[MUSIC PLAYING] We're back on Knock Central, Dan Reacho, and Satyar Shop. An interesting day around the Vancouver Knocks as a lot of people wondering what's going on with the coaching staff. You heard it in the open, breaking everything down. So if you missed it, check it out on podcasts. I also talked about Ian Cole, likely heading to Free Agency. So you can get some of that available now on podcast. All right, let's get to Kevin Woodley, our next guest. He has a presentation of White Rock Hyundai. What's happening Woodley? So much, how are you guys? It's sunny out. It's beautiful out. I give this a play of hockey in the sunshine, but I am enjoying the sunshine. It feels like summer. That's definitely the case right now. And we heard you asking the tough questions to one Rick Tockett today during these availability, talking about the upgrades for Yogi Zfekovsky and the Satine Twins to the Knocks coaching staff. What did you make of what the coach had to say, and specifically on your question about going into the final year of his contract here? Well, let's be honest. The real tough question that I should have asked and regret not asking when I mentioned him being the first coach to split the Satine Twins up, because only one will travel on the road. Would have been, will you even know which one it is? Oh, yeah. And that was the question asked. And so I feel like I've dropped the ball significantly on that. Yeah, you know, we were headed towards the end and nobody else had asked it. I just felt like it needed to be asked. I don't, you know, you kind of trust this is going to get done. I mean, this fit here is so obvious. The success they've had right away. And obviously the relationship with Rutherford and Alvin, and we've heard so much about the communication that goes on and how they're all on the same page. Like, it feels like a no-brainer. I assume it's going to get done. I think everybody assumes it's going to get done. And yet until it is, I do think it's a fair question, right? Only one year left on the deal. And especially after Vancouver can't offer Mike Yo, an opportunity to go home or closer to home like Ottawa did. But you heard Rick talk in his first answer about Mike wanting more security and the understanding we had that that wasn't part of the offer here and that may have been tied to Rick's status. So fair question. And so was his answer, right? You know, that he's-- I don't believe he hasn't thought about it at all. And yet I do believe that it's when he says it's not something he's worried about. So until we get closer to the season and it becomes a bigger talking point, you know, I thought he handled it well and answered it well. And yet like I said, still think it's a fair question to ask at this point. 100%. In terms of willingness, I think there is clearly a desire from the organization to keep him here. And the one thing, you know, Rich and I, we're talking about between the break too, it's like sequentially when you look at it. First management, they got their stuff done. And I think when you look at where management was at the end of the season and where talk its focus was, which is coaching the team in the playoffs. And now your focus is as an organization on which players we're bringing back. I can understand why like you're not going into, you know, into the waters to get your head coach done quite yet, especially if it's not going to be a straightforward negotiation. By that, I don't mean that there's going to be anything and that happening here between the Canucks and Talkett. But we're talking about a guy who is now on his third head coaching job. He's had success. And when you look at how he handled Arizona and the mess they've been, looks a lot better now to when you look at what an ordeal there was in that market. Obviously how well he's done in Vancouver. He's a guy who has a great reputation. He can get paid to go to TNT. Like Rich mentioned, coaches union type of guy. Like it may not be an easy negotiation. So I think if you're trying to get this guy signed, like sequentially, you may want to, you know, tackle what could be a pretty tough negotiation with a guy who might be a tough customer in deeper into the summer than doing it right now. - Yeah, fair enough. Like I said, I don't think this is anything that anybody's really stressed about at this point. And yet, you know, again, like we know what that relationship is like, we've heard him talk about it. And yet in a summer where, you know, we've seen, you know, some decisions that you at least beg the question about finances and bottom line, perhaps being a part of it, they become fair questions. It's not just the relationship with management. It's about how things are done, you know, throughout the organization. And if you're going to commit long time, and let's be honest, like he's got a Jack Adams now. If you were to repeat what this team did last year, again, next year, he could probably pick a spot, right? So I don't think we're getting there. But again, I just fair question at this point. And we'll wait and see how it goes in the summer. Would not be surprised at all. If it's all handled and done long before we get to training camp. And this, that won't be the last time we talk about it, but you know, if it's one of the few. - Well, that's one of the things. That's how I view it. It's like, to me, it's not really a concern unless you show up to training camp and we're sitting here wondering what the coach's status is. And their answers are vague. That to me would be like the warning signs. - Right, and like I said, it hadn't been asked before. So it got asked today. - For sure. There was a lot of talk about the special teams and specifically the power play. And I mean, heck, we talked about the power play for almost the entirety of the second half of the season. It was probably like second ranked on topics of Canucks conversation beside Elias Pedersen's new contract, right? The struggling power play, how do they fix it? And it carried into the playoffs. Now, obviously, Yogi Spakovsky's gonna get a bit of a role on that. So it was Henrik and Daniel Sedine. But it almost feels like this is maybe the biggest priority of the offseason