Is the Current Ownership Failing this Team?

[PhillipBlunt]

Just now, Tre Mac said:

I doubt that.  The Galiridis(sp?) wouldn't have moved this franchise had they bought it instead of the Aqulinni's.  As much as I hate Bettman even I don't think he's heartless and clueless enough to endorse Canada's western most franchise to relocate to the states, even it was to Seattle. 

Might. No one has any idea as to what the Gaglardis would have done had they bought the team. Seeing as how the previous owner was from Seattle, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the league might have considered it.

 

That being said, the Aquilinis have nearly tripled the net worth of the Canucks since buying the team. They have done well with it, and will continue to do so. They are invested owners who are also ardent fans of the team, so I think in the end, the main goal is to bring the Cup to the city, rather than half-assed first round exits.

 

[PhillipBlunt]

3 minutes ago, zimmy said:

How is bringing in 3 bottom six forwards akin to fast tracking? You would think Trevor would totally support the idea that there would be healthy competition for positions on this this team. Apart from the LE signing I don't see much evidence of fast tracking but rather stop gap measures to allow the next generation of Canucks the luxury of time to evolve into roster spots. Isn't this what they are attempting to do? Have either Trevor or Ownership indicated that they were at odds with this path? 

How I see it, is that Benning has realized that they needed to fully support the new wave of young, skilled players coming on to the team. His acquisitions this July, and the re-signing of Gudbranson send a message that the youth will not only be served, but will be protected as well. These players will make a difference in the psychological approach the team has going forward.

 

This is no longer the Sedins team. There is no more turning the other cheek.

[D-Money]

I think this week's events have answered the question with a resounding "yes".

 

This team isn't ready to compete for anything yet. A couple more years of stockpiling youth is required.

[Gator]

Let's trade Boeser, Pettersson, Virtanen, Demko, Dahlen, and Hughes and get a powerhouse for next year. Screw waiting 1-2 years to be on the upswing with the amazing young talent we have. Lets sell high on them and go for the cup this year!!

[zimmy]

5 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

How I see it, is that Benning has realized that they needed to fully support the new wave of young, skilled players coming on to the team. His acquisitions this July, and the re-signing of Gudbranson send a message that the youth will not only be served, but will be protected as well. These players will make a difference in the psychological approach the team has going forward.

 

This is no longer the Sedins team. There is no more turning the other cheek.

This is now the clear direction of the team and it is welcomed, but I'm convinced it's lost on many who frequent these pages. 

[Tre Mac]

1 minute ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Might. No one has any idea as to what the Gaglardis would have done had they bought the team. Seeing as how the previous owner was from Seattle, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the league might have considered it.

 

That being said, the Aquilinis have nearly tripled the net worth of the Canucks since buying the team. They have done well with it, and will continue to do so. They are invested owners who are also ardent fans of the team, so I think in the end, the main goal is to bring the Cup to the city, rather than half-assed first round exits.

 

I don't question that the Aqulinni's want a cup as much as any die hard fan, but as owners they have to let the hockey execs. do their job and not alter the vision/plan otherwise they just might make things worse regardless of their good intentions.  I know it doesn't help things when they see owners like Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones have success with a more hands on approach.

[MJDDawg]

They are strong, local owners and that's a good thing.

 

They also spent to the max year after year, when the team was good and were charging some of the highest ticket prices in the entire league.

 

Can't say they failed this team at all. BUT...

 

There's been rumors and conspiracy theories for years that ownership was meddling in and micro-managing team management. I'm not sure there's direct proof of this but let's assume that yes that has been an issue in the past, then where I see ownership hurting the team is in the direct or indirect pressure that team management might feel in making player moves and overall decision making.  Rumors were/are that Mike Gillis wanted to begin the rebuild in 2013 but was prevented from doing so by the slumlord. Did this hurt the team. DAMN RIGHTS it's hurt the team and the team is still paying the price.

 

Now this is only one example, but there are many stories out there about their meddling. For example, I believe that Benning was hired BECAUSE it was his first GM job and IMO, this would allow the slumlord to have greater influence on him in day to day decisions.

