What happened to management's policy of keeping team affairs private?

[Shorthander]

Mike Gillis used to wear a poker face to every interview and give up very little in terms of internal team information to the media. But lately, we've seen a complete reversal on this trend where practically yelled from the mountain tops that Luongo was available. Yes, it was common knowledge that Luongo was being shopped but the team could've simply claimed that they were "exploring all options" and that "no player is untradeable if it will make the team better".

Another example of this was Gillis publicly criticizing Cody Hodgson after shipping him out of town. It reeks of an attempt to pacify the fanbase after an unpopular trade, but that should not be Gillis' concern. Fans and media will ALWAYS be critical of the GM, and it's not his job to be popular - just to run the team in the best way possible.

I can't tell if Gillis lost his mind after losing game 7 or if ownership is too hands on and he is trying to justify decisions that ultimately weren't made by him.

Click to read more...

 

[y2kcanucks]

Mike Gillis used to wear a poker face to every interview and give up very little in terms of internal team information to the media. But lately, we've seen a complete reversal on this trend where practically yelled from the mountain tops that Luongo was available. Yes, it was common knowledge that Luongo was being shopped but the team could've simply claimed that they were "exploring all options" and that "no player is untradeable if it will make the team better".

Another example of this was Gillis publicly criticizing Cody Hodgson after shipping him out of town. It reeks of an attempt to pacify the fanbase after an unpopular trade, but that should not be Gillis' concern. Fans and media will ALWAYS be critical of the GM, and it's not his job to be popular - just to run the team in the best way possible.

I can't tell if Gillis lost his mind after losing game 7 or if ownership is too hands on and he is trying to justify decisions that ultimately weren't made by him.

Some of Gillis's moves have been questionable at best, so perhaps he feels the need to justify them?

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Yes, it was common knowledge that Luongo was being shopped but the team could've simply claimed that they were "exploring all options" and that "no player is untradeable if it will make the team better".

errrrr I believe he said both of those multiple times during the goalie debacle. It really was blatantly obvious Luongo was supposed to be traded though so, what was he to do?

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

That went out the window when public doubts about the Sedins being the guys to build the team around got out.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

I blame social media.

and AV.

and Hockey Widow.

 

[Nash]

Public scrutiny and continual media coverage will generally result in someone finally cracking and saying something. In the case of Luongo, he was painted into a corner by Roberto himself. The comments Luongo made at the end of two seasons ago made this a huge national story. Gillis likes to have silent negotiations. I don't know if he is like Lamorello, in that any leak kills a deal, but he lost that leverage here. Something might have been much easier to get done on the trade front without everyone weighing in and having those opinions sway value. I feel that other teams were using the media for leverage against him and he tried to stay quiet for a long time. By the time he started stating his case on why Luongo was still a tradeable commodity, the script was written and rehashed so many times, his version had no influence on public opinion.

Staying quiet and trying to take the upper ground doesn't seem to be noble anymore. A story leaks through social media and mainstream media and if you don't address it quickly, by the time you do, people think all you are doing is damage control.

 

[Nine to Five]

I think this is something worth discussing. You should just edit Luongo out of the first post because he's a unique situation.

Hodgson? Bad-mouthed immediately upon trade
Ballard? Strongly hinted there was something else that happening that led to him being bought out. (I forget the exact quote but he said it on the radio)

Seems very un-gillis like. Even if you consider he started off his tenure by saying the Sedins weren't players to build around.

 

[Shorthander]

I think this is something worth discussing. You should just edit Luongo out of the first post because he's a unique situation.

I'm not saying that it was possible to make people believe Luongo wasn't on the block. But regardless of how obvious it is, I just don't think the team should ever publicly state that they are actively trying to move a player.

 

[BoHorvatFan]

I really wish we could go a season without our GM creating some type of circus, whether it's with a forward or a goalie or CBC or the refs it just never ends under this regime.

A year of no drama please, just play the game and try to improve our terrible image.

