Gillis denies telling O'Brien to fight

From the Globe and Mail:

"In no uncertain terms was he told he had to fight," Gillis said last night. "How he ever got that message is unbeknownst to me. He clearly misinterpreted the message that we were trying to send, that each player has to be accountable and work hard individually."

Gillis said O'Brien was told he had to play more physically with and without the puck and not take as many minor penalties, but added "we don't ask players to fight."

Yep. That's what I thought. O'Brien isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Mike Gillis' patience is running out

Does that picture break your heart or what? Sundin will get it going, mark my words. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be able to lift the team out it's funk, and is being part of the problem. The references to Mark Messier are alive and well now, but I'm not biting. When the team does get rolling again, Sundin will play a positive role in it. I do believe that.
On to Mike Gillis...
Kudos to a poster at the CDC Forums for finding this Globe and Mail article that was circulating before the loss to the Wild yesterday, where Mike Gillis stated:

"Your patience level is obviously determined by how you're playing," Gillis said. "My patience is at an end with the way this group has performed."

The article leaves the possibilities open as to what Gillis may do to shake things up. Most fans want Alain Vigneault's head on a stick outside of GM Place on Pacific Drive, but I am not one of them. I think Gillis is standing by his coach, and I think the players are too, minus Demitra.
I believe a trade is in order, and it could happen sooner rather than later.
I've heard many people say that the Sedins should be traded, as they become free agents in the summer and a deal has not yet been reached with them. I say it is going to be difficult to move both of them at the same time. Hell it's going to be difficult to sign them both at the same time. But the brothers really aren't that bad. Sure they can make you want to stab your eyes out with a pencil sometimes the way they cycle and get no results. But then you look at their stats and they are the most consistent Canucks on the team. I would not trade them at all at this point. No way.
Alex Burrows' name has been brought up in the article as he too becomes a free agent this summer. But I wouldn't part with a guy like that. I think he should remain as part of the core of the team for so many obvious reasons.
Guys like Pyatt, Bernier and even Demitra should be the ones on the block, in my opinion. Demitra is a cancer I think. Pyatt and Bernier have not turned out like we had hoped as far as offensive production goes. Maybe Raymond and O'Brien are expendible too. You know that Vigneault and Gillis are in close conversation with who is or isn't working out on the ice and in the locker room. They have been preaching 'character' all year.
We'll see what happens. We know there are some sellers out there already (Leafs, for example). That's why I was almost joking around earlier in the week that maybe Gillis and Burke were talking, as Burke said he was finally getting some serious offers recently. Hey, you never know.
Trade talk is trade talk. I just hope this current squad pulls out of the funk, more importantly.

OTHER SLUMPING TEAMS:

Detroit has lost 5 straight.
Montreal has lost 5 of their last 6 games.

T Tags: Canucks Mike+Gillis+grows+impatient trades firing

Canucks' 2009-10 schedule being evaluated already

From Team 1040 (tip to the CDC guys):

The travel issue has always been a contentious one for the Canucks, and Mike Gillis has been taking pro-active steps with the NHL office to try and ensure the Canucks don't keep going through those kind of schedules. He had a lengthy meeting earlier this week with league officials, and told BMac and Rintoul that the Canucks may get a much better look next season.

"I think we have a great chance. In fact, we've got a draft in place for about 38 of our road games for next season already, which is unheard of. They made us a number one priority in terms of travel for a variety of reasons. One of them is injury history, crossing borders, and the fact that we don't have a team within two or three hours of us. So they agreed to make concessions based on a number of different factors and we feel really good about where we're headed with them. We feel really good about their understanding now, and that they're really willing to work with us to get a better road schedule in place."

Amen! Let it be done!
Mike Gillis on the bandwagon jumpers:

"People who are prepared to jump off bridges are really not looking realistically at the situation that we faced. I mean, the number of injuries we had and the players who were injured creates enormous mental pressure on the other players. And to continue to play at the level that we're playing at was unrealistic. Every team goes through a lull."

Back to the lousy schedule. Remember when news was out that the Canucks had fatigue experts come in to assess the Canucks' schedule and stamina? Well according to Gillis these experts were close to correct.

