“..and on the third day, Mike Gillis decided life was better as an agent”
Jul 3rd, 2008 | By Mike | Category: Free Agency4:40 PM ET Update – Via TFP: 1994 wasn’t enough, the Messier disaster wasn’t enough, getting your greedy paws on Bure wasn’t enough…my unfathomable hatred for the New York Rangers continues woefully unabated: they’ve taken Naslund (and Kalinin). Our franchise scorer leaves for a one two year, $4.5 million offer.
In case anyone forgets the BEST part of all of this? MIKE GILLIS LOWBALLED HIS OWN FORMER EMPLOYEE. And with that, he left to go a bit closer to home to a team with zero travel issues and plenty of offense.
Excuse me, I’ll be at the bar. Underneath it actually. Maybe through it…
1:55 PM ET Update – Via TSN: Habs bring in the muscle with a three year, $1.5 million deal for Georges Laraque. Coyotes sign defencsmen David Hale.
Boyle is rumored to be on the move shortly.
1:55 PM ET Update – Via TSN: Pens strike fast: add Satan (SAAAAAAAAATAN) and Fedotenko as wingers shortly after sealing the deal on an extension for 7 years, $35 million with Fleury.
If MAF is getting $5 million now and assuming Luongo’s level of play stays where it is (or gets better) and he’s at $7.5 million now, then he’ll be in the high 8’s to mid-9 million range in two years easy.
1:17 PM ET Update – Via TSN: The Leafs land Mikhail Grabovski from the Canadiens for the rights to Greg Pateryn and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft.
10:47 AM ET Update – Via Kukla: The Caps ink Keith Aucoin to a two year deal. Aucoin had been playing on and off for the Hurricanes for a few years.
Via The Ottawa Sun: The Canucks are one of the few rumored teams who are getting ready to target Antoine Vermette and Andrej Meszaros, both RFA’s. Then again we are talking about Garrioch so be accordingly skeptical.
9:08 AM ET Update – Updated the trusty chart below. I know the fourth line is messed up since I am keeping Cowan on the wing though he is most likely on his way out. Wellwood doesn’t move into the top six without earning it. I’m bumping Shannon to the third line from Manitoba since he (or Hansen?) has the best chance of moving up. Anyway you slice it, it ain’t pretty:
6:08 AM ET Update – The other shoe is going to drop today as we’ll see our plan B guys hightail it out of town:
Via Russo’s Rants: The Wild have offers to Naslund & Morrison and float the idea of getting Bertuzzi as well. If that’s true, Canucks just need to forfeit for an entire year and save everyone the pain.
Via the Post Gazette: Pittsburgh is going come running with fist fulls of cash and a Crosby sweater at Naslund.
Via the New York Post: Larry Brooks, as expected, is upset about Avery. Also notes that the Rags – who he says needs scoring still? – will be after Naslund as well.
Via Puck-rakers: Morrison is out of the running in Ohio.
Via Lowetide: A fair look at Gillis from the words of one of the best Edmonton bloggers. Complete with silly young picture of Mike.
Via TSN: A quick reminder that Burke still hates Lowe.
6:08 AM ET Update – The Vancouver papers are low key this morning. And no Ed Willes? After his hack article yesterday? I’m shocked:
Via the Province: Ryan Johnson is “excited” to be on a team where he’ll be lining up with Hordichuk on the fourth line. I have no doubt he’ll be a decent addition to the team; if nothing else, our fourth line will see a great deal of work this coming year.
Via the Province: You think the Sundin offer is bad and the Canucks are one of the worst run franchises in the history of sports? You’re not alone.
Via the Province: …so now Gillis, on bended knee, has to beg Morrison and Naslund to return at reduced prices to keep this team afloat. Naslund already has an offer on the table from at least the Wild (interested in seeing our franchise scoring leader in that uniform eight times a year?) but Morrison could be out of the Blue Jacket’s plans with their signing of Huselius.
Via the Province: Gallagher decides it’s too easy to rip into the Canucks so he target’s the Hossa signing:
Hossa has decided to step into Detroit for one fun-filled season, pick up his ring, and then go for the big financial score the following season when some poor team will lay out a huge wad of cash for some guy who’s already invited himself to the championship dance by joining a team that may well have got there whether he’d been involved or not. How motivated will he be for that poor team?
Via the Province: Sanford is excited to come back, saying comfort and a close working relationship with Luongo was key. Brothers in misery.
Via the Sun: A quick recap of all the guys added yesterday.
Via the Sun: MacIntyre says what we all know: Sundin backfired and now Gillis has to make something out of nothing. GM’s are “sneering” at his offers, leaving the RFA route as the last option. But he has to be careful with RFA’s since we don’t want to lose the first round pick next year since it will no doubt be quite high.