is somehow helping and fixing what was a pretty bad power play for the second half of the year and into the playoffs. - Yeah, and obviously won the costume in the postseason and Rick didn't hide from that today. And you know, I know you guys have Yogi coming on. And that's the other thing too. Like it's fair to ask and I did, you know, we talked about this last week after the Mahoulton decision. Like it's fair to ask on one hand about the financial parts of those decisions. Well, at the same time recognizing that you fully believe in the people that are being given the opportunity. And personally, I love the answer about promoting from within. I've watched Yogi work out late, out early on the skill side, out late with the power play guys. And Rick talked about that relationship. I'm from White Rock, South Surrey area. The reputation that he has from his work at GPF and with all the different spring teams and clubs and all the different places that he worked long before he was with the Canucks. Like it is as sterling as you can be. Like hockey people at every level think very, very highly of Yogi and not just as a sales coach. So I love that he's getting an opportunity to do more because when you listen to talk it, speak about his influence and the relationship he's built with their top offensive players, that does matter. And there's a reason they're putting that trust in him. And so I'm excited to see where this goes. I love some of the language that I heard out of Rick talk it today. I mean, you know, it's funny we focused so much on foundations and things like line changes and stuff like that over the past year and a half since he arrived as being part of your foundation. Well, retrieval's are another one, right? Like you can't just skill your way through a power play when you miss a shot or you lose the puck. You have to be able to get it back. And that can be systems based too, knowing where it's likely to end and making sure you have not just a body but numbers over there. I love that he talked about downhill. Like I love the way the Oilers power play operates, how dynamic it is, how they take in zone plays. So you're set up in zone and essentially turn them into rush opportunities. The way McDavid will come downhill, a word that talk it used today that he's talked about with Yogi attacking downhill off the power play. You can, with the right players in the right spots, essentially create rush style opportunities or sort of mini rushes in zone. And we've talked forever about how much more difficult that makes life on a goaltender, right? So some of those conversations have already obviously happened as part of this process. And when you see the relationship that Rick referenced, you know, on a daily basis covering the team and being there for practices and morning skates in particular, you understand why they're putting this much trust in a guy that, you know, has earned it at this level. And from everyone I've ever talked to, earned it at every level he's ever been involved in. - Yeah, that's one of the things that, you know, we always hear about Yogi is like how well thought of he is at every single level and everybody's encountered. They've said all the same things about him. And I am really interested to see what talk had also mentioned about the enthusiasm paying off. We talk about how with a new group of players, that enthusiasm is something that can kind of be infectious to bring some new energy. I think talking mentioning the enthusiasm that he can bring, enthusiasm that other guys have in the organization, especially somebody who's kind of now newer and fresher in a role. I mean, those things can have a tangible effect on a staff. - Yeah, I mean, and the other thing is like I said, what I do see is what happens on the ice and the amount of teaching and coaching. And not, I don't even know if that's the right wording when we talk about the conversations that happen out there. We're always not privy to the actual words, but it looks like a conversation, like it's a two way street. It's smart offensive people bouncing ideas off each other and concepts. That's what it looks like from the stands. What I don't see is what's in the meeting room, right? And I don't know how involved Yogi was, if at all, in a powerfully meeting, for example, as much as we watch that work. So obviously, if not, then that will increase. And then you add the sedines into the mix as well. And obviously, the expertise they have. Now, I will say we made the joke about hard-hitting questions and telling the twins apart at the beginning. We did drop the ball as a media core on that presser in not asking specifically about the penalty kill, myself included. I screwed that up because that was one of Mykyo's primary roles. And for all the talk about the power play and Yogi and the twins, we did not get an answer definitively on who's picking up the slack that Mykyo leaves behind on the penalty kill. And so I kind of kicking myself on that one, to be honest with you. I'm curious to see what that answer is. Yeah, that is a good one too. And we'll talk to Yogi as well, coming up in a little bit. And one of the things that we've kind of heard too is the planning process is still kind of going on with the coaching staff in terms of the roles and how they're going to tackle all these sort of things heading into next season. And as far as a couple of just a big picture of things looking at where the connects are, obviously, we're kind of still in that it's too early for any real movement before the draft and free agency. But today we hear Ian Cole is like the goal in a free agency. We keep hearing it's going to be tough for the connects to get some other RFAs done. What does that kind of tell you? Does that tell you, A, the money's an issue? Or kind of B as well, that the connections are looking to maybe make some bigger additions. And until they can figure out some clarity on that, can you really sign all your depth guys? Well, I'm going to be honest with you, Sat. I would lean on you for those answers as opposed to myself. I've, as I've said many times before, I leave the insider-ing to the insiders. I am, I'm not, you know, so it makes you