CKSTAM

Jeff Paterson joined the show right off the top as we kicked off with pregame ahead of Canucks in Pittsburgh. We find out who JPat’s Do Something is. 

Darren Dreger of the Ray and Dregs Podcast joined Matt and Blake for the latest on what he is hearing with the Canucks. Dregs is hearing more of the same, it’s quiet. We can assume if Jim Benning remains as GM, he will continue to make and receive calls. Time will tell if he has the rope to do anything. Things have calmed a little bit from a media and fan perspective. Doesn’t mean the appetite has subsided. When there is weakness and trouble brewing you have other GM’s circling. Still at a point where it is dollar in and dollar out, which is problematic for most teams in the NHL. Talked about firing the coach and absorbing the bullet. Questions firing the GM when it won’t change much now. Says that it’s likely the roster doesn’t change between now and the trade deadline. Talked about a potential trade of J.T. Miller. Doesn’t believe there has been any dialect between VAN and MIN. Despite how attractive a player he is. Talked about Benning as a GM. Talked about how hot Travis Green’s seat is. Feels if Benning had the authority to fire him, he would have by now. 

We heard the Welcome Matt later in the show. It addressed the clash that may exist in the Canucks dressing room with their leaders.

Another Hot Take Wednesday addition, with Blake’s turn to sizzle. Could he do it?

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Ray Ferraro of the Ray and Dregs Podcast and the NHL on ESPN and TSN joined Matt and Blake. Ray is excited for the first ABC Game in BOS. Talked about the vast amount of networks he works at. Says it’s all the same house, just a different door. Whatever they slide on the mic, he is happy. Talked about the Vancouver Canucks and the drama that has ensued. There were all these issues that were waiting to arrear their head. If you ask him are they ready to compete? Compete for what? He asks. THey’ve put themselves in a box they can’t get out of. Talked about Podkolzin. He is a legit middle six player. Maybe he can get to top line. You have EP40 and Hughes. Petey is still a great player, hasn’t shown in lately, but he is there. Ray is curious about where the good young players are coming from. There is nobody that can escape scrutiny right now. There are flaws everywhere. Says the PK is like him out there as a player, he was a 60% PK player, if he played that. Travis has to wear the PK struggles. The PP that used to be able to hum along. Nowhere to be found. Related it to the Avalanche and all the bodies they are missing but still making it work. Their PP is like musical chairs. Whatever they think movement is, it’s the same 5 places. It’s not movement. Doesn’t know how the kill against Colorado can keep track of the guys, they are all over the place. Says that the team needs to care less and they will be able to do more. Liked to to Blakes putting game. Ray has had meetings where GM’s come into room and say “nothing is happening and the answer is in the room”. Might make a trade 3 days later but that’s not the point. Told a story about that happening in Tampa. They can’t trade Motte. Who would possibly play on the PK. Talked about what a presidential signing would look like. It’s a significant move that takes time and finesse. Is the season already lost? The answer is no. That means the team has to go on a run. They aren’t sitting very pretty here. They could get to 5th in the div. Maybe they could get to 4th, that still wouldn’t get them in. Is this heading for a rebuild? This question only lays with the answer. Thinks a Canadian market is a perfect place to rebuild. Everyone understands on a deep level what that means. Start hoarding picks instead of throwing them away, instead of letting players leave as FA’s. Pointed to Jannik Hansen as to why you need draft picks. The Canucks have vomited picks for years.

Patrick Johnston of the Province joined for his regular Tuesday spot. Started off addressing the poll question and what the Canucks mean by maintenance day. There was a while they were trending in the right direction with their description of the term. Not the first time a regular player has had a day of practice off. Doesn’t recall any similar instances if they were holding him off for a trade. PJ thinks JT’s value will me more, closer to the deadline. They wouldn’t be trading from a position of strength at the moment. Says that making a trade now won’t do anything for you. 

Jeff Paterson, our Canucks reporter joined in his regular spot. Started off talking about J.T. Miller and why he might have a maintenance day. They are playing the “bejesus” out of this guy. 3rd in ice time behind Oilers dynamic duo. Talked about the Botchford Project. 

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Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk joined Matt and Blake. Started off with the dreadful NFC. Talked about the Seahawks and thinks that making the playoffs wouldn’t even be good enough for this team. Says that RW3 isn’t in it for the playoffs and that they need to go further than that. They are almost at the point of needing to look ahead. Do they do it with Russell and Pete. You do wonder whether they brought RW3 back too quickly. They scored more points in the 3 games Geno compared to the 2 that Wilson has played. Talked about what Wilson would fetch in a trade. A lot of that depends on how the rest of the season goes. Says they really miss Marshawn Lynch. They haven’t been the same team since he left. Talked about the Bills. The most disappointing in the NFL right now. Doesn’t know what’s going on with them. They need to figure something out, be it a trick play or something else. Charean thinks the brakes need to be tapped on the the Chiefs. Doesn’t think we have enough evidence that they are the top team in the AFC. 