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Keeping score at home? Here’s what our fearless general manager decided were some more pieces missing from the puzzle that would get them to the promised land: Nolan Baumgartner, Alexandre Bolduc, Curtis Sanford and Ryan Johnson. Add Darcy Hordichuk and Kyle Wellwood to the gig and we’re shaping up to be a mediocre AHL team with the exception of the starting netminder.
Stare at that list of names and what stands out? How about this: Hordichuk will lead the league in PIMs because he is going to get plenty of ice time after the Canucks get blown out early in games and his ice time (to send ‘a message’) increases?
Or maybe what you see (as the saying has become bouncing around blogs and forums) is the best collection of third and fourth liners in the league. Hordichuk replaces Cowan? OK. Johnson replaces Ritchie? Sure, what the hell? I’m glad that Johnson is good at the PK and shot blocks because he’ll get plenty of practice.
At this point Gillis has yet to replace Isbister much less fill the holes in on the first line. To that end, is Wellwood shaping up as some sort of upgrade to Morrison?
Perhaps what you really see is no semblance of a team that can survive 82 games in the NHL. And it’s not the players fault: it’s Master and Commander Mike Gillis who is failing in plain view of everyone on top of being the first GM to try the RFA route (and fail); collectively it’s a low that, even as a Canuck fan, I’m shocked by.
There’s still plenty of time to get some quality guys on this team before Gillis has no other options then to move Edler or Bieksa. But with Hossa out and Jagr and Sundin waiting around, guess who’s going to get a lot of attention? Naslund. Guess who else? Morrison. Guess what “lock to end up in Vancouver” will too? Demitra.
The options that remain look like this: Recchi, Shanahan, Fedorov, Satan, Sakic, Bertuzzi, Williams, Vasicek, Hlavac, Peca, Miettinen, Fedotenko, Nolan, Nagy, Vyborny, Selanne, Barnes, Gratton, Stumpel, Forsberg, York…
A lot of the remaining options, even if not desirable, won’t last long. At this point bringing Bertuzzi back would be a slight win for Gillis and he was bought out only days ago. Swish that around in your head for a second.
Tick tock tick tock.
July 3rd, 2008 5:45 am
It’s swishing…and swishing. You put it very well…Gillis is falling on his face in front of all to see. In a way, I don’t like people failing in such a fantastic way…but then, it’s also sort of a reality check for what the Canucks have gotten into. I thought this was going to be a good move with someone having a completely different point of view of building a team…it seems as though the opposite.
Now…I need to go wash my mouth out with Drano to stop the swishing in my head…it needs to flush cleanly.
July 3rd, 2008 6:19 am
Ya, I thought Gillis was on to something in the beginning. The cap guy, Mellanby, Walter, Gagner, firing the assistants, making Vigneault sweat a bit…all of that I approve of. But he hasn’t shown an inkling of GM prowess here and it ranges from “give the guy a chance” to a sickening display of ineptitude of a guy in over his head.
My mind is leaning towards this: Naz and Mo leave, Sundin says no and he’ll take another stab at a RFA and then move Bieksa or Edler for some mid range forward. By then he will have literally hit a wall and it’ll be in Vigneault’s hands to make this group work. And even in that scenario the team may be fine if the two forwards can help be the one/two punch with the Sedins. But what a way to go about it.
Regardless, the franchise seems to be teetering on the brink of a brand new free fall. And dare I even bother bringing up all the events preceding this, from missing the playoffs to Bourdon to ahh, forget it…
July 3rd, 2008 10:11 am
Well………… maybe he is up to something! C’MON GAGNER! DEVELOP US A BUNCH OF SUPER PROSPECTS??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gah.
But yeah. Looking at your chart, the team looks horrible. 2 top 6 players. That’s it. Wow. Might as well have just ensured Mo and Naz came back, begged Linden not to retire and just surround them with the same rotation of 4th line pluggers.
Please Grabby! Be our Ovechkiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!
July 3rd, 2008 10:22 am
Honestly, Gillis will get something but who knows what it’ll be OR how he’ll do it. He’d be literally insane to try and ice a team as it currently stands.
You bring up a good point: this is shaping up to be a golden opportunity for the prospects and Moose players. If this team tanks early on they should get ample time to show their stuff.
July 3rd, 2008 2:23 pm
Holy hell. Did we seriously just lose Nazzy to the RANGERS, and with no one close to his talent coming back in? Super! Anyone want to throw up yet? But yeah. Maybe the youngins will just strut their stuff and we’ll get a damn good draft pick.
July 3rd, 2008 2:43 pm
Well, someone has to be the worst team in the league. We should give the Kings and Bolts a break for a few years at this pace.
July 3rd, 2008 3:04 pm
Fuck. fuck fuckity fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. We’re a team full of FOURTH LINERS NOW. OMG.
