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Fallout of Nonis Firing
by Alanah McGinley on 04/15/08 at 01:11 PM ET
Comments (21)
The Vancouver Canucks have a press conference scheduled later this morning—I’ll update this post as soon as it happens. (11:10am PT: Updates now below)
Meanwhile, Spector summed up the msm reaction to the Dave Nonis execution firing earlier today:
The firing caught many hockey observers by surprise and some were quick to offer their opinions. TSN’s Bob McKenzie believes it’s the wrong move, citing the good work Nonis had done over the last three seasons in building the Canucks roster and that he couldn’t be held at fault for the rash of injuries to key players that hampered the club this season. Iain MacIntyre also suggested the team ownership had jumped the gun, while Ed Willes of the Province considered it a panic move and a farce.
Nonis must really be a nice guy, because I can’t remember a time in Canucks history where so much hockey media actually thought a Canucks GM should not be fired.
Anyway, some idle speculation before the press conference starts…
-- Brian Burke talk has already started.
Vancouver’s CBC television broke into the national playoffs coverage last night to announce the Nonis firing as breaking news, and before the story had progressed past 3 sentences, someone on the set had already mentioned the words “Brian Burke.” Burke talk is coming up elsewhere, too. If today’s press conference is announcing anything besides the name of the new GM, we can expect more of it.
-- Vancouver has finally been properly introduced to Francesco Aquilini.
Canning Nonis, the Canucks’ owner has put his first serious stamp on this team. The question is, did he do it because he believes Nonis can’t do his job, or because he has his own ideas for the future of the Canucks?
At the moment, it just looks like a powerplay by Aquilini. (But then again, I’m not someone who thought that Dave Nonis should’ve been fired, to be honest.)
-- How does this affect the Brunnstrom deal?
A couple people speculated about this in the comments of this post last night. I figure the possibilities are:
(1) Brunnstrom is already signed and Aquilini fired Nonis as soon as he delivered that new contract to his office, while the ink was still wet. (*Unlikely. That would be too sleazy even for an NHL owner, I’d think.)
(2) Brunnstrom will never be signed because he’s now a bit concerned about the nutcases running the show in Vancouver
(3) Someone else besides Nonis (possibly Steve Tambellini?) has been handling his negotiations. (Also unlikely.)
If you like to bet, pick option #2.
In the Detroit Free Press, Helene St. James wrote that Brunnstrom future got a little less certain today:
“We’ve heard he’s reconsidering [Detroit],” general manager Ken Holland said this morning.
I can believe it. The Canucks look like a jetliner in free-fall at the moment.
___________________________
More later. Press conference should help… although, if Aquilini turns Alain Vigneault into a joint GM/Coach, I swear I’ll go on a hunger strike.
Press Conference
(11:00am PT: being updated live...)
Aquilini took the podium and talked about:
-- the disappointment of the team not making the playoffs. talks about being a big fan of the team. The fans “deserve a better season than the one we gave them.”
-- so - despite the fact that Dave is a “terrific person” he had to be let go.
He also said that, as owners, they have two responsibilities:
(1) to get the best leadership possible
(2) give them the resources they need to get that done.
Aquilini states uniquivocally that Dave Nonis had their permission to spend right up to the cap during the season.
They are actively looking for a new GM and the timeline is just “as soon as possible.”
Tommy Larscheid (from Team 1040) seems a bit unimpressed with Aquilini’s decision and comments, asking him at one point “How did you sleep last night?” and then mentions that (paraphrased) “you’ve mentioned the word leadership about 10 times now, so define leadership”. (Smartass, Tommy!)
Aquilini states that Tambellini is ‘acting’ as operations manager for now, but doesn’t go so far as to call him acting GM.
Aquilini states that the new GM will be the one to decide on the new coach, etc.
When asked about the style of play that the Canucks play, the “entertainment value”, Aquilini states “the style of play I like is ‘winning’”. (Clearly another smartass...)
Ah. Someone else in the press corps asks Aquilini to define “leadership”. Methinks the Vancouver media isn’t buying into much of this explanation for the firing.
Conference over.
Wow. That didn’t go well for our team’s owner at all. Holy.
More Reactions...
Updated at 11:45am PT etc…
Jim Hughson has been speaking to Fan590 this morning, and wasn’t sounding too impressed with the Nonis firing, either. He made the following points on the air:
-- Canucks had a lot of injuries, and could not recover. And so the owners panicked and it was ‘goodbye Nonis’
-- Nonis had a plan for this off-season that would have gotten the Canucks up to par. Now Hughson feels it may be as much as six years before stability is established.
-- mentions that the Aquilinis are not Brian Burke supporters at all.
Gary Kingston summarizes the press conference in the Vancouver Sun.