 

[GetFocht]

I don't think you guys realize that most of the news out there is just speculation created by the media.

The media is creating this circus and the reason is because Canucks are one of the top teams in the league for the last 4 years.

Have you listened to Gillis doing interviews? He doesn't give the slightest clue of what he is up to, he answers questions based on how to avoid a direct answer.

my advice is to just get used to it, it comes with the territory of a cup contending team something we haven't been familiar with for a long time. If you want a team with no media circus, then cheer for Florida.

I also blame twitter, people accept anything that is said as gospel.

 

[StilesBC]

Agreed. It will always be a circus here. As long as there is a journalist with something to gain by speculating crap, there will be a circus. In a big market for hockey, that will always be the case.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

I think this is something worth discussing. You should just edit Luongo out of the first post because he's a unique situation.

Hodgson? Bad-mouthed immediately upon trade
Ballard? Strongly hinted there was something else that happening that led to him being bought out. (I forget the exact quote but he said it on the radio)

Seems very un-gillis like. Even if you consider he started off his tenure by saying the Sedins weren't players to build around.

Don't cite **** then not post the reference.

It's a perfect way to turn this fanbase into a bigger pack of idiots than it already is. I have listened to most, if not all his radio interviews (on 1040 anyway) and have not heard one iota of indication there was any issue with Ballard other than he wasn't meeting expectations for his salary.

 

[Kip96]

The media makes up so much BS (*cough*cough TSN *cough*cough)
I think Gillis feels he has to set the record straight.

I do agree that the keeping affairs private is the best way to go

 

[mrbitterguy]

part of this is an emperor's clothes thing. gillis came in selling a new era of forward thinking management, all money puck and sleep doctors and mind rooms. the team had success so people bought into it. lately his mistakes have been piling up around him making it obvious that he isn't the genius wunderkind that he projects himself to be. people aren't buying the ******** as much and don't feel the same loyalty/deference to him and don't mind leaking behind the scenes stuff when it makes him look like more of a fool.

 

[mrbitterguy]

Don't cite **** then not post the reference.

It's a perfect way to turn this fanbase into a bigger pack of idiots than it already is. I have listened to most, if not all his radio interviews (on 1040 anyway) and have not heard one iota of indication there was any issue with Ballard other than he wasn't meeting expectations for his salary.

it was the bmac interview gillis did a couple days ago and he said that it would be improper to go into further detail about why ballard didn't work out. there was some subtext there that is tough to parse. ballard discussion starts at 28:00ish.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

Mike Gillis used to wear a poker face to every interview and give up very little in terms of internal team information to the media. But lately, we've seen a complete reversal on this trend where practically yelled from the mountain tops that Luongo was available. Yes, it was common knowledge that Luongo was being shopped but the team could've simply claimed that they were "exploring all options" and that "no player is untradeable if it will make the team better".

Another example of this was Gillis publicly criticizing Cody Hodgson after shipping him out of town. It reeks of an attempt to pacify the fanbase after an unpopular trade, but that should not be Gillis' concern. Fans and media will ALWAYS be critical of the GM, and it's not his job to be popular - just to run the team in the best way possible.

I can't tell if Gillis lost his mind after losing game 7 or if ownership is too hands on and he is trying to justify decisions that ultimately weren't made by him.

Gillis didn't say anything that wasn't true. He tells it very much how it is. And not with subjective topics or anecdotes. And if it was indeed true that he spent more time on Cody Hodgson issues than anyone else's; I think it's the PERFECT way to illustrate to people why he was traded.

When I heard that, my immediate thought was "Oh ****. I would have traded him too."

And I appreciate the transparency as we would be speculating why even now. (And also probably ripping Gillis for Cody's success!)

 

[TBIF]

Gillis feels guilty for losing game 7 thus needs to justify everything.

Imagine coming 3 hours away from having golden statues erected of you around one of the most beautiful cities in the world to all the blame being laid at your feet.

 

[Dado]

That went out the window when public doubts about the Sedins being the guys to build the team around got out.

