Former Canucks Thread 2023-24 Edition

[I am toxic]

cbc radio is currently playing an interview with kirk maclean's ex-wife about the jeff brown story.

Listening to it for past 10 minutes.

Sports fans can be toxic.

Ask me how I know.

lol, it is not even leslie mclean. it' his second wife.

They also have Leslie on now

 

[krutovsdonut]

i believe cbc successfully established jane's innocence since she was not married to mclean at the time. sad to see it has affected her and her kids regardless. not sure they sold me entirely on leslie who they spent way less time on but they did get clear denials from jeff and leslie and an alternate explanation that brown clashed with ley.

the only evidence really out there in favour of the rumour is the fact the canes traded jeff brown for futures the same day they traded for kirk mclean. i don't think the canucks trading brown or the fact the mcleans got divorced really tells us much.

it will stay a rumour.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

He shouldn't be unemployed long. One of the smartest people working in the game, IMO.

Countdown to him joining Vegas....

 

[StreetHawk]

He shouldn't be unemployed long. One of the smartest people working in the game, IMO.

Countdown to him joining Vegas....

59 now. Kind of surprising given how highly praised he was here that in the past decade since Gillis was terminated that Gilman has not secured a GM job in that timespan. Thinking that window for GM for him has now come and gone.

 

[HairyKneel]

59 now. Kind of surprising given how highly praised he was here that in the past decade since Gillis was terminated that Gilman has not secured a GM job in that timespan. Thinking that window for GM for him has now come and gone.

Maybe because he doesn’t have the chops for the job?

 

[VanJack]

A reuniting of former Canuck Jalen Chatfield is off the table.....just re-upped with Carolina for three years at $3m a season.

Probably just as well.....he's a valuable right-shot d-man, who doesn't deliver much offense. I'm guessing the Canucks now have a full-court press on to re-sign Hronek.

 

[HairyKneel]

Signing Hronek doesn’t have a thing to do with Chatfield re-signing in Carolina.

 

[Bubbles]

59 now. Kind of surprising given how highly praised he was here that in the past decade since Gillis was terminated that Gilman has not secured a GM job in that timespan. Thinking that window for GM for him has now come and gone.

No, I think he'll get another shot. It's about timing, there isn't an open GM spot right now. Someone will scoop him up.

Gilman will always have a warm spot in my heart as he told off Aqua on his way out.

 

[StreetHawk]

No, I think he'll get another shot. It's about timing, there isn't an open GM spot right now. Someone will scoop him up.

Gilman will always have a warm spot in my heart as he told off Aqua on his way out.

Can’t even recall the number of times his name was mentioned as a candidate for a GM role.

Probably ends up being a Right Hand man only. Ott, CBS, Car changed GMs this past season and with the news out of Stl that’s another. Stairs, Steen, Tulsky are like 8-15 years younger than Gilman and Waddell has a decade plus as a GM in the nhl.

Not sure you’re going to see a team hire a 60 year as a first time nhl GM.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

Gilman will always have a warm spot in my heart as he told off Aqua on his way out.

I must have missed this. What did he say?

 

[F A N]

Gilman was kind of pushed aside by the Leafs for quite a while now. He basically went from AGM and GM of the Marlies to a senior executive with no defined role. I am sure that he will land on his feet but it might be another senior advisory role. It’s too bad Gillis never got another job as GM or POHO.

 

[StreetHawk]

Gilman was kind of pushed aside by the Leafs for quite a while now. He basically went from AGM and GM of the Marlies to a senior executive with no defined role. I am sure that he will land on his feet but it might be another senior advisory role. It’s too bad Gillis never got another job as GM or POHO.

Honestly, have any of the Gillis tree management people ascended higher than there were here?

Outside of Brackett who was what a lower level scout at the time, I can’t name one person who got a higher level nhl job elsewhere.

 

[MS]

Life moves fast and Gilman was a fantastic AGM in 2010 and the first guy to crack some codes in terms of getting ahead on the CBA but that doesn't necessarily mean he's still at the cutting edge of the sport in 2024 when everyone else has been doing those things for 10 years now.

His career totally stalled in Toronto, which was weird.

 

[StreetHawk]

Life moves fast and Gilman was a fantastic AGM in 2010 and the first guy to crack some codes in terms of getting ahead on the CBA but that doesn't necessarily mean he's still at the cutting edge of the sport in 2024 when everyone else has been doing those things for 10 years now.

His career totally stalled in Toronto, which was weird.

Tulsky is basically the age Gilman was a decade ago and he’s getting his shot now. If Gilman was going to get an nhl gm job it likely would have occurred 5-10 years ago vs the past 3-4 years. His high point should have been after the LV ED. He’s 60 next year and I don’t see a team handing that role to a first time guy then. Trotz is that age but he was with Nash for like 2 decades so plenty of familiarity there.

