(upbeat music) - Back in on Canucks Central, Dan Reicho, and Bick Nuzak. We're in the Kid Tech Studio, tower number two of the program. And it's a Friday, so you know what that means. Two things. Sat's probably not here. And two. (laughing) - We should start doing like Margarita Fridays. - Yes. - Or like Martini Fridays. - Yeah. - In Tuxedo. - Fomot Friday. - Yeah. - And just like seat up. - You just have the most epic Fridays? - It sounds like way more effort than I wanted. - But then like, you know, we could post pictures and be like sat missing out on Fridays. He doesn't know what he's missing out on. - Sat-free Fridays. (laughing) - Yeah, but I've been trying to get a sat, no sat clause in my contract for years. - We're doing penalty kick contests on Fridays. (laughing) - Oh, he wouldn't be able to partake in these. - Yeah, he died. (laughing) - I'm saving 10 of sat's. (laughing) - So funny, every time sat takes a day off, we just drag him like crazy. He's like, oh, but he just like, he's always working. - That's, honestly, someone asked me a reason, but like, hey, can you dig a day off? It's like, no, it's like, why? It's like, I don't want to get ripped on there. I just don't want to get ripped on there. We, any one of us could be legitimately sick. - Yes. - And it's like, oh, that guy's weak. - Yeah. - You won't come into work. - What a coward. - But not to the point where we're like, hey, if you're sick, stay out. - Yeah, of course, of course. - But what, when someone takes a healthy work about it. - Well, when someone takes a legit day off. - Yes. - You're getting dragged. - Back out. - You're taking a week vacation? - Whew, why? - That's a coward move. - What do you worry, 52 weeks a year? Come on. (laughing) - All right, it's time for the mailbag here on Canucks Central. (upbeat music) - The best music in all sports radio. - Take that baseline for a walk, man, every time. - It is the mailbag. You ask us questions. We try to answer them to the best of our ability. A lot on the Canucks. Some on some other things. As well as just life in general. We appreciate the odd question on the left field. 650, 650 on the Dunbar Lumber text message inbox. Can't promise we'll get to them as we already have a ton of questions ready to go, but you can always try and maybe we'll get into some overflow after 5.30 as well. Producer Josh Elliott-Wolf. - Speaking about a left field, Victor and I are having a debate right now. I had a sandwich that's on a brioche bun. What is the premier brand delivery system? I would say brioche. Brioche bun is my favorite. - I said pretzel buns. - Oh. - Pretzel buns. I just like, for me, it's like a proper panino. Like, I don't even know what you would call it. The bread. - Are you having a burger? You're having a sandwich. - If I'm having a sandwich, I just want, I want a proper panino bread. And it's like crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. And I don't even know the proper term for it, but I know what it looks like. - I get what you're talking about. - Kind of a chapata guy. - Really? - Yeah, I just like a soft bun. - Yeah. And that's why I'm like a sturdy bread. Fair enough. - I like crunchy on the outside. It's got a little bit of texture. Can't be soft all the way through. - I'm a big soft guy. - I mean, I already knew that, but. - We'll get into a, there's another question around of a similar ilk later in the mailbag. - No need panini bread. This sounds great. I might have a bread recipe to go to this weekend. That's a lie. - All right. - All right, into the text or into the questions. Myler tires. Why is JT Miller not playing? Why is JT Miller not playing on the left half long on the power plane? - I wish I had an answer for you. - Yeah, I don't have a good answer for you. Okay, so the theory would be the two right-handers and trying to activate the bumper spot is you need the left-handed pass to the left of the goalie. - Yeah. - So on the right side, on Patterson's flank, down at the goal line. So where Besser is traditionally operated, just on the inverse. So you need the left-handed shot on that pass. - Yes. - That's the theory. - Yeah. - But is it also the correct utilization of the resources to say where is JT Miller best operate on the power play? - JT is an incredible power play player. Like you could craft Team USA. And Team USA is going to be loaded next year at the four nations. And guess what? JT Miller is on that team and he's arguably like not, not only like he's not even like a fringe PP1 guy. He's probably like he should be on power play one for them. That's how good of a power play player he is. - Oh, he's just, he's will be there too. - Yeah. - So there's the chemistry. - Michael's gonna be