How about them Canucks!

[#juan]

that is only one problem on the team, there are lots more, number one being the coach.

As long as we are fixing things, what positive things has Gillis done for the team other than giving Luongo that huge contract that no other team in the league would have anything to do with?

Ryan Kesler Has not performed many miracles for the Canucks in the last year.....Could be he has been suffering from Torterallaitus like a few other players were afflicted with. I would have bet at the start of this last season that the Canucks would breeze into the playoffs. The biggest problems have been Torterela and Gillis.

 

[talloola]

As long as we are fixing things, what positive things has Gillis done for the team other than giving Luongo that huge contract that no other team in the league would have anything to do with?

Ryan Kesler Has not performed many miracles for the Canucks in the last year.....Could be he has been suffering from Torterallaitus like a few other players were afflicted with. I would have bet at the start of this last season that the Canucks would breeze into the playoffs. The biggest problems have been Torterela and Gillis.

i agree 100%. still wondering though, if aquillini will part with all of that cash to show them the
door, hope so, or at least ask gillis to move over to a different role, and bring in a new g.m.

i must update my attitude toward david booth. heard an interview with him on team 1040 today, he talked
very honestly about his season, and half way thru the season he went to a power skating instructor, to
bring his skating up to the level he knew he could have, and he said that she helped him tremendously,
and he can feel it now, so i do agree with the big improvement in skating, kudos to him for doing that,
shows a honest evaluation of his own game, and the change in his game of late is very noticeable.

maybe now, they buy out torterella and not booth.

 

[JLM]

As long as we are fixing things, what positive things has Gillis done for the team other than giving Luongo that huge contract that no other team in the league would have anything to do with?

Ryan Kesler Has not performed many miracles for the Canucks in the last year.....Could be he has been suffering from Torterallaitus like a few other players were afflicted with. I would have bet at the start of this last season that the Canucks would breeze into the playoffs. The biggest problems have been Torterela and Gillis.

Well, that's just it, at Xmas time they were 4th or 5th in the entire league, according to the rankings! J.T. is partly to blame, injuries are a lot to blame and you can probably blame 3 or 4 losses on some unlucky puck bounces.

 

[talloola]

Well, that's just it, at Xmas time they were 4th or 5th in the entire league, according to the rankings! J.T. is partly to blame, injuries are a lot to blame and you can probably blame 3 or 4 losses on some unlucky puck bounces.

my thoughts are entirely different. by xmas torterella had pushed the top players so hard, they were
noticeably beginning to struggle, the twins had never killed penalties, or had the amount of ice time
torterella gave them, and kesler was among the top in the league for minutes played each game.
ok for defencemen, very hard on forwards, especially the type of player he is.

the fourth line sometimes sat for a long time, as he played 3 lines so much, and not the fourth,
that he was burning out his top lines.
he stubbornly disagreed with anyone who suggested that he was doing that, 'and they did' ask him,so he
continued down the same road.

teams playing on the westcoast must use their entire bench, the travel time is exhausting, and the
players must have their ice times carefully monitored, to save them from exhaustion, and bring them
thru the middle of the season, and more importantly the end of the season, fresh and energetic, and
the canucks were anything but that, UNTIL he started playing his fourth line a bit more, and cut down
on top line minutes, too little too late.

and his choice of who played with who, and the idiotic stapling to the bench of jensson the other night,
and torterella's ridiculous explanation when asked why.

and his acting up in calgary, totally took away any respect the team could have for him, and took away
his right to call them out on dicipline or behavior, pot calling the kettle black.

and, his terrible decision to leave luongo out of the heritage gAme, as
he was so Afraid of losing. he caused the trade to quickly be made
then, and not at the end of the season, i heard the interview with
dale tallon, g.m.florida, saying a cAll was made the next day, opening
up the trade talks again, and they figured out a way to do it.
so lack was left high and dry, and with luongo there he was doing
great, had luongo there for security till he got his feet wet, then
next year he could have taken over.

he has become a meek and mild coach now, and has nothing more to offer, if he comes back next year,
it will be because of his contract.

