(upbeat music) We're back on Canuck Central, Dan Reicho, Satyar, Shah. Our next guest, he is Hakana in Canada, Punjabi. Of course, our color analyst here on Sports Set 650. And I think was seen fighting at Riverway recently. It's Randy Janda, what's happening? - What's going on boys, I was fighting where? - Didn't you see a Riverway golf course went viral this week in Burnaby for a big fight on the course? - That's pretty close to where I'm at, and I've been there before, but I can confirm that I was not there this past week. - Oh, okay. - It wasn't me. - I don't know, I know you're big into boxing and golf, so. - It's not at the same time though. - Just making sure, he is Randy Janda. So I see you were at Dev Camp today, checking out some of the Canucks prospects, what were your takeaways from the scrimmage and what was going on there? - Yeah, that was my first time being there, so I know a lot of the guys like Batch and some of the other reporters were there every day, or pretty close to every day, but in a development camp like this, I think it's more about A, who was running the thing, Manny Malhotra being on top of that. I know he joined you guys a little bit earlier on, just to see that, and more than anything, it's so tough to keep an eye on these guys, especially the first years. So you take the initial looks with a grain of salt, but I'm looking at guys like Tom Galander. He's looking a lot more comfortable out there than maybe a couple of years ago. Hard to make a judgment on him since he's playing players that are a little younger than him, but at the same time, are those older guys just getting a little bit bigger, maybe a little bit more physical, and particularly on the back end. So I think Galander was keeping an eye on Aidan Celebrini as well as a big boy. I seem to impress. There's a lot of folks that are just kind of commenting on not realizing how big he is. So seeing that difference from last year, and more about just are these guys filling out, once they play other competition and they step up and we see them kind of play against other men eventually over time, that's when you make your real judgment, but more than anything, it's just about, all right, with the guys that you've seen them multiple times, are they starting to look the role a little bit more? Yeah, and I think, obviously, we were talking about this in the first hour. Most of these kids are going to have a hard time getting to the NHL level, so we can have a lot of discussions and break a lot of these kids down, but sometimes it's a lot of discussion for stuff that has a small chance, but you know, you mentioned Willander, like that's a guy that does have a big opportunity. So I think when we get to these camps and you look at a guy like him and we talked to Manny, he mentioned the puck skills look a bit better. We know those are the things he needs to improve. I guess those are the things we look for more than anything else if we're out at these types of events. For sure, and you know, there's a couple of moments where him and Celebrini were on the ice together and Celebrini get some of the puck to the middle of the ice and you can see the puck skills through the middle of the ice where it looked like they were going to, you know, pair up for a pretty nice goal or you saw Willander kind of take that chance, maybe at this level he can, obviously playing professional hockey. Maybe you're not going down the middle as much with the puck, but he's got that skill list about understanding of the development camp. You're not going to, you know, come with those risks. You're not going to witness players looking for you to hit you there and you can take that extra chance. So there's no doubt with him on the puck. He's a potentially a special player. He's a guy that I think this year, you just saw him being a little bit more comfortable on the ice as well. When he had a chance to finish a check, even at Dev Camp, he was doing it. So I think those are the steps in the right direction from him and your right side. Like, you know, a lot of these guys, this is their first exposure to this level. They're trying their best to hit that next level. A lot of them, as the statistics say, won't. But, you know, a guy like Willander, every look you get at him, you can kind of just kind of push the ball forward a little bit to say, hey, he's not there yet, but you know, what progress has he made? And I think puck skills for sure are just overall in size and just being comfortable. You definitely look like a player that was very comfortable out there. - So the shift in focus, you know, the last couple of years we've been real focused on the Canucks prospect and the next wave of Vancouver Canucks, but a lot of this week has been breaking down what the Canucks did in free agency and how they're shaping up for September and for the beginning of the season in October. Of the moves they made this week and on July 1st to make additions to this roster, which one stands out to you the most as one that can really take this team a step further than it was a year ago? - Yeah, I think the obvious one has to be Jake to brush based on the fact that he's gonna be playing in the top six. That's why you sign him to a seven year deal. That's why you sign him to five and a half million dollars a season and you know, I guess that's, you know, there's room for debate of where he fits the best or where he'll play. But Patrick Alveen flat out said, next to Patterson is where they want to start him off and where they want to see. And that's the impact on here guys, where when you look at last season and the support that Elias Patterson have and you know, part of that is injury, part of that is also his own experience and gaining that experience of what it really requires to hit that next level. But we can all, you know, at some point last year, multiple times last year, we talked about does he have the line mates? And now with this move, he's got a guy that put up 27 goals twice in his career thus far. He's hit 50 point and you can go in my opinion, a lot higher than that when he's playing with a special player like Elias Patterson. So, you know, the other moves are nice. Those are depth pieces. There wasn't much turn given up there. The dollar figures were nice and low. You take a bit of a flyer and some guys and see if they can grow into role. I like them, but I think