the U.S. and we'll see you in a bit. >> That's what we're talking about today. >> I'm not sure what we're talking about today. >> That's what we're talking about today. >> That's what we're talking about today. >> It's what we're talking about today. >> It can happen. >> One of the two will have to fall into a wild card spot. >> I'm just saying if the Canucks win lose their final 16 games, if that happens. >> You sound like a saber's fan today. If we win the final games remaining in the season, we might have a chance. >> Honestly, the sabers have a better chance right now than the devils do because of the form they've been on. >> I'm just saying, Colorado's third in the central right now. >> Right? >> Who knows? >> Maybe their wild card. >> Nashville goes on a run. >> It's not going to happen. >> It's not going to happen. >> But no, you're right. I mean, that's the thing. I'm being facetious here. But yeah, there's just no real world with an exponential wild card spot and same thing for Colorado. So if they meet in the playoffs, it would have to be the western conference final. >> So facts only. >> Fact only. >> Fact only. >> A potential western conference final preview tonight at roger's arena. >> Yeah. You're not wrong. >> It's a potential. >> Yes. >> It's maybe not the likeliest. >> It's not maybe the -- >> It's guaranteed. >> It's guaranteed. >> It's maybe not the prospective one, but -- >> It is. >> It is. >> We are a conoch central in the mobile context studio. Getting ready for the conochs and the avalanche tonight. Let's get to the open. >> Welcome to the open. >> That's your home. Are you too good for your home? Get to me. >> The conochs are not too good for their home. They've been very good at home this season and hope to continue that through their nine game home stand. And as the open begins today, I wanted to focus on something that happened yesterday. We mentioned it on yesterday's show, but we saw Jim Rutherford get an extension shortly thereafter. Patrick Aldine got an extension, and yesterday they announced extensions for Emily cast on game. Ryan Johnson promoted to be assistant general manager, not just assistant to the general manager, which was his title prior to yesterday's change. And the conochs keeping together a front office that has worked pretty well, I'd say, in the two years they've been around? >> You could certainly say that. The turnaround the team has had over the past year has been as good or better than any team in the national hockey league, and it doesn't look like it's a one and done. We don't look at this team and say they made these moves, this is their chance, and the windows shut. They signed Pedersen to a long-term contract, and perhaps that in and of itself is one of the best moves they've done this season to assure that for the long-term, you have your two best players, three best players, including J.T. Miller signed long-term, plus you have to have a couple more years. This window extends beyond this year. So that in and of itself, I think, tells you quite a bit about the work they've done, and also how far this organization has come in a short amount of time. Now, it seems like this turnaround has just happened overnight, but it's also because you've had Pedersen, Hughes, Besser, and these guys here for a long time, and now they're past their growing pains as players, and they've entered the real primes of their careers, and that coincides with better management. And that's why it's been such an astronomical leap for this team this year. But I would say our confidence should be high that they have the right management team in place to really create something special of Vancouver. It's very clear that Jim Rutherford is president of the team and of the organization. He's got a clear idea of what it takes to put together a winning organization, and that started to happen from day one that he got here, and look, the team was in a really dark place before they hired Jim Rutherford. The end of the Benning era was long overdue, and you needed the change over, but you also needed somebody to bring back credibility and restore the reputation that this franchise had over a decade ago when they made it to the Stanley Cup final, and what they had built here in Vancouver, because that was lost a little bit, if we do remember. Which last year you were still going through some of those growing pains, but you got through all of that smoke, and you've come out the other side, and what I've always said, and what we've always discussed here on the show when Jim Rutherford was hired, you've got to build a program. And this is the guy that builds a program, he did it in Carolina, and he took over one in Pittsburgh, but that one was flailing before he got in there, and now he's done the same here in Vancouver, to the point where they finally put something together that allowed them to maximize the talent that was already here in Elias Petterson, Quinn Hughes, and the others you mentioned. Yeah, and the Canucks aren't there yet, because I think when you are one of the elite programs, longevity plays a part in you becoming a program, you don't become a program overnight. One year of success is that mean you've created one, but it certainly seems very likely that they will become one. They're not the Bruins yet, in terms of obviously longevity they've had, I mean the hurricanes, leaves, abs, knights, bolts, rangers, kings, even, and you can remove the kings from that group and