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Report: Canucks fire assistant GM Chris Gear and analytics director Jonathan Wall

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Dazzle

By Dazzle
in Canucks Talk

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Elias Pettersson Canucks All-Star

Elias Pettersson

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2 hours ago, davidgoliath said:

No way is that Aqua. That fell under Rutherford’s jurisdiction as soon as he was hired and from what we have heard he is very protective of his jurisdiction. But what is puzzling is how Rutherford made the determinations that these two should be fired without setting foot here, Were there some serious black marks against them that made it obvious they should be fired? It just seems harsh and without due diligence at this point.

He has his own guys so he doesn't need to determine anything really.  He will work with the people he is comfortable with and knows.  Very simple.  

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King Heffy Canucks Hall-of-Famer

King Heffy

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2 minutes ago, Timråfan said:

Evaluate players? Isn’t Gillis the guy that got all the complimentary players ?

Drafting is an entirarely different aspect. 

His trading was absolutely horrific, and he his drafting was historically awful. He trusted the anayltics dweebs because he lacked the necessary skillset to work effectively with the staff who actually understood the game.  Gillis clearly wasn't qualified to manage an NHL team, and there is a reason no one has been stupid enough to hire that idiot for asny hockey-related position.

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4petesake Canucks First-Line

4petesake

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1 hour ago, DeltaSwede said:

Not missing much either. Trying to think of what "sträv - (swedish)" would be in english - it's kinda dry and rough in terms of mouth feel? Not a fan. 

 

Anyways, throwing another thing out in this thread.

 

Chris Gear - 12 years with the organization?

Jonathan Wall - 20 years with the organization?

 

Maybe it was the other way around - I mean we barely even hear about these guys. 

 

Sometimes you've just been in a place for too long and it's time for a set of fresh eyes. Healthy view by an organization looking to turn a corner. 

 

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Elias Pettersson Canucks All-Star

Elias Pettersson

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1 hour ago, DefCon1 said:

JR is president so he can fire everyone at this point. I thought you people wanted to clean house. This is what we call cleaning the house.

It's amazing really.  People want change and when it happens they are upset at the firings.  What did people expect if Aquilini goes out and hires a President like everyone wanted?  Did people think this new President would just keep the same staff?  Not even the Sedins are safe at this point.  Aquilini fired Trevor Linden.  So there is precedent.  Smyl is just a company man and close to retirement, so they will keep him around until he can collect his full pension.  As for the Sedins, unless they actually contribute in some way there is no reason why Rutherford would keep them around.

 

Guess what folks.  The country club is now officially over.  Apparently this is what people wanted.  So you got what you wanted. Don't be upset now if you are not happy with the changes.  Throwing a jersey onto the ice and flying airplanes over Rogers Arena won't work this time.  

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Timråfan Canucks Second-Line

Timråfan

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6 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

His trading was absolutely horrific, and he his drafting was historically awful. He trusted the anayltics dweebs because he lacked the necessary skillset to work effectively with the staff who actually understood the game.  Gillis clearly wasn't qualified to manage an NHL team, and there is a reason no one has been stupid enough to hire that idiot for asny hockey-related position.

Get a grip… Understand that a GM MUST rely on the info his employees give him. 
If Gillis was bad at something it was the personnel that was the problem. 
Can you understand that FACT?

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PhillipBlunt Canucks Hall-of-Famer

PhillipBlunt

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5 minutes ago, Jack Fig said:

Blunt, I was once the same, but one bad night out now affects me for about 6 weeks afterwards. 

I’ll hear you, Fig. I try to have only good nights out. Not always the case though. 

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King Heffy Canucks Hall-of-Famer

King Heffy

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21 minutes ago, Timråfan said:

Get a grip… Understand that a GM MUST rely on the info his employees give him. 
If Gillis was bad at something it was the personnel that was the problem. 
Can you understand that FACT?

And Gillis lacked the ability to properly evaluate his personnel because he was not qualified for the position.

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SilentSam Canucks All-Star

SilentSam

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5 hours ago, Dazzle said:

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/canucks-hockey/report-canucks-fire-assistant-gm-chris-gear-and-analytics-director-jonathan-wall-4852677

 

The two employees had been with the Canucks for 11+ and 20+ years, respectively.
Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
Dec 10, 2021 11:56 AM
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Chris-Gear-scaled Chris Gear in happier times as legal counsel for the Canucks.Jeff Vinnick / Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are not done making changes to their front office.

Less than a week after letting GM Jim Benning and assistant GM John Weisbrod go — and just one day after hiring new president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford — the Canucks have made further changes. 

As first reported by The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, the Canucks have “dismissed” assistant GM Chris Gear and executive director of hockey operations Jonathan Wall.

 

Gear had only just recently been promoted to assistant GM in 2020 after nine years of working as legal counsel for Canucks Sports and Entertainment. He was well-regarded for both his work on the legal side of things but also in hockey operations, as he structured contracts and managed the salary cap. 

Wall had been with the team for over 20 years, starting with tasks like watching video — literal video on VHS tapes — and manually tracking scoring chances. Over the course of two decades, his role grew until he was managing the Canucks’ analytics team as the director of hockey operations.

Beyond just analytics, Wall was heavily involved in many other areas of hockey operations, including working with Gear to keep the Canucks under the salary cap given the contracts signed by Benning. 

Both Gear and Wall had done yeoman’s work in recent years with a skeleton crew in hockey operations, filling in gaps beyond their stated responsibilities.

The two dismissals are surprising, particularly the timing. Gear and Wall had both worked under multiple management groups and could have been expected to continue under Rutherford. The team's analytics team, for instance, likely needs to be expanded to match other top teams in the NHL rather than contracted.

More intriguingly, Rutherford isn’t even in Vancouver yet. He isn’t expected to arrive until Sunday, so it’s surprising to see two significant changes made before he arrives and speaks to the existing management team and staff.

Of course, a new president of hockey operations could be expected to bring in his own people for two significant roles — capologist and director of analytics. Still, the Canucks just lost two of their most respected employees in hockey operations.

 

 

Why? I don't get why these two are fired. Rutherford is pretty ruthless lol. But I guess these people weren't that good to begin with in the eyes of a VERY well established man.

Let’s just blame the Tryamkin debacle on them. devil smile GIF by Rafahu

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