there. - Matthews. - Matthews, well, Matthews, I can understand like not being the primary puck handler, the primary trigger guy for certain. - But because Miller like can fit in so many different spots, he can be a secondary puck handler to the, probably Queen Hughes is the other power play quarterback. - I mean, to me it makes a lot of sense. And he is just that much of a power play dynamo. Like you look at his numbers as far as power play, you know, what he does on the power play compared to other guys in the league. He's almost as good as anybody else. So like taking him away from a primary puck handling position has been puzzling from the day that they started this. And my only, like my only thought about this is they're trying different things to see what else can work in the playoffs. You might be right, but you're past the point in our return now. It's like you have to go back. - You have 15 games left. If they get three power plays each game for the next 15 games, it's only 45 attempts to correct it. So a minute, 90 seconds for each one. Like it's not that much time. - The thing is like everything they've tried has not looked anywhere near as dynamic as them having Miller on the left half wall and Patterson on the right half wall. And then you work from there. Like chaos happens, guys rotate. You know, that was their, you know, their primary posture when they started the season. And then they would create movement as the power play went on and it really flowed. It was fluid. They were one of the best power plays in the league to start the year. But since then, it's definitely tapered off. And they've tried a lot of different looks. A lot that I have a lot of questions about. But ultimately what's worked best is that posture they started with at the beginning of the year, that set up that they started with at the beginning of the year. So I just can't imagine that they don't go back to it at some point. - Next one is unsigned. Will we see the lot of line for more than one game in the playoffs? - Absolutely not. - For more than one game? - He was pretty emphatic about it. - If you've listened to Rick Talkett, it's almost like he gets angry about the thought of the lot of line. (laughing) Maybe that's a bit harsh. - Maybe he hates that it has a name. - He clearly doesn't like it. When he was asked about it the other day, this is like he jumped down the reporter's throat. (laughing) I have tried it, by the way. And it doesn't work. So I don't know why we keep getting asked about this. Look, it's one of those things, situationally they may go to it. But I don't think they'll ever be brought back together as the most common line mates. - Yeah. - And look, Miller wants to play center. Pedersen wants to play center. They're not going to switch that up. And they've made the decision that it's only going to be a situational thing if they go to the lot of line every now and again. - Next one from Justin and East Van. What is the ideal development plan for DPD in Abbotsford? (upbeat music) - Get him into games. - Play, yeah. This year, next year. - Yeah. - Well, this year's almost done. But all of next year. - I don't know if he's got a, like you're not looking for offense out of him, right? So you want to get him in the HL, get him acclimated to the smaller ice and there's going to be some, there's going to be a transitionary period where you're figuring out your angles and how things are a little bit different, how you've got to close guys down quicker because there's less space for you to cover on the smaller ice sheet, those kinds of things. But if all goes well, I don't think it's a long trajectory for him in the HL. They don't have a ton of, I mean, they don't have a ton of veteran depth at the HL level, right? - I didn't sue Si for the next two years. - Yeah, right now, Breezewa would be the oldest guy down there, him and Christian Willannon. But Willannon is signed for another year as is Breezewa. And other than that, your left side is Akido Harose. You're probably looking at DP to getting a significant, like you'd want him to get a significant amount of time as early as next year in the HL. - Yeah, I would expect him to be top forward in the HL next year. - Like not just time, but like timeline ice. - Yeah, yeah, that means the path. - And for me, like a full season makes the most sense in the HL. Injury is not what's standing, scenario has happened in the big club. But then even start the year after that, maybe like camp battle then. - Yeah. - Now if he blows us out of the water and come to training camp or like, man, this guy is not gonna be here for a very long shirt, but especially for Demon, it just takes a little bit longer. - Takes a little bit longer. You