say, hey, but they're still kind of in that play-off mix, but the other teams, they look to be here for a long time. And there's no reason why the Canucks shouldn't enter that conversation and be one of the top programs in NHL, like, given the talent they have, given now all of a sudden how good their cat picture looks long-term, even if they sign her own or the next few years, and that's despite the OEL buyout coming in to affect a bit higher the next few years, even with all that, the Canucks have a really nice cat picture, plus they have something elite talent locked up long-term. There's no reason why this team shouldn't be amongst the top programs in NHL, and given the track record we're seeing now from the front office, there's no reason why we shouldn't believe that they can make sure the Canucks become that. It's, you know, I think most of it comes down to just knowing what you need and really understanding that at a very clear level, because, you know, most of the pro scouting staff hasn't changed all that much, but it seems as though their processes have changed and how they go about targeting certain players, identifying exactly what they need for the role that they need it, and Kami Granato is the one that sort of runs that department now, and, you know, how many have they missed on? Really? It's very few that they've missed on, and everything they've added this year, yeah, they spent some draft capital to get it, it's a door-off, and all these guys laugh pretty as we've talked about, but free agency last summer, they nailed it with all the bets that they made, it's really been a change in, I guess, their processes in how they identify players that's helped them feel the better team than what they'd had in the past. Absolutely, and one of the things that gives me the most confidence is the ruthlessness in which they operate. Yeah. You know, they weren't afraid of trading the captain to move they needed to make, right? They aren't afraid of making the big decision, and just see how they handle the Pederson thing even, right? Yeah. And you knew that if things went awry, they would have moved them at some point, like they're not afraid of doing things like that, right? And, you know, we've talked about her own because, well, that's going to be a big decision, but this isn't a front office that I feel like is going to get suckered into overpaying certain guys, over extending guys, and really muddling, muddying the waters. Like, I don't see that being their MO, and I think part of the reason how you can become one of those top teams, all those top teams operate with some level of ruthlessness. Yeah. You have to have that. You can't be afraid. Like, look at Vegas with the moves they've done. They want to stand on the cup. Look at Tampa with how they've operated, right? And, you know, look at some of these other teams, even the hurricanes, right? Like, they're not afraid of making a tough decision on a guy. They put numbers, and they stick with it. And I think that type of discipline from a front office is really important. And I think when you get too sentimental in management decisions, that's when you get into trouble, especially in a cap world where the money matters so much, which you're investing into these players, the moves you're willing to make, and the moves sometimes you're not willing to make because of the sentimentality. And I think removing that as much as you can as a GM gives you a better opportunity to make sober decisions for an organization, and that's how these guys have operated so far. That's imperative. You know, you can go through it, but not like ruthlessness and also making the right decision, the right choice on a player, just as you were mentioning that, Brent Seabrook comes to mind as, you know, they gave him that legacy contract in Chicago, and that was sort of the beginning of the end of the of the Blackhawks era, right? It was just too big of a contract, too ugly of a contract for them to ever overcome. And those legacy contracts can be killers. We've seen it in San Jose, who were largely regarded under Doug Wilson to have one of the better programs in the league. They barely they didn't miss the playoffs. They were always good. They were always in and around it, always knocking on the door. And finally, you know, it has started to crumble down eventually, you know, you're eventually you got to start paying the bills, right? And the bills of paying all your futures to keep contending and keep making it work comes due, but you can make it last for a very long time. Pittsburgh is is a really good example of that. Tampa is a really good example of that. If they had some down years, yeah, but they've come back and bounce back out of them. They've won cups. They've had really competitive years, even before they won cups. So building that program is what is ultimately a reason why you see a lot of the same teams being in and around the playoff picture pretty much every year in and around the Stanley Cup picture almost every year. But what do all those teams have in common? They have a core that they've built around. And the Canucks have that in Demko Hughes, Patterson Miller. It's just does it. We're still finding out if it's as good of a core as Tampa had as the Bruins have had that they've built around for so many years is some of like the teams that have won cups and that have had staying power in the league. Honest, I think the only difference with the Canucks