Mike Gillis Team 1040 Interview

[theminister]

Until I see Gillis actually do something that reflects what he says, this just sounds like a new version of the "re-set" speech form last year. How has that worked out?

It didn't work out.

That's what he said.

[PistolPete13]

Thanks for getting to the root of the problem Old News! I was shocked when this clown got hired and I'm disturbed that GM MG went along with this hiring, because it was a recipe for disaster. The fans in New York absolutely hated this guy because that team went through long stretches where they couldn't buy a goal (sound familiar?)

When Tortarella got the job, I immediately assumed that this was an ownership hire. Everybody else makes the same assumption and it is obvious that nobody, not even MG, has said anything to make us think otherwise.

Because MG went along with this, he is the weakest link - goodbye!

Now what?

[VanGnome]

I think Subban is a stretch. What realistic proposal would land Subban, considering his status/situation? Would you be willing to give that up?

Sedins are not "up tempo" style players, they are methodical offensive zone start puck possession players.

Van

PK Subban

Rene Borque

1st 2015

MTL

Daniel Sedin

Henrik Sedin

Sign PK to a 7 year 49 million deal (7m aav)

Sign Stastny to a 5 year 30 million deal (6m aav)

Sign Vanek to 7 year 49 million deal (7m aav)

Re-sign Kassian 4 years 10 million deal (2.5m aav)

Re-sign Tanev 3 years 10 million deal (3.33m aav)

This saves 1m combined that the Sedins make.

Bring up the young guns

Vanek Kesler Kassian (14.5)

Shinkaruk Stastny Jensen (7.788)

Bourque Horvat Burrows (8.255)

Booth Matthias Hansen (7.35)

Hamhuis Subban (11.5)

Edler Bieksa (9.6)

Garrison Tanev (7.93)

Lack 1.15

Markstrom 1.2

Projected Cap 71.1

Total Salary 69.273

Cap Space 1.827

Just off the top of my head

[-DLC-]

As much as I love Torts, don't know that he was the answer. Thing is, it may be too early to tell but waiting longer might mean we have a roster of 7 able bodied players. The shot blocking, in particular...I know all teams are doing that but man, that takes a toll. We have a goaltender in place to "block shots" and more often than not a blocked shot just ends up in the puck bouncing in a rebound and another shot taken. So are you any further ahead? Some of our key players are going down...that needs to be looked at.

This team's broken down, exhausted and beat up. And we're getting worse, not better. But I didn't call for AV's head either, although I do think that had run its course.

[puckdontlie]

We blame ownership for overruling MG and hiring torts but look at who MG was considering if it was up to him:

- Dallas Eakins

- scott arniel

- glen gulutzan

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=424771

I don't think it matters who the coach is though... the canucks are a middle of the road team in terms of talent.

Even at their peak I never saw the core as totally fitting gillis' vision as a team that can play in transition. It's teams like the hawks, bruins, kings and sharks that were scoring the odd man rushes against. The shootout with the team is sad artistically and in terms of results.

MG himself said that if the team doesn't play how they want them to then they're out yet he kept AV on despite him getting the say over shipping out hodgson, not keeping grabner, not playing Ballard, not giving shirokov more chances, picking peter Schaefer over Brendan Morrison and most of all keeping the sedins who are as opposite from effective transition game as you can get.

While ownership meddles, maybe that's a good thing if MG insists that oreskovich should be playing. While MG fluked out on santorelli, there's an ebbett and a tambelleni which brings his batting average back to average.

MG is the problem. Ownership fired Noni's because he didn't have a plan despite no major F ups and I'm sure MG is gone too.

[TimberWolf]

We blame ownership for overruling MG and hiring torts but look at who MG was considering if it was up to him:

- Dallas Eakins

- scott arniel

- glen gulutzan

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=424771

I don't think it matters who the coach is though... the canucks are a middle of the road team in terms of talent.

Even at their peak I never saw the core as totally fitting gillis' vision as a team that can play in transition. It's teams like the hawks, bruins, kings and sharks that were scoring the odd man rushes against. The shootout with the team is sad artistically and in terms of results.

MG himself said that if the team doesn't play how they want them to then they're out yet he kept AV on despite him getting the say over shipping out hodgson, not keeping grabner, not playing Ballard, not giving shirokov more chances, picking peter Schaefer over Brendan Morrison and most of all keeping the sedins who are as opposite from effective transition game as you can get.

While ownership meddles, maybe that's a good thing if MG insists that oreskovich should be playing. While MG fluked out on santorelli, there's an ebbett and a tambelleni which brings his batting average back to average.