think that that's possible, that it for all the good that Ian Cole did here. And it was a lot, not just in terms of, you know, the role on the penalty kill and defensively, but in terms of mindset for a group that frankly, I mean, how many times did I talk about this before they made those changes in the summer? Like, penalty killers that weren't eating, weren't, weren't sort of, didn't have a hockey sense to be in the right lane as often as they should be. And when they got there, they weren't willing to eat a puck. Right? Like, in Cole, like that's him. Like that is the definition. A guy who not only knows where to be, but is willing to eat a puck when he's there. And I think that becomes infectious when you have guys like that. And so you can replace maybe that maybe a little younger or maybe a little more upside in different areas, but what you have to be careful of, and I'm sure they are too, they're aware of this, is not losing that element on your penalty kill, for example, but also just five on five. So I think to me, without being able to say definitively what the answer is sad, not knowing which way they're going, not knowing whether they have other people in mind, whether they're just cash strapped because they're gonna spend in a different position or they see the defense evolving differently, not having those answers. I hate to sound sort of like just falling in line here, but you trust this group that whatever the answers they're coming up with, it's well-fought out. Right? That if they don't end up with Ian Cole, it's because there's another plan and it's a little more complicated than we just ran out of time. - Yeah, they've built some of that confidence, I think back into the market, but there's still some old scars that are still healing, I think for some fans. - Well, yeah, and I think-- - Fair, totally fair, right? Like, and it's not, you know, you don't hit a home run to every off season, I just think, like I said, I think they've earned that trust and I'll leave the sort of exactly what they're doing to the insiders like yourselves and Rick Dollywall to sort of figure out, I'll follow along on Twitter, but at this point, I'm kind of in a wait and see mode without sort of having, you know, privy to the information in terms of what direction they're looking if indeed it's not to bring back Ian Cole. - Yeah, and just to wrap that, this whole thing up on it, I think going back to why your questions were relevant, especially on Rick talking to stuff like that, it's because, yeah, we know there are scars from the past and it's about making sure that, hey, we've seen all these improvements, we've seen all these steps in the right direction and there is obviously a lot of more faith in making decisions, but also like, hey, we've seen signs before and make sure the signs aren't the same as they were in the past, right? And it's about checking off those markers. - Yeah, no, exactly, and that's why, you know, we ask questions about expenditures and the way things are being handled, and again, when you follow the team, whether it's professionally as I do now or as a fan, as I did when I was a kid and as many do listening to this, there is just sort of this fatalistic waiting for the other shooter drop that comes with, you know, being around the Vancouver Canucks, you can even go to game seven, right? Like, I mean, like the tragic nature of Brock Besser and having a blood clot and we heard how emotional that was for him, hardest thing he's ever been through, like, you're always sort of waiting for that other shooter drop. I just think this group has done enough over the past and it's just, it's a short sample, but they've done enough that they get some leash from me in terms of what decisions are being made moving forward and let's give them a chance to see what happens before I get too worried about what is reportedly happening already, although I will say, Incole will be missed, and I don't mean just because he's a go-to guy in the locker room, not just for quotes, but to explain things to us, to bridge the gap between what we see happening on the ice and why it's happening, why the success is happening, what type of, like all those things, the questions that he would answer are important. And so I think that veteran leadership as well, not just talking to us, but the voice he carried in the room is also something you have to be careful about losing in this offseason. - So the Stanley Cup final will begin at some point in the future when, I'm not sure, I think Saturday actually, but kidding aside, goalie matchup. Steward Skinner maybe has his best game of the playoffs, well probably his best game of the playoffs in game seven, or sorry, game six against the Dallas Stars, helping the Oilers clinch that series. And Sergey Babrowski has just been oh hum, pretty good the whole way through. What do you make of the goalie matchup going into game one of the Stanley Cup finals? - Bob actually dipped first couple rounds, but 9/21 in the conference final, he looked more like Bob. They don't lean on him this year like they have in the past. And that's, you know, part of the challenge for him is not being as busy, he's a very active goaltender. At the end of the day, I don't think it's any secret where the goalie scale tips in terms of the advantage. And yet for all the predictions of Florida, just like the predictions of Dallas advancing and taking care of Edmondson, I think too many people continue to sleep on how good the Oilers are defensively. I mean, just the fact they're in the Cup final where Steward Skinner in his second year as a starting goaltender with some of the obvious, you know, I was gonna say flaws, that might be a little harsh, but there are still, there are issues in his game that can be exploited. And yet good luck getting to the opportunities that exploit them, because this team is really bloody good defensively. And they have been since Chris Knoblock took over. And that's not just completely turning around what they give up off the rush, which as we know from Vancouver too, starts with not giving the puck away in areas that lead to odd man rush chances. That was a big part of their problem early this