of some of those teams is maybe they need one more guy. Right. And I mean, if Lindholm placed it at ability, can he be that guy for the rest of this year? Yeah. That's why they went and acquired him right up front. Besser's play like there's there's that tight core and then there's a secondary core. I think the Canucks secondary core has really been good this year. I don't think it's a iconic besser, those types, but yeah, you still kind of need another guy that fits in like, you know, you could call Demko's like Vasilevsky. Stanko's is the Miller of this group. Hughes is the headman of this group and Corona because of Sir Gotchap. Let's say Patterson is kind of the kucharoff of the group and who's the Brayden point? There you go. You know what I mean? That's the only thing when terms of the higher end talent, I think the Canucks are there. Generally speaking, right? Especially with how JT's played this year, but we know Patterson and that's why he got 11.6. Quinn Hughes might win the Norris this year. Thatcher, Demko, Vessna, caliber, goal tender, right? So those guys are there. It's about, and this year they're getting some goal scoring and production from Besser that, you know, approximates that level of player. Is that going to be what he can do year in a year out? And that's my only question with the Canucks is, and really it's not, my question isn't so much about their ability to find it. It's more about when they will find it. Like I think they're going to find another player like that at some point or make the type of move they need, you know, especially if they don't win the cup this year. But it goes back to your level of confidence in the front office because I think in terms of the foundational pieces they do, it's more about do they have the one or two extra guys, those teams had, and that's ultimately why the one Stanley cups. Yeah, and you know, I, before the, the text box starts crushing me over this comparison, I know that the Tampa players have shown a level that the Canucks players have not yet, and that level is in the postseason and we'll find out more this year to see how they're able to maintain their level that they've had in the regular season and take that into the postseason because ultimately that is what matters most. But if you're going to build a team that knocks on the door every year, you've got to have that tight core and the Canucks have a lot of the elements that you look for, maybe just still missing that one big piece to build a real competitive team over the next number of years. Now, you know, we talk about ruthless decisions and the Canucks are going to have lots of those. Patterson has locked into his new deal. We focused a lot on heronic and I know a lot of people have built off of our conversation yesterday and what we talked about with Patrick Galvin last week in a contract offer for Philip Ronik, which I guess there's still some negotiating to be to be going on on that front. But the Canucks do have a lot of other really important UFAs to think about and I wonder as we are now past the deadline set, does the team focus on trying to lock some of these players in before you get to free agency, before you get to the off season? Yeah, I think the question is how do they rank in priority, you know, and before they made the trade for Lindholm, Blooger was very high on that list and I still think Blooger is high on that list too, but where does he rank in relation to their stated desire? That Lindholm was going to be more than a rental that they're and Albin told us this when he spoke to us last week to that when they made the deal for Al for Lindholm, it was because they also wanted to try to keep him, you know, they're pretty honest about it. Now, I don't know where that's at today, potentially, but taking them at their word with that also not mean he'd be higher on the priority list than Blooger. So could you sign Blooger until you know where things are going with Lindholm, especially considering he's a center and they may end up, you know, I like Blooger a lot, but you're paying Lindholm, can you pay two and a half, three million for your fourth line center? Yeah. You probably can't, right? It probably costs you a bit too much. I've been losing money on the wings, right? So I didn't like the David Comf contract for the Toronto Maple Leafs, so if Blooger were to get something similar, I'm not sure I could be overly in love with it. So that's what I wonder about? Yeah. If they're looking at Lindholm and they realize it's not going to work long term in terms of a contract, then I could see them jumping on Blooger, but I wonder if Joshua right now might be the guy that you look more closely at to see if he can sign. So Joshua, I feel as though when Joshua got really hot there and he started hitting career highs in all of his numbers and now that he got hurt, it's calmed down a little bit, so maybe we could have a more sober conversation about where Dakota Joshua's number ends up because it felt as though some of the speculation at Joshua's peak there during his hot streak started to get three and a half, four million, and I still feel like that's a bit rich for a guy that, to this point, has scored more than 15 goals in a season. No, I mean, this is the best year he's had in points in assists and goals, 13, 13, 26, it's all career highs. Now, he's only had one full year in the NHL and this was last year when he played 79 games, and I know it's not a direct comparable