i agree with the first part. it is not realistic to think he could be blackballed simply because of the old boy's club didn't like him if he is as good as you think he is. an owner would take a chance on a guy that good at his job.
i just don't see how you draw the inference this must mean he "most likely" doesn't want a job though. it doesn't follow. it is at least as likely that he is not as good as you think he is, meaning that there are genuine behind the scene issues that impact on his employability that scare off other owners.
the fact you and a couple of other posters here vigorously ignore or denounce this option b is ridiculous. it's just you being fanbois of gillis in a way you relentlessly mock and discredit people being fanbois for the canucks.
all hardcore hockey fans know there are a lot of known unknowns that get in the way of forming definitive views about events, especially off ice. how honestly you deal with those gaps in your database rather than letting your biases and preferences run away with you is what matters.
He has literally repeated said he wasn't interested in leaving the area and would only take a perfect job opportunity if it presented itself. How is this not hard to figure out? If he wanted back in, he would have marketed himself ... which he did for the Seattle job.
The notion that a guy who won 5 division titles in 6 years and built the most dominant team in the last decade of this league is somehow so 'unemployable' he can't even get an interview in a league where certified morons like Jim Benning and Don Waddell have jobs is ridiculous. And doesn't line up with any of the evidence.
You're just inventing a 'nobody wants him because he's bad' narrative when all the facts and evidence including multiple quotes from Gillis himself indicate that he isn't employed because he doesn't want to be, or only wants to be in very specific situations with total control.
The likely truth: Gillis took some time away from hockey but is now looking to get back in. However, his personal reputation is not as great as some people think it is and he's probably a bit picky about the situation. There is no anti-Gillis cabal but no owner is eager to offer him a job that meets his terms.
Yeah, there may be an argument that just in the last few months he's gotten itchy to get back in - he's been doing a lot more media spots and campaigned for the Seattle job.
For the previous 5 years, he clearly wasn't. The guy was burned out and looked like death when he left here, and was clearly in zero rush to put himself back in that position.
He's also been very clear that he would want total autonomy which not many organizations would be willing to give.