Steen is 40, Tulsky like 50 and Staios also about 51. Allvin turn 50 in Oct.

Think gilmans window for a GM job is closed now.

 

[Hit the post]

Sports fans can be toxic.

Ask me how I know.

(NSFW-language):

 

[VanJack]

Honestly, have any of the Gillis tree management people ascended higher than there were here?

Outside of Brackett who was what a lower level scout at the time, I can’t name one person who got a higher level nhl job elsewhere.

For whatever reason some on these boards tend to dramatically overrate past Canuck executives.

Cue the endless debate on whether Gillis was a good or mediocre GM. And even to the bitter end, there were still stout Benning defenders, when it was obvious for years how bad some of the trades and free agent signing turned out to be. Heck, even the owner was a Benning acolyte, before he wasn't.

But the rate at which coaches and GM's get recycled in this league, it's significant that neither Gillis nor Benning has worked in an NHL front office since. And even Gilman was on the sidelines for a long time, until he landed in TO.

That's what makes this past year so refreshing. Allvin was the runner-up to the GM of the year and would be in demand just about anywhere if he were to part company with the Canucks. And it seems up and down the organization, they've now got top people in almost every position who could eventually be in demand as well.

It's about time--too bad it took more than a decade or it to happen.

 

[Bubbles]

I must have missed this. What did he say?

It was an article on when he and Lorne Henning got let go. It didn't say what was said but I remember it said Gilman said something to Aquaman.

Not sure why some people are taking shots at Gilman. Before he took the Leafs job, he was considered for the ECHL commissioner job. And he helped the NHL design the expansion draft for Vegas. He spent 15 years with the Jets/Arizona, the guy is a great hockey mind.

As for the "Gillis tree", Henning just retired. Eric Crawford is Director of Pro Scouting in Montreal. I also don't see what the point of bringing up "Gillis tree" either, that's not how the NHL works anyways.

 

[Hit the post]

For whatever reason some on these boards tend to dramatically overrate past Canuck executives.

Cue the endless debate on whether Gillis was a good or mediocre GM. And even to the bitter end, there were still stout Benning defenders, when it was obvious for years how bad some of the trades and free agent signing turned out to be. Heck, even the owner was a Benning acolyte, before he wasn't.

But the rate at which coaches and GM's get recycled in this league, it's significant that neither Gillis nor Benning has worked in an NHL front office since. And even Gilman was on the sidelines for a long time, until he landed in TO.

That's what makes this past year so refreshing. Allvin was the runner-up to the GM of the year and would be in demand just about anywhere if he were to part company with the Canucks. And it seems up and down the organization, they've now got top people in almost every position who could eventually be in demand as well.

It's about time--too bad it took more than a decade or it to happen.

Wasn't Fredo also a Gillis disciple at the start as well? Though my memory might be faulty on this (as it was a long time ago now).

 

[David71]

sam gagner on edmonton

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

sam gagner on edmonton

Looks like he may play today, too.

 

[LadyJet26]

Arniel at the time was an up and coming coach. In his 40s, over 700 NHL games as a player, spent time as a player in the minors, 3 years as assistant coach to Lindy Ruff (successful in his last year), and had a winning record including playoff success in his 4 years as an AHL head coach. He was also known as a player’s coach IIRC (I.e. effective communicator). He didn’t have a lot of prospects to work with but there were no glaring screwups.

That kind of resume would get him hired today.


Well there was an earlier shock of him being able to shoot the puck and play in the NHL this season.

Arniel got the job because he used to be the coach for the Moose. Jets are the most loyal to those that have coached in their organization before. Although they were the Canucks affiliate then it was still run by Chipman who is now part owner of the Jets. Chipman doesn't want the team to win. He wants his min 2 games in the playoffs and that's it. That's the reason why Chevy is still there despite going deep once and the Kyle Beach assault cover up.

 

[F A N]

Not sure why some people are taking shots at Gilman. Before he took the Leafs job, he was considered for the ECHL commissioner job. And he helped the NHL design the expansion draft for Vegas. He spent 15 years with the Jets/Arizona, the guy is a great hockey mind.

I don’t think Gilman is some standout great hockey mind. He strikes me as pretty vanilla. He is however a trained lawyer who is a very competent business (and later hockey) executive. That’s his MO. Gilman was excellent for us in navigating the cap and had long been a skilled contract negotiator. He has a reputation of being a very nice and likeable guy.

Just as an aside with regard to the ECHL potential gig. Howson has been the CEO of the AHL and he sucked as a NHL GM.

 

[Vector]

 

[F A N]

Now Lammikko to Ottawa perhaps?

 

[Kryten]

He shouldn't be unemployed long. One of the smartest people working in the game, IMO.

Countdown to him joining Vegas....

The Capitals have just purchased the publishing rights to the CBA and are working on hiring Gilman, leaving other teams to guess the rules or is otherwise known as “Benning it”