Dissension -- The Vancouver Canucks

[Bananas]

Well, I wrote this out of boredom, mostly, after the disappointment settled in and the emotions settled down. It’s a long read, but whatever.

The gist of it is an attempt to identify why exactly the product on ice is the way it is – a losing culture.

Personally, I feel that the product on the ice directly reflects the problems that line the entire Canucks organization. There are problems top to bottom right now, and now is the time to correct it.

I won’t yet attempt to make too many suggestions on how to correct the organization at this point, because it is still very early. However, I will make it clear that I believe this losing culture will continue to exist until the players are shown that this kind of crap is no longer acceptable.

Dissension – The Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have exhibited a lack of motivation, a lack of chemistry, and a lack of togetherness. This has been displayed on and off the ice over the course of the season, for this is not just limited to the players of the Vancouver Canucks, but coaching staff and the management as well.

There have been a large number of incidents that indicate how “dissension” is the underlying tone that encompasses the Vancouver Canucks organization, and the proof lies in the pudding that is the last two showings in the playoffs.

The question now isn’t whether or not this dissension exists; it has long been proven, since the misuse of Ballard, the mistreatment of Hodgson, or the mishandling of the Malhotra and Luongo situations. It has clearly become evident that there is a lack of communication between the coach and his players, the coach and his General Manager, and even Mike Gillis with Francesco Aquillini. Furthermore, there even appears to be a miscommunication between GM Mike Gillis and his assistant, Lawrence Gilman, which became evident on trade deadline.

At the end of the day, this dissension inevitably spells out failure on the ice; but where is this dissension coming from? Why is it that the players of the Canucks don’t care to show up to play?

Is it because the players themselves have differences in the locker room?

Is it because the coach clearly plays favorites?

Do the players simply not care for the coach at this point?

Do the players recognize the miscommunications throughout the organization?

Do the players have no faith in the GM?

Are the players here too comfortable?

Does the goalie situation play into the locker room issues?

Does the treatment of Manny Malhotra put a dark cloud over the heads of the players in the locker room?

Is it more than one of these things?

Let’s get one thing straight: the roster on paper is good. The on-ice product, however, does not translate this. Now, after two years of bad hockey, changes need to be made and some of our players’ trade values have significantly decreased because of the on-ice product that is a direct result of the organization’s dissension.

So what needs to happen now? Is shaking up the line-up good enough? Does the roster really matter when players are being mishandled so badly by the coach? Does it matter if the GM shows no urgency or loyalty? How motivating is it when you know that if a coach is mistreating you as a player, your GM will not step in and put an end to it?

Overall, the organization’s current structure is too far-gone to repair itself. The Vancouver Canucks need to be blown up from the inside out. The entire culture that encompasses the organization and inherently trickles into the locker room needs to change so that the core players that remain a part of the Vancouver Canucks moving into next season recognize that things have changed, and so too does their on-ice product need to change.

Prior any of this change in management and the coaching staff happens, it would be extremely out of place to make changes the team’s roster. There is not going to be a large change in the roster this year because of the salary cap decrease, which means there needs to be an alternative defining factor that shakes up this locker room beyond what any roster changes could accomplish.

Both Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault, including his assistant coaches, have brought undoubted success to the Vancouver Canucks over the years. However, as the organization slowly unravels after a disheartening loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, it has become clear as day that the shelf life of these individuals’ presence in the Canucks organization has expired, as they have showed no urgency to extinguish the rising dissension and losing culture that exists within the Vancouver Canucks locker room.

[Baggins]

I completely disagree.

[Mustapha]

I agree that the team needs an attitude adjustment, and those that choose to be passengers should be shown the door.

I also believe that the coach needs to hold these players more accountable - perhaps a new coach with a different perspective can do this.

It was a waste to have Lou sit over half the season and also a waste to have Ballard in the pressbox. If these guys can't make the lineup, they should have been moved. Lou will be impossible to move now - every other team would simply take the chance on him getting a buyout rather than take on that term.

There will be cap challenges, locker room challenges and pressure from fans and the media to rebound. If the team is going to beat this, they need to enter the next season in the right frame of mind.

[Bananas]

I completely disagree.

[Bananas]

I agree that the team needs an attitude adjustment, and those that choose to be passengers should be shown the door.

I also believe that the coach needs to hold these players more accountable - perhaps a new coach with a different perspective can do this.

It was a waste to have Lou sit over half the season and also a waste to have Ballard in the pressbox. If these guys can't make the lineup, they should have been moved. Lou will be impossible to move now - every other team would simply take the chance on him getting a buyout rather than take on that term.

There will be cap challenges, locker room challenges and pressure from fans and the media to rebound. If the team is going to beat this, they need to enter the next season in the right frame of mind.

[TOMapleLaughs]

We're all overreacting.

[Ossi Vaananen]

*Dissension

[Bananas]

We're all overreacting.

[Bananas]

*Dissension

[Bodee]

I totally agree with the OP.

Success AND failure starts at the top. If the Aqualinis are businessmen they will realise that the guy at the helm has lost his way. To be honest I don't think he ever knew the way in terms of hockey in the first place.

Gillis for me is out of his depth when it comes to dealing with people and matters pertaining to one of the biggest parts of the game trading/drafting. If you are not adept at these two main functions you are soon found out.

