The Circus that is the Vancouver Canucks.

[Batmania]

Truth

1. Conformity to fact or actuality.

2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.

Yes the Nucks have enjoyed perhaps some their most successful years under GMMG, but one cannot conclude GMMG is responsible for that success, especially since he adopted a team with its current core in place. One might also argue that the Canucks had success despite GMMG, and that the more influence he excerts over this team, the less successful they will become. I understand this is debateable, which is why I don't call it a truth.

One can conclude though that GMMG has done more good than bad for this team. That's not saying he's a god who's done no wrong it's just looking at everything in perspective and coming to a rational conclusion.

Also one can make the "despite" argument but it never really pans out very well for the person. You said Gillis gets an F which might be your grade for him but I don't think you could really back that up with anything substantial.

[Batmania]

Are you for real? You can only evaluate performance based on past achievements, so shortsightedness has absolutely nothing to do with it. Whether GMMG has done more good than bad for this team is not a truth, but an opinion (a clouded and uninformed one in my opinion).

No it's a truth. Uninformed is just looking at stuff like the Ballard deal and crying about it. Informed is looking at everything as a hole; his re-signings, his trades, his free agent signings, etc etc etc and being fair rather than emo. S yes I am for real a whiner person can see the forest for the trees.

[Guest]

No it's a truth. Uninformed is just looking at stuff like the Ballard deal and crying about it. Informed is looking at everything as a hole; his re-signings, his trades, his free agent signings, etc etc etc and being fair rather than emo. S yes I am for real a whiner person can see the forest for the trees.

In a letter addressed to all of the supporters of the Vancouver Canucks, General Manager and President Mike Gillis assured the fans that he along with his management team will do everything they can to ultimately bring hockey’s greatest prize to Vancouver.

In the six years that Gillis has been the General Manger of Vancouver’s hockey team, he has turned the team from a playoff team to a serious Cup contender. However, after coming off a disappointing first round loss to the San Jose Sharks, it looks like the Canucks are a team that has already reached it’s peak and is now on the decline. Gillis has shown that with a good base, he can build a team up. But can he build a team up from scratch?

Let’s take a look back at some of trades and signings made during Gillis’ tenure as General Manager:

First Season: 2008/2009

Mike Gillis started off his tenure at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

His picks include:

Cody Hodgson (round 1, 10th overall)

Yann Sauve (round 2, 41st overall)

Prab Rai (round 5, 131st overall)

Mats Froshaug (round 6, 161st overall)

Morgan Clark (round 7, 191st overall)

*Only one of these draft picks currently play in the NHL (Cody Hodgson for the Buffalo Sabres). Yann Sauve has played a total of five NHL games while Prab Rai, Mats Froshaug and Morgan Clark have never seen NHL ice.

Gillis also had a fairly busy summer, signing and trading for numerous established NHL players that would all find a spot to play in the lineup.

His off-season signings included:

Kyle Wellwood

Darcy Hordichuk

Ryan Johnson

Curtis Sandford

Pavol Demitra

Rob Davison

Mats Sundin (only played half a season with Vancouver making $8.6 million in the process)

Gillis also traded for Steve Bernier (sent 3rd rounder and 2nd rounder to Buffalo), Lawrence Nycholat (sent Ryan Shannon to Ottawa) and Shane O’Brien (sent Lukas Krajicek to Tampa Bay).

With these additions, the team went from last in their division the previous season to winning their division. However, they were ousted in the second round of the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks.

*Honourable Mention: Mike Gillis did sign David Backes to an 3 year offer sheet. Unfortunately, the St.Louis Blues matched and Backes has since remained with the club. Gillis also extended the contracts of both Alex Edler (4 years/13 million) and Alex Burrows (4 years/8 million).

Second Season: 2009/2010

Gillis’ NHL Entry Draft 2009 picks:

Jordan Schroeder (round 1, 22nd overall)

Anton Rodin (round 2, 53rd overall)

Kevin Connauton (round 3, 83rd overall)

Jeremy Price (round 4, 113th overall)

Peter Andersson (round 5, 113th overall)

Joe Cannata (round 6, 173rd overall)

Steven Anthony (round 7, 187th overall)

Off-season signings included:

Mathieu Schneider (traded to Carolina for Andrew Alberts at the trade deadline)

Guillaume Desbiens

Andrew Raycroft

Mikael Samuelsson

Tanner Glass

Aaron Rome

The only trade that Gillis made during the off-season saw Vancouver’s former number one draft pick from 2007, Patrick White, dealt to the San Jose Sharks alongside rookie defenceman Daniel Rahimi in exchange for Brad Lukowich and Christian Ehrhoff.

