Official Francesco Aquilini Thread

[me2]

Dave Nonis confirmed the Brad Richards failure to land as the reason he was dismissed today

Wasn't he dismissed about 15 years ago?

 

[Breakers]

Dave Nonis confirmed the Brad Richards failure to land as the reason he was dismissed today

Coles notes?

 

[Peen]

Coles notes?

 

[Breakers]

When was he fired?
Like 2006 or something?

Richards was with the lighting then I believe?

 

[Love]

I wish we could do this for the Canucks instead of having this deadbeat owner

 

[lawrence]

At the end of 2008, nonis as a gm we missed the playoffs 2 of 3 seasons he was in charge.

 

[CherryToke]

Ahh Nonis... I still remember when he "loaded up" for the playoffs by trading picks for 40 year old Eric Weinrich and Keith Carney. I'm sure that had nothing to do with him getting fired though.

Some things never change in the Aquilini era

 

[Hit the post]

Ahh Nonis... I still remember when he "loaded up" for the playoffs by trading picks for 40 year old Eric Weinrich and Keith Carney. I'm sure that had nothing to do with him getting fired though.

Some things never change in the Aquilini era

Keith Carney still had gas left in the tank (unlike Nonis' old friend Weinrich who was too slow for even the old clutch and grab NHL). Problem was, he was a defensive defenseman and we needed someone with offensive skills on the backend (Jovo was out of commission & we didn't know if it was for the entire season). It would be like trying to turn Myers into a shutdown defenseman.

 

[Vector]

Going by a bunch of old articles, Canucks Army summarizes the trade as the following:

Bourdon, Schneider, 1st, & 2nd

Tampa Bay then asked for Kesler and Edler. Nonis wouldn’t do that and Tampa Bay went with the Dallas offer of:

Jeff Halpern, Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, and a 4th.

Nonis wasn’t fired because he couldn’t get Richards. He was fired because he failed to build out around the core. Was wholly incapable of selling a vision to free agents and was content to just accept low-event, barely rosterable players.

Apart from the Luongo trade, which was outstanding and franchise altering, couldn’t do a single thing of substance. Willie Mitchell was the only notable player acquired that had any term or importance. Trading for Brad Richards wasn’t the only move he could have made but to a man completely devoid of any creativity or vision, it still seems that way to him.

 

[tradervik]

Going by a bunch of old articles, Canucks Army summarizes the trade as the following:

Bourdon, Schneider, 1st, & 2nd

Tampa Bay then asked for Kesler and Edler. No is wouldn’t do that and Tampa Bay went with the Dallas offer of:

Jeff Halpern, Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, and a 4th.

Nonis wasn’t fired because he couldn’t get Richards. He was fired because he failed to build out around the core. Was wholly incapable of selling a vision to free agents and was content to just accept low-event, barely rosterable players.

Apart from the Luongo trade, which was outstanding and franchise altering, couldn’t do a single thing of substance. Willie Mitchell was the only notable player acquired that had any term or importance. Trading for Brad Richards wasn’t the only move he could have made but to a man completely devoid of any creativity or vision, it still seems that way to him.

Nonis was basically the shadow of Brian Burke. He drifted through three seasons as GM and, as you say, showed zero vision for team building. I don't doubt that Aquilini grew impatient with Nonis and perhaps his refusal to make a big splash with a trade for Brad Richards was the final straw.

 

[Hit the post]

Nonis was basically the shadow of Brian Burke. He drifted through three seasons as GM and, as you say, showed zero vision for team building. I don't doubt that Aquilini grew impatient with Nonis and perhaps his refusal to make a big splash with a trade for Brad Richards was the final straw.

Ironically if Jim Benning followed the same pattern (avoiding handing out big deals for Myers, trading for OEL, doing nothing), the team would be significantly better off today (even if that meant he never traded for Miller)

 

[VanJack]

In the '05-'06 off-season, Nonis traded Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen to the Florida Panthers for Roberto Luongo and Lucas Krajicek.

No matter what else Nonis did or didn't do.....you have to have a soft spot in your heart for a GM who traded for a HOF goaltender, who I believe became the only goalie in NHL history to be named team captain.

 

[Brookbank]

Ahh Nonis... I still remember when he "loaded up" for the playoffs by trading picks for 40 year old Eric Weinrich and Keith Carney. I'm sure that had nothing to do with him getting fired though.

Some things never change in the Aquilini era

Jeff Sanderson, Shane Brown and Mikka Norenen too i thought

 

[Vector]

Jeff Sanderson, Shane Brown and Mikka Norenen too i thought

Not Sanderson that was on two previous occasions. The Noronen trade always seemed insane to me. Trade a 2nd only for him to play to games and go back to Europe as a UFA.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

In the '05-'06 off-season, Nonis traded Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen to the Florida Panthers for Roberto Luongo and Lucas Krajicek.

No matter what else Nonis did or didn't do.....you have to have a soft spot in your heart for a GM who traded for a HOF goaltender, who I believe became the only goalie in NHL history to be named team captain.

Bill Durnan is upset with you.

 

[Hit the post]

Not Sanderson that was on two previous occasions. The Noronen trade always seemed insane to me. Trade a 2nd only for him to play to games and go back to Europe as a UFA.

Actually what was bad that Nonis couldn't get a backup goalie & Noronen was just one example of that during that season. That's despite trading for HHOFer Luongo & drafting a Vezina capable Schneider (before injuries shortened his career).

