Mike Gillis will be a GM in the league again one day.

[2inthecup]

Gillis is getting his revenge. The Horvat and Kassian moves look better by the day.

Should have gotten more for Schneider no matter how great Horvat is. So still doesn't look great.

Gillis was a great manager of a contending team, was able to pick up some key pieces when they were rolling. His downfall was knowing when to make a BIG change. He held on to assets to long and screwed himself over. Didn't draft well until Eric Crawford came in in 2013. Traded away a lot of picks.

I would say he did great in adding to powerhouse in the first part of his tenure but failed miserable in digging the team out of a tailspin. He was also very astute at undrafted free agent signings.

[messier's_elbow]

Should have gotten more for Schneider no matter how great Horvat is. So still doesn't look great.

Gillis was a great manager of a contending team, was able to pick up some key pieces when they were rolling. His downfall was knowing when to make a BIG change. He held on to assets to long and screwed himself over. Didn't draft well until Eric Crawford came in in 2013. Traded away a lot of picks.

I would say he did great in adding to powerhouse in the first part of his tenure but failed miserable in digging the team out of a tailspin. He was also very astute at undrafted free agent signings.

Crawford did seem to help on the drafting front I agree, but Gillis hired him.

[UFCanuck]

Some really good moves on D in his time.

Signing Hamhuis to a bargain deal.

Acquiring Ehrhoff for free.

Signing Tanev out of College.

[IbanezRG]

Id be interested to see what he could do with another team, he made some good choices in the short term for the Canucks, and now were seeing the benefits of some of our long term choices, but other GM's had issues working with him and he handcuffed the organization with a few contracts.

Well see what he has learned when he gets his next job.

[2inthecup]

Crawford did seem to help on the drafting front I agree, but Gillis hired him.

Ya, I think he was better as a president than GM in my opinion. Did a lot of good in his time here but its tainted by the very very bad.

[cuporbust]

This guy is hated and pitchforked out of town but he is coming out looking a lot better recently. He didnt hire Torts the owners did. He messed up the situation with the goalies but the new cap penalties screwed him. He got Horvat out of the deal though which might end up being his greatest move of all. Matthias and Markstrom arent looking like bad pieces for Lu either. When he wasnt pissing away picks on guys like Derek Roy (pukebaby) he was making decent draft picks and his only real horrible pick was Mallet. Cassels, Gaunce, Corrado and Jensen all look like future NHL players as well. Jurys still out on Shinkaruk but I have faith.

He was better then we give him credit for. Signed guys for a discount and added some key pieces at key times.

The lu contract was very clever until they pro rated the new rule and screwed him. That wasn't his fault. We can thank the league for that

[Me_]

He was better then we give him credit for. Signed guys for a discount and added some key pieces at key times.

The lu contract was very clever until they pro rated the new rule and screwed him. That wasn't his fault. We can thank the league for that

Yeah that was perhaps unfair from the league. I would have liked to see a "from now on" attitude instead of blatant punishment.

Nonetheless, those lifetime contracts were and are absolutely riDIculous.

[cuporbust]

Yeah that was perhaps unfair from the league. I would have liked to see a "from now on" attitude instead of blatant punishment.

Nonetheless, those lifetime contracts were and are absolutely riDIculous.

Yeah they are now. At the time they were very clever like I said

[alt kilgore]

I'd use the word "reckless" with Gillis. From his first "bold move' in signing Sundin to be a 10 million a year "inspiration". (Lucky he didn't play the second year he signed up for)....to being pressured into re-signing Luongo to such a long millstone contract, even after Lu had a terrible playoff meltdown in Chicago just a couple of months before.

That was partly Luongo's hubris. I liked his arrogance (for a goalie) but he was probably demanding 7-8 million per for a three year contract. But it was up to Gillis to walk away then. Get a decent vet #1 that would be willing to play for a shorter term contract until Schneider develops fully. That bad signing, had a domino effect where in we lost BOTH goalies.

Luck will always be a part of any GM's success. And Horvat panned out, but it was still a terrible deal. Cory was drafted by the Canucks, was groomed for nearly 10 bloody years in our system. All that investment finally pays off....and he's lost for a fresh new prospect where we start again.