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: brian+burke, dave+nonis, fabian+brunnstrom, francesco+aquilini,
Comments
This is certainly going to be interesting. I’m still surprised that Nonis was let go—I mean, he did manage one hell of a trade to get Luongo and it’s not like the Canucks were absolute crap this year. They should bring in Neil Smith. I know he was the butt of jokes for a long time, but he’s a good hockey guy. Vancouver doesn’t need an overhaul, just a few tweaks.
Posted by JimH from Burlington, ON on 04/15/08 at 12:45 PM ET
They should bring in Neil Smith.
Why? Are there no backup goalies available? 
Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 04/15/08 at 01:28 PM ET
I just can’t believe they fired Nonis. What a stupid move. He’s really done a great job of building this team to the point where we don’t have a bunch of useless aging veterans taking up cap space. We’ve got the best goalie in the league and a whole roster of top d-men and a few to spare if we wanted to go after a big scorer.
Nonis was in great position in the off season to really make his mark. Whoever gets the job is laughing at how well he is set up with cap space.
I didn’t agree with the coaching this year or even last year. I hope to God that the new GM cans AV. And please, for the love of God - no Tembellini and no Burke.
Posted by Trini from VanC on 04/15/08 at 01:46 PM ET
You can listen to the Hughson interview here…
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 04/15/08 at 02:46 PM ET
I wouldn’t have minded the firing of Nonis, if Aquilini had been able to come up with one good reason to back up his decision.
That press conference room must have been pretty stuffy with all the cliches Francisco filled the air with.
Posted by Shabbadoo on 04/15/08 at 02:48 PM ET
Remember last week when we fans (the faithful idiots that we are) just have to worry about losing Linden and maybe Naslund? Maybe this time next week Mike Milbury will be the New Canuck GM & coach. (*spits*)
Posted by Mike from New York on 04/15/08 at 03:53 PM ET
Getting rid of Nonis was a smart move.
He had 3 years to upgrade the top 6 and he didnt get it done, he gave out NTC’s like they were candy.... Nonis had a lot of good prospects he could have dangled when it was as clear as the light of day that the Canucks did not have any secondary scoring whatsoever, and his UFA additions were absolutely pathetic.
Aquilini might be hated right now, but if he picks the right GM for the job, who can actually sign a decent UFA or two AND complete a blockbuster trade that brings in someone who can actually play the game night after night, and pop in more than 30 goals a season.
Posted by PuckHound61 on 04/15/08 at 03:59 PM ET
Puckhound61 - How did Nonis “hand out NTC’s like candy”????
Here is our list of NTC candidates.
Roberto Luongo
Markus Naslund
Mattias Ohlund
Sami Salo
Willie Mitchell
Since Nazzy is a free agent you can’t count him. That means Nonis had a chance to get rid of other D such as Bieksa next year in a trade to bring in scoring. The following year you’ve got Salo and Ohlund at the end of their contracts and people like Edler and Bourdon blooming. I think Nonis made great strides without “pulling the trigger”. I could see this team building to something great. Now we’re back at the rebuilding stage with a new GM who wants to put their stamp on the team.
Posted by Trini from VanC on 04/15/08 at 04:27 PM ET
I could see this team building to something great. Now we’re back at the rebuilding stage with a new GM who wants to put their stamp on the team.
No, we arent back at the re-building stage whatsoever.
The new GM will just continue on with the work that the previous GM was doing, as is the case with any GM who takes over a team.
I think its possible that Aquilini will advise the new GM of what players should not be dealt and the team continues in the right direction.
Salo or Ohlund could have been moved before the deadline, but thanks to generous Dave and his NTC’s, there wasnt a chance in hell they would waive them…
How do you mean great strides, by missing the playoffs 2 out of 3 years?
Those type of strides need to be avoided if anything.
We have assets, and was given the green light o spend to the max, and he did what he has did ever since he dealt away Bertuzzi for Luongo, he sat on his ass and made no deals to improve the offense, and its baloney to think a deal wasnt out there… if that was the case, transactions would be very rare.
I believe we are heading in the right direction, and I dont care how much love Nonis had for the Canucks, he had 3 years to not only draft properly, but to add missing pieces.
He failed in adding the pieces, but did well in other areas.
Posted by PuckHound61 on 04/15/08 at 05:37 PM ET
Puckhound _ what forwards were available that weren’t going to screw up the salary cap, or mortgage the future??? NONE. Nonis was fired cause he wouldn’t sell out the future for the moron fans (like you) that think teams get built over night. Aquilini sounded like your typical son of a successful business owner who’s never had to be patient enough to see a good business plan blossom into a success_ he just spewed out buzzwords, and cliches, like an idiot, and the funny thing was the intelligent media guys weren’t buying it! 1 more year would have been prudent. This could be the biggest blunder in franchise history!
Posted by kev from n van on 04/15/08 at 07:58 PM ET
What about the timing? Why now? Why not wait to sign Fabian? For the first time in 35 years i’m embarrassed to be a Canucks fan.