 

[wetcoast]

Not Sanderson that was on two previous occasions. The Noronen trade always seemed insane to me. Trade a 2nd only for him to play to games and go back to Europe as a UFA.

Man totally forgot that he had ever played for the Canucks.

 

[Bubbles]

In the '05-'06 off-season, Nonis traded Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen to the Florida Panthers for Roberto Luongo and Lucas Krajicek.

No matter what else Nonis did or didn't do.....you have to have a soft spot in your heart for a GM who traded for a HOF goaltender, who I believe became the only goalie in NHL history to be named team captain.

Just looking at that roster, I kind of miss those years where you HAD to have a designated goon. Wade Brookbank was a hell of a heavyweight too.

 

[Brookbank]

Actually what was bad that Nonis couldn't get a backup goalie & Noronen was just one example of that during that season. That's despite trading for HHOFer Luongo & drafting a Vezina capable Schneider (before injuries shortened his career).

He traded for Maxime Oulette mid season that time. I cant remember what the deal was. Auld was injured or something

 

[RobertKron]

He traded for Maxime Oulette mid season that time. I cant remember what the deal was. Auld was injured or something

Cloutier was hurt pretty early on and Ouellet came for a 5th and went to Manitoba to get up to speed in hopes that he could at least competently back up until Cloutier came back. It honestly wasn't a bad move at the time. Ouellet had basically been quite good in the AHL up to that year, was still young, and was a former 1st rounder. Unfortunately, that season the wheels absolutely and completely fell off his career for some unknown reason, and he was basically unplayable. He played like less than ten pro games anywhere after that year.

That left them absolutely f***ed in goal, as Cloutier didn't come back, forcing Auld - who had come into the season with less than 20 career games - to have to play basically every game. This explains them having to pay a premium for Noronen later on.

For all the bad moves, that team did also have alarmingly shit luck.

 

[RobertKron]

Hah, I just looked. That was Auld's rookie season, and he ended up playing 67 games. That's hilarious.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I remember thinking the year Nonis got fired he finally would have had cap space to do something in free agency.

I never hated his moves or lack of moves with the passion that some here did.

History has shown him to be subpar manager (talking about his time with Toronto etc.). IMO his biggest problem was not being able to identify that the scouting department needed to be gutted and rebuilt. What trades he did and didn't do, who knows. Always takes two.

Turning Bertuzzi's dark cloud in to the best goalie we've ever had is magic.
Letting Jovo walk was absolutely the right move. Bringing in Willie Mitchell instead who was awesome for us until his final injury.

Also Alain Vigneault.

With what we know now, I am almost certain Aqua pushed for the Richards trade, Nonis stood his ground and that got him canned.

 

[MarkMM]

I remember thinking the year Nonis got fired he finally would have had cap space to do something in free agency.

I never hated his moves or lack of moves with the passion that some here did.

History has shown him to be subpar manager (talking about his time with Toronto etc.). IMO his biggest problem was not being able to identify that the scouting department needed to be gutted and rebuilt. What trades he did and didn't do, who knows. Always takes two.

Turning Bertuzzi's dark cloud in to the best goalie we've ever had is magic.
Letting Jovo walk was absolutely the right move. Bringing in Willie Mitchell instead who was awesome for us until his final injury.

Also Alain Vigneault.

With what we know now, I am almost certain Aqua pushed for the Richards trade, Nonis stood his ground and that got him canned.

Nonis actually got some core pieces for the franchise but was passive, and then Gillis aggressively and shrewdly built on that, so while I think Gillis rightly was seen as a good GM (who fell off the wagon after 2011), Nonis was only appreciated after the fact.

Also, no joke but I think Benning also helps appreciate Nonis. Nonis may have been too passive to help the team take the next step, but he wasn't bad, Benning shows that you can be actively destructive and THAT is what should be considered a bad GM.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

I remember thinking the year Nonis got fired he finally would have had cap space to do something in free agency.

I never hated his moves or lack of moves with the passion that some here did.

History has shown him to be subpar manager (talking about his time with Toronto etc.). IMO his biggest problem was not being able to identify that the scouting department needed to be gutted and rebuilt. What trades he did and didn't do, who knows. Always takes two.

Turning Bertuzzi's dark cloud in to the best goalie we've ever had is magic.
Letting Jovo walk was absolutely the right move. Bringing in Willie Mitchell instead who was awesome for us until his final injury.

Also Alain Vigneault.

With what we know now, I am almost certain Aqua pushed for the Richards trade, Nonis stood his ground and that got him canned.

I'm not trying to downplay it, but I think that had more to do with Keenan, his ego, and his love for Todd Bertuzzi. Nobody should have paid that price for Bert. Ultimately Nonis' reign has me nonplussed in a pleasant way. Standing pat was the right thing to do but I don't know that he had the capabilities to take the team to the next level.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I'm not trying to downplay it, but I think that had more to do with Keenan, his ego, and his love for Todd Bertuzzi. Nobody should have paid that price for Bert. Ultimately Nonis' reign has me nonplussed in a pleasant way. Standing pat was the right thing to do but I don't know that he had the capabilities to take the team to the next level.

Oh I agree it was mostly Keenan.

Wasnt it Keenan who wanted Bertuzzi from NYI to Van?

Still the value mined from a negative as hell asset. Its the equivalent of moving OEL for a 1st pairing RD today.