Jake DeBrus, the enthusiasm that he comes into this market, he chose Vancouver. He's excited to be here. I think with DeBrus, he sees the opportunity, not only play with Patterson, but there is availability on that bumper spot, an area that Vancouver has been trying to address the most sustainable format left. Is that an area that he can also, you know, pick up points on 5 on 5 guys, but on a power play? That's the one because he can make a difference on two fronts. - I know this is like getting a few steps ahead, but we're sitting here on July 4th and have a couple of months before training camp anyway. So we may as well start exploring some hypothetical. So let's say DeBrus in Patterson work, right? The question is, who's gonna be that third guy? And I think we all kind of pencil in Hoaglander initially on that line given he's played there and we're hoping that he does take that step next season. But outside of him, like Harry Mackie's been named dropped by management as a guy that's fighting for a spot in training camp, could feature in on the right wing next to him if he wins the spot. Key for sure, Wood's been talked about a lot. Like, how do you kind of handicap that and how big a year this is for Neil's Hoaglander given the opportunity? - Yeah, I think if the huge year for Neil's Hoaglander, you know, the production was there in terms of 5 on 5 goals, but when it came to playoff hockey, we'll go back to that word trust. It wasn't there, right? Neil didn't necessarily see much of the ice and we saw him maybe not play his best hockey compared to the regular season. When you have that much, you know, that lack of space out there and everything is so fast, it's every mistake matters, the trust wasn't there. So I think with Neil's couple of things, the production was there, you got 24 goals, you got 36 points, but are you in a position to be playing top six minutes? And I'm not talking about on a line. Are you able to see that total ice time have a bit of an uptick? For a guy that doesn't penalty kill, for a guy that doesn't see power play one, you know, 5 on 5 is where you gotta make the difference, are you trusted from minute one of the game to minute 60 of the game to be on the ice with players like Pederson and DeBros. So I think this year, Hoaglander is gonna really have to, not necessarily from a production perspective, but from a trust perspective, elevate his game. And the other thing guys is, you know, 24 goals on a million dollar contract is great, but there's also a payday coming at some point here, right? So you have to make that judgment call, and as a player, you have to really show that you can be something more than those raw numbers, tell you, and the raw numbers is how you get paid, but that also potentially poses a problem for the Canucks where you're saying, okay, we don't necessarily trust this guy's 200 foot game yet, how much are you willing to pay him, right? So that's where I look at, you know, Neil Hoaglander, I think he's in a very good position. He's got the inside track on that wing position next to Pederson, but could you see Connor Garland there? Could you see, you know, Lachara Mackie is, I think, too, potentially too soon for him, but his name has been mentioned. So we'll see how he does at camp. It's really up to him, but there are other players that could take that leap up, whether it's a Sherwood, whether it's a POD Coles, and, you know, showing something at camp, maybe night right away, but halfway through the year, can you really establish yourself at the NHL level where you're doing what Hoaglander did last year, start off in the bottom six, and eventually work your way into the middle, you know, the middle six, or even a second line role, where even if it's spot duty guys, there are some other guys there. I think that might be able to work there as a committee, but no doubt, this is Hoaglander's job and field training camp. We're going to talk about it that way, but you've got a lot to prove this year. - You know, it's easy to compare, you know, this front office to the one that preceded it, because, you know, it's the two most recent ones. And obviously, you know, we can see some very distinct differences in how the front offices handled free agency, right? Jim Benning's front office, they had a lot of holes, they tried to fill them in free agency, and it didn't necessarily work all that often with big contracts and some of the money they threw at their problems. Whereas this front office, you know, yeah, okay, the McKayev contract didn't work out, but that's as much to do with the injury he suffered, you know, before his first regular season game with the team as much as anything else. And now you have the second big contract into Brusk, but outside of that, everything they've done is like smart, low-cost, short-term type of bets that, you know, for a lot of these guys, you know, Blueger and Cole, like those guys last year, they were able to hit their marks and be value on those contracts. And similarly with Heineen and Sherwood, and even on defense with Forbert and Dejarnay, like it's not gonna take a lot for these guys to live up to the contracts they've been given. - Yeah, they've been low-risk place, which is, you know, contrary to the previous regime you mentioned, you were overpaying depth pieces, you overpaying players and giving them terms. Here, it's outside of, you know, DeBrusk. You've got guys that two-year deals to say, if you wanna come to Vancouver, it's gonna have to be under our terms. And, you know, in Dan's and Heineen's days, he admitted it, that he took less to come home. That certainly helps, where, you know, he's a player that could feature in the top six, with Sherwood, as a player, you're looking at, you know, guys like Dakota Joshua, and even talking to some of them on July 1st guys, you've got the reputation of the Canucks has changed so much to say, this is a place where I can be the best version of myself, or I can come to Vancouver and prove myself. Players across the league look at, you know, what Dakota Joshua was able to do last year. They look at Neil's holdlander, who put up 24 goals and say, "Hey, if I get an opportunity in that role, "it might work, so, you know, a year contract "is not a bad thing to them, "for especially for a show-me-deal." And, you know, two-year contract for Dan's and Heineen, I think there's a real appetite