don't have, like obviously I've Quinn Hughes, but beyond that, there's obviously not really many roadblocks on the left side of the fence. Carson Sousie is signed beyond next year, but that would be it beyond that. I do know that the organization thinks really highly of DPD. I'm not sure other organizations saw it that way, but if he was asked about in trade during any deadline conversations, the Canucks were pretty hands-off on the player. So I wouldn't say he was untouchable in the same way that Lekker and Mackie or Willander are, but he was maybe the next tier down from those guys. - Next one from Grouchy Guy. What's a fair deal for Nikita Zadorov? Third pair defense being five by four, five, five, four, oh my goodness. - Four and a half. - Four and a half. - That would have been easier to-- - But is that Fair for Vancouver? - That seems great. - Basically like what's a, yeah, what's a fair deal for-- - I think. - Zadorov and Vancouver. - I don't know if that number exists, to be honest. - In Vancouver or on the open market? - In Vancouver. 'Cause Fair implies like it's good for both sides. I just, with Carson Sousie here and-- - Like he's not, he shouldn't play above the Carson Sousie. - No. So how much do you wanna pay your third pairing left-handed D-man? - So for the Canucks are you saying he can't make, and he already does make more than Carson Sousie? - He can make more, but like, okay, how much more do you wanna go beyond that? I don't even wanna put him more than $3 million. - So Eliot Friedman mentioned today that he's probably getting priced out of Vancouver. I imagine that's part of why the texture is asking this question. And also because Zadorov coming off a really good game, he had the Gordy Hal hatrick and looked incredible against the Colorado Avalanche. I think it's very fair for him to expect between four and a half and five million being available to him on the open market this summer. I just don't think that's a ballpark that the Canucks can play it. - No. If it's A.A.V. or term to make it fair, I think it's just gonna exceed the realities of what the Canucks can do, and by the way, should do. - Yeah. - 'Cause if he's gonna be on your third pair, would you prefer Zadorov on that kind of a deal, let's say 4 million plus on a term deal or just bring back Ian Cole for one year at a similar number. - Oh man. - You can't keep both. - Yeah, you can't keep both. - You don't really have any other ready-made left-shot D options. - Rather have Cole for one year. - They're gonna have to bring in another left-shot D. - But I'm not enthralled with the idea of another year, free and Cole. - No, but well. - If it's one year, I'm pretty okay with it. - It would have to be a reduced rule for Cole next. - Sure, yeah. - But I think it clearly would be too. - Yeah. - Like now that you know what Susie is, you would go into next year being like, that Cole is the third pairing guy. - But they haven't found out if Susie can handle true second pair minutes yet either. - That's the thing. So in my mind, when you mention that, I was like, well, then could you do as a D'Orov in Susie as a pairing? Susie on the right. - Yeah. - And then you wouldn't have to spend the money on Myers in that scenario then too, 'cause you'd have Heronic Susie Juleson. - Yeah. Tough questions, man. - It's tough realities. - I just, I really, I have a hard time to take a pathway for Zidorov to stay in Vancouver. I would also be uncomfortable with giving him four to five years term. - Yeah. - So if that's gonna be available to him in the summer, I'm not in Brian Burke to drive you to the airport territory, but all the power to you, go get paid. - Next one from Brandon, does Vegas fall out of the playoffs? - No. It's close, man. - Are we really entertaining this idea? - Four points out. - You know, Minnesota. - A little while ago, they still have a game in hand on Minnesota. - Yeah, four points is still a lot with like 15 games to go. - Wild play them twice though. - Okay, so it's possible. - They got like, they control their own destiny, but I would still bet on Vegas, but it's more likely that they fall out now than I would have thought a week or two ago. - When's the first Minnesota game? - I got a look at them. - Hang on, I got it for you. That was where we're bringing up here. Yeah, that's what five games away, 16's away. Five games away, March 30th. - A lot can change. - A lot can change. If it's still hovering in that spot and they win that game, then all right, I'll listen to it. - Can not explain them twice too, so can not skin. - Right. - Do some damage as well. - I'll tell you what though, 10 days ago, 12 days ago, I was like, oh, we got our 16 teams. It's sorted. The Detroit Red