Yesterday Mike Gillis got fired and today Trevor Linden got hired.
Bad for Gillis but the ownership thought it was best for the organization and many fans, including me, absolutely agree.
I'm officially back! After I wrote the "I'm done with the Canucks post" I stopped wasting my time watching games, I didn't wear Canucks gear, didn't even watch the highlights. I said, I'm done watching until Gillis is fired. Today I put my gear back on and I'm excited for the future. I took a 23 day break.
But yesterday there have been a few articles written say that Gillis was a good GM and was unfairly fired.
Articles like these:
Pass It to Bulis - Vancouver Sun and Justin Bourne from The Score
I hear what they are saying and yes Gillis did some things well but the trades and resistance to pull the trigger at the right time cost Gillis his job.
You tell me if the Rangers traded Lundqvist or the Kings traded Quick or the Habs traded Price wouldn't the fans be upset? Yes, and rightly so.
So think of 2010, the Bruins have Tim Thomas and Rask and they traded them both in one year don't you think Boston would go crazy!
Vancouver trades both #1 goalies in Luo & Schneider in one calendar and for little in return and Gillis is deemed as a good GM or that he did a good job?
Not to mention, the horrific Hodgson for Kassian trade.
Also, since Gillis has taken over, not only did we go to the Cup final, which he can deserve some of the credit for, but both Luongo and Kesler have both asked for trades.
Actually with all the difficulties I'm surprised Gillis has had this job for this long. If I made as many mistakes at my job as he did (especially at a multimillion dollar level), I would have been fired a long time ago. I believe they made the wrong decision a year ago by letting go coach AV and not Gillis.
This is a great change by Vancouver because it needed new leadership. The morale, as demonstrated at the game with the fire Gillis chant, is very low. Fans are not happy and neither should the owners be.
As a person, I like Gillis. But we can't feel too bad for him as he just made $8 million dollars (due to his contract). That's another reason why I think John Tortorella will be back as the Canucks coach next season as he's due $8 million in his contract.
Today the Canucks have announced that Trevor Linden will be the new President for the Canucks which is a great move for the franchise as he's one of the Canuck ions and he won't be the GM. He will bring hope and stability to the organization. And we all know that in sports, hope makes money. That's why the Canucks have pushed the season tickets renewal deadline back which was due today. It is a very political and financial move bringing in Linden.
Linden (who's only 43 years old), will be in charge of all hockey operations dealing with GM, coaching staff, contracts, players, and free agents. Which in Trevor's words at the press conference is, "It's more than a full time job...We will do what we need to do to make this a winning organization." He said that he wants a new GM in by June or the middle of June. He has a profile for what he's looking for in a GM and what the team will look like.
Here are some of my thoughts moving forward:
I'm hoping this move, will keep Kesler in Vancouver.
I'm a believer in Eddie Lack and am hopeful he will become a very good #1 goaltender. He reminds me of Schneider as he is calm in the net.
I hope we draft better, let's lose the remaining games to get a better draft pick.
but also allow the young prospects in Jensen, Horvat, and Shinkaruk to play consistently with the big club next season.
As for the GM, I think we need someone with good experience not named Feaster. ;)
I believe yesterday was a good day when Gillis was fired and today is a better day with Linden as the President. Good job Mr.Aquilini, you just saved the franchise.
Of course, I could be wrong but I doubt it.
Go Canucks Go!