because positions are different, but if you look at how Tommy Novak hit the scene last year, that was his first big year, full year playing the NHL and he had his near point of game. Exactly. And then this year, he was below, but he was still producing more than what Dakota Joshua has, or more in line where Dakota Joshua was at, and he signed for just over three million over three years, yeah, and he's a center, yeah, and overall a better player. So, and now it's not a direct comparable, and now because Dakota Joshua is a big physical winger too, and those guys are rare, could there be a scarcity to his game that drives his price up if he gets a free agency? And I'm sure that's something his agents are probably considering, you know, can we see a special case for him in a barren free agent market where the bidding war gets up and now he gets three, three and a half million per year, look at Felino getting what he got, right? Now I know he's got history and everything, but you can talk yourself into saying like if he's getting four, why shouldn't I get four, Dickinson's getting four, why shouldn't I get four, right? But I don't know if ultimately that that's where his market is, and if you can get him signed for under three million, do you do that? I would be a lot more open to under three million than than over three million. I don't know if Joshua is the type that you, well, any sort of bottom six type, I'm not sure there's like that's the kind of player I really want to give term to, unless it's like a real favorable number where the player is clearly making a concession on the average annual value to just lock into 10, 12 million dollars on the total value of the contract. I find it hard to really commit four years or three years to bottom six player types. My biggest, my biggest thing with Joshua, and I think when he's playing his game, he's fantastic, right? Yeah. My biggest thing is when he came to campus, you're initially the coach mentioned he wasn't at the conditional level conditioning level we wanted him to be at, and then he ends up getting healthy scratched a few times this season. Now he ended up, you know, working through all that and finding his game and he's been terrific since I can envision a scenario where he gets his contract extension and we're sitting here talking about a player under achieving who's getting healthy scratched at times. Like that reality exists to go to Joshua because we've seen it and he's been in line. It is and he hasn't had the track record long enough yet for a sale he's got, he's figured out he's going to be consistent. So that's my only hesitation with him. That's why if the number was going to be three and above, I just, I just stare clear of it. But if you get him signed for, you know, let's say two and a half or so for a few years, two or three years. Yeah. Like I think that would be the sweet spot because if he figures it out even more and now he's locked in at 2.5, now you have a real value on your hands, right? Yeah. Like a Garnet Hathaway type contract kind of comes to mind, but that might be a little too, a little too poor for what Dakota Joshua might be looking for. Yeah, and you know, Raymond asks, would you do the Colts and Sizzans contract? I wouldn't do the six years. I don't do long-term deals for guys like that. Like if you're a third liner, yeah, I'm not giving you six years. Yeah. You know, I do three, maybe four for a guy because in that right age range, but I'm not given six or seven year deals to guys who are going to be playing on your third line. Yeah. The Brandon Tan of Miles Wood kind of deal. Don't love it. No, I don't. To be, to be personal. No. Those guys signed for fewer years. I just don't like locking yourself in that much. Then if you're locking into your top-end guys and you're locking into those guys on your secondary, tertiary level, then where are you going to be able to freshen your car, rostrup over a year? Yeah. So I think you need to have some flexibility and I just don't believe in over extending on guys like that. So I wonder about like the defense we've talked a bit quite a bit about Tyler Myers, going to be on the radar to, to re-sign with the Canucks. We'll see what happens with Ian Cole, who's also an unrestricted free agent. He's been a nice ad, but, you know, again, as a guy that will be in his what age 35 season, age 36 season next year, you got to be a little bit careful about how you manage that and how many dollars you want to commit there. Does Casey de Smith have an opportunity to earn himself a spot back in Vancouver during this stretch here without that Jardemko? I mean, yes, there's a world where that can happen and if he plays really well. The thing is though, if he plays really well and you really want to keep him, what does that tell you about the price he might be able to command? So is he 1.8 this year right now? Yeah. Like that's already maybe more than I'd be wanting to commit to the backup goaltender for that Jardemko. It's probably right in the range like between one and a half, that sort of area, that's ultimately, I think, what makes the most sense for the Canucks to do if it's not Arthur Silobs or Nikita Tallipilo? I could see a scenario. If that happens, let's say he plays really well down the stretch, right? And even let's say he features in a game or two in the postseason, it shows well. Could a team not look at him and say maybe he's our 1A1B and say we have a young goalie, let's