Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Cerebelli. Cerebelli.
Cerebelli. Frank. Cerebelli. Frank. Cerebelli.
Frank. Frank. 704 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough. Sportsnet 650. Half an hour of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt? If you are, Sands and Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands-trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program.
Frank Cervalli is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuck at jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at jason.mortgage.
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Let's go now to the Able Auctions hotline. Our next guest, our NHL insider from Victory Plus, Frank Cervalli, now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you?
I'm doing all right. How are you guys doing?
We're OK. Yesterday was a tough one. Goes without saying. But, you know, I think it was it was warming throughout the day to see not just how many people love Cheech and what he meant to the game, but by way of how many different places he played and worked in. David Amber coined is sort of like universal love.
And I think that was fitting because it seemed like everywhere everyone had a Cheech story and everyone had a special bit of love for Cheech.
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Chapter 2: What are the latest NHL GM rumors discussed by Frank Cervalli?
Okay, Frank. Yeah, that was nice of you to say that. Frank, let's talk about these executive searches, GM searches. Toronto, Nashville, and Vancouver. Who is going to name somebody soon? Who's going to be the first one to actually make a decision?
Oh, that's a good question. If I had to handicap just based on where they are in the process, I would say Toronto soonest. Nashville next, Vancouver last. Just because the Canucks are just starting to get to round two. They're moving from their Zoom calls to the in-person interviews. And Toronto, they've kind of gotten to the finalist stage.
They're deliberating on the mechanics of how this is all going to fit. Does Matt Sundin, does he take the job? What are the parameters? What's the decision-making process? How does this all work? And if not, do they have to go back to the drawing board and reconsider where they are in the process? Uh, John Taika also heavily involved in their Scott white was the other finalists.
So they're pretty much near the last strokes. Um, in terms of the Preds now, interestingly enough, they told some of their finalists that they plan to make a decision by the end of April. Well, that's Thursday. And so they're clearly closing in on it. They've had multiple rounds of in-person interviews. And then Tom Fitzgerald was in the mix last week and in there in person.
Now, I'm not saying Tom Fitzgerald won't get the Nashville job. My only thought was consider how the Devils did this with Sonny Mehta. When they decided he was their guy, they're like, this guy's not leaving Jersey without a new contract. We're getting it done and we're bringing him in. If that's the case with Tom Fitzgerald, why is it extending so far into this week?
Or are they waiting for someone else?
Going back to the Toronto thing, whatever happened with Mike Gillis?
So I don't believe Mike Gillis was ever... truly involved in the search. I think he had some exploratory conversations, more so just the Leafs and Keith Pelley asking for advice and picking his brain. I don't think that they brought him in as part of this process and ever fully sort of went through the interview stage.
And I don't know if that was Toronto's choice or if that was because Mike Gillis wasn't interested or Um, I can't really say for certain, but I know with direct knowledge that Mike Gillis was not truly like that was a lot of the conversation out there was overblown.
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Chapter 3: What insights does Frank Cervalli provide about the Leafs' executive search?
Is this someone that could make smart decisions? I mean, I think the answer is yes, but doesn't that seem exist in candidates that don't have black marks on their resume and, and, spots where you can openly question their character. I think the answer to that is yes as well.
So my thought process is if you've got this opportunity to make this bold, brave new hire, I'm not doing it with someone that has shown themselves to be something less than totally upstanding. So that's how I view it.
He's an interesting character because, um, you know, a lot of people think, well, he's an analytics guy. He's got an analytics company. But then you hear from some people in the analytics community and they're like, he might be an analytics guy, but I don't know if his numbers are good because they aren't kind of thrown out there for the public to see.
And that's fine if you want to keep your numbers private. That's great. But he hasn't convinced, and I don't know if this matters, the analytics community that he's a legit good numbers guy. Is that fair to say?
I think that's probably fair to say. I think there's, look, I could tell you some wild stories of just secondhand things that have made it to me from not just the analytics side, but from how that team was operated on a daily basis. that would blow your mind. And, and I do think that sometimes things that happened in Phoenix or Arizona with that owner, they did become the theater of the bizarre.
Right. And, you know, I, I do wonder if John Chica at that age had gotten a shot to run any other team, would the results have been different because of the environment? And I think that's a fair question to ask, but I think also probably a fair, uh, statement to make that at that age, John Chayka wouldn't get an opportunity to run any other franchise.