"When we did the Fatigue Management Program this year, those guys predicted where we would have a real problem. And it's not ironic, it happened when we played that three-game segment where we played in Nashville and then went to Atlanta (Jan 1st and 2nd), they predicted that after that we would have a serious fatigue issue because of the number of games we played in the previous ten days and the kind of travel. And they were bang-on."

Interesting. This is a tricky thing. It can either be bang-on science or a mental issue if the players were aware of when they would most likely burn out. Sometimes euphoria can be a beautiful thing. In fact, I live by it most of the time.

Tech Tags: Canucks+schedule+sucks 2009-10 reviewed Mike+Gillis player+assessment

Mike Gillis on Alain Vigneault and the losing streak

"Listen, everyone is here because I brought them in so the responsibility is mine. We're at the point in this where we can get emotional and we can get angry and we can start pointing fingers," said Gillis. "Instead, my approach is that we're going to be more analytical, we're going to boil it down, and we're going to work hard."

"To suggest that the same coach that people were saying has changed his style - the team plays great, everyone's happy - a month and a half ago should now be replaced, is nonsense," Gillis added. "It's all of our responsibilities, it isn't just Alain's, and that's how we're going to approach it."

That and more from TSN.
It's tough to think positively right now. I'm not sure what the issue is in the locker room. I can see the issues on the ice. The character of this team is currently in question and who knows, maybe a win on Sunday will change the moral.
It has been a month since the Canucks have been able to win 2 games in a row. Since that point mediocrity and inconsistency has mired the team.

Thinking positively:

- maybe the Canucks need to play away from home, as they have lost their last 4 games at GM Place on the current skid. They hit the road for 1 game next Tuesday and then get a week off for the All Star break. Oh wait, that road game is against the Sharks. Yep, it's hard to be positive right now.

T Tags: Canucks Mike+Gillis+defends+Alain+Vigneault losing+streak

Sedins feeling good after meeting with Gillis

"I felt good after the meeting," Daniel said. "I talked to Henrik in the car after and it felt good. Mike is a nice man. I like his ideas on the team. He wants to play a more exciting style of game. We had an open dialogue."

"We didn't talk too much about the contract," Daniel said. "We talked to J.P. and he knows what we want and now Mike knows what we want, too. It's up to them now. J.P. is going to call us when something is close.
"I've always been optimistic."

The rest is up to JP Barry and Gillis to iron out. The Sedins will now focus on hockey.
The rest of the story is here.

T Tags: Sedins+happy Mike+Gillis+meeting contract+extension

Clarification on the Sedins-Gillis meeting

Isn't it great talking about something other than Mats Sundin in Canuckland?
The meeting between Gillis, the Sedins, and JP Barry is more of a "GM getting to know his players" dinner. The Sedins will hear what plans Gillis has for them.

"We're just going to have dinner," JP Barry explained. "It's just an initial dinner. There are no plans for a negotiating session. Mike needs to sit down with Daniel and Henrik, introduce himself, get to know them and talk about the future.
That's probably the best way for all of us to start."

Obviously the twins don't want to go their separate ways either. Does anyone even consider that a possibility? Maybe Gillis does. Maybe. But that is the wrong decision, period. These 2 share are eerliy inseparable.

"No, not for us," Henrik replied to a large scrum of reporters at Burnaby 8-Rinks. "It's not about us being twins. If you look at other tandems in the league that play on the same team, I don't think people are talking that way for them.

"We like it here. We've never been players to take the last dollar to stay here. If it's a little bit less, then we'll take it."

Remember what I said about what agents want and what the players they represent say? The agents want to get their players lucrative deals. Hank Sedin had said they would take a paycut to stay in Vancouver together and remain here longer. Barry of course had to clarify that:

"That's just Henrik being straightforward," Barry said. "Obviously, they know it's a priority to stay together and it's my job to find out for them what's appropriate in that context."

Yeah, you're worse than a blood-sucking lawyer aren't you?
Don't ask Gillis to tip his hat on the matter because he is remaining tight-lipped.

"We're going to have dinner and we'll see where it takes us," said the GM. "I really don't want to say too much about it because I'd like to speak to these guys first-hand and tell them what I'm thinking. I'm not going to do it through the media."