Wings, complete tailspin, seven losses in a row. - Yeah. - That East Chase is all of a sudden, a lot of fun. - So, should we be at a point where Vegas, like we have this idea that Vegas is a top tier team. - I've played them out. - It's really just an idea. - I've taken them out of the top tier. - But the idea is such a like strong idea. - It's respect, right? - It does feel somewhat like the year they got Jack Eichl and you're just like, well, they'll figure it out at some point, they'll figure it out at some, and then they miss the playoffs. Now, I don't like, the ball is still in their court, they shouldn't miss the playoffs from where they are, but I need to be reminded sometimes of how poor they've been for quite a lot of time. They're in the high end of that second tier for me. - Like the Vegas Golden Knights, since January 1st, are a sub 500 points per 10-inch team. - That's not great. - They're a bottom third team in the league. They're 23rd in points percentage since January 1st. That's not a small sample size. We call the first 25 games this season, the run to American Thanksgiving, the first checkpoint. You should know who you are by then. Well, that run since January 1st is a game, is a stretch of more than 25 games. It's about 30 games for the Vegas Golden Knights. If you go all the way back to December 1st, they're 22nd in the league at a 512 points percentage. So we're talking about half a season sample where they're a 500 team. - Is the Tomash hurdle deal a bit more desperate than we initially realized? - I don't think it's desperate because they-- - They absorb six years. - It's not like they went and got some high profile guy who was like, "Oh, he's a year or two." It's a six-year deal. - I think their assessment was, "Hey, we could keep Chandler Stevenson and have to pay him seven million bucks a year or around six to seven million bucks a year, or we can go ahead and get Thomas hurdle." And then that's already solved. And Thomas hurdle is probably better than Chandler Stevenson. - Sure. - Okay. - Yeah, okay. - Talk me out of it. - The Hanifen one, if they're able to keep Hanifen, trading for Hanifen seems reckless if they're unable to keep Hanifen. - No, that to me is just like a rental. You're in a playoff spot, you're going to get a rental. - Yeah. - Yeah, I don't know if it's reckless. Just because, yeah, you're going to get a rental. You're a team that just won the cop. Like theoretically you shouldn't have too many questions about make the playoffs. It's just coming on downhill for a while here. - There's no guarantees he stays. I mean, people are convinced he wants to play for Tampa next year, so. - Next one, basketball fill. Is there a city in the USA who have had better Canadian athletes than Denver? Nathan McKinnon, Kale McCar, Joe Sackick, Patrick Waugh, Jamal Murray, Larry Walker. - What a great question. - It's got to be a city that's had like, has obviously it's a multi-sport city. - Right, yeah, yeah. Wow. - I mean, Pittsburgh's had Sydney Crosby forever. - And Lemieux. - And Lemieux. But, you know, the diversity of sport there. - Ron Francis, top 10 scorer in NHL history too. - Do they have anyone in, but they don't have a basketball team? - No, Jason Bay. - Jason Bay. - Jason Bay. - Good poll. - Jason Bay. - Yeah, Jason Bay was great. - Yeah, Jason Bay was strong. - For a few years. They also had Travis Snyder. He was not Canadian. He just played for the Blue Jays at one point. - So definitely not. - Did the Timberwolves have any Canadian players? - Yeah, Andrew Wiggins. - Ah, Andrew Wiggins, yeah. - He was not good for the men. - Yeah, it was not good. - Relevant to our discussion. Did the Timberwolves have any Canadian players? - Phoenix. - Steve Nash. - Steve Nash. - Shane Stone, who else played for the Diamondbacks. - Yeah. - That's a great question. It might be Denver. - It might be Denver. - Upon further research, I'm willing to say Denver. Denver is at least the most interesting one. - What about LA? They've Gretzky for a long time. - Eric Gagne. - Eric Gagne, Russell Martin. Steve Nash played for the Lakers. - There's so many teams there though. That version of Steve Nash. - Version of Steve Nash was not a good one. - That's Timmerwolves. - That's Timmerwolves, Andrew Wiggins right there. - Yeah, I don't know. - It's probably Denver. Yeah, it might be Denver. - Good question. - Especially like Larry Walker. Are we also considering like the height of, like is it skewed to what the player accomplished there? - I think so. - Okay, well then, Edmonton. - Or-- - Oh, it says USA City in the USA. - Los Angeles then. - Yeah. - We're talking about Wayne Gretzky, folks. - Yes. - But I mean, I think these guys, 'cause how many cups do