Season Post-Mortem

[vadim sharifijanov]

Speaking of Gillis, he should be getting another job anytime now, shouldn't he?

I would have thought teams would be lining up to hire this genius, new-wave innovator?

well, he did take a pay cut from his lucrative agency to take this job, and he's getting paid out to do nothing and coach his daughter's field hockey team, so i doubt after the crapstorm that was working for the aquilinis he was going to consider the pittsburgh job last year, or the edmonton job that chiarelli just took.

 

[VanJack]

Man-o-Man....Benning must be feeling a little sick watching the Ducks do a number on Calgary....sorry fans, but the 'Flameouts' just aren't a very good hockey team....no way we should have bowed to them in six....exposed all kinds of holes on this team that have to be addressed.

 

[Catch]

President should be, more or less, a PR gig. You have to be smart enough to hire the right guys under you and trust them and smart enough not to interfere but it is mostly a PR thing.

So I can see Linden. He's a folk hero and rightfully so. The problem comes in that I think not only is Linden providing input and approving hockey moves but so to is ownership. And that last thing is the root of the issues that surround this team. Ownership wants to be the general manager and coach. Ownership wants to give friends and idols jobs.

It took the better part of a decade for Katz to realize that is not how you do things. I wonder how long it takes the Aquilini's.

I'm curious to what moves this season the Aquilini's were obviously involved in?
Any examples? I'm not being cheeky, nothing big really sticks out in mind.
One thing the Aquilini's probably demanded was that this team plays a more exciting style and makes the playoffs to bring back fans and drive revenues. As for actual moves, I think Linden and Benning worked as a team to achieve goals put forth by ownership (which I think is what is expected from an organization.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Man-o-Man....Benning must be feeling a little sick watching the Ducks do a number on Calgary....sorry fans, but the 'Flameouts' just aren't a very good hockey team....no way we should have bowed to them in six....exposed all kinds of holes on this team that have to be addressed.

i'm sure the canucks brass is well aware, about the holes this current roster has. however their prerogative is to get younger, while staying as competitive as possible. winning a cup has nothing to do with it. odds are they will trade markstrom for a pick, and may look at moving one of bieksa or hamhius.

 

[iceburg]

Man-o-Man....Benning must be feeling a little sick watching the Ducks do a number on Calgary....sorry fans, but the 'Flameouts' just aren't a very good hockey team....no way we should have bowed to them in six....exposed all kinds of holes on this team that have to be addressed.

There are a small handful of teams built for the playoffs - Anaheim is one of them. LA is another. Once they flip the switch to playoff mode, they are incredibly tough to play against because they are both physical and skilled. And most importantly the players that are physical are the ones that are skilled.
Calgary has the physicality but not the skill to match
Vancouver has the skill but not the physicality.

 

[VanJack]

There are a small handful of teams built for the playoffs - Anaheim is one of them. LA is another. Once they flip the switch to playoff mode, they are incredibly tough to play against because they are both physical and skilled. And most importantly the players that are physical are the ones that are skilled.
Calgary has the physicality but not the skill to match
Vancouver has the skill but not the physicality.

Seems to me Vancouver had the skill, but not the 'will' to beat a team that on paper was worse than they were....something to keep in mind when JB insists that everyone, even those with NTC's, are in play...and they should be.

 

[iceburg]

Seems to me Vancouver had the skill, but not the 'will' to beat a team that on paper was worse than they were....something to keep in mind when JB insists that everyone, even those with NTC's, are in play...and they should be.

Let's face it. Vancouver was overwhelmed by the physicality/will of Calgary which clearly trumped any skill advantage that the Canucks may have had. Even a guy like Bennett showed a will that was absent from Vancouver. The only guy who was comparable in that category was Horvat. For whatever reason, the Canucks have developed a losing attitude - which is characterized by a lack of will to win. So, yeah, I agree.

 

[Pavel96]

In a way I'd be a little scared of Gillis as gm of another team.

 

[Hammer79]

and ffs, kesler is gonna win a cup isn't he. i just know it.

it'll suck cuz of the way he left town, but deep down inside i think i'll be happy for him. maybe. i won't know for sure until i see him lift it.

You know, I don't really get the Kesler hate in our fanbase. Maybe fans hate to admit it, but he was right. There was no reason for him to stick around for a rebuild. Clearly we weren't close to competing for a cup, even with him in the line-up. I suppose we can be mad that his agent played hardball, but hey, he took a discount on his contract to pay for that NTC. He earned his right to choose the way he left town and where. I won't have any problems with him winning a cup.

