Like all GMs, Gillis has made mistakes. I was a strong supporter of Gillis but I'm not happy with the Luongo - Schneider situation. I think we could have got more if the timing had been better (moving Lu earlier, etc). While Lu was treated mediocre at times, I truly believe that he wanted to move back to Florida regardless of how the fans or the team felt. That's where his family lives and he liked the warm climate. I think he was ready to move there and finish his career.
If anything, I think MG has been too loyal to some players. After the quick exit from the playoffs last year, I thought it would be a good idea to trade Edler while his worth was still high; and we needed some solid prospects to help us retool. I guess I was right. Instead, we signed Edler to another long term contract with another NTC. I was also not a fan of hiring Torts. While I like some of things Torts has done on the ice; the screaming and the off ice antics are old now. I wanted Lindy Ruff or Dave Tippet. Both coaches have a good resume coaching teams with very average rosters. I have a feeling that Francesco Aquilini had a major role in the hiring of Torts.
I still think there were lots of positive moves by MG; such as acquiring Ehrhoff, Malhotra, Santorelli, Tanev, Hamhuis, Garrison, Stanton, Richardson, etc. One of the best moves this franchise made (and I attribute that to MG) is that they established a Canucks owned farm team at Utica. That was a great move and I am baffled as to why it took so long for us to have our own AHL team to mold our prospects.