The Province has confirmed the next general manager of the Vancouver Canucks will be super agent Mike Gillis.
He has been the frontrunner for the job since Dave Nonis was fired last Monday.
The Aquilini brothers are set to unveil him as the next general manager Wednesday morning.
So you may all be wondering... who is Mike Gillis? Well here's some background:
- He's 49, and from Toronto.
- He played in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies in the late 70's and early 80's
- He was a former 1st round draft pick
- Had a career ending knee injury
- He then went ahead and got a Law degree from Queens and taught sports law
- Has spent many years as a player agent representing the likes of Geoff Courtnall, Markus Naslund, Pavol Demitra, and Pavel Bure
- Was involved in the negotiation of lucrative contacts for Tony Amonte, Pavel Bure, Bobby Holik.
- Was considered for the GM position with the Canucks in '98 when they hired Brian Burke
I wasn't a fan of the Nonis firing, but we can't call it a bad move until we see what Mr. Gillis does. I'm at least glad they filled the post quickly. I was waiting to take it all in before I really sounded off on the whole situation.
So here goes...
So like I said before, I wasn't a fan of the Aquilini decision to fire Nonis but they have their right as the owners to make a decision. Even if it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction. However, we can't dwell on the past. We have a new GM coming in and he's got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time.
Mike Gillis is a bit of an "outside the box" candidate. He's never had had any experience as an GM, but that's not to say he can't do the job. In fact, he might just work out really well. Sure people will say there's no experience there and that he doesn't know what he's doing... blah blah blah. Well a good manager needs a good support structure and supporting cast. That'll be his first test and we'll see what he does there. I'd sleep much easier at night if Steve Tambellini stays as his Assistant. But for those that say he doesn't know how to do the job think of this.
He's a former player - so he knows the game and knows what it's like to be a player and how an organization works in that capacity. He was a former first round draft pick - so he knows what the pressure and things like that would be like at an elite level. He's smart and understands the business - he has a degree in law, taught sports law and was a very successful player agent for many years. In fact, he was the man who negotiated the lucrative deals for Bure, Bobby Holik , Markus Naslund and Tony Amonte. So he's no stranger to the business of hockey. In fact, I see this as an edge. He can see the game and business from many angles that other people would not understand. This gives him an edge as he was well known as a shrewd negotiator. Now add in the numerous contacts he has all over the hockey world and league.
If someone say works as a buyer for a retailer they get to really understand the ins and outs of that business. Say they leave the job and work for a vendor instead that now sells product to the retailer. That person would be very well equipped to perform that job because they have been on both sides of the fence and can see the "big picture".
He's got some big decisions to make as far as his coaching staff, and direction this team needs to take. This is a big summer for him as we have a lot of cap space to spend money and we need to improve our offense. Nonis has left many pieces in place that can make him successful as long as he makes smart decisions. I only hope he's not as trigger happy as our owners.
So before we pass too much judgment, I think we have to see what Gillis does and what he potentially can bring to the table.
