TheRussianRocket. Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/07/02/has-trevor-linden-and-co-done-enough-to-win-back-the-ticket-holders/When El Presidente Trevor Linden joined the Canucks management team this summer, he sent out a letter to season ticket holders. In that letter was the option for people to cancel their season tickets and refund their deposit if they werent satisfied with the changes made by the Canucks at the draft and the beginning of free agency:It is my goal to ice a Canucks team you can be proud of, but actions speak louder than words. Your 2014.15 ticket membership deposit will be fully refundable until July 11, which is after the NHL Entry Draft and the start of free agency so that you can be confident in what we are doing to build a winning team. This is seemingly in response to the fact that the infamous waiting list for people wanting to buy Canucks season tickets (who depending who you talked to ranged from around 2,000 people to the entire continent of Europe) has already been used up as the Canucks scramble to keep their season ticket holder base steady. This is also the reason the Canucks dropped the hold my hand, were going on a journey together, friend! style of their old slogan We are all Canucks, and have changed it up to simply Change is coming. Yes, things deteriorated so badly with the paying fan base that the Canucks simply decided the best marketing strategy was to tell people Aw crap, ok, well make some changes, please dont leave us. Say one thing about Trevor Linden and Jim Benning, though, they did stick to the new slogan. Change has happened quickly and repeatedly, so the only question left now is, has Trevor Linden and co. done enough to buy back the trust of the fan base enough to keep paying the ridiculously high ticket prices in Vancouver? To recap, so far:Out: John Tortorella (Coach? Was what he did last year coaching?) Mike Sullivan (Assistant coach) Ryan Kesler Jason Garrison David Booth Mike Santorelli? (Not looking like hell be re-signed)In: Nick Bonino Luca Sbisa Linden Vey Derek Dorsett Radim Vrbata Ryan Miller Notable names drafted: Jake Virtanen Jared McCann A giant fridge (Nikita Tryamkin) [Article forgot Demko so just thought I'd mention him...labelled as best goalie in the draft...] The Canucks till have around 7 million in space to sign Chris Tanev, Zack Kassian, Yannick Weber, and Linden Vey, which as it currently stands, means they are most likely done dipping into the free agent pool. Any further changes will have to come from trades most likely. Is that enough change to bring people back? The Canucks bottom six depth is better than ever, and their prospect depth is the best its looked in many years. However, the West is a very deep conference, which leaves many wondering just how far the Canucks can actually go, should they even make the playoffs. The second line for the Canucks is a black hole right now, and the only way it gets filled is by more change, or if one of the young kids steps up in a big way, which seems like a tall order. Its hard to imagine the Canucks getting through some of the center depth the top teams in the West have to offer. Speaking of young kids, the Canucks drafting of Jake Virtanen, will that help sway peoples opinions of the Canucks? While many online fans I talk to care little about the birthplace of the players, there are people out there who have lamented the fact the Canucks dont often have kids from their own backyard playing on the team. Will drafting Jake win people over, as yet another symbol of change for the better? Either way, Benning has come in, and has put his stamp on the team. The free agent signings he has made are both short term, which means the Canucks are not risking long term complications by having Miller or Vrbata on the books longer than three years. If youre going to overspend in free agency, making the term short is the way to go. This allows him to try playing some of the youth in the lineup, and if theyre good to go in a couple of years, he can move on from Vrbata and Miller quite easily. Vrbata is also one of the most exciting players brought in to play with the Twins, as he is a natural sniper, which should be interesting to watch. They also still have nine days to make more changes. The way the roster looks now, there are an awful lot of third liners on this team, which leaves the future of Higgins, Hansen and Burrows up in the air. Should they want to make room to add, say, a second line center, it might come at the expense of one of their multitude of bottom six wingers who are making two million or higher. Benning, as we saw with Garrison, is not afraid to ask people to waive their NTCs, which means anything is possible. Regardless, is the new so called meat and potatoes direction of the team enough to bring you back? Without it being a full out rebuild in the sense of playing all the young guys and possibly tanking the season, are you happy seeing a team grind out some wins and potentially just make or miss the playoffs? Are you excited about the changes just for the sake of change? Weigh in and vote! Poll is at the bottom of the article linked uptop. The poll is titled "Are you satisfied with what Trevor Linden has done so far?", and results show that: <> 72% of fans are satisfied and happy <> 22% are on the fence undecided still <> 4% believe old management did too much damage and will hold off for now <> 2% say they've cut off and are done with the team ...clearly favours most people are glad with what Linden&Benning have done by a vast majority. A select portion is still undecided and a measly 2% hate what is going on. Can add another mark for TL&JB. They're sure doing a fine job and I don't blame the poll results one bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Absent Canuck Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Poll is at the bottom of the article linked uptop. The poll is titled "Are you satisfied with what Trevor Linden has done so far?", and results show that: <> 72% of fans are satisfied and happy <> 22% are on the fence undecided still <> 4% believe old management did too much damage and will hold off for now <> 2% say they've cut off and are done with the team ...clearly favours most people are glad with what Linden&Benning have done by a vast majority. A select portion is still undecided and a measly 2% hate what is going on. Can add another mark for TL&JB. They're sure doing a fine job and I don't blame the poll results one bit The guy has been on the job for 3 months. I think we should have this poll after a year or some reasonable time frame. The team hasn't even played a game yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 22% of Canucks fans are intelligent I guess. Seems accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burrows 14 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I don't know if it's just me but I don't care what fans think. I want us to win. I like what Marc Bergevin said, I'm not here to be popular I'm here to win. Or