Gretzky win in LA? - None. - Yeah, I'm not. - Oh, I guess, yeah, I'll get some theory, okay. It's Denver. All right, good question, Phil. - That's a great question. - Austin and Langley. Who wins the Champions League? - Okay, so if we, should we tier this? The eight remaining teams. - Yeah, man. - There's the Manchester City tier. - Yeah. - Is anybody else in the Manchester City tier? - No, I hate seeing that, but no. - It's okay, so the non-Man City division. - The non-Man City division? - I wanna say Arsenal, but Randi might be listening and I don't want him to have that satisfaction. - I'll do it, I'll do it. - I know, Izzy. I know Randi were probably listening, I'll say Arsenal. - For me, it's Real Madrid, which is fun because they play Man City here in the quarter final. - Now, the fact that Real Madrid, if it was the final, I might say Man City. - Yeah. - But because it's two legs and they get a match at the Bernabeu. - Yeah. - Then I'll say Real Madrid could be in there. - Yeah. - That's a good opportunity there. But Drew Bellingham has slowed down quite a bit. - To me, it's... - Your MP Arsenal has the best chance. - Oh. - Byron, do you believe Byron? - I don't believe in Byron this year. - PSG? - We'll never believe in PSG, sorry. - But they haven't bought me. - No, I just, I won't. - Can't do it. - I just don't think there's like enough depth there. - If it's not Man City, it's gonna be Real Madrid for me. - Real Madrid. - Vic, you got to take on this? - We're doing Arsenal here. - I do. I think it's fascinating because Real Madrid and City are my top two, obviously, but they're on the same side of the bracket, same with Arsenal. So when it comes down to the final, one-off game, anything can happen. If Atlético Madrid can get there, we know Simione can grind out a victory. - You know what, that's a good show. In a one-off, 'cause taking like, Inter were the better team that match. - Yeah. - And like, Arza aren't the bars of old, but they could grind out something, I'm sure. - I was cheering hard for Atlético Madrid this week. I'll just say that. - Same. - No Italian teams, eh? - Yeah. - That coefficient ranking sliding. - Mommy, yeah. - All I know is 2025 Club World Cup in the USA. Juventus is now qualified, so I'm going. I don't know where they're gonna be playing, but I'm going. Can't wait. Next one, this one. What show regularly has the most chaotic inbox on 650? - I mean, okay, so I don't go into the inbox after Guy's name and dudes on Friday. - Yeah. That's probably the most chaotic bit of the day on any show. - So I don't, I try not to open the inbox when I wake up, so I don't know the howford and broth inbox. I have experience with it. If I had to say just the regular inboxes across all shows, I know my answer, but I'm just saying I'm ignorant to what happens in the morning. - I would say the morning to me. - Okay, okay. - Well they also have prizes for a lot of like though what we learn is in the ask us anything or whatever else, so. - Okay. - People get really creative with their submissions in the inbox. - What is yours? - Can I talk? - That was my second choice. - I think it's extremely chaotic. People get really mad during a new tattoo. - Okay. - But also the post-game show, because the emotions of a loss are unhinged sometimes. - Oh yes. - And that is. - Post-game show is for an audience. - I didn't include that. - I didn't include the post-game show in my mindset, but yes, now that I think about it, it is easily the winner. - It's tough to deal with sometimes. - Especially lately, it's been pumped. - Yes. - Next one, Colin from the Caribou. So this is what we were talking about earlier. - Heart shell tacos are soft shell tacos. - Who goes hard shell anymore? - I don't mind heart shell. - You're a big hard shell guy. - But I think I'm-- - I'd probably be like a three to one ratio. Like every three times I have a soft shell taco, then I'll be like, "Okay, I'll try hard shell at once." I can't remember the last time I had a hard shell taco. What I will say, an underrated move. Soft shell taco, in fact, the hard shell in half, loaded it in the soft shell one. Is it what I'm saying? - The hard shell taco, just like having notchos? - Why did you just, yeah, why did you just have tortilla chips then? - Yeah. - Oh, I don't know. - I thought you were gonna say put the soft shell taco inside the hard shell. - No. - So then you get the best of both worlds. You get the firmness of the structural integrity, but the soft shell chew. - There is no structural integrity if the hard shell's on the outside. - Yeah. - No, but it holds better because you have the soft shell. - If you put the soft shell on the outside, it holds everything. - That's what I'm saying. That's why I prefer soft shells. 