Mike Gillis Should Stay

[ForsbergTheGreat]

The franchise has made a series of critical errors from key personnel decisions (Ehrhoff,Salo,Hodgson,Ballard,Booth,etc.) to the loss of draft picks culminating in the choice of coach as the crowning accomplishment.

Ha. the only critical error out of the mentioned was the deal for Ballard.

We must be really missing Ehrhoff, his long contract and his big 6 goals this year

Maybe the critical error was letting the injury prone Salo and his whopping 4 goals leave the team.

Was it the loss of draft picks (which one was it again?) Fox, Tanev, Lack, Eriksson, Stanton, Lain

Because It sure wasn't us getting Kassian or trading away Sturm and Samuelson. Both deals are turning out to be in our favour.

[Neversummer]

Gillis should stay as the custodian at Rogers Arena.

OK, that's a bit mean ... he should be the Zamboni driver.

[J529]

Why is it everyone outside of Vancouver can see and are saying Torts should stay and be given more time and Gillis should be the one to go. Whereas most Vancouver fans and local media seem to be in complete denial and delusional about it and believe Gillis should stay.

TSN Insider Panel stated the obvious about the Canucks having pretty much nothing in the way of young prospects, but most on here and local media claim the cupboard is full of good young talent. What are you guys seriously smoking? Dane Fox? The kid maybe be good scorer in junior but it's completely different game from the pro's.

It doesn't take genius to see whomever was coaching this team right now the results would be the same. So lets say Torts gets fired and another coach is hired, Gillis stays and keeps pretty much the same roster and again you get the same results next season where they miss the playoffs again. What's excuse then? When you could have made the GM change following this season instead of wasting another year with virtually the same team and another coach.

[Tearloch7]

Oh yee of little faith .. y'all must be a lot of fun at yer kids sporting events ..

[Nino]

Gillis should stay as the custodian at Rogers Arena.

OK, that's a bit mean ... he should be the Zamboni driver.

Then we'd just have bad ice, I'd say stick to the custodian.

[TimberWolf]

Why is it everyone outside of Vancouver can see and are saying Torts should stay and be given more time and Gillis should be the one to go. Whereas most Vancouver fans and local media seem to be in complete denial and delusional about it and believe Gillis should stay.

TSN Insider Panel stated the obvious about the Canucks having pretty much nothing in the way of young prospects, but most on here and local media claim the cupboard is full of good young talent. What are you guys seriously smoking? Dane Fox? The kid maybe be good scorer in junior but it's completely different game from the pro's.

It doesn't take genius to see whomever was coaching this team right now the results would be the same. So lets say Torts gets fired and another coach is hired, Gillis stays and keeps pretty much the same roster and again you get the same results next season where they miss the playoffs again. What's excuse then? When you could have made the GM change following this season instead of wasting another year with virtually the same team and another coach.

We got Dane Fox for nothing so if he doesn't pan out, it was a no risk move. We also do have far more young players then that.

Our cupboards were pretty bare but Gillis did a good job with the reset by restocking them in a hurry with Horvat, Hunter and Cassels (and longer shot Subban). Doesn't make us the best young pool in the league but we have improved the situtaion by leaps and bounds with a reset in attitude. (get younger/bigger faster instead of trading youth to win it all)

[ForsbergTheGreat]

Why is it everyone outside of Vancouver can see and are saying Torts should stay and be given more time and Gillis should be the one to go. Whereas most Vancouver fans and local media seem to be in complete denial and delusional about it and believe Gillis should stay.

TSN Insider Panel stated the obvious about the Canucks having pretty much nothing in the way of young prospects, but most on here and local media claim the cupboard is full of good young talent. What are you guys seriously smoking? Dane Fox? The kid maybe be good scorer in junior but it's completely different game from the pro's.

It doesn't take genius to see whomever was coaching this team right now the results would be the same. So lets say Torts gets fired and another coach is hired, Gillis stays and keeps pretty much the same roster and again you get the same results next season where they miss the playoffs again. What's excuse then? When you could have made the GM change following this season instead of wasting another year with virtually the same team and another coach.

You mean TSN said that. no way, Why would those "cough" Toronto homers "cough" say something like that. It's not like they aren't trying to distract local "toronto" viewers about the disaster the leafs are in. Our prospect pool is as deep as it's been in the last 10 years, Deeper than the leafs, deeper than the flames, who've misses playoffs 4 years straight. But yet lets talk about canucks and make fun of their team. That does seem like an eastern media thing to do..

[sockeye]

Like all GMs, Gillis has made mistakes. I was a strong supporter of Gillis but I'm not happy with the Luongo - Schneider situation. I think we could have got more if the timing had been better (moving Lu earlier, etc). While Lu was treated mediocre at times, I truly believe that he wanted to move back to Florida regardless of how the fans or the team felt. That's where his family lives and he liked the warm climate. I think he was ready to move there and finish his career.