What is even worse for the Canucks is he has been rumbled by the other GM's and it is this almost more than anything else that will now prevent him from "learning in the job" He will be forced again and again to give away too much to get what he is after. Quite frankly even what he goes after scares me.

It also appears to me that the players agents have also rumbled him with all these overpaid "home town" discounts and NTCs. Why should an elite team like Vancouver hand out all these perks ..............and to not much better than average players imo.

So yes I agree. There is nothing to be gained from another term for GM or AV because the guys who come in need to now make their own assessments of who to keep and who to move on.

There is no need by the way to take a big hit on Lu (the very idea is stomach churning) the answer is quite simple. Keep the proven goalie and move the promising one on. That is how it should have been from the start and it shows the incompetence of Gillis that he has made what should have been a good thing for the Canucks into a piece of garbage.

You know looking back over the last 2 seasons I can count the number of times we have played like the 2010 team on the fingers of one hand. That is the reality of our situation.

I watch a lot of full games of hockey on GC, being retired and it amazes me just how many excuses we make for our team and just how much we over rate some of the core here compared with other team's players.

CDC lives in a gold fish bowl and it is high time we set higher standards. The PT is NOT the SC and in fact it is almost a different sport requiring a different kind of player and a different type of coach. The successful teams are designed and built from the bottom up with continuity built in.

The great soccer coach/manager of Liverpool said that "Football is a simple game. It is about players (meaning character) and the things that were important 25years ago are still what are important to-day" I feel that Gillis/AV never understood that concept.

[Red Light Racicot]

I think there are at least a couple problems.

The players need a new voice. Hiring a coach that actually makes the players accountable might be the most prudent course of action.

While I dont think its necessary to strip Hank of the C, he just doesnt seem to have the right attitude at all.

This refusing to admit the team is playing terrible (when they do play terrible) has to stop.

[Gross-Misconduct]

I didn't get past "it's a long read"

[BedBeats™2.0]

I completely disagree.

[VanGnome]

GM Options: Joe Niewendyk, Scott Howson, Doug MacLean, Brian Burke, Pat Quinn, Mike Keenan

Goaching Options: Chris Chelios, Paul Maurice, Lindy Ruff, Pat Quinn, Mike Keenan

And that's just off the top of my head. There are plenty of options, and I would take any one of them in either position over what we have now. What we get from AV is lethargy and lozenge sucking or gum chewing. What we get from Gillis is nothing short of a 5 year old throwing a temper tantrum; you can hear the annoyance in his voice "Guys, how come you won't just take what I'm saying on faith? Guys, why are you asking so many questions?"

It's time for a change, it's time to bring some respect and accountability back to this organization; if you think it's just the players who referring is against you'd be mistaken. They watch, they listen and I know for a fact that they don't respect the players, how can you when you and no one else can respect the coaching and management who so call "set the agenda" for the players?

I guarantee you, bring back some respected people to the front office and behind the bench and there will be a marked improvement in officiating; at the very least it will remove the odorous bias.

My picks for change are either Howson/Chelios, MacLean/Maurice or Niewendyk/Ruff

[EmployeeoftheMonth]

We're all overreacting.

[-DLC-]

"Overall, the organization’s current structure is too far-gone to repair itself. The Vancouver Canucks need to be blown up from the inside out."

I'm with Baggins on this one.

This team's had some psychological hurdles to overcome as well as injuries that have made it hard to really get things going.

The last couple of years they've been in the mix, but really stood little chance with the way the games played out. I'd hate to give up on them now that they've got the experience of having endured that and have been learning how to adjust and adapt. Gillis hinted at that - that they will. Minor tweaks, maybe, but nothing substantial needs doing in my mind.

[Scott Hartnell's Mane]

It's kind of been like watching someone rolling a stone up a hill only to have it come crashing back down again before they get it over the other side. I'm in agreement with everyone who made the point of the Canucks being utterly unprepared for this 48-game season. I'm also in agreement that the team doesn't need to be completely blown up to fix what's wrong.

[TheCammer]

"Overall, the organization’s current structure is too far-gone to repair itself. The Vancouver Canucks need to be blown up from the inside out."

I'm with Baggins on this one.

This team's had some psychological hurdles to overcome as well as injuries that have made it hard to really get things going.

The last couple of years they've been in the mix, but really stood little chance with the way the games played out. I'd hate to give up on them now that they've got the experience of having endured that and have been learning how to adjust and adapt. Gillis hinted at that - that they will. Minor tweaks, maybe, but nothing substantial needs doing in my mind.

[Vansicle]

I don't agree that it's a losing culture. The proof is the constant playoff appearances, various division titles and a pair of presidents trophies.

It's really a simple matter of this team not being a playoff team. One huge reason for that is an inability to bring a strategy/product that is effective in a series scenario.

Sure, they can win any given game against any given team, but in series play, there has been one instance of advancing beyond round 1, and even that was very lucky (beauty ot Burr goal).

To say there is a culture of losing is to not admit that your disappointment is still clouding your perspective.

The sky is not falling. It's just time for a real coach and time to replace any and all fringe/bubble players with better ones. Simple as that.

[Nordiques_fan]

Statistically, a team should be in the SCF about every 15 years. Canucks have been there 3 times in 42 years, which is almost right on target.

Realistically, we, as fans, cannot expect they'll make it every year. Let the reality sink in that the next time we'll see them there will be in about 10 years or so. And this will be despite changing management, coaches, players or ice girls.