(Article)Ed Willes: No matter how next season turns out, newly hands-on Canucks’ owner will be responsible

[naslund.is.king]

http://www.theprovince.com/touch/story.html?id=8718964

The Blue Jays won a series, the Roughriders remain undefeated and Hunter and Kandi Mahan are the proud parents of a baby girl. Now here’s some more wicked good news, the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.

In this, an eventful and disquieting offseason for the faithful, the key figure in the Vancouver Canucks’ various dramas has not been general manager Mike Gillis, new head coach John Tortorella or even Roberto Luongo.

It’s been owner Francesco Aquilini.

Stepping outside the traditional purview of ownership, Aquilini played an instrumental role in the decision to hire Tortorella, the decision to keep Luongo and, by extension, the decision to deal Cory Schneider. Each move, of course, will be the subject of intense scrutiny and the Canucks’ fate, both in the long and the short term, will be determined by Aquilini’s judgment in these matters.

It’s interesting, in fact, to note the change at the top of the organization. For the first four years of his administration, Gillis was basically given a blank cheque to run things as he saw fit. Whether you agreed or disagreed, there was no question over who was calling the shots, and in 2011, when they had the best team in the NHL, there was every reason to think the Gillis-Aquilini partnership would lead the team to its greatest success.

Now, it’s fair to say the honeymoon is over. Gillis wanted to hire John Stevens to coach the Canucks. Aquilini wanted Tortorella. Gillis wanted Schneider as his goalie. Aquilini didn’t want to buy out Luongo.

In these matters, ownership will always have the final say, but it’s not often ownership makes their involvement this public. Don’t know if that’s the best thing for the franchise. But, no matter how things turn out, we do know who’s responsible.

On a related note, given the way this offseason has unfolded, it’s now imperative that Tortorella installs some sense of structure and purpose to this team and that he does it immediately. The Canucks still have a decent lineup. They should be a playoff team. If they get off to a decent start under the new coach, the drama with Luongo will disappear.

But imagine a Canucks’ team that struggles out of the gate with a distracted Luongo playing at a substandard level. Now imagine the ensuing circus. As mentioned, Aquilini has a lot invested in Tortorella, both literally and figuratively.

One final thing. One of Tortorella’s champions within the Canucks was assistant general manager Laurence Gilman, who worked with the new coach in Phoenix.

“I supported John from the start,” Gilman says. “I know him. I know he’s not defined by his relationship with the New York media.”

The two best movies I’ve seen in the last year — Looking For Sugarman and 20 Feet From Stardom — are both documentaries about characters on the fringe of the music industry: Saw 20 Feet From Stardom on the weekend. It’s freaking magic.

It appears baseball is headed towards its second major PED-scandal in a decade, and while it’s sad to see the fall of some of the game’s greats, you just can’t have a game where some players derive a competitive advantage from performance-enhancing drugs.

Well, you can. You just can’t expect fans and sponsors to take it seriously. The issue now, as it was in the middle of BALCO, remains the baseball’s integrity — and if you want to look at the impact of PEDs on performance, look at a juiced-up Melky Cabrera’s numbers with San Francisco last year compared to his numbers with the Blue Jays this season.

Don’t know if you can draw a direct line between the PEDs and Cabrera’s play but, you have to admit, it’s thought-provoking.

Finally, it’s long past the point when the Canadian Open was considered golf’s unofficial fifth major, but this year’s event at Glen Abbey delivered a world-class champion in Brent Snedeker, a fantastic storyline with Hunter Mahan and a memorable moment for Mike Weir.

Mahan, of course, withdrew before the start of the third round when he was leading the tournament to be with his wife Kandi for the delivery of the couple’s first child. Don’t want to pound this into the ground, but it was admirable to see a public figure put his family before his own needs.

As for Weir, his competitive days are clearly behind him, but he remains the greatest golfer this country has ever produced and his second-round 67 awakened a lot of sentiment in the crowd at Glen Abbey. Weir, at his best, was one of the top 10 players in the world and he remains a remarkable 20th on the all-time money list. He was a transformative figure in this country. It was nice to see that acknowledged this weekend.

[MJDDawg]

No he's not.

Sad because ownership actively involved in running a team almost never ends well.

