Have to wonder if Alain Vigneault is next.

Great minds think alike.

Posted by GZ Expat on 04/14/08 at 09:05 PM ET

Holy crap. I actually did a double take. Had to read that again.

I’m not sure I believe it, but if Burkey does come back I am soooo back on the bandwagon. Heck, I’ll drive the thing.

His wife, Jen Mather still has a Vancouver based tv show..... so it’s likely not totally absurd.

Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 04/14/08 at 09:26 PM ET

I think this was the best move the Canucks could have made.

Nonis may have brought in a great goalie and stocked the prospect cupboard, but his inability to bring in some offensive help in his 3 years as GM was evident, and he did have some decent prospects to dangle, like Raymond, Edler, Schneider, Grabner, ect.

His UFA signings over the years were atrocious.

Santala, Chouinard, etc..... even Pettinger for Cooke was a bad deal IMO.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 04/14/08 at 09:39 PM ET

I guess it shouldn’t be shocking given the disappointment of this season, but I thought Nonis should have had a chance to show his stuff this summer. He would have had decent cap room, a signed core, and some decent prospects/rookies with one more year of experience. To me it looks like the next guy has a pretty sweet set up, including very low expecations.

Posted by Jeremy from Summerland, BC on 04/14/08 at 10:00 PM ET

Where does this leave the Brunnstrom thing?  Hard to sign a contract when the GM gets canned…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 04/14/08 at 10:21 PM ET

Brunnstrom is not the answer...the answer is a variety of things that may or may not include Fabian.

Posted by GZ Expat on 04/14/08 at 10:38 PM ET

I’m wondering where this leaves the rumoured pending Brunnstrom deal as well.

I wasn’t as unhappy with Nonis as I was with Vignault’s coaching this year.  If Nonis is gone, I can’t see Viggy being here come September either.

Posted by Shabbadoo on 04/14/08 at 10:41 PM ET

Shabbadoo I agree.

How can they bring Vignault back now?

Interesting summer ahead. Especially in light of all the coin Vancouver will be spending this summer.

Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 04/14/08 at 10:45 PM ET

Hopefully Brunnstrom can still be signed, and I dont see how Nonis being fired changes anything…
I wonder who the interim GM will be now till draft day, Tambellini perhaps?

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 04/14/08 at 10:55 PM ET

I don’t get why people think that Vigneault may be next. I also don’t get why Nonis is canned. He has the team in perfect condition to make some big moves this summer. Usually the coach gets canned first…
I’m going to throw out there that maybe Nonis has found a better deal somewhere else. Would it suprise you that much if he ends up in Toronto with a fatter paycheck?
I like Kelly Hrudey’s guess as to Nonis’ replacement. Ken Holland, as he lives in Vernon during the summer. Now THAT would be good.
Whoever it is, the new GM had better make the right moves to give us a proper top line.

Posted by Zanstorm from Smithers on 04/15/08 at 12:05 AM ET

I like Kelly Hrudey’s guess as to Nonis’ replacement. Ken Holland, as he lives in Vernon during the summer. Now THAT would be good.

Put down the crack pipe Zanstorm, and slowly back away…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 04/15/08 at 01:01 AM ET

Conspiracy Theory Number One:

Ever think the reason why Trevor didn’t ‘formally’ announce this retirement, cuz maybe he knew about this?  And...maybe he has the inside track on his former mentor and favorite coach (Pat Quinn) getting tapped for the gig?

Just pulled that out my ass at this very moment...I love makin’ shit up.

Posted by GZ Expat on 04/15/08 at 02:02 AM ET

I just about fell off my chair when I read this. I thought Nonis had done some good things for us (Luongo, the young talent).

I thought AV was gone for sure but that Nonis was safe.

Where does this leave us with new acquisitions in the off season?

Posted by Ocenbrez from Down Under on 04/15/08 at 04:13 AM ET

By the way Alanah, you got your resume polished up?