*Gillis also re-signed goaltender Roberto Luongo to a 12 year/$64 million extension during the off-season and the Sedins also signed a 5 year/$30.5 million extension.

Mikael Samuelsson turned out to be a great signing as the veteran Swede was able to tally a career high 30 goals. Henrik Sedin led the NHL in scoring finishing the year with 29 goals, 83 assists and 112 points which was good enough for Sedin to capture both the Art Ross and the Hart Memorial trophy. However, it was Alex Burrows, fresh off a new contract, that led the team in goals with 35. Though the Canucks won their division for the second consecutive season, they were also bounced out of the playoffs in the second round thanks to another six game series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It was obvious that after the year this team had had, they were almost there. They were ready become serious Stanley Cup contenders and the final pieces to the puzzle were made during the subsequent off-season.

*Ryan Kesler was signed to a 6 year/$30 million contract extension towards the end of the 09/10 regular season

Third Season: 2010/2011

Draft day 2010 started with a bang for the Canucks as Gillis had traded another former first round draft choice, Michael Grabner, along with Steve Bernier and the teams 2010 first round draft pick (used to select Quinton Howden) to the Florida Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich. This meant that the Canucks would not select a player in the draft until the fourth round.

Here’s how the 2010 draft went down for the Canucks:

Patrick McNally (round 4, 115th overall)

Adam Polasek (round 5, 145th overall)

Alex Friesen (round 6, 172nd overall)

Jonathan Iilahti (round 6, 175th overall)

Sawyer Hannay (round 7, 205th overall)

After the draft, Gillis kept trying to improve his team by adding to the already existing core group of players which he had kept together. He shored up his defence by adding Dan Hamhuis, added a faceoff specialist in Manny Malhotra and acquired a true playoff performer in Raffi Torres. Gillis also signed young college free agent Chris Tanev who has turned into a mainstay on the backend for the Canucks.

Gillis also made two smaller trades in the off-season. He sent Shane O’Brien and Dan Gendur to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Ryan Parent and Jonas Andersson, while Darcy Hordichuk was sent to the Florida Panthers for tough guy Andrew Peters. Parent saw minimal playing time with the Canucks and spent most of his time with the organization in the American Hockey League. Meanwhile, Peters never even played a game in the NHL for the Canucks and was eventually released from his contract with Vancouver mid-season.

At the trade deadline, Gillis acquired Maxim Lapierre and Chris Higgins who both came relatively cheap, only costing a couple third round draft picks, one prospect (Evan Oberg) and AHL player (Joel Perrault). Both Lapierre and Higgins became key contributors throughout the 2011 playoffs providing secondary scoring, energy when needed and a physical presence. Of all the trades that Gillis has made during his tenure as Canucks General Manager, these two deals are arguably his best.

Heading into the playoffs the Canucks were a confident bunch after having won the franchises’s first ever President’s Trophy. They beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in a memorable seven game first round series. Then they took out Nashville in six, San Jose in seven and came within 60 minutes of hoisting the Stanley Cup. They came oh so close, but they just couldn’t close out the Bruins.

Fourth Season: 2011/2012

Coming off a disappointing loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, Gillis had a plan of what he wanted to do heading into the draft and the subsequent off-season. It was clear that the Canucks were bullied by the Bruins and Gillis wanted to get bigger and add some toughness to a team that already possessed some of the best skill in the NHL. He started the off – season by drafting a power forward in Nicklas Jensen.

Draft day 2011:

Nicklas Jensen (round 1, 29th overall)

David Honzik (round 3, 71st overall)

Alexandre Grenier (round 3, 90th overall)

Joseph Labate (round 4, 101st overall)

Ludwig Blomstrand (round 4, 120th overall)

Frank Corrado (round 5, 150th overall)

Pathrik Westerholm (round 6, 180th overall)

Henrik Tommernes (round 7, 210th overall)

The team from 2011, with the exception of Christian Ehrhoff, was kept together as Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Andrew Alberts, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Jannik Hansen were all re-signed to new contracts. Losing Ehrhoff left a big hole on the back-end that Gillis had failed to replace.