 

Will reporting directly to the slumlord impact Benning's decision making? Unlikely on the draft side of the business, but in player moves and decision I can't help but see how it couldn't affect Benning's short and long term decision making and planning if he believes he has to please the owner and worry about his job security in the short term.

 

[PhillipBlunt]

2 minutes ago, Tre Mac said:

I don't question that the Aqulinni's want a cup as much as any die hard fan, but as owners they have to let the hockey execs. do their job and not alter the vision/plan otherwise they just might make things worse regardless of their good intentions.  I know it doesn't help things when they see owners like Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones have success with a more hands on approach.

Fair enough.

[Qwags]

If anyone has failed the team, it's the media. It takes a certain level of talent to consistently make stories out of nothing.

[PhillipBlunt]

2 minutes ago, Qwags said:

If anyone has failed the team, it's the media. It takes a certain level of talent to consistently make stories out of nothing.

Without a doubt, the most negative influence on the fandom are the excremental parasites that write drivel regarding this team.

[Rick Blight]

28 minutes ago, Tre Mac said:

I doubt that.  The Galiridis(sp?) wouldn't have moved this franchise had they bought it instead of the Aqulinni's.  As much as I hate Bettman even I don't think he's heartless and clueless enough to endorse Canada's western most franchise to relocate to the states, even it was to Seattle. 

 

I was young at the time but the Griffin's(sp?) seem pretty well respected in the lower mainland when they owned the Nucks. 

They were widely respected but were also considered to be very frugal. Frank Griffiths bailed the team out when the previous ownership ran into legal problems and was widely appreciated for bringing local Canadian ownership to the franchise. However, he had difficulty in hiring good hockey people to run the organization. He brought Bill Hughes with him from CKNW to be the President of the Canucks and Bill acknowledged that he knew little about the game other than that gained from being a fan.

 

Interesting tidbit - Hughes actually tried to hire Scotty Bowman to run the team as GM but Scotty wanted to coach as well and the Canucks would not accept that offer.

 

"Before settling on Milford as GM, Bill Hughes - who was the CEO of the Canucks for nine years during the early Frank Griffiths years and the vice president of Western Broadcasting Limited - targeted legendary Montreal Canadiens bench boss Scotty Bowman for the role.

Bowman, who would leave the Canadiens two years later to join the Buffalo Sabres organization, was apparently very serious about the possibility.But the deal fell apart because the Canucks were not looking for someone to be both a GM and a coach. They wanted Bowman for his executive skills."

 

[AV.]

Typically, you (should) spend less on players and cap when it's clear your team won't make the playoffs to negate the loss of revenue from no playoffs.

 

On the surface, we don't seem to get that as an organization.

 

So, it's everybody's fault, IMO.

[PhillipBlunt]

3 minutes ago, Rick Blight said:

They were widely respected but were also considered to be very frugal. Frank Griffiths bailed the team out when the previous ownership ran into legal problems and was widely appreciated for bringing local Canadian ownership to the franchise. However, he had difficulty in hiring good hockey people to run the organization. He brought Bill Hughes with him from CKNW to be the President of the Canucks and Bill acknowledged that he knew little about the game other than that gained from being a fan.

 

Interesting tidbit - Hughes actually tried to hire Scotty Bowman to run the team as GM but Scotty wanted to coach as well and the Canucks would not accept that offer.

 

"Before settling on Milford as GM, Bill Hughes - who was the CEO of the Canucks for nine years during the early Frank Griffiths years and the vice president of Western Broadcasting Limited - targeted legendary Montreal Canadiens bench boss Scotty Bowman for the role.

Bowman, who would leave the Canadiens two years later to join the Buffalo Sabres organization, was apparently very serious about the possibility.But the deal fell apart because the Canucks were not looking for someone to be both a GM and a coach. They wanted Bowman for his executive skills."

 

I never knew this. My goodness. Imagine what Bowman would have done here.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

If current ownership didn't own the team, it might not be here.