for players to come to Vancouver and say, "Hey, this is a coaching staff "that is really gonna give us a fair look, "they're gonna give us an opportunity." And I think that goes to Rick Talkett, his dealing with Dakota Joshua, was a classic example of that. So, the management overall, they've been targeting the right players. And, you know, this year, we'll see, I think Sherwood and Heineen are two players that I think we're gonna do really well in Vancouver. Heineen scored 47 points as a career high, and in his career, if he's playing in the top six in Vancouver, you know, that's the number I look at and say, that's doable, especially if he's playing next to J.T. Miller, and Sherwood, you know, he loves to be the player that other opposing teams hate. And that's exactly what Vancouver needs. This is a guy that plays talk, he plays fast. And, you know, on a short-term deal, very, very difficult and free agency, sometimes to stick to your guns, stay within your budget. But I found that Patrick Galvin, with what he's been able to do, is like, this is my price, and I'm not gonna overpay for deaf pieces. And you're gonna give them, you know, contracts that allow them to outperform them, and eventually find their payday, whether that's in Vancouver or elsewhere. But understanding, you know, a deaf player, you're not gonna overpay, and that's really important, especially in this city, we've seen a contrary. - And, you know, and we talked a lot about Sherwood and Heine, and those guys, especially with a head coach, Sherwood's specifically a guy like Rick Talkett, who's been that, you know, tough two-way player, and a guy that obviously was a different level, but he knows how to be productive, and how to play at that level, and a guy that can inspire perhaps a guy like Sherwood. The other guy that we haven't discussed as much in terms of getting more out of him is Vinny Dejarnay, who they signed on the right side. And, you know, when you talk to people in the organization, like, they see something there, they think that he's a player that is only scratching the surface of what he's able to do. Obviously, the puck skills is what a lot of people wonder about, how can they improve. But I think the Canucks believe what this coaching staff and the things that they believe they can help tweak his game, that they can be something else there, that's also a guy I'm really intrigued by, because we speak about them being a haven for defenseman to last year. Look at, for instance, Zidorov, who went from being a guy who was viewed as being inconsistent, comes to Vancouver's structure and plays really well, and has a big playoff. Now he got a payday he only dreamed of, maybe a couple years ago. You look at Tyler Myers, the resurgence he's had, you've seen Carson Sousie play some of his best hockey, we know he was in her own, of course. Like, could they really be onto something with Dejarnay as well here? - Yeah, with initial thoughts on that deal, when you see it, you're saying two years, two million, as it was going down real time, you know, Vincent Dejarnay, we saw, you know, when the playoffs, he was a healthy scratch, and there were moments where he didn't necessarily look the best, but I think the long-term bet on him, the two-year bet on him, you haven't seen the best of him. And Dakota Joshua was the example I used. When he came to Vancouver, he was a little bit older, but you hadn't seen him play consistent games in the NHL, you hadn't seen him get a consistent look. With this organization, they have a program for every player, and at the NHL level, they're gonna improve this guy's, you know, play day in day out. No Julesin is another example. So what we see right now with Vincent Dejarnay, six foot seven right foot shot, sorry, right shot, you know, he's a player that maybe, you haven't necessarily seen the best of him in Edmonton, but the way this coaching staff looks at him is that he's going to be somebody that they're going to tweak A to their system, to their structure, but at the same time, then you simplify the game, can you make sure that, you know, those passes that you're making, kind of similar to Noah Julesin, we don't need you to be somebody all that different, just make those simple passes and play quick. We don't need you to hold onto the puck. So I think with Dejarnay, there is gonna be, you know, the Dejarnay we saw in Edmonton, the Dejarnay we see on the first day of training camp, and maybe even the first game of the season is gonna be very different from the one we see in February and March, because the way that this team thinks of their defenseman is very different from a lot of other teams. So I look at Edmonton and what they were doing there, you know, and what Vancouver, the finished product, you're gonna be, it's gonna be quite different. And guys, everything I've, you know, heard of about Dejarnay is that he's a very personable guy, even in his media availability, he's cracking jokes, he's very happy to come to Vancouver. But in the locker room, he's also very business-like, he's somebody that, you know, takes his craft extremely seriously, and this is a player that is a little bit of a late bloomer. So I liked the bet on him. I think, you know, the two million shocked people, but it later on, if you're, could it look like a discount? Absolutely, especially if he plays to the structure and the style that the kind of defense defensive coach and, you know, Sergey Gontar is gonna be teaching that. And Adam Foote, you know, give him six months with both of those guys and let's make our judgment that I think the feeling is gonna be a little higher for this guy than we think. So where's the hole still for you on where this team can still use an upgrade? It doesn't have to be in the off-season, they can wait to do it in season, but where is that next level going? Where's this team going to find that next level? I think, you know, we did talk about defense and I think with Dejarnay, there's going to be probably a pleasant surprise, but at the same time, I look at that bottom pair and even the extra defense on this team, you have another puck mover, right? That's where I wanna see a little bit more maybe on that right hand side. You take a flyer and one of those young defense and that's still available. The ceiling is quite low on those guys, but could you potentially, even in season, is there a way