season. The way they defend, the way they take care of the front of the net, and the way they basically allow Skinner to have a chance to succeed by pointing to his strengths rather than letting teams get to his weaknesses. And when we talk about relative strengths and weaknesses, like you could not have two more different styles and strengths, tactics and techniques than these two goal tenders. Skinner is only two inches taller, but because Bob gets into that low white stance so often, I think the size difference is actually more than just the six four versus six two. And so if you can get Bob into that stance, there's room upstairs, even from distance. You know, we talked a little about our tours and in the second round about pucks from distance and traffic and stuff like that. Not to the same extent, but like for Brodsky, the guy with two peasantropies who has been beat clean with time to set and square and be ready and watch it from outside the top of the circles more than once in these playoffs and beat clean high. And yet he's also never out of a play laterally. Like he says, good, a skater from his knees on his skates, the edge control. If you don't bury a backdoor tap in, somewhere other than along the ice, you give him a chance to make a momentum-changing save and Skinner's the opposite, right? Like if you make him go East West, if you make him play in and off his posts, if you make him recover on second chances or broken plays, that lateral movement is, you know, it's just, it's limited, especially when compared to Bobrovsky. So you have two very opposite styles of goal tenders in terms of strengths and weaknesses. And the question is, who can get to a game that exploits them more in the Stanley Cup final? And as much as Skinner has more of them, I'm still not convinced that Florida will be able to get to them as easily as everyone else seems to think it will be. I'm not sure Florida's seen a defense that's good yet in the playoffs. - No, I think you make a terrific point about them defensively and their PK's been, you know, incredible too throughout this stretch here in the postseason. And I don't know if enough gets made about how good a job their coach staff is doing. Chris Knoblock too, with how the buy-in is there. We, it reminds me of what Talk It Oftentimes says about how they make their goal. These only have to play half the net. That's exactly what you're seeing here with Stewart Skinner and their commitment to their team play defensively. Like I think the coaching staff in Edmonton has done a tremendous job here in this postseason. - Yeah, absolutely. And it's, you know, some of it is tactics, some of it is tendencies. Like I said, not, I mean, early in the year, they were just, I mean, making selfish, stupid plays on offense that would just get shoved down their throat the other way. Like, and if you wanna play to your goalie's biggest weakness, it's rush chances for Stewart Skinner, right? Like make him skate, make him move backwards. And we even saw in the Dallas series, like Dallas got to him on rushes. They just didn't get enough rushes that it mattered by the end. Like you think of Jamie Ben, like all season long, that's been the book. Come down the wing, shoot far side off the rush. Like just whether you're, usually it's, if you're coming down the left wing, you go high over his glove. If you're coming down the right wing, you go low passes blocker. The Ben goal, I don't even think that was off the ice. He actually lost his net to the point where it was inside the post along the ice. So there are clearly areas of exposure. And yet the Oilers have done such a good job of limiting how often other teams get to those areas. And you're right. Like it's not just those things. It's, it's Leon Drycetto. We talked about against the Canucks. Like which teams high forward did a better job of blocking shots? You know, Drycetto with three in game seven or McDavid with three in game seven. Like their elite players doing a better job as the high forward, getting out and blocking shots, frankly, then the Canucks third and fourth liners did. So there's a buy in there, top to bottom. And I'm with you completely. I, I asked no block about it in the second round. I asked that comment about it in the second round. They both agreed wholeheartedly. They don't get enough credit for how good they are defensively. And I suspect whether it's enough to win this series or not, I suspect the Florida Panthers are about to discover the same. Woodley, we appreciate the time as always. Thanks for this. My pleasure guys. I am, I am going to find out one way or another whether Rick Talkie can, can tell the city and the part my, my, my inability of the journalist to ask that question today will haunt me until I talk to you again next week. I just hope it's better than the way he prepares a plate of pasta. So. Low bar reach, low bar. Thanks, Woodley. Thanks guys. There is Kevin Woodley on sports at 650 Bratty by White Rock Hyundai visit the showroom on kick George in white rock or white rock Hyundai.com. So in terms of the head coach, Rick Talkie's contract status. Yeah, we have a bit of an update. Oh, do we? Yes. Ian McIntyre on Twitter. X. Yeah. I'm Max Sportsnet. And it is him. Point of clarity regarding Canucks coach Rick Talkie who was asked today on zoom about going into the final year of his contract. Talkie has next season guaranteed plus a team option for 2025, 2026. Talkie said there have been no negotiations and he's not concerned. I mean, that's a lot of the conversations we've had already today, uh, seem rather. Hey, at least we got out at the end. Yes, you know, instead of like it like five minutes into the convo. So either way, so the option is also like, it's the team's option, so they're probably going to take it. I mean, there is a possibility that they don't take the team option and they negotiate an extension. Yes. So I mean, but there's no pressure point. There's no pressure point. No, none. Zero. Like all of a sudden, I'll talk about heading into training camp. No, the team has an option for the season. There's there's no concern about it. So that is good reporting there from Ian McIntyre. As per usual, we expect