MG is the problem. Ownership fired Noni's because he didn't have a plan despite no major F ups and I'm sure MG is gone too.

You can minimize and make anyone look bad with the kind of microscoping you just did with your post. Here, let me show you:

"Nonis was an inferior GM that traded important picks for has-beens and neverweres, bad scouting (Brunnstrom) and only had one trade of note (Luongo) which was fluke and saved his job for a while."

see?

You just say Gillis "got lucky" with Santo when he seems to get lucky a lot finding these diamonds in the rough like Tanev and Stanton. It stops being luck and becomes a skill when it has as high as a success rate as he does.

That list of coaches is an assumption considering if the Owners were that hands on then it's only speculation who Gillis would have interviewed unfettered. Grabner would have been lost for nothing (he was waived in FLA after the trade because he was so lazy) and the Sedin's were dominating the league and would make no sense to let them go. Ballard, I wanted to see succeed but he never seemed to make anything of his opportunities and what's Shiro up to these days anyhow?

None of the good makes him the best GM in the game but we could do far worse and not that much better

[Dogbyte]

Awwwww poor Mikey didn't get to run the club his way .... it's all everyone's fault but his own. Stupid owners interfere and dumb players didn't play good. We were one injury away from the cup.

If we get some decent skill on this team shot blocking won't be a problem as we won't be constantly chasing the pucks and back on our heels. People get carried away about this shot blocking thing. That's what happens when you have little skill and teams take the piss to you on a regular basis. Your players get hurt because effort is the only tool they have to stay in the games. Get some skill and we won't have to block shots when our players have the puck on their sticks.

[oldnews]

You can minimize and make anyone look bad with the kind of microscoping you just did with your post. Here, let me show you:

"Nonis was an inferior GM that traded important picks for has-beens and neverweres, bad scouting (Brunnstrom) and only had one trade of note (Luongo) which was fluke and saved his job for a while."

see?

You just say Gillis "got lucky" with Santo when he seems to get lucky a lot finding these diamonds in the rough like Tanev and Stanton. It stops being luck and becomes a skill when it has as high as a success rate as he does.

That list of coaches is an assumption considering if the Owners were that hands on then it's only speculation who Gillis would have interviewed unfettered. Grabner would have been lost for nothing (he was waived in FLA after the trade because he was so lazy) and the Sedin's were dominating the league and would make no sense to let them go. Ballard, I wanted to see succeed but he never seemed to make anything of his opportunities and what's Shiro up to these days anyhow?

None of the good makes him the best GM in the game but we could do far worse and not that much better

Yes, and Eddie Lack.

That list is the microscoped work of Dreger, which about says it all.

Arniel was the Wolves coach, had to be considered out of respect and went to work with AV.

Eakins...of course Dreger pumps the Marlies tires, but yeah, what a mistake it was passing on him.... 'Dreger reports that the Stars and Rangers will also be in the mix for Eakins services.....'

Gully was a good hiring imo.

Obviously an incomplete list from the Leafs lobby.

[elvis15]

It's almost like Gillis forgets that every year the playoffs turn into rugby where the animals win and the nice guys lose....Everyone points to Chicago without mentioning Bryan Bickell go full beast mode.

i hope Gillis stays building with size..... Horvat, Gaunce ,Matthias, Lack, Markstrom etc...and doesnt go back to drafting Jordan Schroeders

It's almost like CDC'ers forget it's hard to draft skill at the end of the first round, so when Schroeder fell because of his size he was a decent option considering he'd been an offensive leader the US at the World Juniors to that point.

Bickell in beast mode? That's a stretch, and if guys like Bieksa, Kassian, Matthias, Lain, etc. can't cover that enough for you then you'll never be happy with a moderately sized skill pick.

None of that means he's wanting to always go and draft undersized players like Schroeder, but if there's upside there that's more attractive than others still left I'm happy to consider it.

If ownership sells this team, I will be disgusted with them but happy they are gone.

It would just re-affirm that they are sleazebags coming in as a guise of being fans but really only in it for the money.

When times are good and they are gouging fans with outrageous ticket prices, of course its not hard to spend to the cap.

Now that we might be approaching tough times where the ticket prices are way above equilibrium (which they did themselves), if they bail, it just reflects how greedy those pigs are.

I think you're in the wrong thread... Besides, they've already confirmed they aren't looking to sell.

I already said I was wrong about gillis saying that kass was an immediate unpack player, not sure how many times you want me to say I was mistaken? It's what I had remembered him saying but it was wrong.