But if we’ll be the worst team… I want Hedman, not Tavares. X(!!!! 6′6″ SWEDISH MONSTAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!
July 3rd, 2008 3:13 pm
Perhaps Gillis is setting the Canucks up for the Tavares sweepstakes…
July 3rd, 2008 3:20 pm
Rinslet – Yeah, maybe he never finished reading the rest of Moneyball. Someone check for earmarks on the pages.
GZ Expat – Start buying the Tavares jersey now. Maybe, like Crosby, he can step it when this team will have Edler replace Ohlund, Schenider replace Luongo and…um…still have no offense.
July 5th, 2008 5:19 pm
wow, van fans are such bandwaganers. First off Bernier is rad, and will probably be gret with the twins. If youn look back at all the left handers have played with them they have all faired well. Add to the mix that bernier goes to the net hard and they could produce big.
2nd – wellwood could be a great fit, and we got him off waivers! 2 years ago he was on the 1st line in TO playing with Sundin. We could of got him to lure mats, they seemed to have great chemistry.
3rd – I agree our lineup right now is bad, but I do like some of things Gillis is doing. We have new young talent, adding toughness which we always lack, and now we need two good scorers and we could have a great season.
4th – Naslund and Mo goodbye. Finally we have a GM willing to end a failed experiment. Thee guys have lead us to nothing but disappointment. Naslund is not a good captain, and MO is over-rated. His only claim to fame was playing along side bert and nassy for a season and a half when they were actually good. Its time to move on for the first time in a long time.
5th – Raymond, Kesler are looking very good. Cody was an excellent draft pick. Now add wellwood and bernier and we have young talent for the first time since the new milenium.
We need two good scorers or we are done,but if we get Sundin and Demitra then watch out. Gillis will be good, is good and has done smart moves. He needs to more good moves to silence all of you
July 5th, 2008 5:19 pm
wow, van fans are such bandwaganers. First off Bernier is rad, and will probably be gret with the twins. If youn look back at all the left handers have played with them they have all faired well. Add to the mix that bernier goes to the net hard and they could produce big.
2nd – wellwood could be a great fit, and we got him off waivers! 2 years ago he was on the 1st line in TO playing with Sundin. We could of got him to lure mats, they seemed to have great chemistry.
3rd – I agree our lineup right now is bad, but I do like some of things Gillis is doing. We have new young talent, adding toughness which we always lack, and now we need two good scorers and we could have a great season.
4th – Naslund and Mo goodbye. Finally we have a GM willing to end a failed experiment. Thee guys have lead us to nothing but disappointment. Naslund is not a good captain, and MO is over-rated. His only claim to fame was playing along side bert and nassy for a season and a half when they were actually good. Its time to move on for the first time in a long time.
5th – Raymond, Kesler are looking very good. Cody was an excellent draft pick. Now add wellwood and bernier and we have young talent for the first time since the new milenium.
We need two good scorers or we are done,but if we get Sundin and Demitra then watch out. Gillis will be good, is good and has done smart moves. He needs to more good moves to silence all of you
July 5th, 2008 6:02 pm
Monty – Your points are fine. But questioning Wellwood is perfectly valid. You quash Morrison’s quality because his claim to fame was the WCE. I could counter with the fact Wellwood played on a line with Sundin and that’s all he’s got plus, year to year, is succumbing to more and more injuries and just got bought out on a team not terribly different then us. Not an awful thing and he may end up being perfectly fine and then you’re right, getting him on waivers is huge. But I’m not heaping praise on him until he earns it and if I am going back to 05/06 for Wellwood then I may as well praise Anson Carter in the process.
Secondly, I am fine with everything Gillis says, but so far he hasn’t made any significant change that will increase our chances of beating the other teams in the NW or going far in the post season. Bernier, by all accounts, is a project player with similar if not more upside then Wellwood and that’s going on accounts from people who have seen him play in both San Jose and Buffalo. Personally I see a lot more promise in Bernier, but two projects and an enhanced fourth line is not enough and Gillis, to his credit, admitted that yesterday in his press conference. The Sundin offer is pretty divisive; some love it and some hate it. IMO the money simply doesn’t make sense.
Simply put, Gillis has a lot more work to do. It’s not over yet and the offseason is long, but the first week of free agency is a time when GM’s can make a definitive change (and financially astute ones with the exception of Sather). His moves, while not terrible, are not enough. And personally, admitting the reality of the situation and not a lot of “could of’” doesn’t make a bandwagoner, it makes me – like you I presume – someone who wants to see this team get it right finally and win now.
January 29th, 2012 (2 weeks ago) 6:32 am
This nephew appeared to be laughing at everyone if reading this brand upon your blog “