[Report] Mike Gillis Fired

[Kevo882]

Look, this needed to happen. Mike Gillis really hasn't done much to bring in the right pieces since he took over. He took over a very good nucleus that almost won the cup and did nothing to maintain the right secondary pieces to keep the success going. He was also terrible at drafting (although the majority of that actually falls on the scouts and his supporting staff who advise him). All he did was re-sign most of the team to long term contracts with no-trade clauses so it makes it way more difficult to make changes now. He was also really good at trading players away for nothing. He completely mis-handled the Schneider-Luongo saga. The list goes on..... It was the right move. Now to hire a new GM and re-evaluate the performance of the rest of the front office/management/scouts so that we can go forward with the best staff possible to get us back to the top!

[Toyotasfan]

Great to have someone in charge who actually played and sat in the locker room with the core of this team. He knows the team . I think it will help get to the base of the problem and get things righted.

My opinion is the Sedins and Edler and their attitude towards Torterella has a lot to do with it, especially after that Calgary game. The tougher players on the team like Kassian , Richardson, Bieksa , sestito , Booth, Kesler, and Higgins, all bought in and played well. They were willing to hit, dump, block shots, and kill penalties. Others felt mistreated for being asked to play that way because they are "skill players" . A team divided like that doesn't get far. Only my opinion.

[RUPERTKBD]

I'm glad that people are stoked to see Linden as the new Prez, but I think if you expect him to magically turn the franchise around, you're going to be disappointed. This move is more a PR move than a hockey move, IMHO. I think it's great for the optics of the franchise, but the turnaround that we're all hoping for is going to depend very much on the new GM.

I'm hoping for Gilman, but I'd also be okay with Hexy, Boterill, or one of the other current assistant GMs who's names have been suggested. I wouldn't be adverse to Nazzy returning as well, however, I'd prefer that he serve as an assistant.

Whether he's willing to come back to N.A. to be an assistant GM remains to be seen.

I'm definitely not big on the idea of Feaster, Burke, or as some have suggested, a return of Quinn.

[Nashi]

He had to go, curious to see who is our next GM.

[Nuck-Shot]

To me he deserved one more year

[Guest]

Not too shocked about this. Gillis has done some good things for the franchise; seems like the scouting department is a little sounder than before, especially looking at college kids that went through the system and bloomed later on (Tanev the best of that lot). The last couple of drafts seem to have given the team some people to build around. However...no big time players that can control a game on their own. The trades, especially Schneider and Luongo, really haven't been all that good. Yes we got Horvat in the Schneider trade, and Cole Cassels is possibly a player later on (acquired with Booth), but at what price. Lastly, the contracts always seemed to stir up a (negative) passionate response; even though some of them now are actually not that bad in terms of dollars...the years, well that's another story.

This decision seems to be more for two reasons. The team has failed to capitalize on what looked like growth a few years back, and hasn't replaced outgoing talent fast enough, or has let talent age without proper replacements in system. We have no one to replace the twins at all, no one ready to replace Luo immediately (or Schneider for that matter), and with the divisional switch we have fallen well behind the competition without much hope of recovery in the next year or two. The other is public relations; with the team slipping, and the publicity nightmares surrounding Luo, there is a serious threat of the team losing fan support. Not all money coming in is from ticket sales; merchandise sold helps a lot, and fans outside of Vancouver could be losing some interest and looking to buy,say, a Colorado or Anaheim jersey instead.

Overall, I don't particularly care for the move, but it is understandable. I really didn't like the Tortella hiring, that may have been another nail in the coffin. I just hope that the next GM doesn't come in with the attitude of "everything has got to go, I want my print on this franchise". A base is there, just find a star or two and we are back in the running.

[Chalky]

I have to connect some dots here. As soon as Gillis is gone, we (and the media) are tossing around names to be his successor. Shanny's name comes up for Vancouver. Not long after, Shanny is of course going to TO to be there GM not Vancouver. It seems anytime, any name is tossed around for any team, he is going to the Leafs. Well, I say fill your boots. I don't want another rookie GM. Now here is my bold prediction. Where does Gillis end up???? Yezzir, Toronto.

[elvis15]

I have to connect some dots here. As soon as Gillis is gone, we (and the media) are tossing around names to be his successor. Shanny's name comes up for Vancouver. Not long after, Shanny is of course going to TO to be there GM not Vancouver. It seems anytime, any name is tossed around for any team, he is going to the Leafs. Well, I say fill your boots. I don't want another rookie GM. Now here is my bold prediction. Where does Gillis end up???? Yezzir, Toronto.