The skill for grit I'm not taking back sorry, I already posted the interview where he talked about getting pushed around and needing to add sandpaper... That may have been the term he used. It was without a departure for the way the nucks were built and he made a point of pointing that out. It was also the start of our scoring decline.... Call it what you want.

Go back listen to the interview he is clear in his direction.

But you can add sandpaper without giving up on skill. Or in Kassian's case, you get a package of grit and skill but then that costs more which is why Hodgson was the value to make that deal happen.

Wanting more of one thing doesn't mean wanting less of another. You can have players like Matthias, Sestito and Lain with more grit in the bottom 6 but still keep skill in the top 6 with the Sedins and Kesler. Then you add to both areas with picks like Gaunce and Horvat, Shinkaruk and Jensen, Cassels and Subban, Hutton and Cederholm, Corrado and Grenier.

There is no trend of more sandpaper than skill in his draft picks the last few years. Size is varied as well. He's always been about making sure his roster has a balanced lineup, but certainly wanted a bit more sandpaper and size than he had before after the finals - just not at the expense of skill and being able to contribute as a hockey player.

Gillis is smoking cracks.. we don't have the team to play the up tempo game.. the Sedins plays the cycle game.. how's that up tempo? we have been massively declining in offense ever since the 2011 playoff.. so i don't see how he thinks we have the right team to play that style when it's literally the same team as 2011 with the top players passed their primes

I don't suppose you remember who were the first players to do the icing pass off the end boards to a streaking winger? The Sedins. Sure they play a cycle game a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean they don't look for opportunities breaking out of their own zone to get it to someone with speed or in behind the defence.

Sometimes being smart is better for an up tempo game than fast, and you don't just get rid of players as good as the Sedins because their strength happens to be playing when setup already in the zone.

The difference is between an explanation and an excuse. This guy who is know for evasive answers suddenly is Mr. Open, riding in on his white horse with all the answers. Drink the kool aid if you want.

Some people see kool aid, others see a guy not holding his cards so close to his chest after a down season. Is your glass half full or half empty?

[elvis15]

We blame ownership for overruling MG and hiring torts but look at who MG was considering if it was up to him:

- Dallas Eakins

- scott arniel

- glen gulutzan

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=424771

...

Lindy Ruff was also interviewed, and John Stevens was under consideration as well as who you mentioned. I'm sure there were other names considered as well, so it's not like Torts was a clear choice regardless of what Gillis thought.

[Jack Fig]

Totally this...even if Gillis is fired at least he has set the record straight..He is a confident honest individual and I don't think he'd be gutted at all,being relieved as GM (for what it is)

Torts is a good guy and good coach,but completely wrong for this team (and market)...If the ownership stands by Torts ..I see nothing but empty seats at the Rog.

As much as I have criticised Gillis, he can be dusted off and resold again. I don't think Torts can be. The stench of this season can be tied a little too acutely to his presence here. The empty seats speak loudly.

[aGENT]

Sedins are not "up tempo" style players, they are methodical offensive zone start puck possession players.

Maybe not (in a traditional sense ala Kesler) but they are "puck possession" players which is also part of the mantra.

Plus I liked their "tempo" just fine when we were playing that style. How many shifts in the last ~5 years have we see them absolutely dominate the offensive zone for long periods of time with quick, brilliant passing and wearing down defenders? Just because they may not be the fastest/"up tempo" skaters doesn't mean the puck is standing still. They are some of quickest and most skilled/creative passers in the game.

[puckdontlie]

You can minimize and make anyone look bad with the kind of microscoping you just did with your post. Here, let me show you:

"Nonis was an inferior GM that traded important picks for has-beens and neverweres, bad scouting (Brunnstrom) and only had one trade of note (Luongo) which was fluke and saved his job for a while."

see?

You just say Gillis "got lucky" with Santo when he seems to get lucky a lot finding these diamonds in the rough like Tanev and Stanton. It stops being luck and becomes a skill when it has as high as a success rate as he does.

That list of coaches is an assumption considering if the Owners were that hands on then it's only speculation who Gillis would have interviewed unfettered. Grabner would have been lost for nothing (he was waived in FLA after the trade because he was so lazy) and the Sedin's were dominating the league and would make no sense to let them go. Ballard, I wanted to see succeed but he never seemed to make anything of his opportunities and what's Shiro up to these days anyhow?

None of the good makes him the best GM in the game but we could do far worse and not that much better

The vision is clearly stated by MG as: "I want us to play up-beat, puck possession, move the puck quickly, force teams into mistakes, high-transition game,"

To me it's the GM's fault if this doesn't match the play on the ice. If the players are there but the coach refuses to use them it's the coach's fault short term, GM's fault long term if he doesn't make a change. I feel torts was sending a message at times in the season with his comments that he doesn't have the personnel to execute his game plan.