that you can make a move to address one more puck mover in that bottom pair, potentially? And maybe that individual on the right hand side has a little bit more, you know, upward mobility, where if there's an injury to either Myers or Coronac, short term or long term, that you can trust them to say, hey, we can, you know, trust you with top four minutes. So I look at that bottom pair to say, can you get one more player to compete, maybe with that six, seven spot, that could raise the floor of that defense a little bit more. I think with the forward group, of course, you know, with Jake DeBrus, they've made their move there. The third line is set, the JT Miller line, I would expect kind in the play there, but, you know, maybe there's a way to around the deadline, potentially make a move to address that further, but I look at defense guys, I think one more puck mover at some point in the season, not before the season, but, you know, when the prices start to potentially, you know, get a little bit more cap space as you accrue that over time, teams start to fall out of the race, can you address that bottom pair is where I'm looking at. - And I think that's the reality is, we would talk about this hockey team, they're not a finished product. And I know people are texting into and they're like, "Well, you know, you know, they need more from this team, "you gotta raise the bar, "you need this team to add more players." And it's very clear they need more. The thing is, were you expecting them to solve all those issues by July 4th? No, I wasn't, 'cause there's only so much cap space, and at some point you have to make a trade, at some point you have to find value, and I think what the rest of the summer is about is trying to find some value propositions potentially, we'll see what trades and everything like that too. But I think you're trying to explore to see, "Hey, do we have some internal guys? "Whether it's like here in Mackie, "whether it's Sherwood, whether it's Hulknander, "can these guys seize that top six spot "and be that internal solution? "And do you have somebody defensively?" 'Cause if you don't, at some point this season, I would imagine they would not only make one sizable addition on the back end, but perhaps even one upfront as well. - And there's been a lot of talk, just the five we saw for Nikita Zadora, but let's remind everybody, you know, when he came to Vancouver, it's not like he started the team, he was an impact piece, he came, you know, was obviously the deal was done before the trade deadline, but there's moves to be made like that later on in the year. Sometimes you wanna give, as you say, Zad, some of those younger players an opportunity to show what they can do. And, you know, whether that's the pod goals and whether that's, you know, go down to the AHL and all the guys that we talked about there, whether it's Ratsu, whether it's Vance, whether it's Sass and all of those guys, you give them a look and maybe they are a part of the answer, maybe they're not, but it does give you a little bit of time to say, all right, how are we looking? One thing is for sure, if this team finds the right piece, they're gonna make the move. Sam Lafferty was a classic example of that. Casey dismissed was another example of that. If there seems to be a gap, Patrick Elvine and Jim Rutherford are not afraid to make that move, but I think as of right now, you've got enough pieces, they're NHL bodies, especially on the back end, where Dave Harnay, you know, played 70 plus games last year, Juleson had a career high in terms of games in a season last year himself, and you really established himself, you're okay to start the season that way, and really, you know, pull the trigger when you feel like you are getting a good deal, or you can get the best player available in season. So Lindholm and Zadora, yeah, there were two moves that were made a little bit later on with Lindholm around the trade that are, excuse me, the All-Star break. And that's what I look at, this team to not force moves. This is a lineup that can start on, you know, opening night, and I don't think many people would have an issue with that. I don't think the organization has an issue with that, but you're always trying to improve, and that's the way that these guys operate. They understand the window is open now with that Queen's use contract with that, that's our Demco contract, you got to make use of it. So if you get that deal, you know, pop up in your desk in the off season, of course you take a look at it, but I don't think they're under pressure to make it. We've seen that they're willing to pull that trigger in January or February, which is, if I'm a betting person, I'm expecting a deal to happen in those months, because that's usually how Jim or other for operates. - Before we let you go, Kendrick Lamar just dropped the "Not Like Us" music video. - Yeah, I know. - We know Kendrick and Drake have been, you know, feuding now for a little while. Is this like one of the all-time great hip hop feuds for you? Is it up there with some of the greatest of all time? - Okay, in order to have like an actual legitimate all-time beef, I feel like it has to go like two ways, and it looked like it was gone two ways, but then what happened? It turned into like LL Cool Gables of cannabis, and that was a very one-sided beef. - What? - Kendrick is now just run off with this beef. Like it was competitive for like the first three around, and then there's like three knockdowns, and I feel like now he's just kind of, now he's playing with his food. - I would say this. I think that's a little revisionist history, because when hit him up happened, like Biggie had no response, it was over. - He was the other way. - Well, yeah, it was done, right? Like, so I mean, that one was also like, when we think about the Biggie to the knock-out play, eventually. - Like we think of the Biggie Tupac, you don't think about like anything Biggie did, like, you know, who's shy? It was even about Tupac. So it's like, you know what I mean? - I'm a Tupac guy, so I'm gonna agree with that, but that was about. But with Drake, yeah, like it, not like us ended it, and now it's just like, now we've just kind of dancing over the metaphorical Drake here, more than anything, just that, on July 4th to come out with the music video, and you think the man is enjoying his July 4th weekend, summer