Off-season additions included:

Marco Sturm

Dale Weise

Andrew Ebbett

Byron Bitz

Steve Pinizzotto

Mark Mancari

Alexander Sulzer

Early on in the 2011/2012 season Gillis made a move that had Canucks fans celebrating. Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm were sent to Florida in exchange for David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a 2013 third round pick. Booth was supposed to put the Canucks over the top and be that power forward the they lacked. He was supposed to bring speed, size and skill and give the Canucks the offence that went missing during the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. In two years with the Canucks, Booth has only managed to play 68 regular season games and in that span he has scored 17 goals which is a far cry from the 31 he recorded in 2008/2009. It’s safe to say that so far, he has been a bust.

Despite not being able to replace Christian Ehrhoff on defence, the Canucks were still able to capture their second consecutive President’s trophy, as well as their fifth straight Northwest Division title. However, the team just didn’t look the same from a year ago. In 2011, the Canucks were by far the best team in the league on paper, and their play proved it. In 2012, something was different. The team just wasn’t winning games like they had done in the past. Instead of dominating their opponents and winning by a comfortable margin, they were playing down to the level of the opposition and were squeaking out one-goal wins. I completely understand that a win is a win. But this team just didn’t look like they had it in them to go through another grueling Playoff run.

The 2012 NHL trade deadline saw Mike Gillis make a trade that caught everyone off guard. Gillis sent his very own first round draft pick Cody Hodgson to the Buffalo Sabres, along with Alexander Sulzer, in exchange for Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Hodgson had arguably been the Canucks best player of the season so far and the young rookie was starting to make a name for himself in the league. He added a secondary scoring touch to a team that was struggling to find the net on a consistent basis all year, and now he had been traded for a player who possessed a totally different skill set. Hodgson was clearly the better player at the time and lets leave it at that.

At the trade deadline the Canucks also acquired Samuel Pahlsson who they thought would be the third-line checking centre that he was in Chicago and Anaheim. Pahlsson was far removed from the form that made him one of the most coveted depth centres in the league a few years ago and he was virtually ineffective for Vancouver. Probably one of the worst things about this trade was that Gillis sent former second round pick Taylor Ellington to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Pahlsson. Ellington was never an superstar prospect for the Canucks but the face that it would be around this upcoming season that he would get the chance to show the Canucks what he can do as a defenceman is much more valuable than a player who only played half a season in Vancouver before returning back home to Sweden.

The playoffs saw the Canucks lose in the first round, for the first time since 2004, to the Los Angeles Kings. The series wasn’t even close as the Kings completely dominated the Canucks and eliminated them in five games. The early playoff exist did not bode well in Vancouver as the fans could not fathom the fact that this team, who was supposed to go to the finals, was completely outplayed by the eighth seeded Kings. Serious changes would need to be made in the off-season if this team wanted to regain its 2011 form.

Fifth Season: 2012/2013

Gillis’ NHL Entry Draft 2012 picks:

Brendan Gaunce (round 1, 26th overall)

Alexandre Mallet (round 2, 57th overall)

Ben Hutton (round 5, 147th overall)

Wesley Myron (round 6, 177th overall)

Matthew Beattie (round 7, 207th overall)

Off-season signings included:

Jason Garrison

Cam Barker

Derek Joslin

Jim Vandermeer

*Alex Burrows signed an extension (4 year/$18 million), and Alex Edler also signed an extension (6 year/$30 million)

This past season can be summed up in a few points:

Slow start to the year coupled with injuries – Ryan Kesler and David Booth were injured for the majority of the year

Lack of goal-scoring – same as the previous year, the Canucks could not find their goal-scoring touch

Goaltending controversy- Unable to move Luongo in the off-season and at the deadline came back to bite the Canucks as they could have used some help upfront or on defence

Derek Roy – A small centre that helped to win the division, but was invisible in the playoffs

Emergence of youngsters – Jordan Schroeder and Frank Corrado both proved that they can play at the NHL level

Same result as last year – A first round loss to the San Jose Sharks in the first found looked eerily similar to the series played against Los Angeles

A second consecutive disappointing season cost head coach Alain Vigneault his job as he and his staff were relived of their duties just last week. Mike Gillis has since vowed that the Canucks will be bigger, better and younger next season and with his track-record has shown that with a core group of players intact, he can build a contender. Gillis has sacrificed the future of this organization in order to win in present and came one game short of silencing all his critics. An aging core and not a lot of blue-chip prospects will mean that next season may look somewhat similar to the one Detroit had this year which may not be a bad thing for the organization as a whole, but fan patience is running out. No need to look further than this past playoff’s attendance figures.

So here we have it. Can you honestly look at this track record and conclude that GMMG did a great job and that no other NHL GM couldn't have done as good or better? No! To this point GMMG has pretty much got a free ride because of the core he inherited. And based on his performance, I give him an F. Heck, I'd give him an F for Sundin, the lack do addressing the 3rd line centre spot, and the Luongo debacle alone. But that's my opinion, and not a truth.