If anything, I think MG has been too loyal to some players. After the quick exit from the playoffs last year, I thought it would be a good idea to trade Edler while his worth was still high; and we needed some solid prospects to help us retool. I guess I was right. Instead, we signed Edler to another long term contract with another NTC. I was also not a fan of hiring Torts. While I like some of things Torts has done on the ice; the screaming and the off ice antics are old now. I wanted Lindy Ruff or Dave Tippet. Both coaches have a good resume coaching teams with very average rosters. I have a feeling that Francesco Aquilini had a major role in the hiring of Torts.

I still think there were lots of positive moves by MG; such as acquiring Ehrhoff, Malhotra, Santorelli, Tanev, Hamhuis, Garrison, Stanton, Richardson, etc. One of the best moves this franchise made (and I attribute that to MG) is that they established a Canucks owned farm team at Utica. That was a great move and I am baffled as to why it took so long for us to have our own AHL team to mold our prospects.

[sockeye]

We got Dane Fox for nothing so if he doesn't pan out, it was a no risk move. We also do have far more young players then that.

Our cupboards were pretty bare but Gillis did a good job with the reset by restocking them in a hurry with Horvat, Hunter and Cassels (and longer shot Subban). Doesn't make us the best young pool in the league but we have improved the situtaion by leaps and bounds with a reset in attitude. (get younger/bigger faster instead of trading youth to win it all)

Good point. You can't deny that MG has managed to make major improvements to our prospect pool in a hurry. I like the character of the players he's signed and that shows good intuition. I don't see our team's future as dire.

[Smashian Kassian]

Why is it everyone outside of Vancouver can see and are saying Torts should stay and be given more time and Gillis should be the one to go. Whereas most Vancouver fans and local media seem to be in complete denial and delusional about it and believe Gillis should stay.

TSN Insider Panel stated the obvious about the Canucks having pretty much nothing in the way of young prospects, but most on here and local media claim the cupboard is full of good young talent. What are you guys seriously smoking? Dane Fox? The kid maybe be good scorer in junior but it's completely different game from the pro's.

It doesn't take genius to see whomever was coaching this team right now the results would be the same. So lets say Torts gets fired and another coach is hired, Gillis stays and keeps pretty much the same roster and again you get the same results next season where they miss the playoffs again. What's excuse then? When you could have made the GM change following this season instead of wasting another year with virtually the same team and another coach.

2 Things.

#1. TSN knows absolutely nothing about the Vancouver Canucks, my cat knows more about the team than the "experts" at the Toronto Sports Network. They don't have the slightest clue of anything happening west of Toronto, and are not a credible source to take information from as it relates to the Canucks.

#2. Ironic you got this from a Leafs network, since we are much better in terms of young prospects (yet we are the ones getting criticized for it)

Bo Horvat, Brendan Gaunce, Nicklas Jensen, Frank Corrado, Hunter Shinkaruk are all guys that seem to be really close to being in the NHL, (some more than others obviously) then there are other guys like Fox, Cassels, Grenier, exc. Who have potential to be good players long term. And lets also not forget we have some young guys on our roster now, some that are very important (Kassian & Tanev) aswell as Dalpe & Schroeder, and of course both our goalies.

[Rush17]

Given that MG is a rookie GM. He has done pretty good given the circumstances. He is learning from his mistakes but now that the pressure is on he needs to be a man of action. He needs to make educated and well thought out deals in the off season. We as fans cannot tie his hands and have to be open change. I know a lot of people question his judgement and his ability to make good deals. I personally believe he has developed a good way of identifying talent but.. we as fans shouldn't leave it all up too him. We should be discussing as a fan base what types of trades we as fans would be open too. To give our leaders an idea of what we as fans would like in return. No point in fighting or placing blame on everyone. All that does is cause confusion and frustration both in the fan base and in the management office. The least we can do is try and do something constructive.

BTW side note: Horvat and Shink are the real deal. Give them a few years. Cassels might be a great top six forward as well if he continues to develop well. We have an AHL team finally :D wooohooo!

[Honky Cat]

2 Things.

#1. TSN knows absolutely nothing about the Vancouver Canucks, my cat knows more about the team than the "experts" at the Toronto Sports Network. They don't have the slightest clue of anything happening west of Toronto, and are not a credible source to take information from as it relates to the Canucks.

#2. Ironic you got this from a Leafs network, since we are much better in terms of young prospects (yet we are the ones getting criticized for it)

Bo Horvat, Brendan Gaunce, Nicklas Jensen, Frank Corrado, Hunter Shinkaruk are all guys that seem to be really close to being in the NHL, (some more than others obviously) then there are other guys like Fox, Cassels, Grenier, exc. Who have potential to be good players long term. And lets also not forget we have some young guys on our roster now, some that are very important (Kassian & Tanev) aswell as Dalpe & Schroeder, and of course both our goalies.

I pvr'd last nights game and watched the TSN panel....absolutely clueless..especially Martin Biron who stated that Kesler wanted to leave the team because 'he's playing too much'..?

They were missing Bob McKenzie or Ferraro on the panel..This would have at least brought some common sense into the discussion.

[sting]

I have from good sources that MG has not made the last two trades or the coach hiring.

Brian Burke always said he won't be the GM without both hands on the wheel. It appears Gillis and Acquilini need to get on the same page or hire someone he trusts.