That was, like, the day Gillis got hired....?

This last thing with the Canuck sock-puppet Garrett questioning Schneider's value after he'd been traded was the last straw - anything Gillis says gets dipped in a large bag of salt first.

 

[Hammer79]

That was, like, the day Gillis got hired....?

This last thing with the Canuck sock-puppet Garrett questioning Schneider's value after he'd been traded was the last straw - anything Gillis says gets dipped in a large bag of salt first.

Yes, that was his first interview. I think he was just being non-committal in general on the roster, and kind of stepped into the media's trap on the Sedins.

That was Garrett being Garrett, he's a Canucks fan first and a media guy second, and he wanted to give MG the benefit of the doubt.

JG wasn't necessarily wrong though, Schneider hasn't started more than 30 games in his career, and he is 1-4 in the playoffs. Promising/lots of potential? Yes. Proven? Not really when compared to other available goaltenders.

Also, as Garrett mentioned, I don't think we'll ever get an explanation on why Schneider pulled out of Game 1 at the last minute. I am left to wonder if his groin was fine by that point, but the cramping issues came back. Maybe it came back again in the 3rd period of game 3?

If that was going to be a recurring problem, then that would have cratered his value and perhaps MG knew about it while Lamoriello didn't. MG was very cryptic about it, even after the series was over. Time will tell if we won that trade, but I bet people will be eating crow in a few years.

 

[Dado]

If that was going to be a recurring problem, then that would have cratered his value and perhaps MG knew about it while Lamoriello didn't. MG was very cryptic about it, even after the series was over. Time will tell if we won that trade, but I bet people will be eating crow in a few years.

I'm not in the "Schneider as Savior" camp to start with - his playoff performance this year was just plain bad and I'm not buying the "it's AV's fault for playing him injured" meme so prevalent around here.

I just can't recall a time where there is so much being said/suggested/hinted about so many Canuck players at the same time.

It's hard not to feel like the wheels are coming off this bus....

 

[Hammer79]

I'm not in the "Schneider as Savior" camp to start with - his playoff performance this year was just plain bad and I'm not buying the "it's AV's fault for playing him injured" meme so prevalent around here.

I just can't recall a time where there is so much being said/suggested/hinted about so many Canuck players at the same time.

It's hard not to feel like the wheels are coming off this bus....

Some of the stuff I heard was just libelous and I don't believe it for a second. I think the media has their knives out because MG showed them up. They didn't pick up on a possible Schneider trade until the day before it happened. They also ran hit pieces on Tortorella before it looked like he was going to get hired. The local media has been made to look quite silly lately.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Gillis feels guilty for losing game 7 thus needs to justify everything.

I choose to believe that one fateful day Gillis picked Smarties over KitKat on a vending machine run and has had self-doubt about his decision-making ever since.

 

[TBIF]

I choose to believe that one fateful day Gillis picked Smarties over KitKat on a vending machine run and has had self-doubt about his decision-making ever since.

No wonder he can't catch a break.

 

[Passthedonuts]

Even if you consider he started off his tenure by saying the Sedins weren't players to build around.

Can we please, please put this quote into the context of the entire interview.

I recall it being like this (paraphrasing).

Gillis: We are going to evaluate every aspect of this organization from top to bottom.

Media: Have you made a decision regarding Alain Vigneault?

Gillis: He will be evaluated like everyone else. If I determine there is a similar philosophy then certainly we will consider retaining him.

Media: The Sedins contract is up next year, where do you see them fitting in?

Gillis: They will be evaluated like everyone else, and I have yet to determine if they are players we will build around going forward.

He certainly did not target them, or throw them under the bus. He was non committal on just about everything at the beginning of his tenure, and that was the only time I recall him being asked about a specific player(s) during his initial press conference.

 

[luongo321]

MG does whatever is convenient for himself. When he screws up, he plants immature seeds of doubt in the media so he doesn't look like as much of an idiot.