[Batmania]

In a letter addressed to all of the supporters of the Vancouver Canucks, General Manager and President Mike Gillis assured the fans that he along with his management team will do everything they can to ultimately bring hockey’s greatest prize to Vancouver.

In the six years that Gillis has been the General Manger of Vancouver’s hockey team, he has turned the team from a playoff team to a serious Cup contender. However, after coming off a disappointing first round loss to the San Jose Sharks, it looks like the Canucks are a team that has already reached it’s peak and is now on the decline. Gillis has shown that with a good base, he can build a team up. But can he build a team up from scratch?

Let’s take a look back at some of trades and signings made during Gillis’ tenure as General Manager:

First Season: 2008/2009

Mike Gillis started off his tenure at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

His picks include:

Cody Hodgson (round 1, 10th overall)

Yann Sauve (round 2, 41st overall)

Prab Rai (round 5, 131st overall)

Mats Froshaug (round 6, 161st overall)

Morgan Clark (round 7, 191st overall)

*Only one of these draft picks currently play in the NHL (Cody Hodgson for the Buffalo Sabres). Yann Sauve has played a total of five NHL games while Prab Rai, Mats Froshaug and Morgan Clark have never seen NHL ice.

Gillis also had a fairly busy summer, signing and trading for numerous established NHL players that would all find a spot to play in the lineup.

His off-season signings included:

Kyle Wellwood

Darcy Hordichuk

Ryan Johnson

Curtis Sandford

Pavol Demitra

Rob Davison

Mats Sundin (only played half a season with Vancouver making $8.6 million in the process)

Gillis also traded for Steve Bernier (sent 3rd rounder and 2nd rounder to Buffalo), Lawrence Nycholat (sent Ryan Shannon to Ottawa) and Shane O’Brien (sent Lukas Krajicek to Tampa Bay).

With these additions, the team went from last in their division the previous season to winning their division. However, they were ousted in the second round of the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks.

*Honourable Mention: Mike Gillis did sign David Backes to an 3 year offer sheet. Unfortunately, the St.Louis Blues matched and Backes has since remained with the club. Gillis also extended the contracts of both Alex Edler (4 years/13 million) and Alex Burrows (4 years/8 million).

Second Season: 2009/2010

Gillis’ NHL Entry Draft 2009 picks:

Jordan Schroeder (round 1, 22nd overall)

Anton Rodin (round 2, 53rd overall)

Kevin Connauton (round 3, 83rd overall)

Jeremy Price (round 4, 113th overall)

Peter Andersson (round 5, 113th overall)

Joe Cannata (round 6, 173rd overall)

Steven Anthony (round 7, 187th overall)

Off-season signings included:

Mathieu Schneider (traded to Carolina for Andrew Alberts at the trade deadline)

Guillaume Desbiens

Andrew Raycroft

Mikael Samuelsson

Tanner Glass

Aaron Rome

The only trade that Gillis made during the off-season saw Vancouver’s former number one draft pick from 2007, Patrick White, dealt to the San Jose Sharks alongside rookie defenceman Daniel Rahimi in exchange for Brad Lukowich and Christian Ehrhoff.

*Gillis also re-signed goaltender Roberto Luongo to a 12 year/$64 million extension during the off-season and the Sedins also signed a 5 year/$30.5 million extension.

Mikael Samuelsson turned out to be a great signing as the veteran Swede was able to tally a career high 30 goals. Henrik Sedin led the NHL in scoring finishing the year with 29 goals, 83 assists and 112 points which was good enough for Sedin to capture both the Art Ross and the Hart Memorial trophy. However, it was Alex Burrows, fresh off a new contract, that led the team in goals with 35. Though the Canucks won their division for the second consecutive season, they were also bounced out of the playoffs in the second round thanks to another six game series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It was obvious that after the year this team had had, they were almost there. They were ready become serious Stanley Cup contenders and the final pieces to the puzzle were made during the subsequent off-season.

*Ryan Kesler was signed to a 6 year/$30 million contract extension towards the end of the 09/10 regular season

Third Season: 2010/2011

Draft day 2010 started with a bang for the Canucks as Gillis had traded another former first round draft choice, Michael Grabner, along with Steve Bernier and the teams 2010 first round draft pick (used to select Quinton Howden) to the Florida Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich. This meant that the Canucks would not select a player in the draft until the fourth round.