Our NHL insider, John Shannon joined Matt and Blake to focus on the Canucks problems. Talked about the game last night. Thinks that the team has shown something the last 2 home games to keep it status quo. Thinks that there are constant conversations that are going on. In the summer they decided that because they pulled off the two trades, the front office was allowed to ride out this season. Talked about the hierarchy of the Vancouver Canucks. John has not heard that the team is looking for a President. He had also not heard anything about the Pens doing that in the Summer and then comes along Brian Burke. Talked about what the Canucks could fetch in a trade. John says there are 31 GM’s circling around. Talked about Carey Price and the Habs. Talked about the goaltending dynamic for the Olympics. Talked about the possibility of an Olympic boycott. John thinks they’re going till they aren’t going. It will be someone telling them, not them deciding. 

Our Canucks Reporter, Jeff Paterson joined in his regular spot. JPat came out firing about the fact that the Canucks nearly giving up in the third after 30 shots in the first 2 periods and only 2 shots through the first half of the third. Both shots coming from Hamonic, who doesn’t usually take shots. Talked about Travis Green and his testiness post game. Says he fears the questions and has no answers. Sees what is happening in CHI after their coach is fired and they win 5 of the next 6. Jeff responded, in a must-listen clip, to Travis Green accusing him of making up a storyline.  Also, looking ahead to the upcoming road trip.

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Vanni Sartini joined Matt and Jeff ahead of their playoff match in SCK. Says it will be hard for everyone. They will be the underdog going in as the 6 seed. Talked about having to go out and play with nothing to lose and fearless. They are trying to force them and play them high. Spoke to the environment with their crowd. Talked about confidence of the club. Always wants to talk about the team and not an individual player. It’s always about the team. When one player flourishes, it’s because of the team. Says it was good that he won the first 2 games in charge which gave the team confidence and trust in him to do what he wanted to do. Says he needed a few days to recover. His wife was happy that he finally flew to Kansas City so as he was driving her crazy. Talked about the plan for the game. They have an idea with the starting XI. They have option A, B and C depending on how the game goes. For sure they will need more than 11 players. Will use all the players. Needs the intensity to be as high as it can. All the players on the bench can guarantee quality. The most important part is organization. Talked about what Ryan Gauld has meant to the organization. He has brought a lot. When MLS established the DP, his impact is what they had in mind. Gave himself a 7 out of 10 on his Nona’s lasagna. 

Host of Donnie and Dhali, Rick Dhaliwal joined Matt and Jeff to talk about what he is hearing. First off was how close he thinks ownership came to making a change. Thinks the only people who know what is going on is ownership. They should not be concerned about money with what the family is worth. They have spent a ton of money and always spent to the cap. Talked about the communication between teams and agents. Talked about how the farm is looking. 

Gregg Bell of the News Tribune in Tacoma joined to talk about the Seahawks. Talked about if it this weekend is a must win. They have to get to 500 and win some games before they think about playoffs. Usually if you are 3 and 6 around this time, playoffs become a Jim Mora PLAYOFFS? But not this year. NFC only has 6 winning teams and 7 go to the playoffs. Even if Kyler Murray doesn’t play, ARI still have a lot going for them. Talked about their defence. Plenty of sacks and secondary is firing as well. Talked about how they can get defences to play more honestly. Run more, shorter throws. A healthy QB would fix a lot of the problems they are having. Thinks that the Cards will rest Murray, heading into a bye. Even if they lose they will still be 8-3. That would get Murray a 4 week rest. Expecting Murray not to play. Talked about Rashad Penny. If they run the ball they need him to be a part of that. They run because their o-line requires them to run. Talked about the future of the Seahawks. Talked about the structure of the team and who hires a coach with the current coach outranking the GM. He is the supreme power on football decisions. Gregg doesn’t think the owner wants an overhaul with the mess that is the Portland Timbers and everything 

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Matt and Blake run through clips of the Jim Benning press conference and talk about what stood out. It was a lot… 

Scott Rintoul joined Matt and Blake to take a look around the local sports landscape. Started talking about how much as changed since last week when we spoke. Talked about how last week he said EP40 had turned a corner. Turns out he hasn’t. Hoping the Sedin’s have sat down with him and talked to him about handling is lack of confidence. Talked about the terrible communication within this club. Talked about who could replace GMJB. Says that he would like to see Ryan Johnson over the Henrik and Daniel. Talked about PK. Comical is the wrong word for it. It is unbelievable how bad it is. Talked about Jim saying they are talking to agents about how their players are performing. It’s an indictment into how bad EP40 is playing that this became public. Talked about fan reaction in the stands. Talked about next steps for this team if it continues the way it is. Hopes that the meeting with GMJB isn’t the only meeting ownership they are having. Says they should be having that conversation with multiple people. Talked about the Whitecaps. Gives its a coin flip and that is a compliment for them know where they are going. Gives them a shot to go into KC and come out with a win. It would give them positive vibes going into the off-season. Really difficult to reconcile what it does to a fan stand point with all their off field troubles. 

Jeff Paterson joined in his regular slot to unpack the Benning presser from today. Says it’s pretty obvious he has no answers. Talked about why they should have made Jim available last week. 

As always, another entertaining version of Take 5 Thursday!

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