[In the Slot]

I find it funny that Willes suggests that an owner telling his manager, I am not paying 30 mil dollars extra for your error (ie buyout) is something that means the owner is 'meddling' or bad. lol

this guy has clearly never made real money, is a shill and never will. billionaires don't get rich and stay that way by throwing away 30 ml for their manager's errors.

this lou debacle is solely on Gillis no one else. Acquilini simply did what any good business man does, protects his investments and doesn't piss money down the drain.

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

Personally, I think Gillis is lucky to have his job.

[rightasrain]

I'm excited for the season to start. It could be a story of all stories.

[Cold Hard Truth]

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

[bobopan]

Very interesting he flat out says Torts hiring was Aqualini's decision. I know we heard rumors but they were always implied just that rumors.. Willies pretty much lays it out on the line as if this is public knowledge, really not sure what to believe here. I personally think anytime ownership wants to get this involved where as they are making the GM's decisions if that be true a gross mistake. Just never seems to work out that way.

[Cold Hard Truth]

Ed Willes might be the worst out of the entire presstitute cesspool and that is saying ALOT in this market.

[JesseBlue]

so ed wiles has the inside scoop eh...or is he assuming in helps to sell their newspaper?

[nuck nit]

``Gillis wanted to hire John Stevens to coach the Canucks. Aquilini wanted Tortorella.`` Ed Willes

If true,it answers my question about Gillis and makes me have doubts about Aquilini`s sanity.

[wallstreetamigo]

I find it funny that Willes suggests that an owner telling his manager, I am not paying 30 mil dollars extra for your error (ie buyout) is something that means the owner is 'meddling' or bad. lol

this guy has clearly never made real money, is a shill and never will. billionaires don't get rich and stay that way by throwing away 30 ml for their manager's errors.

this lou debacle is solely on Gillis no one else. Acquilini simply did what any good business man does, protects his investments and doesn't piss money down the drain.

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

Personally, I think Gillis is lucky to have his job.

[Drouin]

Even if the Tortorella hiring was F.A's idea, it was a good idea. Stevens wouldn't have really done anything, basically another AV. Tortorella on the other hand will push our players to play the best of their ability. And is this guy's info even reliable?

[oldnews]

It's the Province. Hard to take anything scribbled on their pages seriously. It's not Botchford or Gallagher, but it's still merely a step above Eklund and hockeyyyyinnnnsssiddderrrrrrrrr.

'Gillis wanted Stevens, FA wanted Torts' etc - no sources, no quotes, nothing to suggest what informs these claims or how many degrees of separation his 'information'/opinion is removed... and if there's one thing the Province has evidenced, it's their willingness to take liberties outside the bounds of professional journalism.

The part that makes me dismiss this as Willes talking out his mass (aside from the source never having gained any real credibility in this market) is where he suggests that Gillis intended to buyout Luongo but FA would not allow it. I have little doubt that the option was never really entertained - buyout talk was more a product of slanted blowhards than anyone who looked at the matter realistically, let alone from a Canucks perspective - nor do I believe they would have had to resort to a buyout to move Luongo - I think a move was possible, but either the return was determined to not be worth it, or perhaps that's where FA's preference could have come into play - in either event, Willes posturing as though he's privy to the inner workings of decision-making this summer isn't enough imo, isn't convincing.

In any event. as it stands, I can't take this any more seriously than mere cheap tabloid rumouring.

I'll be waiting for something real - the Province doesn't qualify.

[ShakyWalton]

I find it funny that Willes suggests that an owner telling his manager, I am not paying 30 mil dollars extra for your error (ie buyout) is something that means the owner is 'meddling' or bad. lol

this guy has clearly never made real money, is a shill and never will. billionaires don't get rich and stay that way by throwing away 30 ml for their manager's errors.

this lou debacle is solely on Gillis no one else. Acquilini simply did what any good business man does, protects his investments and doesn't piss money down the drain.

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

Personally, I think Gillis is lucky to have his job.

[oldnews]

I find it funny that Willes suggests that an owner telling his manager, I am not paying 30 mil dollars extra for your error (ie buyout) is something that means the owner is 'meddling' or bad. lol

this guy has clearly never made real money, is a shill and never will. billionaires don't get rich and stay that way by throwing away 30 ml for their manager's errors.

this lou debacle is solely on Gillis no one else. Acquilini simply did what any good business man does, protects his investments and doesn't piss money down the drain.

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

Personally, I think Gillis is lucky to have his job.

[oldnews]

People need to settle down with the assumption, based on a garbage source, that Gillis intended to buyout Luongo.