It was a similar progression with Bob Nicholson, although I haven't heard them throw out Feaster's name yet for T.O. so maybe it's just a coincidence. Or, maybe the Feaster suggestion was just Dreger and co. trying to steer the ship in the direction he wants so Vancouver doesn't take any of the good candidates in case his best bud Nonis is let go.

[bishopshodan]

Fired the wrong guy.

Would it ever be funny if TO hired MG.

hahaha

[Silfverberg Snipes]

Well, at least there were players like Santorelli and Stanton, do you remember one good cheap signing from before Gillis got here? Face it, it was his strength. Even haters should admit that, but alas they won't.

I hope all you idiots are happy with his replacement.

:-D

Calling it his strength is an understatement. He created the perfect environment for our core players from cheap underrated UFA's. Samuelsson, Ehrhoff, Torres, Malhotra. All key players in our cup run.

[Honky Cat]

Should have got one more year IMO...Considering his track record,and his recent moves he should have stayed...This was his first really bad year...Although,IF Torts was Gillis' guy..that would have to be considered a giant strike against him.

[aqua59]

He iced a boring team. Scouting continually $hits the bed. It was time to go.

[DeNiro]

1040 suggesting that Gilman getting promoted is probable.

Interim GM until they find a replacement most likely.

[KING ALBERTS]

if they make feaster GM i will no longer be a canucks fan

[Tearloch7]

if they make feaster GM i will no longer be a canucks fan

I will cheer for the East Coast Ottawa franchise .. if they have one .. Linden is NOT going to hire Jay as GM .. except maybe as his food taster when he's dining with the media ..

[PetRocksAreMotionless]

The Future Looks Bright

[amitriptyline]

I'm so glad he is gone. It was unequivocally the right decision. 4 consecutive years of doing absolutely zilch to upgrade the team is completely unacceptable, especially when there are such glaring deficiencies that need to be addressed. The roster has grown so stale under him. There is no excuse for such gross negligence.

His chronic pattern of idling and his lack of foresight and managerial competence have taken their toll and resulted in the predicament we are in today.This is why we are so mired in mediocrity and unable to compete for the cup. Its been a steady deterioration since the cup run. Such a fate was ineluctable the way Gillis has gone about his business, when there were so many problems with the team.

I'm sick to death of waiting anxiously until the deadline only to find out he's either standing pat or just picked another nobody depth player. Then its the same standard replies like the asking price was too high or nobody was available that fit our long term plans...etc.

There's no way this team is going to get back to being competitive with a guy like that. We need someone who takes a much more proactive approach and recognizes the importance of continually building the team and acts accordingly when there are issues to be resolved.

[BurgerKing]

So sick and tired of people going after this guy, 2 president trophies, 1 selke, 2 art ross, 1 hart, 1 jennings. This shit all happened on his watch!!

Let's talk draft record

08 Hodgson, on the job for months

09 you expect the guy to fix years of poor drafting in one season?

10 no 1st, 2nd, 3rd

11 Jensen, Corrado, too early to tell.

12 and 13 again too early to tell.

Mistakes

Yes, but what about Bos with Kaberle, Det sign Weiss let Filpulla go, Chi Christobol Huet and Campbell, Sharks Havlat Heatley

Luongo

He had a NTC, gallagher reporting he wouldn`t go anywhere other than panther until it was too late, Aqualini wouldn`t buy him out after going over GM to make stupid deal.

[BurgerKing]

Should have got one more year IMO...Considering his track record,and his recent moves he should have stayed...This was his first really bad year...Although,IF Torts was Gillis' guy..that would have to be considered a giant strike against him.

To me that seems so unlikely, and the 5 year deal knowing that contracts are infact MG`s area of expertise. To me this one`s on the owner

[The Big Luongo]

I'm not a fan of this at all.

There's no way this disappointing season should be on Gillis when the 2 biggest reasons they failed is because the Sedins and Burrows played pathetic for the most part and because the team was decimated with key injuries all season.

No teams could succeed with all those injuries and their # 1 line failing so miserably.

Gillis has done a lot better then given credit for and a lot of people are very dilusional on a lot of his so called errors.

I really hope Mike Gillis knows that we're not all fools like the ungreatful fans chanting against him and i personally think for the most part he's done an amazing job and would like to thank him and wish him all the luck in the world.