My only issue with Anaheim is that they've won recently, and the LA market has had more than its fair share of success. The only teams left that haven't ever won are the Capitals and Wild, so I'll be cheering for them. I think it'll be Anaheim-NY Rangers though.

 

[iceburg]

You know, I don't really get the Kesler hate in our fanbase. Maybe fans hate to admit it, but he was right. There was no reason for him to stick around for a rebuild. Clearly we weren't close to competing for a cup, even with him in the line-up. I suppose we can be mad that his agent played hardball, but hey, he took a discount on his contract to pay for that NTC. He earned his right to choose the way he left town and where. I won't have any problems with him winning a cup.

My only issue with Anaheim is that they've won recently, and the LA market has had more than its fair share of success. The only teams left that haven't ever won are the Capitals and Wild, so I'll be cheering for them. I think it'll be Anaheim-NY Rangers though.

Two things fans don't like:
1. Leaving a sinking ship rather than helping to bail shows poor character.
2. The smirk on his face as he was leaving.

 

[RandV]

I'm curious to what moves this season the Aquilini's were obviously involved in?
Any examples? I'm not being cheeky, nothing big really sticks out in mind.
One thing the Aquilini's probably demanded was that this team plays a more exciting style and makes the playoffs to bring back fans and drive revenues. As for actual moves, I think Linden and Benning worked as a team to achieve goals put forth by ownership (which I think is what is expected from an organization.

At this point you can't really separate what Aquilini wanted vs what Benning wanted. But there are two things that stand out to me.

1. When the Gillis to Kesler trade reportedly got shut down by 'the family', rumours were that Gillis went back asking for Bonino which caused the deal to fall apart. In comes Benning, and Bonino remains the primary target.

2. Starting last summer teams were allowed to talk with free agents a week before July 1st. During that time Miller and wife came to Vancouver and had dinner with Aquilini.

Doesn't really mean Aquilini was interfering with the operation of the team again, but at the very least the acquisitions of Bonino and Miller seem to be in line with what he wanted.

 

[Jyrki21]

Two things fans don't like:
1. Leaving a sinking ship rather than helping to bail shows poor character.
2. The smirk on his face as he was leaving.

3. Making it near-impossible to grant his trade request by limiting the destinations to one.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

The Flames getting their **** pushed in is good for the future of this team. It shows Benning that standing pat is not going to be enough.

 

[Ernie]

3. Making it near-impossible to grant his trade request by limiting the destinations to one.

Biggest reason for me is because he talked **** about Vancouver to his Olympic teammates and then swore up and down that he didn't. As soon as the season ends we find out the truth.

 

[Hammer79]

3. Making it near-impossible to grant his trade request by limiting the destinations to one.

3. If we wanted to get fair market value in a trade, we shouldn't have under-paid him in exchange for a NTC. Blame Gillis for that one, not Kesler.

Two things fans don't like:
1. Leaving a sinking ship rather than helping to bail shows poor character.
2. The smirk on his face as he was leaving.

1. Kesler isn't getting any younger. Besides, what did he owe the franchise?
2. I'd be happy too if I was going from a rebuild (or major retool) to a contender.

 

[Hammer79]

Biggest reason for me is because he talked **** about Vancouver to his Olympic teammates and then swore up and down that he didn't. As soon as the season ends we find out the truth.

About the city or the team? He was on a Tortorella coached team at the time. As for the city, he wasn't born and raised here, he's American. Who cares what he thinks. This Kesler hate is just sour grapes because it reminds us how far off our peak this franchise has fallen.

 

[RandV]

That's the thing about Gillis. The people who were the most supportive of him at the beginning are now the most critical of Linden.

That's not a coincidence. Gillis may have made a few PR mistakes early, but he always sounded like a very smart man with a clear strategy to make the team a contender. He had a vision for what a modern sports franchise looked like and he delivered on it.

Linden and Benning both sounded like dummies from the beginning. And now their actions are dumb actions. Their outlook is stuck in an era long gone.

To be more specific, going into that offseason the fanbase was pretty well split on Nonis. One side wanted him gone, the other thought he'd had his hands tied by the cap and this was the summer to show what he could do. The team was more or less the same as the one that did good the prior season, we had just been hit by a **** ton of injuries. And while the contract wasn't inked yet he did just manage to snag the highly coveted Swedish 'free pospect' UFA Fabian Brunnstrom.