Drake is, and just hanging out with his family, and then the notifications start popping up of, oh, he dropped a video. Like, oh, that's disrespectful to another level. - The only person having a worse week is Rick Ross. (laughing) - Oh yeah. (laughing) What are we, what are we gonna wrap? I mean, it's cool. - Yeah, of course Vancouver's a part of it. It feels like right now for Drake, like somebody's on the sidelines, like Apollo Creed's trainer with the, (laughing) (laughing) somebody's out there saying that right now for Drake. - I would not be surprised if he comes out with like a tweet or a press release tomorrow. Hey, I'm just, I'm moving to Spain. (laughing) I'm just leaving, I'm just leaving. - A new bad buddy collab. - Yeah, permanently. - Randy, we appreciate the time. We'll be talking, I think you and I will be doing a show together a couple of weeks from now, but have a great summer. Thanks, boys, and I will be in studio next week. We're gonna have in the booth for a week. So, Beth and I will be on right before you guys. - Both timing guys get to work. - There you go. - I know, right? (laughing) - Thanks, Randy. - See ya. - There is Randy Janda. - All right, always fun chatting with Randy. Yeah, it's gonna be a, it's gonna be an interesting season. Interesting season. And we'll get into this a lot more tomorrow about like what's next for the Canucks and everything like that, you know? And I see it. I know Mike in Surrey is very stressed about where the Canucks are as a team and everything. It's just, you know, how much faith do you have to find those answers? - Yeah. - And the reality of the cap world too is, like you only have so many dollars to allocate and you also have to explore to see what can you find on the cheap internally first? And I think that's why a lot of times you see teams heading into the season with what seems to be pretty obvious holes, but they go into it even if it's a prayer to see, okay, do we have something here so we don't have to go out and spend on it, right? And given where the Canucks find themselves right now, and listen, things can come up, of course, but why not explore that first before you make more commitments, especially when it's kind of done in the free agent market outside of like some cheap bets? - It's next year's kind of setting up to be, you know, right now you're either confident in the core or you still have your doubts. - Yeah. - That last year was, I guess, to some level, a fluke, right? I don't look at this Canucks offseason and get Seattle Kraken vibes off of it, right? - Yeah. - Because I have a certain level of confidence in Patterson and Hughes and Miller and Demko. Like the core is the core and the core should allow this team to be in a playoff position, especially in a weak Pacific division, comfortably next year. But in order for them to reach a higher level, there has to be an addition somewhere at some time. So we'll dive into that conversation a little bit more tomorrow before we send you off for the summer here on Canucks Central. There is a bit of a rumor mill continuing through the summer though. - Is it a rumor? Do you want to, okay, you want to address this on the other side? - I think we have to. - Okay, well, we have to address it. I mean, we have so many texts coming in. - It's not even-- - About a certain number 87. - Yes, and it's not even just one person. Well, there is one person that's like really on it, but there's a few others texting in about the same thing. And I'm like, I listen to the same podcast, at least that part of it. - I didn't get the same feeling. - I mean, okay, we'll discuss it. We can discuss it on the other side. - All right, it's Canucks Central on Sports at 650. - Hey, it's Big Nizar. Have your say and join me on The People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays, three to four on Sports at 650, or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) - Final segment here in the Kintec Studio. Dan Reacho, Satyar Shah, Canucks Central. The Penultimate Edition of Canucks Central for the 23, 24 season. - So again, sad, would you say that? - I know, that way. - You started the show off that way, and it was a real downer. Now you wanna end the show with a real downer. - I just like saying the word penultimate. - Yeah, you really do. You'll fit that in anywhere. You'll shoehorn it in anywhere you can. - Anywhere I possibly can. All right, it is the Kintec Studio, Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands, thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sort of feet, what are you waiting for? We've been getting a lot of texts at the Dunbar Lumber Text Message in box 650, 650. The Bridge Street Dunbar Lumber in Ladner has moved to Progressway in Tilbury's Industrial Park. More room, more product, more awesome. Details at Dunbar Lumber.com. And a lot of the commentary on the Dunbar Lumber Text Message in box is about the potential availability of one Sydney Crosby. And this very much feels like a summertime story in the National Hockey League. I think this, I mean, look, the Crosby discussion has happened now for a few months because he is going into the final year of his current contract with Pittsburgh and Chris Johnston had a take on Crosby's future in Pittsburgh on his own podcast. Here is NHL Insider, Chris Johnston. If I had a crystal ball, I would probably project that Sydney Crosby would be calling up Nathan McKinnon and being like, "Hey, you want to play at least a year or two together?" I can totally see Sydney Crosby in a Colorado avalanche uniform. I know my brain has done a complete 180 from the last time we talked about this where just I do not see him leaving Pittsburgh. I'm starting to get to the other side now. - See, he's got to probably look himself in the mirror this summer, obviously have chats with people close to him that matters. But it's like, do you want to play these last couple years where you're still at a high? Like, I mean, I know a big carrot for Crosby is that he's going to get to now play best on best again. He's going to get to play with the younger generation. That'll be cool for him, whether it's at the Four Nations or the 2026 Olympics. Like, that's all locked in. But do you want to be kind of toiling and mediocrity? Do you want your season to end on April 10th? You know the answer is no, but like, I just don't see the path back to