Puckfan- Which free agent should Nonis have shelled $8 million out for? Gomez, Drury, or Briere? Or are you one of those boneheads that likes trades like the Sedins for Jokinen cause that will solve our secondary scoring issue?
Posted by kev from n van on 04/15/08 at 08:06 PM ET
What a gong show.
1 year removed from the best point total ever, going into a summer with tons of cap space and now this.
Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 04/15/08 at 09:26 PM ET
Aquilini knows a lot about business and dick all about hockey.
Posted by Zanstorm from Smithers on 04/15/08 at 10:13 PM ET
What makes you think he knows anything about business? I’d be a business guru if I inhereted a few million and a profitable business from my daddy too. Does Paris Hilton know anything about business? How did this guy manage to mess up the wet dream that was going to be this off season. What a putz. He says leadership is having a plan, maybe he should have had 1 before he fired his GM and called a press conference that had him looking like a grade 8 english student giving his first public speech. That was embarrassing!
Posted by kev from n van on 04/15/08 at 11:06 PM ET
Hockey is business.
Hey where do I send the resume?
Posted by Laker from dapuddle on 04/15/08 at 11:21 PM ET
I wish I could tell Aquilini what a dipshit he is, i geuss i’ll have to resort to posting my opinions here, there, and everywhere. The results on the ice year to year were less important to me during this building process than the assett accumulation and team building. If you read between the lines its more about Aquilini’s ego and instant results. What a @#@#ing moron. Who ties his shoes. The only thing hockey about Aquilini is his greasy hockey mullet.
Posted by kev from n van on 04/15/08 at 11:43 PM ET
Hey Kev, i totally agree with you. This whole thing is shitty. The replacement had better be good…
Posted by zanstorm from Smithers on 04/16/08 at 03:04 AM ET
Puckhound _ what forwards were available that weren’t going to screw up the salary cap, or mortgage the future??? NONE. Nonis was fired cause he wouldn’t sell out the future for the moron fans (like you) that think teams get built over night. Aquilini sounded like your typical son of a successful business owner who’s never had to be patient enough to see a good business plan blossom into a success_ he just spewed out buzzwords, and cliches, like an idiot, and the funny thing was the intelligent media guys weren’t buying it! 1 more year would have been prudent. This could be the biggest blunder in franchise history!
Well, too bad your wrong, because he has been fired, thank god, and yes, sometimes you have to stick your toe in the water and get it wet… Dave apparently is afraid of water..
trading away 1 prospect and a pick to obtain a absolutely necessary piece to be a very competitive team was all it took, however, Nonis stood pat, and is paying the consequences, rightfully so… and I like how dumb-asses like yourself say the same thing over and over and over, that he would have had to mortgage the team to bring in some talent.. thats the biggest crock of BS, look at the history of any great GM, they do what needs to be done, if salary has to be moved to accomodate a player, then move the goddamn salary and pull the trigger on a trade..
Now that you have finnaly been brought up to speed on how to be a successful GM, maybe you should think next time before posting crap..
Nonis is gone and maybe, just maybe the new GM will finally bring this team what it has needed for years, a top notch centerman, someone who can play with the Sedins, better 3rd and 4th line players than what Nonis brought in (his UFA signings were the worst in the league, for any GM)
and HOPEFULLY, the new GM doesnt give out these damn NTC’s, unless the player in question is worth millions and under 30 yrs old.
Thank GOD Nonis is gone!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Job Mr. Aquilini.
Posted by PuckHound61 on 04/16/08 at 03:52 PM ET
I’ve reading a bunch of blogs and can’t believe how patient Vancouver fans seem to be regarding some undefined future plans that Nonis may or may not have had to “tweak” this team. The common thread is that that’s all that was needed. Who knows. What we do know is that as an exec. earning a Million bucks a year (more than many execs who lead corporations comprised of thousands of employees and having jobs with way more complexity than tweaking the job roster of 30 plus employees) should be judged by performance. Canucks didn’t last long in the past year’s playoffs and they didn’t make it this year. Cudo’s to Nonis’ manager for making someone accountable. Being a nice guy doesn’t qualify someone to earn the kind of money Nonis did. Results do.
Posted by Frank Hardly from N. Van on 04/16/08 at 06:00 PM ET
I’m just completely surprised there has been no mention of Viggy being fired, let go, sent in another career direction.
Don’t understand that one at all… hell, throw a suit on Linden he’d do a better job.
(joke… but maybe in a few years it won’t be) 
Posted by LOUiE from Cowtown on 04/16/08 at 11:57 PM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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So now Toronto is after Brian Burke, Vancouver is after Brian Burke...and his current team dropped the first two games at home to Dallas.
If his team keeps playing like this, he may be available for job offers a lot sooner than he planned. He must be furious about the timing of this and all the talk.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/15/08 at 12:44 PM ET