Problem is the arena - which even now probably still holds alot value.  What would this asset be worth with no major tenant?  (the occasional concerts don't really count).  As well as the property around the arena (which I assume is also owned by them).

 

 

[Rick Blight]

Just now, PhillipBlunt said:

I never knew this. My goodness. Imagine what Bowman would have done here.

Google " 100 things Canucks fans should know and do before they die"......many interesting pieces on the history of the Canucks.

[DSVII]

1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Is there actual verifiable proof that the Aquilinis were involved in any of that in a micromanaging level? All of those moves were done by Gillis and Benning respectively.

 

I'm not taking up a "defend ownership" mantle, by the way, I just want to know if there is any proof or if the bolded being the work of ownership is more rampant speculation by the local media.

Not really, but it's more of the "when there's smoke there's fire" speculation. When this isn't the first regime we've heard of reports of ownership meddling from several media sources, there's something going on.

 

Even in the most media saturated markets like Toronto/Montreal (where they criticize players eating hot dogs and not speaking rench), how often do those ownership groups make the headlines compared to the Aqualinis? I kinda take it like this, if ownership or people who should be behind the scenes starts making the headlines, something is going on (Edmonton/Ottawa).

 

Again, if you ever need definitive proof, we'll most likely never get it because it's behind closed doors and there's non-disclosure agreements from former employees, so we work with what we have. There's never going to be 100% transparency, to demand it as proof just communicates how set in your stance you are.

 

I'll also state, because we've sadly come to this point in our discourse as a fanbase and community (on the pro/anti management side), that I don't mean to say my viewpoint is more correct than yours, or that we're any more or less of a fan of this team, just my take on it

[PhillipBlunt]

4 minutes ago, DSVII said:

Not really, but it's more of the "when there's smoke there's fire" speculation. When this isn't the first regime we've heard of reports of ownership meddling from several media sources, there's something going on. Even in the most media saturated markets like Toronto/Montreal, how often do we hear about those ownership groups compared to the Aqualinis? I kinda take it like this, if ownership or people who should be behind the scenes starts making the headlines, something is going on (Edmonton/Ottawa).

 

Again, if you ever need definitive proof, we'll most likely never get it, so we work with what we have. 

 

I'll also state, because we've sadly come to this point in our discourse as a fanbase and community (on the pro/anti management side), that I don't mean to say my viewpoint is more correct than yours, or that we're any more or less of a fan of this team, just my take on it

I understand where you're coming from, but I can't buy into speculation.

[TimberWolf]

there is no reason to believe that Benning, Linden and ownership were not all on the same page at the start

 

Gillis wanted to rebuild and was fired and it's far more likely the owners hire more like minded people to replace him.

[JM_]

No.

 

Aqulini has shown he'll spend to the cap, hire whatever specialists a GM wants, and Benning says he's not a meddler and I think by now people know they can take Jims word on things.

 

We have an interesting situation that other teams don't, we can see what a potential owner would have done with Gaglardi and his running of Dallas. They haven't achieved anything more than we have and a peek at their prospect pool shows how much farther ahead we are. 

[Nuxfanabroad]

 It's time for succinct clarity: Trev(bless his heart) was running bags of money to aging supermodels for a high-profile, US politician(coupla' Surrey girls too)..bit off more than he could chew, as it were.

 

When Try-man disrespected Willie, Trev slapped him around, suggesting he'd be "swimming with the fishes" in surprisingly broken Russian. NT often saw him biking 'round town with a Marley sparked up. Stewed in the hypocrisy..

 

Putin caught rancid wind of these deeds, having hired Try for a high-placement KGB-gig in a Siberian outpost. This mostly precipitated the Helsinki-summit, becoming the 'elephant in the room' ultimatum, where Trump had to cut his alliance with Trev. Pavel might be sneaking in the team's back door, & don't be surprised if Goldy-valuations suddenly surge.

 

Back in the 'Hat, Willie D is stubbornly tearing at his moustache; & it's been revealed that (the OTHER Linden..Vey) has blown his cover as a double-agent(more to follow)...