bring him in. Maybe he plays maybe give him 2.5 million over two years or three years or something. The goalie market is so volatile year to year and it's so unpredictable sometimes which guys get paid and which guys don't. But I just wonder if the price for him will ultimately be too high if he plays that one. If he doesn't, then how keen are you to bring him back anyways and spend more than 800 or 900k on Arthur Silobs next year to be the back? My one worry about just bringing up one of the rookies is you need to have somebody that you trust to spell Thatcher-Demko. I mean, we're seeing it again this year, right? Any situation really, you don't want your goalie to play. You want him to be in the 55-60 game range and so you're going to need to trust whomever is your backup goalie and is that guy going to be Silobs as early as next year who's been kind of up and down with Abbots for this year? Yeah, I mean, it may not be, but it also may not be this myth and I think now you've seen with Ian Clark two year in a year out, there's a different backup that comes in and I would say it's more likely they go in a different direction, especially if his market really expands. Like I just don't know, especially when you start looking at the capital next year and you're like, well, all these guys who have to get paid, where are you sacrificing and where are you going to bet internally on you being able to exceed the value and considering the goalie department here with Ian Clark and their track record, that will be the spot where I would kind of trust that they could find value and not overextend yourself. We'll talk more about this with Kevin Woodley, our goalie guru coming up here in just a few moments. Canucks Central round up a couple of things that we want you to know that's happening with the Canucks and around the league. Canucks current playoff opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights, that doesn't feel great. Canucks first place in the Pacific Division, 91 points, got a 10-point gap, feeling pretty comfortable. Here's your present Vegas Golden Knights round one. But hey, at least Vegas won, they won yesterday. You want them to keep winning, perhaps. If you're that afraid of Vegas, they are tied on points with LA right now, but LA does have a game in hand. Better point percentage than Nashville. They do. So if we're going by point percentage, Nashville is their opponent. If you really want, yeah, if you're really, if you are really afraid of Vegas, I would suggest you cheer on them the rest of the season. Detroit lost its sixth straight playoff, Obes dwindling, and they're fighting in practice now, is that? Which always fixes things. Yeah, and Jake Wallman was in the other quarter doing the gritty, practicing the gritty, distracting the players during the fight. Yeah, I mean, they're falling apart, man. Yeah. I know we've talked about it the last couple of days a little bit, but it's a really tough spot. That's a storied franchise that now has committed itself quite a bit to a lot of players who are kind of average long-term. Yeah, by the playoff probabilities, I think they've got about the same chance to make the playoffs now as the Seattle Kraken. Oh, that's great. Fantastic. Great for them. It's Hughes versus McCarthy tonight at Rogers Arena NHL dot com that it's voting for the Norris and their prediction as to where the Norris lands will be here in Vancouver with Quinn Hughes. I don't know if that changes at all in one game here tonight. But Hughes, it does feel has the, he does have the heart of many voters to this point in the season. Yeah, and the Canucks got off as such a great star. They've been such a great story, right? And that momentum is really carry throughout most of the season. Now they're picking it up again after the bit of a lull that they had. And as much as we talk about Vancouver being, you know, in the West and everything, it is a market that gets quite a bit of attention when they're good and the Canucks now are getting attention. So, you know, and maybe Hughes is getting that, that supernova Canucks bump when they're good again. Myers, unlikely to return tonight. He is close to coming off of injury. Rick Tockett did say if he had to push it, he probably could play tonight, but it doesn't look likely that he will. So you're saying he's, he's healthy scratching tonight? Is that what you're saying? It's just kidding. Somewhat healthy scratch. No, it's not. Dakota Joshua, no official timeline on him. Coach says they're going to take their time to make sure that he is ready to go. And he does the door off speaking to media today called Nathan McKinnon, the best player in the world. I love he's got a cop. You know what? I love, I love the take because it's also a teammate of Nathan McKinnon. Exactly. But I love his takes. Like he, remember he said, he, yo, sees the best defenseman in the NHL. He said McKinnon is the best player in the NHL. We had asked him with who best goal he is now. It's going to be somebody you didn't expect it. Yeah. He's got to go with one of his compatriots. Does he not? I mean, they, they dominate the Vesna pretty much every year. Save for a llama. For a llama. Like not the guy you think, like for a llama, I mean not just Durkin or, or, or any of those guys. All right. Coming up, Kevin Woodley, the goalie guru is going to join us his take on who the best goalie is in the league and more. That's coming up on Canucks Central. [BLANK_AUDIO]