Luck also that Hodgson inexplicably turns into a dud playing in Buffalo. Still think the timing of the trade was reckless and rash. At the time Hodgson was one of our top scorers, best NHL rookie per ice time, ahead of Kesler in goals. We had the Presidents trophy all but sewn up and needed more scoring threat in the coming playoffs. We trade for a not-ready-for-prime-time prospect that was benched for the post-season.

At the end of the day we have Horvat and Kassian, and its pointless to play "what if.." I'm also happy to have Tanev and Lack. So Gillis balanced out some of his recklessness with good acquisitions.

[Smashian Kassian]

He would have been a great hire for a team like Washington, IMO.

[Ben Kenobi]

IMO Gillis is the number 1 GM.

Quinn changed the culture, not Gillis. Canucks have really never been terrible since the eighties. Sure, they've had a few bad years here and there, but not like the first half of the history of the franchise.

Canucks are up to .489 now. As a franchise. Which is remarkable given their history as a bottom feeder for so long.

[Western Red]

IMO Gillis is the number 1 GM.

Quinn changed the culture, not Gillis. Canucks have really never been terrible since the eighties. Sure, they've had a few bad years here and there, but not like the first half of the history of the franchise.

Canucks are up to .489 now. As a franchise. Which is remarkable given their history as a bottom feeder for so long.

Thanks for the .489 stat.

Gillis I think did a good job, had endless amounts of $ to spend on scouting, nutrition, doctors. So that was a feather in his cap during his tenure. Trading Bo for CS looks like a complete no-brainer. Goalies seem to come and go like whack a mole. There are only about 5 great golaies in the game IMO. Getting a guy like Bo and seeing the way he's progressed was unforeseeable and a great shot in the arm. Gillis should be proud.

I choose not to hate on him. Every single GM ever made mistakes and we can point them out all we want. Overall I would say Gillis was a positive here and leave it at that. More positive than Nonis.

[Ghostsof1915]

I think he was focused way too much on the now, not the future. Buy the time he started to draft for the future it was too late.

Tying to push the limits on NHL contract rules didn't help either. He basically painted himself into a corner but was still able to get something out of it. He was good at waiver wire pickups and college free agents. I think the sleep doctors, etc honestly was a smokescreen. A winning culture does more. If you are a contender, players won't care about travel. Despite all these sleep doctors and nutritionists, the team doctors still couldn't figure out back injuries, concussions, etc.

Benning I think has it right. Building a winning culture that players want to be a part of. Getting players in a similar age group so they can mature together. Doing things that normally are unthinkable like trading within our conference (Clendening).

Or trading in our division? (Bearcheese) Building through the draft and not being afraid of trading for 3rd and 2nd rounders if it helps the team both short and long term.

The future is bright here in Vancouver. I appreciate Horvat, Matthias, Kassian, and Markstrom. But I think we're great hands with Benning.

I honestly think Gillis will not get another gig unless a team is desperate, or an expansion team.

[-- Alexander 89 Mogilny --]

I think if we lay out all of Gillis' moves and achievements...common sense would dictate that he was extremely successful.

He made mistakes of course, but he was learning from them. Draft is a great example. He deserved more time...his players are shining now.

Kass

Horvat

LACK

Markstrom (that game wasn't his, fault lets be realistic here)

Matthias

Corrado

Tanev

I mean...those are our best players outside of the Sedins...and I've probably missed a few.

[cyoung]

Absolutely random thread.

He traded away 1st rounders, 2nd rounders, and failed at drafting a real stud in the 1st round. I mean come on its the 1st round..

His blunders continue to be drafting Jordan Schroeder and Patrick White (can't fully recall if he did)

His blunders continued with failing to get the Luongo situation solved. I can go on, but yeah I guess your right he will be hired again if a team is desperate?

and u follow it up with an ignorant comment? Lol give me a break,u don't know anything about gillis according to those statements lol

[stanleycanucks]

Lack for captain! *facepalm*

[UFCanuck]

I'd use the word "reckless" with Gillis. From his first "bold move' in signing Sundin to be a 10 million a year "inspiration". (Lucky he didn't play the second year he signed up for)....to being pressured into re-signing Luongo to such a long millstone contract, even after Lu had a terrible playoff meltdown in Chicago just a couple of months before.