the playoffs quickly for the Penguins. Okay, you might make the playoffs. Like Washington made the playoffs this year and they were swept in four games. Like, I don't see the path back to really contending. I don't know how this shakes out. None of this is meant to suggest he's gone or anything like that. It's just, I'm looking at the landscape and I'm looking at the fact he hasn't signed his new deal. I'll say this. Yeah, I think he had a five-year contract at a entry level at an $8.7 million cap hit. Then he did a 12-year deal. That's the one that's ending at an $8.7 million cap hit. I'm willing to bet his next contract is for more than that. I'm willing to bet he's not signing for $8.7 million to write out the career. So there is Chris Johnson on Sydney Crosby. Yeah. And so for those saying, rumor, that's not a rumor. That is reading the tea leaves? Yeah, I mean, so what somebody listening would probably say or there might be typing it right now, saying it's not about what he's saying. It's about what he's hinting at. He's an insider. Maybe he knows something. Maybe he's placing a marker here on July 4th about like, hey, keep an eye on this situation. You know when you know something, but you can't say. So you try to like bring it up in a certain way, you know? But to me, that's like really, that's a leap. And I can't take a leap based on something unless somebody's reporting something. So I'd say Crosby rumor would be very strong. I mean, you guys heard it. That's not a rumor. I mean, generally-- A speculation. These things, they tend to play out all the way through. Where there's no concrete information because nobody knows, even Sidney Crosby doesn't know what his future might be at this moment in time. Like think about Stephen Stamkos, right? Up until the 11th hour, everybody seemed to think that Stamkos was still going to like, pull the trigger and sign a new deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning until he just didn't, you know? And I can see something similar playing out with a player of Crosby's stature. Like he's not going to openly ask to leave Pittsburgh, but it's a situation now where he's in the final year of his deal. There seemed to be speculation around the trade deadline that Crosby would sign his next contract with the Penguins right around July 1st, immediately when it was eligible. That hasn't happened leading to this discussion with Chris Johnston, I'm certain of that. So why hasn't he signed a new deal? Is it semantics or is there something there, there, with Sidney Crosby? And reality is, I just don't think Sidney Crosby even knows what his future is for right now. No, and the other part that CJ mentioned at the end was how much money is it just a negotiation? Yeah. You know, the agent says, hey, listen, those things are kind of frosty. Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? Now it gets down. Now here's a little bit of pressure perhaps, right? There's something out there, right? Now people wondering, hey, what's going on with Crosby? How come you haven't signed on what's going on? It's giving you sweetheart deals, my whole life here. Yeah, I mean, who knows? Who knows? Or maybe it's, you know, something there, right? I would say this. If Sidney Crosby is available, you'd imagine that every team-- Yeah, until the trade does. Right, right, but if he's available, how many teams would be in on it? Every single one. Right. And would Crosby be the type of person that would want to go somewhere and extend? Or would he be the type of person that would say, okay, let me go somewhere and play in the playoffs. And then I'll decide in the off season what I want to do. He also has the ability to essentially decide where he's going to go. Yes. Because he has a no move clause, so-- He's been a fiercely loyal guy to Pittsburgh. Would he feel some loyalty in terms of flexibility with his no move clause? Yeah. Not saying that he'd go to like any of 10 teams, but like instead of being like, this is the one team I'm going to, being like, hey, yeah, here are three teams, choose one of them, right? Yeah. But if I'm Sidney Crosby, like, that's not how I would go about it. If I'm Sidney Crosby, I'm choosing where I want to go. And if that team's not offering him what you want, hey, if you want to trade me, that's where I'm going. Yeah, tough beans. Yeah. Like, that's how I would approach it if I was Sidney Crosby. And I've done so much for that organization, right? But that kind of what it really depends on more than anything else. Well, and you heard Julie McKenzie, who's the other voice in that clip with the athletic and covers the Calgary Flames, saying, you know, the team that has always been linked because Crosby and Nathan McKinnon are buds. You know, would he end up forcing his way to Colorado? Look, like, I don't think a player of Crosby's stature is forcing his way elsewhere. Like, legacy matters to them. And having any kind of a negative story, I think is going to be something that Crosby deters from. Right. So forcing your way to a certain situation, like Penguin's fans aren't going to look fondly on that. It might even be a situation where Crosby decides, I'm not going to waive my no move clause. I'm sticking it out with Pittsburgh and then I'll test free, like, I'll just test free agency. Should I not see a pathway to winning a Stanley Cup here in Pittsburgh as I close out my career? 100%. Quick note, I'll say this about, I like that Chris Johnson has the bravery to talk about this though. You know what I mean? And I'd be like, I'm not going to say anything about Sydney Crosby 'cause you see how people are reacting to it. Like, we're talking about it, right? So good on CJ. But you're right, like, the other thing too with Pittsburgh, though, is how likely are they to compete for a playoff spot next season? So they missed the playoffs twice in a row now. Like, how much do you think Sid is getting that itch of like, I'm 36 now. - Yeah. - So like, the last two years of missed the playoffs, I'm not getting any younger. - Yeah. - And do you think he feels like they have a better chance now that they've added Blake Lazart, Anthony Bevillier, Emil Bemstrom, Matt Grizzlyk, and Sebastian Ajo. The nuts as good Sebastian Ajo. The guy who plays on defense. - They tried to trick him. They were like, "We got Sebastian Ajo." - No, hey! - Wait, who's this guy? - No, he plays