 

[JLM]

my thoughts are entirely different. by xmas torterella had pushed the top players so hard, they were
noticeably beginning to struggle, the twins had never killed penalties, or had the amount of ice time
torterella gave them, and kesler was among the top in the league for minutes played each game.
ok for defencemen, very hard on forwards, especially the type of player he is.

the fourth line sometimes sat for a long time, as he played 3 lines so much, and not the fourth,
that he was burning out his top lines.
he stubbornly disagreed with anyone who suggested that he was doing that, 'and they did' ask him,so he
continued down the same road.

teams playing on the westcoast must use their entire bench, the travel time is exhausting, and the
players must have their ice times carefully monitored, to save them from exhaustion, and bring them
thru the middle of the season, and more importantly the end of the season, fresh and energetic, and
the canucks were anything but that, UNTIL he started playing his fourth line a bit more, and cut down
on top line minutes, too little too late.

and his choice of who played with who, and the idiotic stapling to the bench of jensson the other night,
and torterella's ridiculous explanation when asked why.

and his acting up in calgary, totally took away any respect the team could have for him, and took away
his right to call them out on dicipline or behavior, pot calling the kettle black.

and, his terrible decision to leave luongo out of the heritage gAme, as
he was so Afraid of losing. he caused the trade to quickly be made
then, and not at the end of the season, i heard the interview with
dale tallon, g.m.florida, saying a cAll was made the next day, opening
up the trade talks again, and they figured out a way to do it.
so lack was left high and dry, and with luongo there he was doing
great, had luongo there for security till he got his feet wet, then
next year he could have taken over.

he has become a meek and mild coach now, and has nothing more to offer, if he comes back next year,
it will be because of his contract.

I wasn't disagreeing with a thing you are saying and I totally agree that J.T. behaviour re the Calgary game was out of line, but I can understand it a bit. Calgary deliberately put that line out to start the game and I can sure understand why he was livid, but yeah, he should have waited for a meeting in the parking lot after the game. - Whatever happened to Santorelli? I thought he was a very capable and talented player and am thinking his absence has partly contributed to the Canucks misfortunes.

 

[talloola]

I wasn't disagreeing with a thing you are saying and I totally agree that J.T. behaviour re the Calgary game was out of line, but I can understand it a bit. Calgary deliberately put that line out to start the game and I can sure understand why he was livid, but yeah, he should have waited for a meeting in the parking lot after the game. - Whatever happened to Santorelli? I thought he was a very capable and talented player and am thinking his absence has partly contributed to the Canucks misfortunes.

he is injured, had surgery some time ago, season ending, won't see him till training camp in the fall.

ray ferraro had an interesting thought about the calgary incident. he said if he was coaching he would
have called the referee over, pointed out to him what he saw concerning the line that hartley put out,
and told him that he had to do the same, even though he didn't agree, as he wasn't going to put his
top line players at risk, end of story, ref. would have been totally aware, then it would have been
his decision to warn all players on the ice, to cool it, and just play.
but i'm afraid torterella isn't that mature, can't think that intelligently, and he resorted to his
past behavior, not only then, but 40 minutes later, when he should have cooled down, and didn't.

hartley put those players on the ice, 'knowing' exactly how torterella would respond, and he got sucked
in hook line and sinker, and i'm sure hartley was just giggling inside. they know each other from way
back, have had incidents in minor hockey games over the years, so hartley knows him well, and hartley
stood there poker faced, and let torterella make a jack *** of himself. but he was fined for doing that,
as everyone knew exactly what he was doing, and torterella, reacted just like everyone knew he would.

 

[talloola]

Rangers coach Vigneault returns to Vancouver Monday, 03.31.2014 / 10:14 PMJon Lane - NHL.com Staff Writer

PrintRANGERS (42-30-4) at CANUCKS (34-31-11)

TV: TSN, RDS2, MSG

Last 10: New York 7-3-0; Vancouver 5-4-1

Season series: This is the second and final game between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. Chris Kreider's hat trick led the Rangers to a 5-2 win against the Canucks in former coach John Tortorella's return to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 30.

Big story: Rangers coach Alain Vigneault returns to the city where he coached for seven seasons for the first time with his current team moving closer to clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He explained to reporters how it was a different feeling compared to September when the Rangers played the Canucks in a preseason game.

"This is night and day from when we came in during training camp," Vigneault said Monday. "It was a very emotional time for me, it was my first time back. Now it's all about winning games. We're in a real tough conference. We're in a tough fight to get into the playoffs, and we need every point we can get so my focus right now is to get our team ready to play against Vancouver [Tuesday]."

On the other bench, Tortorella faces his former team with his Canucks on the outside of the postseason bubble.