We'll see what both parties have to say after a few rum and cokes, swedish meatballs and chit chat.

Check out the Sun article for more on the story.

T Tags: Sedins+dinner+with+Mike+Gillis JP+Barry contract Canucks

Antoine Vermette to Canucks?

I am just posting this because Eklund isn't the only person speculating about this possible trade. Gillis may make a deal like this whether he lands Sundin or not, and I say: "go for it!"

Vermette is getting nowhere with the Senators as far as a contract goes. But he sure as hell improved his offence in his contract year. 81 games played, 24 goals, 53 points, 4 power play goals, 3 shorthanded goals, and played an average of 17:35 per game. As you can see here, his icetime and stats have gone up ever since 2003 when he started in the NHL.

Question is, which defenceman is Gillis going to surrender, Bieksa? He has 3 years left on his contract that pays him $4.25 million this coming season, and $3.5 per season the following 2 years. Ohlund? He will be playing in the final year of his contract that pays him $3.5 million per season. I'm sure a raise is coming there. Like a friend of mine said, defencemen are getting paid so much damned money in the offseason as free agents, that Ohlund could demand $6 million-plus. Sucky. Adiose.
We'll see. Krajicek has 1 year left on his contract as well.
Gillis has already hinted a couple weeks ago at a possible trade to acquire a top 6 forward. It's just a matter of time.

T Tags: Antoine+Vermette+to+Canucks? trade Bieksa Ohlund Krajicek

Canucks to hold 11th Annual State of The Franchise event

It will be on Wednesday July 23 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. For the first time, the event will be streamed live on the Canucks TV video portal.
More on the event here.



T Tags: Vancouver+Canucks State+of+the+Franchise+event 2008 Mike+Gillis ownership

Mike Gillis press conference today indicates he's not done yet

Canucks.com has 2 video segments from today's Mike Gillis press conference.
-Video 1 is more about the Demitra signing and some Sundin questions answered.
-Video 2 is about Rob Davison and what he brings plus a minor look into what Gillis has in store for the rest of the summer.

The press conference should make Canuck fans feel a bit more positive because:

- Gillis has seen and worked with Demitra for a long time and he is confident in his ability to play all 3 forward positions. Yes, Demitra is versatile.

- Gillis was not comfortable with the length of the contracts being offered up at July 1 and beyond and he didn't want to offer those players those long contracts because he wants to be able to secure the Canucks' core down the road. I suppose that's a fair statement.

- Gillis is still in contact with Sundin's agent on a consistent basis. He is trying to make the Canucks more competitive to sway Sundin's decision to play in Vancouver.

- Demitra's kid likes mountains.

- Gillis believes that the Canucks are a more competitive team this year with all of the additions he has made. I guess if you think about it, Demitra replaces Naslund and could surpass Naslund's point totals from last year this coming season, especially if he stays healthy. Tack on the additions of Wellwood (to replace Morrison- again, Wellwood will need to remain healthy) and Steve Bernier and I guess we aren't in terrible shape. There's just a lot of question marks with those players that will be answered in the coming season.

- Gillis made it clear that he is only going to bring in players who have character and integrity.

- Gillis stated that he is currently telling Sundin and his agent that he is trying to get players that will complement "him". Once again, the sell factor for Sundin. Signing Demitra is an example of that, which Gillis stated.

- Notice what Gillis said when asked about whether or not Rob Davison was going to be the 7th or 8th defenceman? He said: "That depends on what happens in the next little bit." On paper, the Canucks currently have their top 6 set in stone. But just prior to that question, Gillis said that he will be exploring trade options later in the summer. You can read into Gillis' answer what you wish, but I think a defenceman may be traded in the next while for another forward, be that whether Sundin signs or not.
So, it's easy to hack Gillis right now as we wait for him to make "the big move", but at least he is standing in front of us giving what I believe to be honest answers with what he is trying to do this summer.
I admit that I just have to be more patient and at the same time trust Gillis. Hard to do isn't it?

T Tags: Mike+Gillis+press+conference July+10 Demitra+signing Canucks Sundin