defense now. - Hey, they got Kevin Hayes too. - How could I forget? - Yeah, come on. - I don't know. - Which was a salary cap. I mean, yeah, I mean, how does it feel about this? Yeah, you got a draft pick out of this, but like, we're just taking on dead money now for two years? - Yeah. - Like, is that, is that our goal here? Like, what is their goal just to make the playoffs next year? It's not to win a Stanley Cup. - It's, well, it's, yeah. But that's like the position you're in. You can't go from non-player teams to being a Stanley Cup team. - But look at the moves they made last year. So they brought Michael Bunting in. - Yes. - They made that trade, right? So they made that trade when they got gensoles. So they ate up some cap space. And then during the season, the last off season, who'd they go out and sign? - Eric Carlson. - Eric Carlson, they traded for Carlson, gave Ryan Graves a boatload of money, gave Tristan Jari a massive contract. And they signed, you know, all their-- - Kyle, you just showed up in Pittsburgh with a ton of cap space and really fumbled it. Like, he just spent it on a bunch of-- - He came off the punt. - He spent it on like a bunch of mid guys. - Yeah, you know, and the Carlson one was the big swing, and I get it, you know, he was coming off a 100 point season, but it just always felt like an awkward fit for Pittsburgh, especially with Chris Latang. - You know what that felt to me? Now looking back at it, a bit of a grandstanding move when you go to a new team, and that whole philosophy of like, hey, we wanna go after all the top players, and you know, we figure it out. We get, we're all about getting the best talent, and we figure it out along the way. - Yeah. - And it's like, okay, like, hey, I like the boldness. We talk about, you know, not making a bold news or whatever, but that's-- - Well, it's funny 'cause he made the same mistake that he made in Toronto, which is like, well, I'm just gonna try and compile as much of the most talented players as I can, and it's going to work. - But is that also the organizational ethos they brought him into? It's like, hey, we're either rebuilding, or if not, we're always trying to find the next talent. So like, you brought him in to be that and do that, and that was his first big move. - And Vegas had also just won. - Yeah. - Making the big moves to the big stars. - Yeah, that's their whole thing. - Yeah. - I don't know. - What is a, what is a like, potential, very hypothetical trade for Crosby look like? - For who? - For, well, let's just say the kids. - He's waiting to throw that one. - Let's just throw that one. - Look, let's say it's at the deadline. - If you're trading for Crosby, the chances are the Canucks aren't going to get him. - Okay, okay. - The Canucks don't have, they don't have the picks or the prospects that really entice, unless Crosby himself says, "I wanna go to Vancouver." - I mean, he might give a list of like three to five teams. - And maybe Vancouver's on it. - And maybe Vancouver's on it. - Because of Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alvey. - Running an excellent ship. - Well, Rick Talkett, and Rick. - Anytime Rick Talkett gets a chance to say anything about Crosby, he just gushes over Crosby. - Well, and apparently like the respect is mutual. - Oh yeah. - Because it has been said a thousand times from those out of Pittsburgh, how much Crosby admires Rick Talkett and what he was as an assistant coach through Pittsburgh's Cup wins. - Also played with Sergey Kanchar. - Yeah, yeah, so there you go. There's that, there's that. - Okay, this feels familiar together. - Okay, so your question's a hypothetical one anyways. So forget reality in terms of like, hypothetical doesn't mean real, it means hypothetical. - Hypothetical. - Like if it's a bit more-- - Like if it's a bit more-- - The conics are gonna have the best offer. - Okay, well, what's the best they can do? - It would be like, Will Lander. - Dan doesn't wanna say. - It's like, Will Lander Leckerimaki. First round pick. - Well, yeah, I mean, obviously. Like, what, yeah, it would be like, Hold Lander. - She loves. - Yeah, I mean-- - Probably a Hold Lander will Lander in a first. - Probably your best offer. - I go, you gotta go more than that though. - He is 36. - I don't care. (laughing) - I think the days are rental. - Yeah. - I'm also like operating under to the assumption that-- - He'd assign an extension. - He'd assign an extension of some sort. - Yeah. - Well like, yeah, I mean, it's hard to say, but generally, you know, the rental trade, even if it is a big time rental like a Sydney Crosby would be, the formula of the trade is always the same. - Yeah. - Roster player, top prospect, and first round pick. The difference might be is that you actually get a top prospect. - Well, yeah. - In this deal, when it's a rental, usually you don't get the team's top, top prospect. Like, you know, Carolina gave up their, what, four, five, six best prospects. - Yeah. - They didn't have to give up their ultimate best prospect to get Jake Genssel. - And if they give up one of the better prospects, like, we saw, for instance, with Branstrom, and he didn't pan out when they traded Mark Stone. - Yeah. - Mark Stone of Vegas, it wasn't a first round pick, it was a second in Branstrom. - Yes. - So it's like, you get a first, you get the best prospect, or one of the top two prospects, plus another piece, right? That's probably the most likely, especially if he's giving a three to four team list, there isn't going to be enough bidding and leverage for people to be like, hey, we're gonna come out of our boots here and give you like three first round picks. - So let's say it is a roster player, a pick, and a prospect. Would you do, well, okay, let me praise it this way. How is like one of Besser or Connor Garland, Tom Willander in a first round pick? - It's, (laughs) - Well, the thing is like, I mean, for, if I had to do for Besser, like, yeah, obviously, it still didn't even cross me, but for Garland, I think you'd happily do it. If you lose Besser-- - I'm just trying to think of a guy that has term that like, maybe they like-- - Yeah. I think Hoaglander, like, assuming Hoaglander has a decent start to the season, he would be-- - Yeah. - More value, because he's younger, right? So it's usually a young roster player, like look at the Jack Eichltrades, maybe, with Alex