nothing different from the triple threat in McIntyre. All right. Coming up, Yogi's fake off ski is going to join us. That's next on Canucks Central. Hey, it's Mike Alford and Jason Bruff. Join us for Alford and Bruff in the morning. Weekdays are 6 to 9 a.m. on Sportsnet 650, or on demand anytime through your favorite podcast app. Milestones aren't for looking back. They remind us to keep moving forward, introducing Mazda's largest two-row SUV with hybrid power and spacious versatility. Made for more meaningful journeys. The first-ever Mazda CX-70, available as a mild hybrid inline-six turbo, or as a plug-in hybrid, crafted to move every part of you. Back in on Canucks Central Dan Rachos Satyarsha. Again, if you miss it, a lot of the talk about Rachtaket going into the final year of his contract, Ian McIntyre, tweeting 15 minutes ago now. Point of clarity regarding Canucks coach Rachtaket, who was asked today on Zoom about going into the final year of his contract. Taket has next season guaranteed plus a team option for the 25-26 season. Taket said there have been no negotiations, and he's not concerned. So a little bit of extra clarity there, of course, the Canucks making additions and finalizing their coaching staff, at least mostly finalizing their coaching staff, because they are still looking for a skills coach to take over the position that has now been vacated by Yogi Spheikovsky, getting the bump up to being an assistant coach for this Canucks coaching staff. And we now welcome in the new Canucks assistant, Yogi Spheikovsky. Congratulations on the new role, Yogi. How are you? Thanks, guys. We appreciate it. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, it's-- I mean, must be an exciting day for you. Your coaching career, you've come a long way over the years, and here you are. I mean, you've been the skills coach with the Canucks. What's this next role look like for you? Well, it's kind of been the full circle, going from being a player, and then suddenly have to figure out things in life. What's the next profession when you're 25 years old? And the passion for the game just brought me back to a coach, and I love that sense. So yeah, it's exciting. And at the same time, it's nice. I'm just basically going back to the same type of environment that I've been part of over the last three years. And now, especially with the new regime, with Rick coming in, I've been really big part of it last year in the sense of how I was used, and I saw that Rick and the entire staff just gave me really good opportunities to help them where they felt like they needed to help. And at the same time, I learned where I was able to be exposed to the things that maybe I didn't know. So as a person and as a hockey coach, it's been great and probably one of the things that I could maybe see coming one day, but definitely wasn't pressing for it. So I'm just going to fill in my lap, and I'm excited to go and try to get things done here and make sure. Well, your rise, especially with this coaching staff, is a testament I've heard to your work behind the scenes that they've given you more responsibility and more work. And you've been referred to as a really good teacher and a guy that gets across to really well to players. And I wonder how much of that goes back to the fact that you really started coaching from a grassroots level. Like you've been working with kids, you've been a skills coach with a Giants and you know, you 17 coach, I mean, you really worked from a very grassroots level. How much does that help you to be able to teach as well as you do now? I think that's a huge part. And there's a story behind it, which I usually don't share, but I was drafted by the ownership of Antonio in the Western Hockey League in Tri-Cities. And this is back in 1995. And I was able to play for them for a number of years. And one day, you know, I found out that I was retired. I couldn't play hockey due to injury. And I was 24, 25 years old. We were talking about possibly coming as a assistant coach at that time. And my dad, you know, former goalie, former pro player and a pro coach, kind of gave me a punch on the nose when I told him, hey, I think I'm really thinking about, you know, coming to Vancouver and even the Western Hockey because he's a assistant coach, and he just told me, he said, you know what, you don't know enough. He's just not going up to be a coach right now. If you want to really get my advice, and my dad's always been very, very honest with me. And that's why I appreciate the people that had around me because they've been honest. And that's how we developed the most. He said, you should really get a base. You should know how to teach without a scale. You should know how to teach people how to shoot. You should get the skill part that you need to have as a coach to actually help people to develop us, as people and as players. And so I did that for five years. And then later on, I got a call from, again, from around Torigos Group, where they were hosting the Memorial Cup here with Vancouver Giants. And they thought that I could maybe go and interview with Don Hay, and that's where things really, you know, kind of blossom, right? I came here to coach and the assistant coach for Don. At the same time, I was able to have a big role with Bell Park Academy under Ian Gallagher's guidance, who's been another great part of my life professional and just a normal life. And that's kind of how it started, we won. And, you know, when you win, you have relationships that you just, they'll ask forever. So I stayed for eight years, you know, on the bench with the guys. I was part of a lot of different things with Don. He was a great teacher. And at the same time, I was able to get into a minor hockey and kind of just help a lot of the players around here, which really kind of, you know, around me as a coach. - So at the pro level, like you're coaching the best in the world now, you know, how these guys, how do you get an extra little bit out of their game? How is that teaching level differ from where you came from? - Well, I used to call it a thousand dollar clients where, you know, you have kids who are learning how to skate and then you have