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VANCOUVER — In a candid introduction to the Vancouver hockey public, new Canucks general manager Mike Gillis took centre stage yesterday armed with a five-year contract and clear convictions about the state of the NHL franchise he inherits.
The rookie general manager, a former player agent who moved to Vancouver nine months ago, was short on platitudes for the previous regime and long on opinions about the state of the club. The former NHL player said the Canucks aren't close to contending for a Stanley Cup, that their player-development system is a shambles, and that the team's forwards are inadequate.
"I don't think this team is close," Gillis said. "I think this team needs to get faster. I think it needs more grit. I think it needs to be more competitive. It has solid defence, solid goaltending, but there are a number of areas that need to be addressed."
This was not diplomatic Dave Nonis, the man whom Gillis is replacing.
New Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis, right, shakes hands with team owner Francesco Aquilini following a news conference in Vancouver on Wednesday. (Andy Clark/Reuters)
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But his opinions were clear.
To wit: Head coach Alain Vigneault did an effective job, even if the 2007-08 season fell short of the playoffs. Assistant general manager Steve Tambellini is a "vital" person to the organization.
Vigneault, whom Gillis had never met or spoken to before yesterday, won the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach in 2006-07. Tambellini is a 17-year employee of the organization.
Both men will be kept and given opportunities to prove their value.
Gillis even said Vigneault's defensive style was a function of the talent provided and that he would expect the coach would adapt to a more offensively gifted roster.
But the Canucks' amateur scouts cannot feel comfortable. Gillis indicted the organization's draft record, as has been commonplace among Vancouver fans over the years, saying "the areas of concern are clearly scouting, player selection and player development."
Gillis said he had no relationship with the Aquilini family, which owns the team, until last week when Nonis was fired. Multiple sources have told The Globe and Mail that Gillis became a confidant of club chairman Francesco Aquilini some time after his family moved here nine months ago.
Aquilini refused to say when he met Gillis. Nonis was fired nine days ago, and Gillis said he took five days to accept the job.
The Gillis family consists of Mike, his wife, Diane, and three children, including 18-year-old Kate, who is a member of Canada's national field hockey team. The family made a decision to move to Vancouver permanently about two months ago.
"So, it's somewhat incredible that this opportunity came along the way it did," Gillis said.
Gillis leaves behind a stable of roughly 30 players, both NHL and aspiring professionals, at his Kingston-based agency, which will either be inherited by an employee or dissolved.
That stable includes Canucks captain Markus Naslund, who can be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
The new general manager did not shy away from the conflict of interest possibilities that will undoubtedly be raised. He said he understood why people might hold that opinion, but that judgment on players will not be made on personal loyalties.
"I don't plan on targeting ex-clients," Gillis said, adding that Naslund has not decided whether he wants to return to Vancouver. "I plan on targeting the best players available."
Gillis, who had a six-year NHL career with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies, called goaltender Roberto Luongo the organization's top asset and suggested the Canucks need to win during the final two seasons of the player's contract.
"What's critical is that I get a response from him and find out how he feels about what has been going on and whether this is the best place for him, or whether we can provide the best environment for him," Gillis said, adding they had dinner this season with a mutual friend from Montreal. "I firmly believe we need to get results while Roberto is here. If we don't have him as a priority, our shelf life with him is about two years."
But the Sedin twins did not receive as ringing an endorsement: "I think they are front-line players, but I don't know if they are players the team will be built around."
This move represents an enormous gamble for the owners. The Aquilinis have never hired a senior hockey executive, and their choice from an untraditional background will get little to no honeymoon based on owners' pledge that missing the playoffs is unacceptable in any year.
"We believe Mike was the right person for the job, and as time and months go on, I am confident that you will see in Mike what we saw in Mike," Francesco Aquilini said.
