Does Mike Gillis have a bad reputation around the league?

[MJDDawg]

I feel he does.

There was talk about how him being a player agent before a GM caused him to get a bad reputation around the league with certain GM's..

I feel Tallon is the only GM he has a good reputation with hence why the Canucks deal with them so often.

Could his lack of trading of recent (ignoring the Schneider trade) reflect on the fact that GMs don't want to deal with him?

How about free agents? Do some of them have some negative experiences or have been told some negative things about Gillis from their former GMs that they don't want to sign here because of it?

It is a question I will always want to know the answer to but I don't think you can get factual evidence of it unless someone speaks out but it's just something I noticed..

What do you think?

[shazzam]

known for getting ripped off now, after the Schneider trade

The treatment of Luongo doesn't help either

[Ray Canuck]

My lord...

This is a business, it's about $$

It's not about friendship, it's about how to make more $$

The guy that's everyone's friend is most likely the guy that gets fleeced the most.

Either you have the assets or you don't, plus a whole slew of other factors of which how nice a guy you are dealing with hovers near the bottom IMO

[Canuck Surfer]

known for getting ripped off now, after the Schneider trade

The treatment of Luongo doesn't help either

[Drakrami]

Yeah sorry he didn't put up 60 points playing on the 4th line. People on CDC

[Nino]

No, sorry you have a thick head. I think he is a bust because I see him floating on the ice all the time.

Maybe instead of blindlessly defending Kassian because hes a #13 pick, and young, why don't you actually watch some of his plays and tell me where you see the top 6 potential?

Not to mention, he averages something like 11-13 minutes a game last season. Those are 4th liner minutes? And what has he done with those 11-13 minutes per game? Absolutely nothing.

[Canucklehead73]

Meh I think all this is speculation rubbish from jilted fans. The biggest fact you have to take into account is that this is a business plain and simple, and to think that another GM is going to get all petty about Gillis when discussing an asset that will help thier business is beyond the scope of professionalism.

As for getting a reputation for being a sucker or a hardballer thats a whole different story.

Every GM will espouse the world of there players coming up through their systems in an effort to keep their "asset" values as high as possible and say whatever it takes to hide their needs to soften their level of demand to the reast of the league.

They all do it. And at the end of the day deals get done. Handshakes and respect all around.

As for the obvious Luongo situation, it becomes apparent the rest of the GM's in the NHL do not see his value/skill/age being there for the cost of his contract, or else the deal would get done... When the chips are down and a GM wants a player we ALL know money is NOT a factor. You know it.

Luongo is the issue. Feel it.

[oldnews]

Meh I think all this is speculation rubbish from jilted fans. The biggest fact you have to take into account is that this is a business plain and simple, and to think that another GM is going to get all petty about Gillis when discussing an asset that will help thier business is beyond the scope of professionalism.

As for getting a reputation for being a sucker or a hardballer thats a whole different story.

Every GM will espouse the world of there players coming up through their systems in an effort to keep their "asset" values as high as possible and say whatever it takes to hide their needs to soften their level of demand to the reast of the league.

They all do it. And at the end of the day deals get done. Handshakes and respect all around.

As for the obvious Luongo situation, it becomes apparent the rest of the GM's in the NHL do not see his value/skill/age being there for the cost of his contract, or else the deal would get done... When the chips are down and a GM wants a player we ALL know money is NOT a factor. You know it.

Luongo is the issue. Feel it.

[-DLC-]

My lord...

This is a business, it's about $$

It's not about friendship, it's about how to make more $$

The guy that's everyone's friend is most likely the guy that gets fleeced the most.

Either you have the assets or you don't, plus a whole slew of other factors of which how nice a guy you are dealing with hovers near the bottom IMO

Well said. This isn't high school and a popularity contest. Who cares what people "think" of him...if he has something they want or vise versa, it's all about business. Smart businessmen take emotion out of that and wouldn't let personal feelings stand in the way of making a deal.

It just isn't easy...everyone's scrambling for the same few pieces. And the players want to extract the most they can, so it's a bidding war. His personality isn't the issue and it's not a matter of "he's a jerk, I don't want to play with him anymore". If he has something that someone else is after, it doesn't require being BFF so personal feelings aren't an issue. And many guys "at the top" aren't the most liked...it's just how it is.

[higgyfan]

GMs don't think like that. They wouldn't limit themselves to only trading with GMs they 'like.' If they want a player on another team, they will make a fair or better trade to get him. End of story.

The problem with MG is that he has little to trade. His best players all have NTCs.

[lowest common denominator]

"Believe it or not, the above picture is of the same person. There's about 30 years difference between these two photos of Mike Gillis, powerful player agent turned Vancouver Canucks general manager.