The sedins are excellent at puck possession but the rest they're not as good at. It's troubling that the superstar players aren't viewed as a threat off the rush. Seriously, if you had to cherry pick out of the top 60 forwards in the league, would they be in the top half? To me no, because they lack the speed and the finish in transition.

MG said: "our problems are far reaching and will be addressed. If people don't want to get onside with how I view this team and how it's supposed to play then they won't be here.”

The other players I mentioned, I know some were flawed, but they had attributes which bought into the vision. AV's choices went against the vision yet he was still here.

However, I think AV did the best with what he had for the most part so I have to say it's the GM's fault that he didn't supply effective enough players to fully carry out the vision.

If that list of coaches was poor, then it's poor foresight on MG to get rid of AV without a suitable replacement, similar to the Schneider/Lu situation where he is now salvaging the fact that Lack will have seasons of Carey Price like meltdowns in his early years before he will be a star goalie, if at all. I think the MG is ultimately responsible for not carrying out his vision. If the analysis is that it doesn't matter who coaches, that the canucks will stay a middling team that has to overacheive like Phx and Nsh to compete, then that should be on the GM.

Also I actually agree with you said about nonis although there are two sides to the coin. Ultimately though, batting average has to come into play... I know only used a small example but I'd say overall his batting average is average because he has a middling team although he has a vast treasure chest of resources. I could pick any GM and say that for any player X that worked out, there was player Y that didn't. But to me the bigger issue is that his top players do not fit his vision yet he forces his coaches to fit these square pegs in round holes.

[LeanBeef]

i wonder if Ahlex Edler + a prospect and our 2014 first rounder gets it done

We would have to overpay for him.

Something around a pick, Edler, Kesler, and Schroeder for Desharnais and Subban.

Gives them a top 4 dman (top 2 if on his game... But haven't seen that since the 11-12 regular season ended), a solid 2nd line centre, and a centre with potential to be a Desharnais lite.

[oldnews]

Hey, unless things dramatically turn around for this group it looks to me like we're going to become the next Calgary instead of tanking next season like we should be.

Weak analogy.

http://forum.canucks.com/topic/358368-mike-gillis-should-stay/page-22#entry12070727

To me 'style' is overrated. There should be no set style to how this team plays other than the style that wins.

What i mean is that a team like Chicago doesn't have a set style other than to play the other teams' style, but better. To do that you need better players though.

Anyway, i'm certainly glad that the plan is to control the puck a bit more again. Accomplishing that is a bit tougher though. Several pieces or eqivalent pieces from our 2011 heyday are missing.

Not sure what that means other than Quenneville is an excellent coach who adjusts well, but the Hawks imo have a fairly distinct style imo which is to apply a lot of pressure over 200ft and skate opponents under. It allowed them to escape the western conference with a smaller than average team and an undersized bottom sx which pivoted on mini forwards like Kruger and Shaw. They certainly didn't beat Los Angeles or Boston by out Bostoning them. They arguably had the most difficulty with Detroit, a team that can skate and skill with them....

The problem is that what Torts and Gillis tell us are painted with broad strokes -and not the details. The 800 pound elephant in the room that everyone seems to ignore is that the Canucks are no longer capable of playing a possession game. The twins are not the same players they used to be.

Gillis tries to convince the fanbase that he is building a winner. He has enormous pressure to sell tickets , even when its more than obvious that the team needs to rebuild and acquire franchise draft picks that made them great in the first place( Sedins)

The worst thing this fanbase can do is try to force a square peg into a round hole. It seems that Canadian franchises are notorious for trying to make ownership give them a winner on a silver platter without doing the necessary tanking to get the excellent talent. This leads to half baked teams that neither win nor get a top 5 draft pick.

I see that most on here are trying to figure out how to 'get back' to the team we used to be. Time waits for nobody. We are no longer that team and never will be again. Its time to forge ahead to build a new team.

Nice story, but what colour is that elephant in your imagination?

Regardless of whether we endorse Tortorella's systems decisions or not, no matter how you slice it, the Canucks are still in fact a top 10 puck possession team.

http://stats.hockeyanalysis.com/teamstats.php?disp=1&db=201314&sit=5v5close&sort=CFPCT&sortdir=DESC

http://stats.hockeyanalysis.com/teamstats.php?disp=1&db=201314&sit=5v5close&sort=FFPCT&sortdir=DESC

I hope the Canucks see this and concur, but I can't blame them for trying to sell tickets by creating whatever false hope they can.