"I've been gone long enough. I don't do too much reminiscing right now," Tortorella told reporters Monday. "I'm just trying to spend my time trying to keep this team playing. We don't spend a lot of time on the other team."

Team Scope:

Rangers: New York tied a franchise record with 24 road wins Sunday after a 5-0 victory against the Edmonton Oilers and has won six of seven overall. The Rangers' surge has them in second place in the Metropolitan Division with six games remaining and a magic number of seven to qualify for the postseason.

"The one thing about our team is that it's a hard-working group," Vigneault said. "They come to practice and they work, they focus, and they bust their butt. Since the first time I've been on the ice with them they've had this drive to learn and to improve and to get better, and that hasn't changed."

Canucks: Vancouver has won seven of 23 games since Jan. 27 and 11 of 36 since Dec. 30. Four wins of any kind by the Phoenix Coyotes, or four by the Dallas Stars (at least three in regulation or overtime) and the Canucks will be eliminated from playoff contention in Tortorella's first season behind the bench.

"Are we going to get in? It's very slim and we've known that, but it still doesn't stop you from working at your business, with your team," Tortorella said. "We continue to do the things that we're trying to do and that will go right to the bitter end, when they say you can't play anymore."

Who's hot: Rangers center Derek Stepan has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in his past 17 games. Forward Derick Brassard scored his career-high 18th goal Sunday and has five goals in his past seven games. Forward Rick Nash has five goals in his past seven … Canucks forward Zack Kassian is on a four-game scoring streak (2-5-7). Forward Brad Richardson has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past five games.

Injury report: According to Vigneault, Rangers defenseman John Moore (concussion) will need one more practice and then it will be a "coach's decision" as to when he'll return to the lineup. Kreider (left hand surgery) is out indefinitely … The Canucks are without defensemen Andrew Alberts (concussion) and Christopher Tanev (broken finger), and forwards Henrik Sedin (lower body) and Mike Santorelli (right shoulder surgery).

 

[talloola]

canucks played a pretty good game, kept it close, messed up on that short handed to make it 3-1

good to see vineault again, and i'm glad his rangers are doing well, they will be in the plaYoffs,
and the team looks sharp, and have been playing well for a while, good timing, as playoffs are
drawing near, and they will peak at the right time.

did anyone notice the elbow by burrows in that hit late in the game, where the ranger got hurt.
burrows was given a 5 minute major for elbowing, but i didn't see the elbow, so i need some
verification from you.
the player was hurt from the other canuck who hit him into the boards.

canucks are definitely dead now, wish that mathematical thing would happen so the talk of them
still having some sort of a chance will stop, becAuse it is ridiculous.

rangers 3-canucks 1

 

[talloola]

i listened to long interview with gillis this morning, and i liked what i heard. of course there was
nothing said that is absolute, but if one listens carefully it is apparant that there definitely will
be changes.
sounds like torterella will be gone, also seems like gillis will probably stay, but will have Additional
help on his job, as he said there is much more than one person can do.

he wants the 'upbeat fast hockey that he said he wanted when he was hired, (and for a few years he did have that with vineault, and success),and he said if anyone doesn't
want that type of hockey they won't be part of the canucks.

i understand gillis's mistakes, but people can also learn from their mistakes, and bringing in another
person to assist him, is a step forward, and in my opinion can help move the team forward much faster than
cutting all links, mgr. and coach, and starting over.

i think torterella duped the both of them by telling them he would coach an upbeat style, then when contract
was signed, he went ahead and coached the only way he knows how, make sure we don't lose, but don't tAke any
risks or allow any upbeat style at all, give your body, block shots and prevent goals, and hope to pot
a couple.

now i will wait and see if i interpreted the interview correctly, but he also said that 'his' job would be
reviewed as well, and that it is possible that he won't be back, but that statement meant that 'all' of
their jobs with be evaluated, including players.

i think gillis made it clear, that he has the same vision he had 6 years
ago, and he isn't going to change at all, and won't stay if anyone else
doesn't feel the same, he will go down with his principles in place,
in other words he won't stay if torterella stays, seemed clear to me.

so looks like it is a statement to aquillinis, and they have to decide
what 'they' want to do, but they can't keep the both of them.

 

[Kreskin]

I wonder what his role was in the Torts hiring. If it was the owners who wanted Torts did he give the thumbs up sign or did he recommend against it? If he didn't say anything except be a cheerleader in the decision then his credibility isn't holding much water. But if he only went along with it publicly, and wanted someone else, then by all means he should stand his ground and expect his vision be what goes forward if they keep him.