'Cause nothing's falling out. - I will also say taco Fino does this exact taco, and it's fantastic. - Wait, I don't know. Soft shell all the way though, if I had to pick one. Oh, and in Burnaby. Reach, how is your chicken parm sandwich game? Dimitri was complaining earlier that he has not found a good one yet in the lower mainland. - Dimitri is a thousand percent right. I don't know where to get a chicken parm sandwich in Vancouver. - I just don't. - Birdie food truck. - Birdie food truck? - Is that a container brewing in East Van? - Oh. - Did not know that. - I stand by it. The text inbox for a Canucks talk was on it, but apparently Dimitri doesn't like it. He says it's too messy. - Oh. Okay. - I'm out of my element here, my chicken parm game sucks. - If I'm making a chicken parm sandwich at home, that's the only place I'm getting one that I like in Vancouver. As far as I know, now I haven't tried the food truck. I haven't tried many other places. I look. It is not readily available in Vancouver. If I go back home to Woodbridge, I've got about 17,000 options that I can go to within a 10 minute driving distance. - I was gonna say, I don't think I've ever had a, I've maybe had a chicken parm sandwich once a month. - Oh my god. - It is. - It's not readily available. - Well, chicken parm, veal parm, third, they're all amazing. - We got the text earlier that I was laughing at. I think you were looking at me like, "What are you laughing at?" And it was, "What region of Italy are you from?" I was like, "You're just gonna say Woodbridge." (laughing) - Pretty much. - You shouldn't have Italy. - My parents are Calabereza, but Calabereza then. Anyways. - What? - At this town. - Woodbridge, Woodbridge. - Very much so, yes. - Discount Dracula. How and why have Cheez-Its become so popular? - Are they? - I don't know if they are. - I don't know. - But I'll stand for Cheez-Its. They're very good. - Who doesn't like a salty crunchy snack with a cheese flavoring to it? - For a while, I thought Cheez-Its were only available in the States. - I don't know why. But like anytime-- - Do you know the right snack here? - Have you not had Cheez-Its? - No, I have. - Yeah, I swear. - What's my thought? - I didn't realize that they were rising in popularity. All right. They're like mainstays, aren't they? - I think so. - They're among there with like the Ritz crackers and the-- - I think they're on the rise though. People are respecting their game a little bit more. - I don't feel Cheez-Its was big on the scene a couple of years ago. It was like if you wanted a cracker, you were going Ritz. - Really? I'm out of the cracker game. - Yeah. - It's not my thing. I have soup, but if I need crackers, I do it by need, but yeah. - Do you just get premium plus crackers in that scenario? - The Ritz in Bic is just going for crisps. - No crisps are chips. - Yes, I know. - Crispers still exist. - Yeah, they do. - Whackers? - Crispers aren't good though. - No, they're not. - No. - They were a thing for like three seconds. - Yeah. Not crunchy though. One with this one. Have you ever walked out of a movie? - No. - I don't feel I have. - I wanted to. So we went to meet a group of friends. They all wanted to watch The Village, and I think I wanted to watch. I think it was collateral. I think that's those two movies, but yeah, the worst. I was impassioned of like, the village is going to suck guys. Yeah, trust me on this one. And this movie, which I'm pretty sure was collateral, was going to be awesome. And halfway through The Village, everyone's like, this movie sucks. We should leave. And I made all my friends stay. I was like, no, you guys made me miss collateral. We're all staying to watch The End of The Village. And it sucked. - Yes. - And collateral's quite good. - Amazing movie. - Yeah. I actually recently watched collateral. - I've never watched it. - Never watched it. - No, like just. - Oh, re-watch it. - Yeah, re-watch for the first time in a long time. - Elite movie. - Yeah. - I've not watched it. - You've not watched collateral? - You don't watch a lot of movies though. - Well. - You've got to put it on your list of movies that you're starting to watch. - That was a bi-week thing. - Once we got into the summer, I'll try to crank out some more movies, I guess. - That was a bi-week thing. - I guess this was kind of a bi-week, but. - It kind of was too. - I've been working too much. - It was a light week. It's Dan Reicho, Biknizar. We'll get to some more of your questions and close out the show next on Connect Central. - Catch up on What Happened in Vancouver's Force with Halford and Bruv in the Morning. Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. [XBOX SOUND]