Ditto. If you guys are selling the necessary tanking as the answer to false hope, you have a problem in that the most notorious tanker in the NHL remains at the bottom of the Pacific after a half decade of tanking.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Ditto. If you guys are selling the necessary tanking as the answer to false hope, you have a problem in that the most notorious tanker in the NHL remains at the bottom of the Pacific after a half decade of tanking.

You don't want Edmonton tanking. You want Pittsburgh/Chicago/LA tanking. ie. Tank for the right drafts, and then make some serious improvements afterwards.

That being said, Edmonton got those 1st rounders, but beyond the 1st round their drafts have been non-factors, while some of Pittsburgh, Chicago's and LA's deeper picks have turned into gold. But those teams are entitled/blessed now, while Edmonton was that way in the 80's. The Canucks can only dream to get to that level. But they won't ever get to that level without winning-capable star players in their lineup.

[aGENT]

You don't want Edmonton tanking. You want Pittsburgh/Chicago/LA tanking. ie. Tank for the right drafts, and then make some serious improvements afterwards.

That being said, Edmonton got those 1st rounders, but beyond the 1st round their drafts have been non-factors, while some of Pittsburgh, Chicago's and LA's deeper picks have turned into gold. But those teams are entitled/blessed now, while Edmonton was that way in the 80's. The Canucks can only dream to get to that level. But they won't ever get to that level without winning-capable star players in their lineup.

Are you serious?

Edmonton's problem isn't that they didn't tank for the "wrong" drafts. Their problem is that they haven't built a cohesive or complete team around those picks. That's it.

Being a bit of a UFA black hole doesn't help that but It has little/nothing to do with being "blessed" or being bad for the "right drafts".

[TOMapleLaughs]

Are you serious?

Edmonton's problem isn't that they didn't tank for the "wrong" drafts. Their problem is that they haven't built a cohesive or complete team around those picks. That's it.

Being a bit of a UFA black hole doesn't help that but It has little/nothing to do with being "blessed" or being bad for the "right drafts".

No. If they had drafted a Toews/Kane or a Crosby/Malkin or a Doughty/Kopitar then their team is a helluva lot better than what it currently is. I like Hall, but he's not on that level at all. He's kinda like Kessel.

However, why should the NHL waste it's best franchise players on a small market black hole nobody cares about anymore? Oh snap, that could be Vancouver.

[TOMapleLaughs]

My favorite Edmonton pick was RNH (puffed wheat) over Landeskog (horse). That made my argument quite clear. Yakupov over Murray will also go down as a 'big mistake.' Even Hall over Seguin was bad.

The draft is rigged. Sorry.

[oldnews]

You don't want Edmonton tanking. You want Pittsburgh/Chicago/LA tanking. ie. Tank for the right drafts, and then make some serious improvements afterwards.

That being said, Edmonton got those 1st rounders, but beyond the 1st round their drafts have been non-factors, while some of Pittsburgh, Chicago's and LA's deeper picks have turned into gold. But those teams are entitled/blessed now, while Edmonton was that way in the 80's. The Canucks can only dream to get to that level. But they won't ever get to that level without winning-capable star players in their lineup.

How long have the Islanders and Panthers been tanking?

For every Pittsburgh - and with all due respect to them, they drafted Whitney 5th overall, Fleury 1st overall, Malkin 2nd overall, Crosby 1st overall and Staal 2nd overall in 5 consecutive season -, 4 of them drafting consecutively in the top 2 - and yet for all the praise Shero gets, they haven't exactly contended perenially have they? Yeah, they peaked and got a Cup, and since then, propped up by a Crosby and a Malkin and they still endure years of playoff failures. For every Pittsburgh there is an Edmonton, a Florida, a NYI, etc.

And how many years is it now that the Redwings have made the playoffs - and are about to again - after having serious injuries to their core this year? Yet there they are, with one 19th overall and one 20th overall pick since 1991, having won the Calder Cup last year - yes, defeating the prospect pools of the tanker teams - and with a crop of rookies that have propelled them into a playoff spot again this year despite losing Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Helm, Weiss....

Nyquist a 4th rounder, Tatar a 2nd rounder, Sheahan a 21st overall, Dekeyser an undrafted UFA, Jurco a 2nd rounder....

I would prefer Gillis stick with the model that works to stay competitive - I think he has the right model in the Redwings to attempt to emulate. Easier said than done when that organization is as established as it is, with the system and personnel in place that it's had for decades, nevertheless, I think Gillis has made significant strides in that direction.

I personally prefer to leave the 'strategy' of dwelling in the NHL's basement for a half decade to those teams above.