Here’s how the 2010 draft went down for the Canucks:

Patrick McNally (round 4, 115th overall)

Adam Polasek (round 5, 145th overall)

Alex Friesen (round 6, 172nd overall)

Jonathan Iilahti (round 6, 175th overall)

Sawyer Hannay (round 7, 205th overall)

After the draft, Gillis kept trying to improve his team by adding to the already existing core group of players which he had kept together. He shored up his defence by adding Dan Hamhuis, added a faceoff specialist in Manny Malhotra and acquired a true playoff performer in Raffi Torres. Gillis also signed young college free agent Chris Tanev who has turned into a mainstay on the backend for the Canucks.

Gillis also made two smaller trades in the off-season. He sent Shane O’Brien and Dan Gendur to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Ryan Parent and Jonas Andersson, while Darcy Hordichuk was sent to the Florida Panthers for tough guy Andrew Peters. Parent saw minimal playing time with the Canucks and spent most of his time with the organization in the American Hockey League. Meanwhile, Peters never even played a game in the NHL for the Canucks and was eventually released from his contract with Vancouver mid-season.

At the trade deadline, Gillis acquired Maxim Lapierre and Chris Higgins who both came relatively cheap, only costing a couple third round draft picks, one prospect (Evan Oberg) and AHL player (Joel Perrault). Both Lapierre and Higgins became key contributors throughout the 2011 playoffs providing secondary scoring, energy when needed and a physical presence. Of all the trades that Gillis has made during his tenure as Canucks General Manager, these two deals are arguably his best.

Heading into the playoffs the Canucks were a confident bunch after having won the franchises’s first ever President’s Trophy. They beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in a memorable seven game first round series. Then they took out Nashville in six, San Jose in seven and came within 60 minutes of hoisting the Stanley Cup. They came oh so close, but they just couldn’t close out the Bruins.

Fourth Season: 2011/2012

Coming off a disappointing loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, Gillis had a plan of what he wanted to do heading into the draft and the subsequent off-season. It was clear that the Canucks were bullied by the Bruins and Gillis wanted to get bigger and add some toughness to a team that already possessed some of the best skill in the NHL. He started the off – season by drafting a power forward in Nicklas Jensen.

Draft day 2011:

Nicklas Jensen (round 1, 29th overall)

David Honzik (round 3, 71st overall)

Alexandre Grenier (round 3, 90th overall)

Joseph Labate (round 4, 101st overall)

Ludwig Blomstrand (round 4, 120th overall)

Frank Corrado (round 5, 150th overall)

Pathrik Westerholm (round 6, 180th overall)

Henrik Tommernes (round 7, 210th overall)

The team from 2011, with the exception of Christian Ehrhoff, was kept together as Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Andrew Alberts, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Jannik Hansen were all re-signed to new contracts. Losing Ehrhoff left a big hole on the back-end that Gillis had failed to replace.

Off-season additions included:

Marco Sturm

Dale Weise

Andrew Ebbett

Byron Bitz

Steve Pinizzotto

Mark Mancari

Alexander Sulzer

Early on in the 2011/2012 season Gillis made a move that had Canucks fans celebrating. Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm were sent to Florida in exchange for David Booth, Steven Reinprecht and a 2013 third round pick. Booth was supposed to put the Canucks over the top and be that power forward the they lacked. He was supposed to bring speed, size and skill and give the Canucks the offence that went missing during the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. In two years with the Canucks, Booth has only managed to play 68 regular season games and in that span he has scored 17 goals which is a far cry from the 31 he recorded in 2008/2009. It’s safe to say that so far, he has been a bust.

Despite not being able to replace Christian Ehrhoff on defence, the Canucks were still able to capture their second consecutive President’s trophy, as well as their fifth straight Northwest Division title. However, the team just didn’t look the same from a year ago. In 2011, the Canucks were by far the best team in the league on paper, and their play proved it. In 2012, something was different. The team just wasn’t winning games like they had done in the past. Instead of dominating their opponents and winning by a comfortable margin, they were playing down to the level of the opposition and were squeaking out one-goal wins. I completely understand that a win is a win. But this team just didn’t look like they had it in them to go through another grueling Playoff run.

The 2012 NHL trade deadline saw Mike Gillis make a trade that caught everyone off guard. Gillis sent his very own first round draft pick Cody Hodgson to the Buffalo Sabres, along with Alexander Sulzer, in exchange for Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Hodgson had arguably been the Canucks best player of the season so far and the young rookie was starting to make a name for himself in the league. He added a secondary scoring touch to a team that was struggling to find the net on a consistent basis all year, and now he had been traded for a player who possessed a totally different skill set. Hodgson was clearly the better player at the time and lets leave it at that.