That was partly Luongo's hubris. I liked his arrogance (for a goalie) but he was probably demanding 7-8 million per for a three year contract. But it was up to Gillis to walk away then. Get a decent vet #1 that would be willing to play for a shorter term contract until Schneider develops fully. That bad signing, had a domino effect where in we lost BOTH goalies.

Luck will always be a part of any GM's success. And Horvat panned out, but it was still a terrible deal. Cory was drafted by the Canucks, was groomed for nearly 10 bloody years in our system. All that investment finally pays off....and he's lost for a fresh new prospect where we start again.

Luck also that Hodgson inexplicably turns into a dud playing in Buffalo. Still think the timing of the trade was reckless and rash. At the time Hodgson was one of our top scorers, best NHL rookie per ice time, ahead of Kesler in goals. We had the Presidents trophy all but sewn up and needed more scoring threat in the coming playoffs. We trade for a not-ready-for-prime-time prospect that was benched for the post-season.

At the end of the day we have Horvat and Kassian, and its pointless to play "what if.." I'm also happy to have Tanev and Lack. So Gillis balanced out some of his recklessness with good acquisitions.

Sundin never signed the 2 year deal. He only signed the a pro-rated 1 year deal.

I thought everyone knew by now that Gillis made that offer just to get the big Fishes attention. Sundin wasn't playing 2 years and Gillis knew it, smart move.

The Fans would've burned the city down if Gillis let Luongo walk as a UFA in his prime.

[sockeye]

Don't forget that Gillis made the smart move to set up our own farm team in Utica and he made another smart move in hiring Travis Green to coach them. The only big mistake was hiring Torts - I think the owners pulled the strings there. Bringing in Sundin was refreshing and picking up Ehrhoff, Hamhuis and Higgins were good moves. He was a good GM and if we had won the cup, he would have been a great GM.

Having said that, so far, I really like what Trevor and Jim are doing now. The big question is - where are we going to be when the Sedins are 30-40 point players and making 6 mill per year. This next year or two are huge ones as far as the future of this team. I wish Jim and Trevor and our scouting staff all the luck.

[sockeye]

Gillis did do some very good things here. Then again he did some absolutely insane things as well. Like offering Mats Sundin a Lotto Max prize over 2 years. If he'd taken MG up on that you'd have never seen Ehrhoff here.

I fail to see why the Sundin offer was insane. It was only money and Sundin was a UFA. We didn't pay the entire salary because Sundin only played about half the year. We didn't give up any picks for Sundin. He helped the Sedins and Kesler mature as players. I enjoyed watching the hall of famer Sundin and he was one of our few strong players in the playoffs. It was a bold move which was refreshing after the do-nothing Nonis year. Gillis may not have been liked by the press but, as a GM, he did a better job than most of our GMs.

[oldnews]

This team is fortunate to have had two consecutive very intelligent management teams.

Gillis and Vigneault innovated - they built one of the best two way hockey clubs in recent NHL history. Yeah, they spent (mildly) to supplement that team in the present, but didn't really mortgage anywhere near as much as some folks like to dramatically suggest.

Did Gillis hit endless home runs with late picks? No, but at the same time they generated enough young talent that there has been no real gap in this team's ability to compete. It improved, and it wasn't particularly rich to start with. What Gillis didn't draft, he supplemented through free agency - Lack, Tanev, Eriksson, Kenins.... When the team showed signs of regress, he focused on reversing the demographic, thinking long term, and replenishing youth - Horvat, Markstrom, (Matthias)...

The Tortorella experiement is debatable - who is truly responsible for that.

I think the franchise can count itself fortunate that it went from Gillis' hands (whether you like his personality or not - I personally didn't mind his disposition, particularly towards the media) - into the hands of GMJB - who like Gillis - has the abiilty to take this team to the next level - and imo - has a wealth of assets to work with.