players who are trying to win Stanley Cup. And there's, I always call, there's a thousand steps that you have to make. And I always say that the NHL players, the best ones are maybe at 980. There's still 20 more steps they can get to if they're willing to do that. And if, you know, if we can work on those things, that's what can get us, you know, to the next level where that's the difference between maybe a tipping the puck in the net or, or letting the goal lead to make it safe. So, so the biggest thing that, that all these work for me was, you know, kind of the slow, in a way trajectory of my coaching career, where I didn't go on the pause, but maybe as a title, the title of a coach, I don't know pause, but not the development. So, I had 20 years of experience working with professional players every single year from the, you know, the three months in the summer. So, a lot of the top NHL players are the guys who are, you know, now superstars. I was able to see that if you stay with them and you develop a relationship where they can trust you, they will see the difference, that it doesn't make a difference when you can tweak one, two, three different things, even in the short time over the summer. And that's kind of, that was really what I was hired here, originally by, you know, by the Vancouver Canucks. And what happened was, you know, that's just been the development and because I was able to spend a lot of time individually with almost every single player, you know, in average for its first and then at the same time with the Canucks, with the Big Co-op, we grew. And it's easier when you know every player inside out. And I've always really tried to keep myself up with the systems and the concepts as a coach. So now, all of this is you're trying to put it all together and combine it. That's what I think my strength is. And it seems like the players like it. And whenever we have this relationship, you know, we all want one thing when I win. And players when I win, coaches when I win, we want to sit it to win. We want to franchise to win. And that's where we feel that we are in the right spot. It gives getting there. - What also seems like there is clear alignment in terms of obviously how the front office thinks about how to build the team, how Rick Talkett feels about how you guys can play. And just listening to you talk about the team and the details and the fact that, you know, you might be at 980 steps, still 20 more steps to take. And as much as this season was a step forward, there really seems to be a sense. And I want to get your thoughts on this, that there's still a lot of room for internal growth with this group of players you guys have. - And that's exactly what we're not, maybe the city's happy. We're not really happy how the season ended. We feel that we had more. We also do know that you do have to have these experiences as a group to go through. And sometimes you do have to fail first. And we're not saying this is a failure here. We're just saying that we do believe there's more. And we do feel that the players believe that as well, which is the most important part. Players have to believe it. So that's another way for us to look up the summer. I was, "Hey, it's a work time. "It's not a, it's not anything else." Then what I just talked about, we got to climb another step and get to the next step. So next year when we start the season, we have the same start like we did, but we can be a little bit better. - So what does your expanded role look like? What additional duties are you going to be taking on here as an assistant coach? - You know what? This really is, I don't want to say this is the news. It's not, I talked to Rick in the length before, I don't think it's at the end of the season. But I know he's got plans and we know that he's the one who's going to reveal the plans. Just excited that I know I can continue to help to build what we're trying to get down here in Vancouver. And whatever the roles are, I'll be ready for it. And Rick is really good in the sense of, once he's got his coaching staff, he's really good giving career directions of what he wants everybody to do in the summer and how to prepare for a specific task. So there'll be more questions for him. I'm just, I know I'm ready to take the instruction and go with that. - Well, and in terms of, you mentioned the players and they've been very receptive in terms of criticism. I mean, constructive criticism and trying to get a lot better. But in terms of your workings with these guys, like how open have they been a receptive, are they to that communication and that kind of, I guess, focus on improving the details? - I think that's probably the most important part why I was excited about, you know, growing here with the Canucks because some of the, like I don't want to say some of the players. I want to say some of the players, meaning more of the guys we had for a longer time. There's sometimes players who come in and they're here for three, four months to finish the year and maybe you don't see them next year. But the core group of the guys we've had, they're, you know, they want to be sponsors. I feel that we push them, but at the same time, they're pushing back, they want to know more. So they've been really good. I'm excited about it. You know, it's nice to know when you leave the ring after the game that you come in back to the ring, and guys are hungry to know more, they want to have success. So in a sense of the buying from the players, it's been really, really good. - Hey, Yogi, we really appreciate the time. Congrats again on the new role and have a great summer. I'm sure we'll be talking again soon. Thanks for this. - Thanks, guys, appreciate it. And thanks for having me. - Thank you. - There is Yogi's Fekoski joining us here on Canucks, central new assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks and just a little bit of peek behind the curtain. We did pre-tape with Yogi earlier today and it was before Rick Talkett had spoken. So he, as you heard there, wasn't too comfortable talking about or going into too many details about what his expanded role might look like. - No, he wanted to kind of let the coach be the one that