At the trade deadline the Canucks also acquired Samuel Pahlsson who they thought would be the third-line checking centre that he was in Chicago and Anaheim. Pahlsson was far removed from the form that made him one of the most coveted depth centres in the league a few years ago and he was virtually ineffective for Vancouver. Probably one of the worst things about this trade was that Gillis sent former second round pick Taylor Ellington to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Pahlsson. Ellington was never an superstar prospect for the Canucks but the face that it would be around this upcoming season that he would get the chance to show the Canucks what he can do as a defenceman is much more valuable than a player who only played half a season in Vancouver before returning back home to Sweden.

The playoffs saw the Canucks lose in the first round, for the first time since 2004, to the Los Angeles Kings. The series wasn’t even close as the Kings completely dominated the Canucks and eliminated them in five games. The early playoff exist did not bode well in Vancouver as the fans could not fathom the fact that this team, who was supposed to go to the finals, was completely outplayed by the eighth seeded Kings. Serious changes would need to be made in the off-season if this team wanted to regain its 2011 form.

Fifth Season: 2012/2013

Gillis’ NHL Entry Draft 2012 picks:

Brendan Gaunce (round 1, 26th overall)

Alexandre Mallet (round 2, 57th overall)

Ben Hutton (round 5, 147th overall)

Wesley Myron (round 6, 177th overall)

Matthew Beattie (round 7, 207th overall)

Off-season signings included:

Jason Garrison

Cam Barker

Derek Joslin

Jim Vandermeer

*Alex Burrows signed an extension (4 year/$18 million), and Alex Edler also signed an extension (6 year/$30 million)

This past season can be summed up in a few points:

Slow start to the year coupled with injuries – Ryan Kesler and David Booth were injured for the majority of the year

Lack of goal-scoring – same as the previous year, the Canucks could not find their goal-scoring touch

Goaltending controversy- Unable to move Luongo in the off-season and at the deadline came back to bite the Canucks as they could have used some help upfront or on defence

Derek Roy – A small centre that helped to win the division, but was invisible in the playoffs

Emergence of youngsters – Jordan Schroeder and Frank Corrado both proved that they can play at the NHL level

Same result as last year – A first round loss to the San Jose Sharks in the first found looked eerily similar to the series played against Los Angeles

A second consecutive disappointing season cost head coach Alain Vigneault his job as he and his staff were relived of their duties just last week. Mike Gillis has since vowed that the Canucks will be bigger, better and younger next season and with his track-record has shown that with a core group of players intact, he can build a contender. Gillis has sacrificed the future of this organization in order to win in present and came one game short of silencing all his critics. An aging core and not a lot of blue-chip prospects will mean that next season may look somewhat similar to the one Detroit had this year which may not be a bad thing for the organization as a whole, but fan patience is running out. No need to look further than this past playoff’s attendance figures.

So here we have it. Can you honestly look at this track record and conclude that GMMG did a great job and that no other NHL GM couldn't have done as good or better? No! To this point GMMG has pretty much got a free ride because of the core he inherited. And based on his performance, I give him an F. Heck, I'd give him an F for Sundin, the lack do addressing the 3rd line centre spot, and the Luongo debacle alone. But that's my opinion, and not a truth.

No but I can conclude that MG has doen more good than bad. Is that what it comes down to for you. Either he did a great job or he gets an F. No middle ground?

Also You get the Sedins telling us how important it was for them to have Sundin here for their development. For that alone that move gets at least a solid C.

[ice orca]

Truth

1. Conformity to fact or actuality.

2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.

Yes the Nucks have enjoyed perhaps some their most successful years under GMMG, but one cannot conclude GMMG is responsible for that success, especially since he adopted a team with its current core in place. One might also argue that the Canucks had success despite GMMG, and that the more influence he excerts over this team, the less successful they will become. I understand this is debateable, which is why I don't call it a truth.

All GM's basicly inherit a core some good some bad. Burke won in Anaheim with a pretty good core, Bowman won with a good core left by Tallon. Injurys were the big difference in 2011 with the Canucks and the subtle change in officiating starting with Rome.

[MJDDawg]

Performance should be judged by te decision making process - that is, what was the conclusion at the time based on the current imperfect knowledge that was available. For example, the Luongo contract.

Performance judged from a perspective of hindsight is a useless exercise that offers nothing when evaluating the talent of said individual.

And yes, the Canucks have never, ever been more successful - on or off the ice - than with GMMG at the helm.