Right.
So you run into a chicken and the egg. So I look, he did write something kind of confusingly a few years ago and Forbes first sort of digesting, you know, his tenure. And he talked about imposter syndrome. And I'm sure that A lot of people experience that at varying points of their career. I know I did at some point. I can't believe I'm here. Is someone going to figure me out?
I'm not any good at this. And you work through it. But I'm curious to see what he'd be like in the second time around. I just don't know if I'm the Leafs that given the magnitude of this hire, like, you could be facing eight to 10 years of absolute futility if you don't make the right choice.
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Chapter 4: How does John Chayka's past impact his potential hiring by the Leafs?
The Fitzgeralds and Kachuks are cousins. Do you think he's not going to try and make a play? I mean, like literally you could cook up any situation and figure out a landing spot and destination.
We're speaking to Frank Cervelli from Victory Plus, our NHL insider here on the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. Let's keep bouncing around here. Philly, Pittsburgh. It's another elimination game, but we wanted to ask, about Matvey Michkov, who was a healthy scratch in the previous game for the Flyers.
What do you know about this situation other than Matvey, at least for the time being, finds himself back in, I guess, Rick Tockett's doghouse or bad books now? And what's been a tumultuous season for both of them in terms of their relationship?
Yeah, it has been. There's no doubt about that. I mean, it seems like at every turn, Rick Tockett is trying to get Matvey Michkov to play a certain way. And... And I think when I say that, it also needs some context because one of the true hallmarks of this Flyers season has been the freedom that Rick Cockett has given Trevor Zegers to create.
It's almost like he has this list of two or three non-negotiables. You do that, I don't care what you do. Go ahead, have a ball. And I think when it comes to Mischkoff, Um, his inability to do some simple things, particularly on the wall and his own end has driven them absolutely crazy. And it's made him a liability in these playoffs. So it's one thing to not produce.
It's another thing to like, we're, we're willing to be patient and find a way for you to produce in the playoffs. But it's another thing if you're hurting us in our own end and we're getting hemmed in and, So I think they got to that spot where they were saying this, the juice right now isn't worth the squeeze. He's got to find a way to level up to the playoffs. That hasn't happened yet.
But let me say this, too. A lot of the speculation and rumor that I've seen so much stuff on social media, Matt Vamichkov is angry. He didn't want to take warm up. He had a walk out of the facility and discussed whatever it is that's been out there. Like I can tell you from speaking to people directly in the Flyers front office that that's not accurate or the case.
So it's almost like when this happens, people start to make up stuff and make it a bigger story and blow up than it actually is.
Flyers fans are very passionate about this subject. And I know we've mentioned this before, but I think Talkett's experience in Vancouver is you know, influenced how Flyers fans or a lot of Flyers fans have seen Rick Talkett. And, you know, they saw what happened with Pedersen and maybe, I don't know, when it comes to Russian players, a guy like Kuznetsov, who, oh, sorry, who was, Kuzmenko?
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the Vancouver Whitecaps potentially relocating?
If you are, Sands & Associates can often reduce your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands-trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Paul Tenorio, senior soccer writer for The Athletic, is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominuck at jason.mortgage.
If you love paying too much for your mortgage and don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you, visit him online at jason.mortgage. The plight of the Vancouver Whitecaps continues to take center stage. It has been a massive topic of conversation over the last three days, and it's not going anywhere.
I believe that it's now going towards the provincial government today in a piece that Patrick Johnson wrote for the province yesterday. I believe that the provincial government is ready to hear whatever pitch the Whitecaps might have with regards to potentially in some part or in some way being the operators of BC Place moving forward. And then that might be a possible stadium solution.
So are the Whitecaps going to be willing to just lay all their cards on the table and be like, this is what we want. This is what we need to stay.
that's gotta be the next step in this. And I know that this is a long drawn out procedure and this is a negotiation. This is the delicate dance, but at a certain point they are going to have to show those cards. I think Jason, let's go now to the able auctions hotline.
Our next guest, senior soccer writer for the athletic Paul Tenorio joins us now on the Halford and breath show on sports net six 50. Good morning, Paul. How are you?
I'm doing well. Thanks so much for having me on.