Posted by Ocenbrez from Down Under the influence of beer on 04/15/08 at 04:22 AM ET

I believe that Ken Holland is currently under contract, and Detroit is highly unlikely to allow Vancouver to speak with him.

Brian Burke in Vancouver would be a smarter decision than Brian Burke in Toronto.

Why not Tambellini?  I know a lot of people think highly of him - is it just lack of experience so far that no one has given him a head job yet?

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/15/08 at 06:22 AM ET

If you’ve watched any of this first round games, you see that the Canucks couldn’t hold up with any of them (maaybe Ottawa). The way the Preds won last night? Vancouver would get that lucky once in an 82 game schedule and the key word there is lucky. The coaching aside, the cast of characters isn’t the right one yet again. That is why Nonis had to go.

I am more nervous they they chose a weak replacement. Whoever he, she or it is needs to make the painful decisions necessary to put a team together in front of Luongo. Otherwise Vancouver will keep being the bubble team they were this year or will go on to inherit the NW basement for a few seasons.

Posted by Mike from NYC on 04/15/08 at 06:36 AM ET

Listening to some of Vancouver radio on the internet...sounds as though Nonis was just a ‘nice guy’...a ‘great guy’ according to Ryan Kesler.  Hmmm...maybe that was his problem.  Maybe he found it hard to part with some of those guys he was so ‘nice’ to.

I’m with Mike...they need someone to make some hard decisions...the first of which would be about the coach.

Guess the Canucks WILL get out the brooms this spring!

Posted by GZ Expat on 04/15/08 at 07:10 AM ET

don’t get why people think that Vigneault may be next

In most cases, not all though, a new GM may want to appoint his own coaching staff.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 04/15/08 at 07:20 AM ET

I just don’t get where a complete overhaul of management is in order here. I got this feeling Viggy knew about this firing all along.

Posted by Zanstorm from Smithers on 04/15/08 at 10:10 PM ET

I get more of a feeling that Linden knew about this all the time...why was he holding back his announcement of his retirement??

Speculation here (pulling another one out me arse)...Aquilini is a long time Canuck fan...loves the team.  And WHO, if you were a new owner and wanted to find some advice, do you think he went to for advice??  As a fan, who is the first person you would want to talk to??  Trevor Linden. 

I think Trevor has a big stake in all of this...and what do you think he would advise be done to a coach that sat him 23 times during the season?? 

But then, Trevor hasn’t been the best judge of character with his support of Ted Saskin.

So...there ya go. 

I love this kind of stuff...because its the same corporate BS we all put up with in our jobs...just some of it is out in the open and some isn’t.  Using experience, you can put the dots together as to the power struggle that is going on behind closed doors.  I’m just glad it isn’t my office!!

Posted by GZ Expat on 04/16/08 at 12:29 AM ET

I think firing Nonis was a real bad idea.  It’s never been his team.  This was the chance for him to shine this summer and build his own crew.  He’s working with a bunch of spoiled babies, that should be happy they had jobs.  I think the new owner should have stayed in construction which he is good at and leave his ego at the door of GM place when he visited there.  Nonis got a bad deal.  Period.  Any talk of Quinn or Burkie coming back here would be a disaster!

Posted by Lorenzo from Kelowna on 04/16/08 at 02:37 AM ET

My theory is if Nonis had shown some leadership and fired Viggy he’d still have his job.  Aquilini made it clear that leadership is what was missing. The collapse of the team over the last ten games suggests to me that there was trouble in the dressing room and that the leadership provided by the coach and the captain was unable to deal with it.... and perhaps even the cause of it

Posted by northern spy from denman island on 04/16/08 at 08:02 PM ET

How about Pavel Bure? hehe.

Posted by gng11 from Vancouver on 04/20/08 at 10:52 PM ET

I’m wondering where this leaves the rumoured pending Brunnstrom deal as well.

Posted by men's dressing advice on 11/30/08 at 04:51 AM ET