[Rush17]

I have from good sources that MG has not made the last two trades or the coach hiring.

Brian Burke always said he won't be the GM without both hands on the wheel. It appears Gillis and Acquilini need to get on the same page or hire someone he trusts.

I think Stan Smyl will be our next GM. I think the owners would trust his judgement more. He has already done a terrific job in his current of player development. I don't want to cloud the discussion though with Stan Smyl rumors. Gillis admitted its a team effort which is fair but a GM needs a team's owners trust. If they don't have it then they need a new GM. Trust is key in any team's success.

[canucks3322]

At times I want him gone but also at times I don't because he has done a lot of good stuff, but after the cup run he did nothing to fix our problems which we needed players that are pure snipers, and the way the goaltending situation panned was really pathetic, but I think he does deserve another season to fix this mess, he needs to fire torts his system isn't clearly working ...

[Rush17]

Yeah the goalie situation was horrendous no matter how you put it. He has done a great job signing key players for good contracts. (Both existing players and free agents.) I would say his drafting has improved dramatically too. I think a few more seasons and he would be a great GM. But he lacks finish and he lacks decisive action. Obviously he is caution which s something we want in a GM but sometimes he isnt prepared to make moves. That comes with xp though. I think he will likely pass on the gm reigns to someone else and stay on the board as president and help groom the team and organization into the ideal model we want. (Some say the Detriot model that we are after). We have a great AHL team (system) with a terrific young coach so we have some great promise.

Despite our lack of success on ice this season. We have certainly improved a lot in many areas. So this season isnt all of a loss rather I would like to think of it as a new beginning. A new AHL team, new prospects, and a new direction. Its great to feel excited about our team again.

[wallstreetamigo]

First point I'm more than willing to entertain.

The Calgary analogy is a horrible one - a severe embellishment that would suggest you lack quite a bit of perspective.

I'm not going to go into it in depth here - this debate has had enough life in other threads - but if you're seriously trying to maintain that comparison, I think you need to have a closer look at how different those contexts are, and how much longer that timeline in Calgary was. Look at the youth in Calgary's system the last time they made the playoffs (I posted it elsewhere). Look at how many years they in fact missed, and continued to buy to try to prop that team up. Look at their actual "rebuild" - they got a late round pick and b prospects for their franchise player, and they waited so long to move Kipprusoff that he retired before they could get an asset. That was a full decade after their Cup run. Poor analogy.

I would argue that if you see the situations as completely different you lack the foresight to see what is coming. The only real difference between the two situations is where in the timeline the respective teams are. Calgary is obviously further in but if you look back at when it started going downhill for the Flames you will see striking resemblances to where the Canucks are now and have been sliding to for the last few years.

All the high price, declining production players who are on long deals with NTC are eerily similar to the roster Calgary had when they fell off a cliff. Yes, they hung on too long but what has Gillis done for the last 3 years other than hang onto the same core without really adding anyone significant? He is doing EXACTLY what Calgary has done. He just hasn't been doing it as long as Calgary has been.

The Canucks youth coming through is much better than it was (a testament to Gillis for sure) but is still massively overrated on CDC. Not every decent prospect we have is going to be an NHL regular next year or the year after.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

I believe MIke Gillis will stay.

You don't fire a GM for missing the playoffs for 1 year, after 6 consecutive very good years were other times wish they had. For example, if David Poile is still kicking around, after many years of failure, then Mike Gillis should still stick around.

[wai_lai416]

if they fire torts they need to fire gillis as well.. the ppl on team 1040 are saying there's no way aqualini will eat both their contract so they'll just fire 1.. and it's easier to fire the coach then the GM.. that's a bunch of BS.. if they fire torts.. and keep gillis.. gillis hires another coach.. gillis gets fired.. new gm comes in wants his own coach.. fires coach.. then aqualini will end up eating the contract of 2 coach and a gm instead of 1 coach 1 gm.. so please either get rid of both.. or keep both.. don't keep the gm and fire the coach.

[J529]

if they fire torts they need to fire gillis as well.. the ppl on team 1040 are saying there's no way aqualini will eat both their contract so they'll just fire 1.. and it's easier to fire the coach then the GM.. that's a bunch of BS.. if they fire torts.. and keep gillis.. gillis hires another coach.. gillis gets fired.. new gm comes in wants his own coach.. fires coach.. then aqualini will end up eating the contract of 2 coach and a gm instead of 1 coach 1 gm.. so please either get rid of both.. or keep both.. don't keep the gm and fire the coach.

Another thing that could happen and it's been discussed on here is Gillis strictly President and no longer GM.

They don't fire him and have to pay him out for doing nothing and instead kept him within organization to still get some value out of him. They hire new GM to replace Gillis. If Torts is retained that ownership might tell new GM Torts is the coach because they want to give him more time and they don't want to eat his contract. Aren't they still paying AV out? He was fired less then a year after he signed new extension.

While we're talking about eating contracts, I don't see Booth getting bought out despite speculation he will be. He has 1 year left on his deal and they really don't save much in buying him out.