Yeah. Thanks for coming on and taking the time to do this. You and Tom Bogert, your coworker at the athletic had this big story that broke over the weekend and into Monday that a committee of MLS owners met earlier this month to discuss the future of the Vancouver white caps.
Can you tell our listeners what that meeting was about, what was said and what the end result was of this, I guess, clandestine committee of MLS owners that met earlier this month.
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Chapter 6: How are MLS owners responding to the Whitecaps' situation?
I think that's true to an extent, but you also have to factor in beyond the expansion fee that they paid when they came in is also what the losses, what the P&L sheet has looked like since they've come in. What have the losses been that they've taken on since they joined Major League Soccer that factors into how much profit they'll see in a sale and what that valuation looks like.
Really, in reality, the valuation is what someone's willing to pay for it. And I think we've seen in the last couple of sales of Major League Soccer, when I think of Orlando City, for example, or Houston, that those sales have come in a bit underneath the valuations that have been out there somewhere around that $400 million mark. So the fact that they haven't found a buyer in Vancouver means that
you know, what, what is the valuation right now? It's not, it doesn't exist the way it does on, on paper with Forbes and with Sportacus rankings. So, um, you know, but, but that is, that is what's driving this, right? Ultimately is they're looking at this investment and they're saying, we can't do this anymore. We don't want to do this anymore. However you want to say it.
Um, and we need to find a solution so that the, what the white caps can continue to exist. We need to find somebody who is able to continue because the cost of business, by the way, is also going up. Right. the global soccer market isn't getting cheaper.
Yeah. MLS franchises kind of remind me of like a, a growth stock, like a tech stock. And they're, they've invested a lot of money, um, in, in the company and they're, the revenues aren't there yet, but they're like 10 years down the line. This thing is going to be massive. And, uh,
Paul, this is a good time to plug your book, and it's called The Messi Effect, and it's coming out June 9th, and the title is The Messi Effect, How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer. Maybe you can talk a little bit about the book and how that might be influencing franchise values and how Lionel Messi might be kind of having an impact on the Vancouver Whitecaps' future.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think a lot of this book is about exactly that. It's the effect that Messi has. It's not just about what it looked like when Messi arrived in Miami, though it does have some of those behind-the-scenes moments in the locker rooms and with the team. But really, it's about where is soccer going? Where is Major League Soccer going?
And how is that impacting the business and the future of the sport? And it's tied directly into Vancouver because Basically, MLS has reached this critical moment in its history where it needs to transition from being a local business, one that is game day business, Um, based where, where ticket revenues and sponsorships are the main revenue source for major leagues of soccer.
That's not sustainable for this league to grow the way it needs to grow and to, and to improve the product the way it needs to improve the product. It needs to transition into being a, a, a global brand and a national brand that resonates enough to drive real media dollars. And there's a bit of a chicken and an egg situation here.
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Chapter 7: What are the financial challenges facing the Vancouver Whitecaps?
Yeah, right? Paul, this was super insightful, man. Thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. We appreciate it.
Thanks so much for having me.
Paul Tenorio from The Athletic here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I know you want to get into the CFL stuff.
I'll do it for my What We Learned.
Yeah, but I want to say... That theory that MLS will one day be out of Canada entirely has been presented to me on more than one occasion by people whose opinions I greatly respect. And they're talking about it as a big picture. This is an inevitability, not a strategy. Do you get what I'm saying? Like, if things continue to trend the way that they do.
Staying out of Toronto. I mean, I don't know if that makes sense. You've got one of the big sports empires. in sports that owns TFC.
Yep. I'm just saying that it's been presented as if you're going to grow the game domestically in Canada, it might be better suited to have a smaller, less expensive domestically Canada wide, uh, where the spending isn't going to go to the levels that MLS will eventually go, as opposed to having three flagship teams in the country that participate in a league.
Because the thing is... I hate that. I know. There's no reason why we can't compete with Columbus or whatever. You're seeing it right now. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens when they change those spending rules, though.
The Apple deal is up in 2029, so it's going to be interesting to see what the appetite is from the networks or from a new media company like Apple or YouTube to show those games. you know, Paul makes a good point. Like MLS is still, I mean, they do have the Apple deal, but it's nothing like the NHL deals or the NFL. I'm certainly not the NFL deals in terms of media.
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