It seems the Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes are to continue, and that the deal with the Canucks may not be a done deal yet:
Dave Nonis is out in Vancouver, and according to Red Wings GM Ken Holland, that may be his opening in the Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes.
A day after Holland had said the Swedish youngster wanted too many guarantees in order to sign with Detroit, he told the Detroit Free Press today that the shuffling in the Canucks' front office could change things. “We've heard he's reconsidering,” Holland told the paper
That's no good. It could have been one of those big moves that we may now miss out on... Iain Macintyre had this in today's Vancouver Sun:
Owner Francesco Aquilini, unhappy that the Canucks missed the playoffs this spring with a 1-6 finish and apparently unwilling to accept the team's injuries as the cause, fired Nonis during an afternoon meeting at the Aquilini Investment Group headquarters.
If Aquilini has a contingency plan on how the Canucks will operate without a GM - it took him more than a year to hire president Chris Zimmerman, who apparently was powerless to stop Nonis's firing - it should be evident today when the owner explains his surprising decision at a press conference.
And if he has no plan, that will be evident, too.
In the short term, the Canucks can expect to lose prized Swedish free agent Fabian Brunnstrom, whose agent, J.P. Barry, confirmed earlier Monday that Vancouver was his client's first choice but hinted it was contingent on the Nonis remaining in charge.
What if we change the national anthem to the Swedish national anthem before we play every night? Did I mention we've got a really big Ikea too?
