid group of four guys, you know, when you can throw in Hall and Mophe behind them. So it's a, it's an incredible defense and really I think it starts up front with the front floor. All right. Let's talk about the offense now. because Mike and I were talking earlier in the week,

and we kind of hold the Seahawks to a higher standard now than we did even at the beginning of the season or the first few weeks in. We're now thinking, why not us? When you look at the NFC and, frankly, you look at the whole league, so we're going to start nitpicking. Is it fair to say that it's been three straight so-so games for Sam Darnold? I mean, the four interceptions was not so-so,

but his numbers were okay in Tennessee, but the Seahawks looked off against the Titans, and the Titans made that game closer than maybe it should have been. And then last week against Minnesota, and I think you can credit the Vikings defense, and they know Sam Darnold, but it doesn't look great right now on offense. Yeah, I would, I think that's totally fair. It's been three games, and the weird part about it to me

is that this is also coincided with the running game getting going and you know before you could have pointed to you know if darnel was struggling you know three weeks earlier you could have said well you know maybe he's just kind of putting too much pressure on itself uh because you know he doesn't have the run game to lean on but the run game is finally coming alive and he is uh you know i think it's fair to say he's struggling and um you know the he had the the one turnover in that game um he could have had had another one because, you know, if Cooper Cup hadn't fallen on that fumble, I also think that there were, you know, two of those four passes batted at the line of

scrimmage, they were looking at those didn't get intercepted. You know, the week before in Tennessee, I think we talked about this. So there were some dangerous, you know, some really aggressive throws there. So he's been turning the ball over, and the turnover problem could very easily be worse than it has been. So, you know, there's been some conversation locally about just the amount of fumbles this season. He's got seven, which is, I think, tied for fourth most in the league. And that's kind of a lot when you consider that he's not throwing the ball nearly as much as most other quarterbacks.

I think, you know, if you go back and look at each of those individual fumbles, the problem doesn't seem quite as big because, you know, one was on a botched quarterback center exchange. Three of them were, as he's, you know, literally in his wind up throwing the ball and there's not a whole lot of quarterbacks. can do in that situation. So the fumble problem isn't as some people have made it out to be locally, but by and large, you have got a lot of turnovers this season. And there have been cases where he's been fortunate to avoid them. Well, even his accuracy seems off in the last few games. I mean, he was threading needles on plays earlier in the season.

And he looked like a confident quarterback. That doesn't seem to be the case as much. much anymore. Is there something that other, is there a book on him? Like did the Rams show the way to play against Sam Darnold or is this just a, just a mini little slump for Sam Darnold? You know, that was my initial thought is that, you know, teams would, you know, it being a copycat league, we've all heard that saying that, you know, teams would sort of try to do similar things. I don't know if that's necessarily happening. I went and look at, you know, individual blitz rates that he's faced.

And obviously, Minnesota, you know, they did what they do. And they sent a ton of pressure at him that they blitzed on 60% of his dropbacks, which is the highest rate he's faced this season. If you go back a couple weeks before that, the Rams didn't really blitz. And the Titans didn't blitz a whole lot either. And that was, I think those are two of his, the lowest blitz rates that he has faced this season. So, I mean, they still succeeded in really giving him not that. clear of a picture, and maybe there's some theory over there, but I don't think it's a matter

of, you know, I don't think it's as simple as well. The key is to just send a bunch of pressure and, you know, watch him struggle against that because that really was not the case against the Rams or the Titans. We're speaking of Brady Henderson, our Seahawks Insider from ESPN here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. I do have to say, if this is a slump for Darnold, it's maybe come at the most perfect time of the year because the opponents, this three-week stretch. Not good. Tennessee was okay, but that's a one-win team.

Minnesota might, that might have been one of the worst offensive performances I've ever seen. I felt bad for Brosmer in that game. Like, that was one of the worst offensive performances I've ever. What if you completed that pass? Now do the other ones. Like, that was Nathan Peterman level bad from him. And I felt bad because, yes, Seattle's defense dictated a lot of that.

But now you get an Atlanta team that is 4 and 8. They've dropped six of their last seven games. This is going to be eight straight seasons of missing the playoffs. They're 6 and 14 in their last 20 games. And no Michael Pennix Jr. who's out for the season with a partially torn ACL. So it's Kirk Cousin's time. I will say, like, if this is a slump for Sam Darnel in the offense, at least it's coming at a time where they're not playing great opponents

and the defense can go out and win them games. Yeah, you're right. they probably would have preferred that slump to start maybe one week later than it did. Right. You know, it gets the Rams. But, yeah, you're right. I mean, Cam Ward, now, Cam Ward looked really good in that game. But before that, he was the, you know, ranked 33rd, I think, in total QBR.

So this stretch, for the most part, has come in kind of a favorable part of their schedule. But, you know, they got Daniel Jones. That stretch is going to end because next week, it's Daniel Jones, who, you know, the Colts have kind of come back down to Earth a little bit, but Daniel Jones is still playing really good. I think that's an 8 and 4 team. And then you got that big massive, you know, matchup number two against the Rams on Thursday night in Seattle.

And so, look, if you lose that game, it's really hard to win. It's going to be really hard to win the NFC West when you talk about dropping two games because now you've got to finish at least one game above them in the standings. And, you know, the Rams did look a little. bit vulnerable going to Carolina and losing that game and some turnovers that we really haven't seen this season by Matthew Stafford. He's in a great job holding on to the ball. So who knows what happens with the Rams down the stretch? I'm amazed that the 49ers are still in the mix. I was ready and in fact I did. On the airwaves, I wrote them off a few, you know, a month or so ago

after I think they lost either Bosa or their middle linebacker, Fred Warner. And yet, Here they are still alive. I do think that they've lost so much firepower with their pass rush that it's going to be hard for them to sustain that. But as of now, they're in it at 9 and 4. And so if you're the Seahawks, whatever is going on with Darnold, you've got to figure it out and fix it because you can get away with that against the worst team in the NFL in the Titans.