But did you know he was once a NHL player? In fact, coming out of junior he was so highly thought of he was drafted 5th overall in 1978! The Colorado Rockies selected the Kingston Canadians junior star ahead of the likes of junior teammates Ken Linseman and Behn Wilson, as well as Brad Marsh, Steve Tambellini and Al Secord.

Gillis was a swift skating playmaker from the left side. He never dominated the OHA scoring races due to several injuries, most notably a badly broken leg that cost him most of the 1976-77 season. He also broke his collarbone in his draft year.

Gillis' high draft billing may have been based more on potential than accomplishment. Unfortunately Gillis was never able to achieve his potential in the NHL, again due to injuries.

In fact, in his very first NHL training camp he suffered torn knee ligaments that cost him to missed significant time early in his rookie season. The knee surgery would create complications for Gillis throughout his two year tenure in Colorado.

After a total of 91 games, 15 goals and 27 points, the Rockies gave up on Gillis and his bad legs. He was traded to Boston in 1981 for Bob Miller.

Gillis played in 125 games over 4 years with the Bruins, but he was never able to come close to the impressive numbers he was able to post in the AHL. He was versatile though, as he took shifts on defense.

Gillis playing career came to an abrupt end in training camp for the 1984 season when he broke his leg badly again. This time he was unable to return to the ice, and retired the following season after Boston did not renew his contract.

Gillis was represented by Alan Eagleson at the time, and he was one of the earliest to realize just how corrupt the now-disgraced NHLPA czar was. Unable to play again, Gillis began receiving disability insurance payments from the National Hockey League. Eagleson duped Gillis into believing that it was he who successfully negotiated for the disability clause in his contract, and therefore Gillis owed him 15% of the disability money. Gillis later sued successfully for $570,000 in back payments, although much of the award went to lawyer fees.

Perhaps it was this bad taste in Gillis' mouth regarding player representation that encouraged him to become a player agent himself. He returned home to Kingston, earned a law degree from Queen's University by 1990, and by 1994 he had become a successful player agent. Some of his clients over the years included Pavel Bure, Markus Naslund, Mike Richter, Bobby Holik, and Pat Verbeek.

Gillis still had a dream of running his own NHL club though. In 1998 he lost out on the job as the first GM job in Atlanta Thrashers' history. Ten years later he became the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks."

[lowest common denominator]

It's a business but it's also an old boys club

[The Lock]

It's a business but it's also an old boys club

[hudson bay rules]

Were there not stories surrounding the Schneider trade that other GM's weren't contacted beforehand? You'd think a GM would talk with everyone and try to get the best offer but it didn't seem to happen.

[LostViking]

Of course Gillis has a bad rep, he manages what has been a top team the last few years. When you are at the top, you will always have a target on your back. There is no room to speculate, as far as I'm concerned, anyone near the topwill find it impossible not to be perceived as a threat.

Secondly, many have mentioned that NHL GMs are only concerned about getting the best for their own team, and this is definitely true, but then in the same breath most people are saying that for this reason any GM would be perfectly willing to deal with Gillis in order to improve their club, to me this implies a distinct lack of insight into management.

There is no guarantee that a GM with the goal of having the best hockey club equates to that GM being willing to make any trade that improves his hockey club. It will be true in some scenarios, but to state this is an absolute would mean treating the quality of the hockey club as an isolated entity. It is not, having the best club means being better than the other clubs, this means that the state of every other team will determine how good your club is. In 2011 we had an amazing team, but that didn't matter much as the Bruins were better, I would think that is a simple concept for Canucks fans to understand. GMs do want the best for their teams, however, if any GM perceives the Canucks to be a better team than their own, then it would be the far more valuable strategy to prevent the Canucks from improving than to seek to improve their own club. Gillis certainly understands this, which is why Cory Schneider is a Devil and not an Oiler. Every other GM understands this as well. Improving your club means being better compared to the other 29 teams, not simply focusing on improving your own on ice ability while holding a blind eye to everyone else.

[viking mama]

It's a business, nothing more nothing less. GM's come and go quickly and a select few keep their postion on their respected teams.

This is no old boys club.

[ccc44]

Fair point but what if Gillis is approaching another GM for a trade? Does the other team ask for nothing but vast over payments or do they try and make a fair trade with him? He hasn't won a lot of deals he's had here except for the Booth one with Florida.

[Benchsplinters]

He answered your question.

[Benchsplinters]

It's a business, nothing more nothing less. GM's come and go quickly and a select few keep their postion on their respected teams.

This is no old boys club.

[bobopan]

I think its pretty pointless for any fans to speculate one way or another.. We simply just don't know the inner workings here.

I used to be a big MG fan but his whole dealing with the Luongo/Schneider fiasco has soured my opinion of him completely. I like some of the out of the box ideas he's implemented here; sleep doctor etc. but that's pretty much it. Most of his trades have been questionable IMO and his ever increasing arrogant attitude wears thin.