Then without warning he gets fired, Aquaman appears on television sounding like a complete idiot going on about 'missing the playoffs 2/3 years' and 'unacceptable'. So for a week or two there we were looking like a gong show, the Brunnstrom deal was off, and then Gillis was hired who was a relative unknown. But once Gillis got to work he quickly earned universal praise & support. By the time the season started no one cared about Dave Nonis or Fabian Brunnstrom anymore.

 

[iceburg]

3. If we wanted to get fair market value in a trade, we shouldn't have under-paid him in exchange for a NTC. Blame Gillis for that one, not Kesler.



1. Kesler isn't getting any younger. Besides, what did he owe the franchise?
2. I'd be happy too if I was going from a rebuild (or major retool) to a contender.

What it showed (and I appreciate the points from other posters: his demand for one destination and his olympic comments) is that he never gave a crap about the city. Fans can tolerate a lot of things, lack of skill, stupid mistakes etc. A couple of things they cannot tolerate when they are investing their money and time to support a franchise is 1: lack of effort, and 2. egotistical rich athletes that show no loyalty or concern for the fans and franchise they so loyally support.
Publicly Jim Benning said it best when he said that the team doesn't want players who don't want to be here. I'm sure he was thinking what a lot of fans were thinking - don't let the door hit you in the arse as you're leaving.

 

[arsmaster*]

3. Making it near-impossible to grant his trade request by limiting the destinations to one.

Benning caved to overhardt and bob Murray without waiting for a single leverage point on their side.

I don't hate kesler.

I'm with hammer79. It's sour grapes.

Nobody hates Bure.

 

[Barney Gumble]

Nobody hates Bure.

Gilis never tried the old "currency switcheroo" on Kesler's contract.

 

[Ernie]

A lot of people hated Bure for a very long time until the facts started coming out.

I can't see any evidence that Vancouver treated Kesler with anything but fairness.

 

[MikeK]

A lot of people hated Bure for a very long time until the facts started coming out.

I can't see any evidence that Vancouver treated Kesler with anything but fairness.

Agreed.

 

[SillyRabbit]

At this point you can't really separate what Aquilini wanted vs what Benning wanted. But there are two things that stand out to me.

1. When the Gillis to Kesler trade reportedly got shut down by 'the family', rumours were that Gillis went back asking for Bonino which caused the deal to fall apart. In comes Benning, and Bonino remains the primary target.

2. Starting last summer teams were allowed to talk with free agents a week before July 1st. During that time Miller and wife came to Vancouver and had dinner with Aquilini.

Doesn't really mean Aquilini was interfering with the operation of the team again, but at the very least the acquisitions of Bonino and Miller seem to be in line with what he wanted.

At this point, is there really any more proof needed that the Aquilini's only care about selling season tickets and collecting first round playoff revenue?

The clear mandate is:

Ice a competitive team that will attract fans
Make the playoffs

Which is all fine and dandy until you realize that this Canucks team has no chance of getting out of the first round and our future is not as bright as many people think it is.

If we're actually interested in building a Stanley Cup caliber team, we have to accept a few losing years in order to re-stock with elite youth. It's next to impossible to do it otherwise (unless you're Detroit and draft two HHOF'ers in the late rounds - which wouldn't happen today anyway since the rest of the league has caught on and improved their scouting tremendously).

 

[racerjoe]

At this point, is there really any more proof needed that the Aquilini's only care about selling season tickets and collecting first round playoff revenue?

The clear mandate is:

Ice a competitive team that will attract fans
Make the playoffs

Which is all fine and dandy until you realize that this Canucks team has no chance of getting out of the first round and our future is not as bright as many people think it is.

If we're actually interested in building a Stanley Cup caliber team, we have to accept a few losing years in order to re-stock with elite youth. It's next to impossible to do it otherwise (unless you're Detroit and draft two HHOF'ers in the late rounds - which wouldn't happen today anyway since the rest of the league has caught on and improved their scouting tremendously).

Hey, it is/was three HHOF ers. Lidstrom Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

I mostly agree, but I can see a world where we can be competitive for another few years, and get our guys valuable experience. Then the twins retire, we bottom out for two years and comeback ready to win.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Benning caved to overhardt and bob Murray without waiting for a single leverage point on their side.

I don't hate kesler.

I'm with hammer79. It's sour grapes.

Nobody hates Bure.

Nobody who didn't watch and follow closely at the time hates Bure. Bure was my absolute favorite player but after all of that I just feel an uncomfortable ambivalence towards him. The jersey retiring was nice, but it shouldn't have happened.