Show some respect or find a new team to "cheer" for.

That's fact of course.

But with GMMG, I'm always reminded of the Infinite Monkey Theorem, which states that a million monkeys banging at a million keyboards will eventually produce the entire works of Shakespeare.

In other words, with the core of players left for him by Burke and Nonis, this team was going to have success regardless of who Aquilini hired as GM. To say that Gillis is responsible for all the success is not fact. I'd even argue that his tenure has been a huge failure, not simply due to questionable trades and questionable drafting, but due to the talent he had to work with when he took over.

All he had to do was find a second line winger and some solid 3rd and 4th line depth for this team and we probably would have at least one Cup by now.

[Guest]

All GM's basicly inherit a core some good some bad. Burke won in Anaheim with a pretty good core, Bowman won with a good core left by Tallon. Injurys were the big difference in 2011 with the Canucks and the subtle change in officiating starting with Rome.

Burke won. Bowman won. Gillis lost. See the difference?

[Guest]

No but I can conclude that MG has doen more good than bad. Is that what it comes down to for you. Either he did a great job or he gets an F. No middle ground?

Also You get the Sedins telling us how important it was for them to have Sundin here for their development. For that alone that move gets at least a solid C.

If youre happy with mediocrity, then fill your boots. Do you believe everything players say? Do you expect them to say what a waste of a signing that was, one that ultimately screwed witht the teams chemistry?

[Batmania]

If youre happy with mediocrity, then fill your boots. Do you believe everything players say? Do you expect them to say what a waste of a signing that was, one that ultimately screwed witht the teams chemistry?

So you agree he doesn't get an F?

Also this team is anything but mediocre. You should try seeing the forest. I don't believe everything that's said but I do believe that if you put any thought into it you see that they didn't have to say anything about it when interviewed about Sundin. The detail they went into was not necessary and if they were just trying to placate their interviewer they would have left it at him being a good example rather than give examples of how and why.

[Guest]

So you agree he doesn't get an F?

Also this team is anything but mediocre. You should try seeing the forest. I don't believe everything that's said but I do believe that if you put any thought into it you see that they didn't have to say anything about it when interviewed about Sundin. The detail they went into was not necessary and if they were just trying to placate their interviewer they would have left it at him being a good example rather than give examples of how and why.

Until there's a cup banner in Rogers's Arena, this team is mediocre. Watching this years SCF, the Canucks wouldn't have stood a chance.

[TimberWolf]

Until there's a cup banner in Rogers's Arena, this team is mediocre. Watching this years SCF, the Canucks wouldn't have stood a chance.

Maybe, but if we our 2011 run in 2012 we would have swept every series.

As for those crediting Burke and Nonis, one has to remember that it was a failing trap team till Gillis got here. That doesn't mean GMMG is my first choice, but he's doing a decent job. My only complaint is not keeping Torres.

[Guest]

Maybe, but if we our 2011 run in 2012 we would have swept every series.

As for those crediting Burke and Nonis, one has to remember that it was a failing trap team till Gillis got here. That doesn't mean GMMG is my first choice, but he's doing a decent job. My only complaint is not keeping Torres.

Interesting...maybe. I wish he kept Mitchell as well. I'm happy for Willie, though. At least he's got a sc ring to polish.

[riske1]

Pretty sure it had to do with being a rude, disrespectful prick. I suggest you not follow his lead.

If you can't form a cogent argument without resorting to acting like a pushy, overbearing and disrespectful arse, that is hardly a failing of other members here or this board and it's moderators. And it actually shows YOUR weakness.

I dont give a crap how you feel about my presentation. This is a forum for ideas and opinions. I stated some of the reasons why I felt Gillis should be fired. If you dont like it then dont waste your time reading or responding. I am not here to placate you or any one else.

[riske1]

Are you for real? You can only evaluate performance based on past achievements, so shortsightedness has absolutely nothing to do with it. Whether GMMG has done more good than bad for this team is not a truth, but an opinion (a clouded and uninformed one in my opinion).

You might not want me to, however I agree whole heartily with this.

Whether GMMG has done more good than bad for this team is not a truth, but an opinion (a clouded and uninformed one in my opinion).

[Batmania]

Until there's a cup banner in Rogers's Arena, this team is mediocre. Watching this years SCF, the Canucks wouldn't have stood a chance.

I don't know man. I don't think the penguins last year were mediocre. I don't think the team in 2011 was mediocre. I think last years team was the closest thing to mediocre we've seen since Gillis got here. Gillis inherited a team the missed the playoffs 2 out of it's last 3 years. The biggest change from then and now is who's calling the shots. Maybe mediocre is subjective but if it's all or nothing again I have to question your ability to judge.