something along those lines. Anybody who stopped cheering for the canucks or stopped caring is a bandwagoner anyway so I really don't care what they think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdubuya Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Money talks. We will see what the season ticket renewal rate is eventually. We will see if the sellout streak continues and if tickets are still in hot demand. The past season or two weren't what the used to be. It all comes down to winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great 8 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The way they dealt with the Kesler situation made me happy and what looks to be acquiring some promising young players in the draft ie. (Vey, Virtanen, Maccan, Tryamkin, Demko). The only thing i'm doubting is the Miller signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The guy has been on the job for 3 months. I think we should have this poll after a year or some reasonable time frame. The team hasn't even played a game yet. Please, the fact that we have a GM with a set of balls that will make some MOVES after the number of years we've sat through Free Agencies and drafts, begging & praying Gillis would make a trade, something, move us up in the draft - get rid of Luongo, No. Nothing. People are happy because we have a GM with balls that sees changes need to be made and then goes out and actually does what he says. We have a GM whose word we can trust and a President that can buy everybody the time needed for a rebuild. Add in the fact that we have a competitive, new-look team, what ISN'T there to be happy about? Change has come to Vancouver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great 8 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Please, the fact that we have a GM with a set of balls that will make some MOVES after the number of years we've sat through Free Agencies and drafts, begging & praying Gillis would make a trade, something, move us up in the draft - get rid of Luongo, No. Nothing. People are happy because we have a GM with balls that sees changes need to be made and then goes out and actually does what he says. We have a GM whose word we can trust and a President that can buy everybody the time needed for a rebuild. Add in the fact that we have a competitive, new-look team, what ISN'T there to be happy about? Change has come to Vancouver! Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Soldier Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Any doubts about the new regime were swept away for me on draft day. JB came in and cleaned house, moving NTCs and soaking up new assets all weekend long. After two years of watching nothing get done with Luongo and Kesler? It was a very refreshing experience. Who would figure a week ago that our roster would be this different? JB is a boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granpappy Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 wait for the 5 game losing streak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dral Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 polls show that Linden gives 65% of all hockey fans and 90% of vancouverites a ermm "bonino"... I swear its a pair of glasses in my pocket, I'm not really happy to see you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorth Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 wait for the 5 game losing streak Thanks for sharing! I was looking for a little pis* for my cornflakes this morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amish Rake Fighter Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 wait for the 5 game losing streak wait for the Canucks to give up the first goal in a game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorth Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 wait for the Canucks to give up the first goal in a game You should pick that lower lip off the ground be for you trip over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorth Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Dp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The way they dealt with the Kesler situation made me happy and what looks to be acquiring some promising young players in the draft ie. (Vey, Virtanen, Maccan, Tryamkin, Demko). The only thing i'm doubting is the Miller signing.Luca Sbisa too. Talked to a lot of people about what was going on during draft day and not to my surprise, nobody has heard of any of the players we got back for Kesler and they all thought we got junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Please, the fact that we have a GM with a set of balls that will make some MOVES after the number of years we've sat through Free Agencies and drafts, begging & praying Gillis would make a trade, something, move us up in the draft - get rid of Luongo, No. Nothing. People are happy because we have a GM with balls that sees changes need to be made and then goes out and actually does what he says. We have a GM whose word we can trust and a President that can buy everybody the time needed for a rebuild. Add in the fact that we have a competitive, new-look team, what ISN'T there to be happy about? Change has come to Vancouver! TBH this sounds fairly similar to what people said when Torts replaced AV. The Canucks were a desperate team that was at a breaking point. Whoever was named GM was going to make big changes no matter what as no one was going to accept the same. Most of what people are happy about was coming anyway. The rest though is not fact it is just speculation. You can't say they are competitive until they actually play. This could just as easily be a bottom of the standings roster. Or if they are competitive do fans just accept them as a middle of the pack team or does he cave to pressure and trade big prospects to make a push? Or does he do nothing and wait out seasons while the prospects develop. What if many of those prospects bust? I would be with the other poster in saying this is premature. Change does not always yield different results. Optimistic start but I won't pat him on the back until the Canucks show at least a small sign of being a contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeydew Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Torts played the Sedins on the PK. Enough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goal:thecup Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The guy has been on the job for 3 months. I think we should have this poll after a year or some reasonable time frame. The team hasn't even played a game yet.There is only a week to go before they have to give the money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RU SERIOUS Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Poster#7 - Great summary! If we had another season like the last - I'd be turning to soccer for excitement (even though I'm not a Euro or Girl!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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