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Mike Gillis' Year End Press Conference (Long Read)

Curmudgeon

By Curmudgeon
in Canucks Talk

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Curmudgeon Canucks Regular

Curmudgeon

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Should the Canucks lose the series to Los Angeles, Gillis will be faced with a huge media contingent asking hard questions. Here is what I believe he will be asked, and how he will answer.

Question: So, MIke, what happened against LA, and when did you sense that your club was in trouble?

MG: I think it was a combination of things. Their goaltender got into our heads and was pretty much flawless and we couldn't find a way to solve him. But we were concerned that our power play lost its confidence sometime after Christmas and never seemd to get it back. Certainly missing Daniel was a problem, but good teams overcome those obstacles. Other teams are missing key players, too, and they seem to find a way around them.

Question: So there are a lot of fans calling for the coach to be fired due to his inability to motivate his team in a tough playoff round, and maybe for relying too heavily on veterans at the expense of young players. What is your intention towards the coaching staff.

MG: First of all, Alain Vigneault is the most successful coach in franchise history, so you don't make that change because we lost a series. That said, we will spend the next few weeks analyzing every aspect of the organization, from players, to coaches to scouts and, if we think we need to move in a new direction, we will, But right now we need to let our emotions settle and focus on finding out why we weren't successful. And I will be looking at my own performance as well. It might be that some of my personnel decisions might have been overly optimistic, but at this point, I don't know that.

Question: You have a blue chip trade candidate in Cory Schneider. Do you believe you can move him for some immediate scoring help?

MG: Do I think I can move him? Up to the trade deadine I got calls every day about Cory and my answer was always the same; he's a great young goalie who will be a star in this league for a lot of years to come. We have not decided if we are going to move him at all and we might find a way to keep what we think is the strongest goalie tandem in the league.

Question: Well, would you consider moving Roberto, then?

MG: Roberto is a top goalie in this league and has a no-trade contract. I will not approach him to waive it and I doubt if he will come to us asking for a move.

Question: But if he did?

MG: I don't deal in speculation. I can't answer that question because it has never come up and I don't expect it will.

Question: But if he wanted to move closer to his wife's family in Florida, would you help him out?

MG: I think I answered that question.

Question: Other successful teams are having playoff success with young players who are given a lot of ice time. What is is about Vancouver that young players don't get the same opportunity? For example, Cody Hodgson might have been the answer to your power play, yet you traded him away.

MG: I already explained this: we had a chance to pick up a big, talented winger who played with more sandpaper as well as a really good young puck moving defenceman. As for the teams doing well with young players, most of those players were high draft picks who weren't available when it came time for us to pick. That said, we have good young prospects in Schroeder, Connauton, Jensen, Corrado, Lack, Cannata, Rodin and others learning the pro game in the AHL. We feel that some of them will be ready to begin contributing in the very near future.Now if you think we are going to tank a season to get a high draft pick, I can tell you that every player on our roster cares only about winning, and if we thought they weren't, they'd be gone.

Question: Do you think it is time to take a long look at your scouting system? The Hockey News rated your prosepct pool near the very bottom of the league.

MG: We don't put much stock in the Hockey News, but as I said earlier, we will be evaluating all aspects of the organization including scouting. If there is a better way of predicting how boys will turn out when they become men, we'll find it. And, if we feel we'd be better served with a fresh perspective, we'll make that change, but it is too early to make those decisions.

Question: Last year you had skill but no toughness, this year you added toughness, but it didn't show up against LA. What happened?

MG: It is alwasy easier to play tough when you have a lead, and LA had us down most of the series. Our problem wasn't toughness, it was putting the puck in the net.

Question: Coach Vigneault talks all the time about playing the right way, but against LA your team engaged in a lot of chirping and after-the-whistle scrums. Again, what happened?

MG: Hockey is an emotional game and in the playoffs everything is on the line so the intesnity level is ratcheted up. On the other hand, I was personally disappointed that LA was able to get us off our game and coaxed some of our players into a relapse into old habits that aren't productive. We will address this problem, one way or another.

Question: David Booth was supposed to add scoring, but was inconsistent. Are you disappointed in his performance?

MG: David has a high end skill set and a great attitude towards hockey in general and the team in particular. I would probably like him to use his linemates more effectively, but that's a deal I would make again. He will certainly be given a number of things to work on in preparation for next season, as will all of our players and prospects.

Question: Ryan Kesler never seemed to regain his stride after a Selke winning season. How do you refocus him?

MG: Ryan cares as much about this team and about winning as anyone I've every known. Sometimes his passion gets in the way of his judgement, and he gets down on himself. We need to find ways to help him even himself out and enjoy the game. I have seen, just as all of you have seen, that he takes losing harder than most. While we don't like losing either, we need to learn to leave what is in the past alone and move foreward. I think Ryan still has room for growth in this area.

Question: You've won the Pesident's Trophy two years in a row, but not the Cup. Is regular season success important in the big picture?

MG: Absolutely. We owe it to the fans who buy tickets every night to watch us play, or who buy our jerseys and other merchandise. We understand that Vancouver fans demand a winning team and it is our goal to give them that every year. We wish we had been more successful in the playoffs, but there isn't a fan in the world who feels any worse about this than those within the organzation. We will always strive to be the best team in the league.

Last question: When can we expect changes to be made?

MG: When you least expect them.

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gradin123 Abbotsford Star

gradin123

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Yeah I hve to agree with others in saying you have too much time on your hands. You are probably pretty close to the answers MG will give though. Except one.

MG, "And I will be looking at my own performance as well. It might be that some of my personnel decisions might have been overly optimistic, but at this point, I don't know that."

The next time Gillis admits fault will be the first time.

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