You can get away with it against one of the worst quarterbacks I've ever seen on an NFL field, frankly, and Max Rosemarks. And you could probably get away with it against Kirk Cousins, but it's going to be a lot harder after that. I'm glad you mentioned the Niners, and I think it's very rare

that you get two Coach of the Year candidates that are rivals in the same division, but I think you can make a legit argument that Shanahan and McDonald's should both be up there in terms, I know there's a lot of candidates, but those two in particular, especially maybe Shanahan for what he's done for Coach of the Year.

Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned that because I'll step up on my soapbox a little bit and tell you why. the way that we think about coach of the year is kind of silly. I mean, it typically goes to the coach who exceeds expectations the most, right? Meaning, in other words, it's like, who is the coach that we, as observers, who are we most wrong about? Like, whose team were we most wrong about?

And, you know, so it might go to someone like Shane Stuykener, right? like someone who is the coach of a team that really is exceeding expectations. I think you tend to overlook coaches that you know, we're already, you knew that their team was good, but they did a really good job of

like dealing with a lot of turmoil and adversity and yeah, to your point, I think that Kyle Shanahan should be in there just with how he's got that team in position to compete for a playoffs. So maybe, I mean, maybe even the division title, despite losing

some key, key players, you know, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa lost for the season. Their rookie first round pick, Mikel Williams, Brock Purdy was out for quite a while with the injury. So, and here they are. And, you know, they've got nothing out of Brandon Ayuk this season, too, and they probably won't. So, yeah, Kyle Shanahan, he's done a heck of a job. Brady, this was great, buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do it. As always, we appreciate it. Enjoy the game on Sunday. We'll do this again next Thursday.

All right, sounds good. Thanks, guys. Thanks, buddy. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks Insider from ESPN here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports 9650. There is no shortage of, like, pretty good candidates for Coach of the Year. But if you go packing, you look at some of those games that the Niners won this year, where, like, Mac Jones was the starting quarterback, and Joanne Jennings and Kendrick Bourne were their leading receivers.

Like, they've done a remarkable job. I think McDonald should be in the mix for it. I think they've had a great season. For sure. Mike McDonald should definitely be in the mix for it. And you know what it is? It's like they have it. They figured out their identity.

I love a team that knows exactly what they are and what they want to do. Yeah, and specifically what they aren't sometimes. Right. Like, they want, like, they're the, they're an outstanding defense, right? They're, and the way he's been able to turn around the run stuffing is amazing because they stop. The first half of the Mike McDonald era, like, they couldn't stop anything. Yeah. They would just get run on consistently.

So halfway through that hit, after I said, our opinions have kind of changed on the Seahawks. and we're kind of now and like, hey, why not us? Yep. I didn't expect this. I went to a sports book and I looked at the Super Bowl odds. Okay.

The Rams are the favorites at plus 490. The Seahawks are next. Who's the leading... And plus 850. They're tied with the Eagles, to be fair. Who's leading out of the AFC? What's the highest AFC team?

The highest is four NFC teams because Green Bay's in there too and then Buffalo is at plus 1,100. And then followed by the Patriots at plus 1,200. Yeah. The AFC is... Because you've got to take into account

that the Ravens or the Chiefs might not even make the playoffs. No, I know. And Buffalo isn't winning the division, so they're not going to get the benefits of having the road go through Buffalo. They still could win that division, I think. I think they're going to catch...

New England? They've got another game against them. Yeah. They still could. What's the gap there? I got to look at the stadiums. I don't think it's a massive gap, but the Patriots...

They got a two and a half game lead. It's going to be tough. That's going to be tough. Yeah. New England. is 11 and 2, Buffalo's 8 and 4. So that's a lot. The Canucks have a practice today at Rogers Arena.

It starts at 11 a.m. And then the media gets to ask some questions. Will there be a body language question today? I don't know. Are you going to the rank? No, I'm going to. I'm going up to Camlips for hockey tournament. I'm leaving as soon as the show's over.

I don't think you need to plant the seed. I don't need to plant the seed. But will anyone ask it? And if so, like, it's going to get asked in some way. It has to get asked, right? Yeah, it's, it's an unavoidable conversation. Yeah. You can be on either side of the conversation like you and I are about, um, whether

it's acceptable or not or whether you can, uh, empathize or sympathize the situation. If there's neither of those things to be had, but ignoring what you see. Yeah. Is that's, that's a fool's Aaron. I have to. I think it has to be asked. Yeah. And the organization.

does need to address it with the player privately. And whether it's justified or not or whether you think it's okay or not or whether you're willing to give them a pass or not, it can't go on because like the trade rumors that are all across the league, everybody is noticing now. It's not just a Vancouver thing. It's not just the Jackals and the Vancouver media. And I saw countless pundits yesterday pointing to the clip.

Clips actually is more than one now. So there's enough body of work. But the one against Colorado, I think, was the most stark. And it was recent, too, like, recent spies. But there's been other ones, too. Like, I won't acknowledge that, like, Queen Hughes is a, like, a calm, placid demeanor. Like, he's visibly frustrated right now. And then when he's talking to the media, he's equally frustrated.

So, yeah, I think it will get asked. Thomas Strance is going to join us next on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.