In retrospect he should not have traded grabner but in reality we were going to lose grabner. In reality I'm more upset about the first round pick he gave up. I don't like not replacing Torres or Ehrhoff either. Those are the 3 biggest errors he's made imo. He also got Hoff for nothing. Less than nothing; he got him for Patrick White. :D

[Guest]

I don't know man. I don't think the penguins last year were mediocre. I don't think the team in 2011 was mediocre. I think last years team was the closest thing to mediocre we've seen since Gillis got here. Gillis inherited a team the missed the playoffs 2 out of it's last 3 years. The biggest change from then and now is who's calling the shots. Maybe mediocre is subjective but if it's all or nothing again I have to question your ability to judge.

In retrospect he should not have traded grabner but in reality we were going to lose grabner. In reality I'm more upset about the first round pick he gave up. I don't like not replacing Torres or Ehrhoff either. Those are the 3 biggest errors he's made imo. He also got Hoff for nothing. Less than nothing; he got him for Patrick White. :D

Ok fine, maybe mediocre is a bit harsh. Good then. Problem is, people don't remember good. They remember winning, and the top prize, which you have to be great to win. To win it twice with the same core, youre elite. The Canucks have a long way to go IMO.

[Mispelled]

Add Tortz's suspension!

[BanTSN]

It's time to rant, but this rant seems clueless.

[Darius]

I think that all the chastising off of the ice is due to the teams success of the last few years. If you go to other forums, like the comments section of a TSN article related to the Canucks, you will see pages of hateful comments coming mostly from fans of other Canadian teams. If Vancouver was a sub mediocre team for almost a decade, like Calgary, they wouldnt generate near the same negative attention.

Another good example was the CBC game on Sat vs the leafs. Guys like Healy and PJ Stock made sure to take as many shots at the Canucks as they could. When the shots were 7-1 leafs they spent most of their time talking about how bad the Canucks were and how lucky they were to be even in the game. When Vancouver started generating good play and went on an 11-1 shot sequence they had nothing good to say - instead they spent most of their time taking about Phil Kessel and his role on the American olympic team as if anyone in Canada gives a $hit. When the play tilted the other way again, they went back to their script of emphasizing how bad Vancouver is.

I enjoy watching broadcasts from other teams' perspectives but watching CBC hockey night in Canada on Saturday I realized that there is more than a bias towards the leafs, those clowns were downright vindictive against the Canucks. I guess they have been waiting a decade for their beloved leafs to beat the Canucks.

Sure Gillis botched up the goalie fiasco, probably didnt make the best trade for Hodgson, and made some moves that were questionable....but other GMs have made some pretty big mistakes that dont generate the lasting attention. Look at Feaster. He wasted a drat on Jankowski and he tried to sign R. Orielly not realizing the had to clear waivers. Can you imagine if Gillis made these moves? He would be painted as a clown by national media.

[I-miss-Wis]

A couple thoughts as an outsider viewing the Canucks organization this year and what I think has gone wrong:

1) AV had a better lock on the culture of the team than Torts. I think anyone here who has been in the workforce many years has had bosses that motivated you and other whom you couldn't stand. I don't respond well to the Bobby Knight style of coaching with screaming and throwing tantrums like Torts does. I never saw AV get out of line as a professional. I was watching some program on NHL last night and they showed Torts in the coaching room of one of your recent games and he was swearing and yelling and by the looks on some of the players faces he was not connecting with them. A good leader inspires others and I don't see it with Torts. Rather his method seems to be to lead through fear and we see the results of that.

2) I know Burrows was hurt for a long time but no one thought he would fall so far from his numbers. The organization needs to decide if this is just an off-year or if he just doesn't have it anymore. His contract is a lot of money to pay for someone with only 5 points.

3) The goalie soap-opera you guys had to suffer through I think caused more damage in the long run. You can't blame Gillis for it cause it's your owner who won't eat a contract. The right move would have been to eat Luongo's contract and make Schneider the #1 but it didn't happen.

4) The Sedins are getting older - still great players and a nice core but time to add another gun to help them.

Overall, and respectfully this is an underachieving team. I don't believe you need an overhaul on the players. Rather I think the coaching change was not right and his system is not right for this team. It will likely cost Torts and Gillis their jobs at season's end if you guys don't make the playoffs. You guys need a coach more like the one in Boston (forgot his name) but great leader, in control, and players work hard for him.