I assume the owners wanted Gillis for his negotiation skills but time in and time out the agents win in a landslide. Gillis has proven to be a terrible negotiator. Right from the start he paid a washed up Sundin an outrageous amount of money, then gave away the bank and future to Luongo, gave (and continues to give) nearly everyone a no-trade clause. No one thought Torts would ever find an NHL coaching job, let alone get a 5-year deal.

Having said that, if the owners are calling the shots then agents probably know that. 'If Mike is after us then the owners want us..pressure is on Mike to cut a deal.. we have some leverage.' Gillis could well be a lot more effective if the owners let him do his own job (assuming they are meddling as some suspect). And if they are meddling then it's great that Gillis is drawing a bit of a line in the sand. But if he's been guy who has made all the previous deals and recommendations and he's just talking tough in a last gasp to save his skin then he should be shown the door.

Pretty expensive to have both Gillis and Torts fired. As some have said, when personnel changes like that are made it often necessitates a host of other costly internal personnel changes and general internal upheaval. Easiest and cheapest change is the coach.

 

[talloola]

I wonder what his role was in the Torts hiring. If it was the owners who wanted Torts did he give the thumbs up sign or did he recommend against it? If he didn't say anything except be a cheerleader in the decision then his credibility isn't holding much water. But if he only went along with it publicly, and wanted someone else, then by all means he should stand his ground and expect his vision be what goes forward if they keep him.

I assume the owners wanted Gillis for his negotiation skills but time in and time out the agents win in a landslide. Gillis has proven to be a terrible negotiator. Right from the start he paid a washed up Sundin an outrageous amount of money, then gave away the bank and future to Luongo, gave (and continues to give) nearly everyone a no-trade clause. No one thought Torts would ever find an NHL coaching job, let alone get a 5-year deal.

Having said that, if the owners are calling the shots then agents probably know that. 'If Mike is after us then the owners want us..pressure is on Mike to cut a deal.. we have some leverage.' Gillis could well be a lot more effective if the owners let him do his own job (assuming they are meddling as some suspect). And if they are meddling then it's great that Gillis is drawing a bit of a line in the sand. But if he's been guy who has made all the previous deals and recommendations and he's just talking tough in a last gasp to save his skin then he should be shown the door.

Pretty expensive to have both Gillis and Torts fired. As some have said, when personnel changes like that are made it often necessitates a host of other costly internal personnel changes and general internal upheaval. Easiest and cheapest change is the coach.

i've had the feeling for some time that aquillini wanted torterella, and mike pretty well had to go along with
it in public. it has been quite clear from his past interview re: calgary antics that gillis was disgusted
with his behavior, as he said that the 'incident' in january was indescribable.

yes, i agree with his past mistakes, he definitely was taken to the cleaners a few times, and yes, i wonder
as well if owner has his hands on far too much, as mike's stand today was very strong, and seems like he
is very ready to walk away if he can't continue with 'his vision' that he had to start.

if he does stay, i hope the person who comes in to share job responsibilites with him, takes over the actual
trade and negotion part, while mike deals with more of the administration side, but if it is naslund, i
would think the negotiations would still be up to mike.
the trading, hiring and player personnel and scouting should belong to new g.m. person to organise.

gillis was a very respected agent/negotiator for years, so he should be able to think from the other
side too.

and, as i said before, i hope he has learned a lot from his mistakes, could make him much smarter from
here on.

we'll see what happens, seems the aquillini's need to do some deep thinking about this matter and come
up with a good answer.

if gillis is shown the door, that makes hiring a new g.m. a bit sticky for aquillini's, as any g.m.
who is worth his salt, who is experienced and strong and successful, will want his own coach, and
won't 'settle' for the aquillini's telling him they want him, but he will have to keep torterella
as his coach. the coach 'should' be the g.ms choice, mainly, with the blessing of the owners, and
i think gillis has been fuming for a long time because he agreed to go along with the hiring of
torterella. i wonder what would have happened if gillis had of refused to agree with that hiring
when it happened.
maybe the aquillini's have learned their lesson from this poor hiring, and now are standing back
for mike to be able to do his own hiring without their meddling.
when gillis was hired he and vineault met in las vegas for a couple of
days of meetings before mike decided to keep him on, and he explained
that he was satisfied that vineault was quite willing to coach in a
upbeat and offensive manner and not keep the team in a defensive
mode, vineault agreed, he did coach that way, and all was good.