reveals ultimately what he needs to do and the news portion of it, right? But yeah, we pre-tape with him, but some great insight there from him. And I love the story he told about when he told his dad, he had an offer to be an assistant coach at the WHO level. And his dad's like, you're not ready to do that. Like what do you know about coaching? - Yeah. - And I think it tells you about just like his family too, how they approach life and how he's approached it. And he's put a lot of work in over these past couple of decades, right? Like you're talking about a guy who's worked from the very grassroots level. And you're, sometimes you see head coaches in the NHL and we were talking about, we were joking about JJ Radik yesterday with Earth, who's former NBA player who might become the next Lakers head coach but doesn't really have any coaching experience. I mean, Marty St. Louis is the NHL, one, but he's coaching Piwi and goes to the NHL, right? - JJ Radik is just like, I'm gonna talk basketball with LeBron on a podcast and then I'm gonna be hired to be the next Lakers coach. - Yeah. And you know, there's a lot of pushback sometimes on stuff like that, right? - Yeah. - And here's a guy who has been, has done it from the very basic grassroots levels. Also coaching U-17s, right? Coaching kids along the way and putting in nearly two decades of work to get to this point. I mean, he's, he's in many ways, honestly, he might be overdue, overripe for this opportunity. - Yeah, you know, and you mentioned earlier in the open and other teams have sniffed around in the past on Yogi and his appetite to be unassistant at the NHL level. So he has had opportunities and this is the one that he's chosen to take. Obviously he's got a long standing track record here in the market in the lower mainland with the Vancouver Giants and the Delta Academy. - Yeah. - Like he likes it here, right? - No, I see people texting in and stuff like, oh, it's a cost saving measure and everything with, listen, we can sit here and talk about what you think the Canucks should spend other coaches and whether you thought this should have been offering your multi-year deals or whatever it is, but it shouldn't take away from the fact that Yogi is clearly somebody who was very qualified for this job. And it's not like we're talking about, hey, the Canucks are going to the budget version and just throwing this at somebody who has taken the least amount of money for the job. Like that's not the case here with Yogi, right? So even if you think the team should have spent more so to speak or, you know, and perhaps brought back the deal with a more robust offer, going after somebody with more experience, sure, whatever, but I don't view this higher as being, oh, it's cost saving. - Yeah. - Talking himself mentioned that if Yogi, if Yogi came back, Yogi would have been promoted from his skills coach position, maybe not an assistant, but something more responsible. They clearly wanted him to be a bigger part and I heard over the course of the season, Yogi went from being a guy who was a skill coach to like, they kept bringing him on the road all of a sudden. They wanted to lean on him more. He's working more closely with players, working more closely with the coaching staff. Like you're not talking about a guy who's kind of just sitting around the back and now is being thrown the job. Like you're talking about somebody who is very qualified for it, who has a lot of respect in this organization and that's earned this opportunity. - I mean, I'm old enough to remember when people last year were wondering if there was too many people on the Canucks bench. - Yeah, I mean, and now it's cost saving measures. I mean, I don't know. - Listen, like we said, there's stuff's happened in the past. It's fair to ask questions and we'll see ultimately where it all lands and where it all leads. You just hope that they get Rick Tockett done eventually and they will, I would imagine. And no, we're not sitting here and questioning these things but that just to address the cost saving thing, whether again, like Woodley said, both things can be true. Even if you think it was a cost saving measure, it shouldn't take away from the fact that they hired somebody very qualified for the rule. - I will also point out programming note for tomorrow, 8.30 AM, Rick Tockett will be joining Halford & Bruff in the morning. So you heard from Rick Tockett today? He's gonna have an exclusive interview with Halbro in the morning. So 8.30, be tuning in for that. And I'm sure a lot of these follow up questions will get asked. I see Jordan in the Ridge talking about Mike Yo and how he took a bad PK to an average PK. Who's going to work with the PK now? Because that wasn't necessarily clarified today. I imagine it's going to be added on to Adam Foot's duties as he runs the defense. Rick Tockett mentioned today how Yogi Spakovsky's gonna take a chunk out of the power play. So it would make sense that Yogi Spakovsky is gonna do a little bit more on the power play help Rick Tockett there and Adam Foot's gonna take more of a rule with the penalty kill. But I'm sure the morning guys will be asking further questions about that. - Are you telling them to ask about that? Is that what you're saying? - Mike Halford, Jason Bruff. - That's like the radio way of saying, hey, ask these questions. Hopefully, we know we hear them. - I'm sure they will. They don't need me to tell it. I'm trying to tell them. - No, we're just joking. - I'm just kidding. Those guys are pros. We know it. - I'll just say, I wasn't the first one to have a bad spill in the studio. So I found that out tonight. - Oh, does that make you feel better? - Yeah, Mike Halford spilled tea all over his computer and I guess fried it. - Yeah. - He actually spilled the tea? - Yeah. He spilled the tea. - Wasn't on video though. - Oh, really? - No, I think it was pre us having cameras in here. - Oh, okay. - That's a long time ago. - Yeah. - 'Cause right now the cameras are rolling at all times. - Oh, yeah. - Right? - Yeah. - You gotta be careful. - And now I'm like 100% half to it in case he's spilling it. - Well, it's so funny because like every time I grabbed my water bottle