The Luongo buyout talk was peddled by idiots - nothing Gillis ever said indicated that he had any intention of entertaining that option - and Luongo's value as a player as well as his reasonable cap hit make his a serviceable contract. Not an ideal term, and certainly not an ideal development with the retroactive hypocrisy that the NHL pulled in the backdiving punishment for contracts they approved at the time, but nevertheless serviceable (and certainly not the only deal of it's kind - Richards, Carter, Zetteburg, Franzen - very similar contracts, to name a few.)

My opinion/belief is that it was more possible to move Luongo than it appears, but that taking a cap dump in return or a lesser return wasn't as attractive in the end as landing a top 10 pick...

[Cyril Sneer]

Stuff like this always makes me laugh, like seriously, how on earth would Willes know this?

Willes - hey Mike any luck on finding a coach?

Gillis - well Mr Ed Willes of the Provence, I really want to hire Stevens but Franny wants torts.

Willes - oh ya?

Gillis - I don't even run this team anymore, my job is to sweat and talk into microphones at press conferences

Willes - I agree, maybe ill right an article about it.

Gillis - ya sure, I'm not one to have a hidden agenda.

[oldnews]

Stuff like this always makes me laugh, like seriously, how on earth would Willes know this?

Willes - hey Mike any luck on finding a coach?

Gillis - well Mr Ed Willes of the Provence, I really want to hire Stevens but Franny wants torts.

Willes - oh ya?

Gillis - I don't even run this team anymore, my job is to sweat and talk into microphones at press conferences

Willes - I agree, maybe ill right an article about it.

Gillis - ya sure, I'm not one to have a hidden agenda.

[nuck nit]

4. Fair comment

We all are free to comment – even harshly – about issues of public interest, as long as our comments are honest statements of opinion, based on fact, and not malicious. For example, a newspaper columnist may write that a Member of Parliament (an MP) says he supports equality and equal rights, but he opposes same-sex marriages. The columnist writes that the MP is hypocritical. If the MP sues the columnist for defamation, the columnist has the defence of fair comment. Media articles that accurately report what was said at public meetings are also privileged, unless the meeting was not of public concern and the report was not for public benefit.

5. Responsible communication on matters of public interest

In a December 2009 case, the Supreme Court of Canada established this new defence to a libel claim. The court said that journalists should be able to report statements and allegations – even if they are not true – if there’s a public interest in distributing the information to a wide audience. This defense, which looks at the whole context of a situation, can apply if:

• the news was urgent, serious, and of public importance, and

• the journalist used reliable sources, and tried to get and report the other side of the story.

The court defined “journalist” widely to include bloggers and anyone else “publishing material of public interest in any medium.”

What effect does an apology have?

A newspaper or a TV or radio station that publishes or broadcasts a libel can limit the amount of the damages they may have to pay by publishing or broadcasting an apology right away.

Summary

The law of defamation protects your reputation against false statements. If a person makes a false statement to someone and it hurts your reputation, you can sue the person who made the false statement for damages.

https://www.cba.org/...rights/240.aspx

[The Bookie]

He randomly stops in the middle to dedicate a paragraph to movie reviews, and even then he fails, mucking up the name of the movie.

Garbage writing. How about this:

If they get off to a decent start under the new coach, the drama with Luongo will disappear.

But imagine a Canucks’ team that struggles out of the gate with a distracted Luongo playing at a substandard level. Now imagine the ensuing circus.

[BI3KSA-]

I find it funny that Willes suggests that an owner telling his manager, I am not paying 30 mil dollars extra for your error (ie buyout) is something that means the owner is 'meddling' or bad. lol

this guy has clearly never made real money, is a shill and never will. billionaires don't get rich and stay that way by throwing away 30 ml for their manager's errors.

this lou debacle is solely on Gillis no one else. Acquilini simply did what any good business man does, protects his investments and doesn't piss money down the drain.

Moreover, the decision to hire Torts was the right one. Look how players are responding, Higgins, Kesler etc saying they are excited, they are already buying in,

I have watched his interviews, I am impressed by his honesty, his desire to win, his passion for the game. This team didn't need another 'technician'. It needed emotion.

Gillis analyzes till he's blue in the face then makes bad decisions. Acquilini gets what it takes to win in business, not just talent, but passion.

Torts is here to wake that up in our players, Stevens would have been more of AV 2.0.

Personally, I think Gillis is lucky to have his job.