 

[bill barilko]

gillis was a very respected agent/negotiator for years, so he should be able to think from the other
side too.

Which is why many of the moves he's made make no sense at all so I can see the owner interference angle having some credence.

if gillis is shown the door, that makes hiring a new g.m. a bit sticky for aquillini's, as any g.m.
who is worth his salt, who is experienced and strong and successful, will want his own coach, and
won't 'settle' for the aquillini's telling him they want him, but he will have to keep torterella
as his coach

This reminds me something Harry Neale once said that a new GM never has as much power as the day he's hired.

 

[talloola]

Which is why many of the moves he's made make no sense at all so I can see the owner interference angle having some credence.


This reminds me something Harry Neale once said that a new GM never has as much power as the day he's hired.

harry neale is a funny but very wise person, said many catchy phrases over the years.

 

[damngrumpy]

Yup the Canucks with nothing going for them at all tenth place a coach who
could fill in for Rob Ford and a GM who isn't secure enough to say he'll be
back next year. Last November I told my son Vancouver would be in a mess
miss the playoffs and begin to clean house. Montreal would make the playoffs

 

[talloola]

Yup the Canucks with nothing going for them at all tenth place a coach who
could fill in for Rob Ford and a GM who isn't secure enough to say he'll be
back next year. Last November I told my son Vancouver would be in a mess
miss the playoffs and begin to clean house. Montreal would make the playoffs

good guess

the g.m. can't say he will be back next year, it isn't his call. he will be back if he is
satisfied with the owner's plans concerning the coach, or if the owner
wants him back.

gillis is a strong individual, who will decide what is best for him, i don't call that insecure
at all. the job is very high profile, lots of stress and responsibility, an insecure person
would never be hired in the first place, and probably wouldn't want such a job.

it didn't take a brain surgeon to realize that the canucks were at an impass, it was time for
vineault to move on, and things could have moved forward quite smoothly with the 'right' coach.
all will be well, no one died, the sun will come up tomorrow, and we all will enjoy our hockey
team in the fall, right now they have some hard decisions to make.
they will figure it out, its not the end of the world.

 

[JLM]

Yup the Canucks with nothing going for them at all tenth place a coach who
could fill in for Rob Ford and a GM who isn't secure enough to say he'll be
back next year. Last November I told my son Vancouver would be in a mess
miss the playoffs and begin to clean house. Montreal would make the playoffs

How were you able to know that in November when they were very near the top of the league? When they broke for the Olympics in early Feb. it was looking like a possibility and when they lost the game to Ottawa on the outdoor rink, the handwriting was beginning to appear on the wall!

On Dec. 16 the Canucks were 20-10-5 and 5th in the rankings.


NHL Hockey Power Rankings - Week Week 11 - National Hockey League - ESPN

 

[bill barilko]

A decent effort by the Canucks-it always helps when you're opponent doesn't play particularly well.

 

[talloola]

good to see a decent game from the canucks. two very even periods, then canucks took over in the
third. edler played well, the twins played well, kassian 'again' played very well, and has been for
some time now.
both twins have had some injury time off, they both look well rested and fresh.

the winning goal was a good one, but i don't blame l.a. for being ticked for the missed call on
edler, he obviously was interferring on gaborik, no call, then the goal followed, so left a
sour taste for them, thats the way it goes, win some lose some, (calls, that is)

both goalies played well.

anaheim on monday, then colorado thursday, at edmonton saturday and the final game sunday against calgary
at rogers place

 

[JLM]

Well, the Canucks of old are back, maybe a little late for this season, but then again, like old Yogi said................... They can just take it one game at a time now.

 

[talloola]

Well, the Canucks of old are back, maybe a little late for this season, but then again, like old Yogi said................... They can just take it one game at a time now.

they are a team 'out of the playoffs, played a team 'in the playoffs', i remember the canucks not
quite intense enough, when they were in that position, not too long ago.

l.a. are a very good, tough team, that didn't quite have their best game tonight, and canucks
played loose, free and confident, and probably felt very disappointed looking at their opponant, knowing they
have a very solid playoff spot, that can make a team want to show them that they still can beat
them, even though they are just about done.

i hope we see markstrom soon, he should be given a couple of games before this season shuts
down for canucks.