Tuck-- - Creds, and-- - Creds and a first round pick. - Now he had like, term was younger and everything like that. - And still, like, some thought that was a bit light, but Tuck's turned out to be like a-- - But he was coming off a broken neck, so. (laughs) And Buffalo was in a tough spot, because there was only so many teams that were willing to pay the price for Jack Eichl, but also let him do the surgery that he wanted to do, versus what maybe team doctors were saying. - But I think that puts a pin in the Crosby talk, right? - Yeah, probably not realistic. - Do they retire as a number if we only place here for like two or three years? - If you want a Stanley Cup? - If he wants a cup-- - Then yeah. - Dude, statute. - Fine, go ahead. - Do whatever. - Oh, man. - Yeah, Erica. Crosby is also beloved here because of the Golden Goal in 2010. Fans would go crazy if he came here, deserved to win another championship in Roger's Arena for the home team. - Would Miller or Patterson move to the wing for Sidney Crosby? (laughs) - Yes. (laughs) - If you're only texting, well, trade Patterson. You're not trading Patterson for Crosby. We're trying to add Crosby to what you have. - Yes, you're trying to add Crosby to what you have. - You should probably get more back than Crosby if you trade Patterson. - 36, I mean, as good as Crosby is, yeah. - Hope Crosby talk makes the podcast. - Listen, we've been very clear. I know people will still say what they want on Twitter about what was said here, but. - Yes. - Again, we played the clip, we gave you full context. It's not a rumor, it was speculation. - Well done speculation by CJ, of course. - But there's no rumor, there's no true trade rumor out there around Crosby. - We are getting, man, the misinformation on social media is unbelievable. - Chris Conte now saying, "Hearing Dan Riccio "say that the Debrus contract might turn out "to be the best free agent signing in history." - It's me very excited. (laughs) - Pretty sure I never said that. - No, you may have said it. (laughs) - What? - You may have said it without saying it. - I mean, I didn't compare with it. - So I joked about it earlier, did you see the fight? - I just saw. - That riverway. - So I saw your tweet and I looked at it and I'm like, "Wait, riverway, like in Burnaby, riverway?" And he's like, "Oh yeah." - Josh and I were playing there last week. Not very pleasant round. - We did not get in the fight. - Yeah, Steve and John, couple of great guys. - Yeah, like I'm okay. - Steve cussed a lot, but other than that, it was fine. - Looking at the, looking at this conflict between these two parties, like there seems like a size dispute, like why are these guys messing with those other guys? Like I don't quite get it, like what happened? Like I know that they hit the ball into their group a few times. - Like don't, you know, don't be a jackass and hit into people, okay? Marshals should be doing their jobs. Not always the case on some courses around Vancouver. I get it, understaffed, I get it. But somebody said, somebody texted in that they were there that day at Riverway on the text inbox, and there was a legit like body slam. WWE style that happened in this fight. Like they're, like you watch the video, there's guys on the ground. - Oh yeah. - They're like dazed and confused. - Like one group just got crushed. - Yeah, one group got crushed by the other group. No, like laying there all messed up and stuff. Like one guy punches the guy's head slaps back. I'm like, wow. - I can't imagine anything more embarrassing in life than getting into a fight on a municipal golf course. - For everybody to see, especially in today's day and age, like it's all on social media afterwards. - It's just like, man, y'all are projecting some other problems, right? - No, 100%. 100%. - Not that deep, man. - I know like having a ball hit into your group is annoying and it's probably, hey, probably grounds for you saying something or whatever? - Yes. - It's probably not grounds for a brawl. - Mm-hmm, that's a... - You tee their ball up and hit it into the forest. - Yeah. - I hope they get the message. - Yeah, yeah, you do that. That's fine, yeah. - Honestly, the equivalent of like, fighting at your local beer league. - Yeah, pretty much. - You know, bro, we gotta go to work tomorrow. Okay, we're just here for a workout. - We don't need this. - We don't need this right now, man. - We're just trying to break 90 today, bro. - Like, there's always somebody who's bringing their baggage to the game, right? It's like they had to fight at home, or their boss is a jerk or whatever, and they just come like tuned up to the game, 'cause if I need to take out their anger. - No thanks, one, no part of this. I'm good. - So, crossbow to Vancouver, right? - It's happening. (laughing) - I gotta radio get, where you guys so hard. - I'm gonna get radio when I'm away. - For sure. - Why, why, what? - Listen, I'm not vacation. I'm not even around. - Everyone's sat predictive key for sure. Wood's gonna score 30 goals. - That's gonna go down and lower. That's something that never happens to me. - It's gonna be so sick if he does score 30, though. - And then watching me be like, "Hey, I said it." - I told you. - I told you. Look at the tweets. All right, tomorrow the final edition of Canucks Central for the summer. Of course, unless the Canucks trade for Sydney Crosby, then we'll definitely have an emergency party. - Stop, okay? Stop. This is irresponsible. - It maybe is. - Yes, we're joking. Are we? (laughing) You know, there are people like, not like the love people I wanna believe, right? They're like, "Well, wait." There's something there, guys. - They said it on the radio. - They spoke about it for like 20 minutes. Trust me. They wouldn't be doing this if they didn't know something. - Okay, tomorrow we will discuss actual options for the Canucks to continue to upgrade their roster that remain on the market this summer and what cap space they have available to them. Landing for our will join us. We'll have a full one hour mail bag as well. So get your questions in @SATTRSHAW at Dan Richeau_. For producers, Josh and Elon, my co-host Sat, I'm Dan, even listening to Canucks Central. - Hey, it's Mike Alford and Jason Bruff. Join us for Alford and Bruff in the morning, weekdays for 6 to 9 a.m. on Sportsnet 650. - Or on demand anytime through your favorite podcast app.