or my coffee mug and took a sip that you see kind of the terror and reached his eyes. Like he kind of looked at it, he shell shot. Like, is this gonna be okay? - Jay in New West. What the heck yogi coach me when I was 14 and I had no idea he worked for the Canucks? Well, now you do, Jay. So there it is. - Well, yeah. - You're not an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks. - Now he hasn't been working for the Canucks the entire time. Like he worked the-- - Last two years. - Yeah, so he worked with the Vancouver Giants for a long time. He was also a U-17 coach as well. - The Delta Academy? - Yeah, so it's not, you know, you're not just talking about him being with the Canucks this entire time? But yes. - So there's a couple of things on the Canucks there. So they're coaching staff, almost settled. They'll be adding a skills coach at some point. And as I mentioned with Kevin Woodley, it's very clear, the way Rick Talkett spoke about the power play today and needing to really hone in on what's going to work, get more connected on the power play. Off-season strategy probably involves them looking to add a player that can be the fifth piece of the power play. It's a pretty clear objective from the coaching staff, from the front office, that they need to get the power play sorted out. And it almost felt like Talkett pointed to it as a clear reason as to why they weren't able to get past the Oilers in the second round. - Yeah. - You didn't say it specifically, but you can tell that it's part of his line of thinking on how that series played out. - Yeah, after, I mean, he's not wrong. - Yeah. - You know, like when you lose a seven game series in game seven by one goal. - Six games by one goal, you lost six games by one goal. - Yeah, or six games were decided by a goal. - Six games were decided by a goal. - And three or four losses were decided by a goal and game seven was decided by a goal, right? You're talking about a one goal difference. - Yeah. - Or two goal to win, but one goal to, you know, perhaps give yourself a chance to go to overtime or something, right? So I totally understand. There's no way you don't accept second-guess it. Like I think back to that series in game six and seven all the time about like, hey, what if they did this? What if they did that? And when you watch Edmonton beat Dallas now, it's like, well, so Dallas was beatable. You know what I mean? - Yeah. - Like, I'm not saying the connector would have been there, but it shows you the opportunity that was there. And when you don't seize that opportunity, you're gonna second-guess everything you did wrong or everything that went against you on that path. And it's clear though, like the special teams, it was the stars and the special teams decided that series. - Yeah. I mean, the Oilers penalty kill proved to give Dallas quite a bit of fits. - Yeah. - As well as they were perfect through that series. And look, I get it. You want to have a team that's great five on five and can win games five on five. At the end of the day, special teams still does decide a lot of big games and a lot of series. Because when you get to this late in the postseason, there's so little space. There's so few opportunities at five on five. Both teams are so good and a lot of times special teams can make the difference. And in that series, Edmonton actually lost the five on five gold differential against Dallas, but what won it for them in games five and six. Their power play was four for five. You know, and when your power play can do that and the Canucks power play did that a lot early in the season. But as the season went on, it really tailed off. I know a lot of that is Elias Patterson, but they do need to add an extra piece. Like they lost Andrei Kuzmenko, who wasn't really factoring in on the power play early in the season anyways. But guys like, you know, - Man. - Garland and all these other players, like they just, they weren't great fits to be that fifth piece on the power play. - No, and listen, we can get into something a bit later on the power play too. And maybe tomorrow we'll talk about, 'cause you threw something in there for topics about Joe Pivelsky. - Yeah. - And yeah, you know, is there some value in perhaps signing one of the older veterans that has a track record or scoring to a shorter term deal to see if he has something left in the tank, right? And I think there are a couple of guys that might be somewhat intriguing. But the thing you keep looking at is like left handed shot. - It's so weird this year. - It's weird, right? You keep looking at left handed shot. And like the one guy, so I've mentioned, you know, from the baseline, the low level baseline, Jason Zuker. - Yeah. - The reason I don't have Hoffman meeting the baseline is because his consistency's not there. Mike Hoffman. - Yeah. - And shift to shift. But in terms of a left hand shot that can bomb it, playing on your power play and perhaps being in the bumper, like that's an intriguing guy. You know what I mean? So I mean, there are some intriguing players that could go after. It would be more specialty. It just comes down to how are you gonna address your power play? Is it going to be you getting a Jake Genssel type, which is like, hey, not only is he Pederson's line mate, he's gonna be your answer for the shot you're looking for on the power play. Is it going to be somebody else that can do those things? Or do you have to be in a world where, yeah, you can sign up to Foley type, but that doesn't quite solve your issue. You know, in terms of the left hand shot you're trying to add, and do you start looking at a guy like Mike Hoffman that, hey, maybe he plays on your third or fourth line at times, maybe he's somewhat sheltered five on five, but on the power play, he can bomb it. And could that be something that you use in that spot? - It's gonna be an interesting thing to figure out with how the Canucks play out this off season. Stan Reicho, Satyar Shah, coming up, overrated, underrated on a Wednesday on Canucks Central. - Introducing Masta's largest two OSU-V, made for power and elegance, and meaningful journeys. The first ever Masta CX-70 mile hybrid in line six turbo. [MUSIC PLAYING]
