While it’s easy to understand yesterday’s firing of Maple Leafs President and GM Brian Burke purely on a results basis, it is a most surprising turn of events in the centre of the universe.
The Leafs recently came under the ownership of a huge media conglomerate, who had given Burke and his dodgy track record a thumbs up. Clearly, without a single game having been played this season, something recently has triggered this knee jerk move - his reluctance to acquire Roberto Luongo and his long-term contract (a philosophical stumbling block for stubborn Burke) has been rumoured to be that tipping point.
Taken on balance, his record is enough to support his firing. His results so far in Toronto are nothing near what Burke had boldly promised. But if you’re removing him on that basis, why replace him with his underling, Dave Nonis? Nonis has been a Burke disciple forever and can hardly visit the washroom without clearing it with Burke in advance. Further, to many, he has been the acting GM in Toronto for some time while Burke sticks to maintaining his principled pompous ass persona.
So whatever direction Burke had the Leafs headed, Nonis will continue with the blueprint to a tee. What the Leafs won’t get from Nonis, however, is Burke’s publicly brash demeanour. Nonis won’t embarrass the franchise with his antics and drag the Leafs into unnecessary media dramas. The very thought of a TV camera causes the baby-faced Nonis to blush uncontrollably.
So it seems Leaf ownership didn’t mind the substance of old Burkey so much, they just didn’t like his style. Who does? Everywhere he’s gone, Burke has made plenty of friends and enemies, often out of the same person. And seemingly, it’s happened again.
Whether you believe the refusal to accept a Luongo trade as the reason for Burke’s dismissal, the very rumour of such can’t do anything but help out the Canucks in their quest to get the best value for their maligned keeper. And for Canucks fans, that’s the best news of all…
While the biggest move of the Canuck off-season has yet to transpire, there has been some recent activity that demands our commentary.
Comings
The most impactful move so far was yesterday’s signing of defenseman Jason Garrison. Garrison, a local product with less than three NHL seasons of experience, has struck it rich, signing a six-year deal for nearly $28 million – a lofty pay-day for a player with one notable NHL season to his credit and who was passed over at the entry draft years ago. But the 27-year-old, a late bloomer, has been a quick study at the NHL level, logging over 22 minutes per game in his first two full NHL seasons. And with 16 goals last season, he looks to be more than capable of filling the offensive void left by Sami Salo, who has begun his retirement early alongside former teammate Mattias Ohlund in Tampa Bay. And while we’ll miss Salo, at times the Canucks most complete d-man, he was clearly (and rightfully) looking for a financial home-run instead of another year in Vancouver at a market discount.
But the committment to Garrison smells like the Keith Ballard debacle all over again (a significant financial commitment to a player with some success albeit only in a low pressure hockey backwater). We can only hope that he won’t wilt under the spotlight of playing in his hometown and, most importantly, manages to avoid the doghouse of Alain Vigneault. While Garrison is a big body, he is not known for his physicality, which will put him at odds with Vigneault from the get go. The real oddity here is that Garrison now becomes the Canucks’ highest paid defender. And he won’t have the smooth skating Brian Campbell to partner with, but instead the inconsistent Alex Edler. At this price, it seems impossible that Garrison will be able to meet expectations. But Ballard can keep him company.
Goings
Outside of Garrison, there has been no other additions, but plenty of players on the way out. Joining Sami Salo on the way out-of-town are Aaron Rome, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Sami Pahlsson, Victor Oreskovich, Mike Duco and Ryan Parent.
The only real surprises here are possibly Rome, who seemed to be a favourite of Coach Vigneault and Gragnani, who was obtained at the trade deadline and forecasted in the long-term as a possible power play quarterback.
Rome, as a depth defender, was essentially redundant with Andrew Alberts still on the team. But the decision to not retain Gragnani seems bizarre, particularly since the team bent over backwards to give him ice time down the stretch so that he could remain a restricted free agent thus giving themselves first crack at retaining his services. Perhaps the signing of Garrison was anticipated, allowing the team to give up on Gragnani?
We will not at all mourn the loss of the overrated Pahlsson, but only the price paid to get him (two fourth round picks and a minor leaguer) - this deal looks like something a panicky Dave Nonis would have cooked up. And for the time being leaves the Canucks (with Ryan Kesler on the sidelines) with Manny Malhotra and Maxim Lapierre as their second and third line centres. Where have you gone, Cody Hodsgon?
Staying put?
Players that seem to be destined surprisingly to start the season in Vancouver include Mason Raymond, Manny Malhotra and, of course, maybe even Roberto Luongo.
Since Raymond was untradeable at the deadline, the Canucks seem prepared to give him another look, at a reduced price. The return of mister flash and dash and his perimeter puck handling are not what this team needs.
Manny Malhotra suffered through a horrible season and the Canucks are on the hook for another year at a very pricey $2.5 million, but with the loss of Ryan Kesler for at least the early portions of the season, Malhotra will get plenty of opportunity to return to his one-dimensional form.
While the signing of new number one goalie Cory Schneider to a three-year deal should have officially put the end to the Luongo era, it would not surprise us if Bobby Lou starts the season here. After all, Mike Gillis, in case you haven’t noticed, is quite determined to do things as unconventionally as possible. From our perspective, it is in everyone’s best interests to move Luongo sooner rather than later. While it’s conceivable that early season struggles by goaltending starved teams like the Leafs and Lightning could up the ante in the Luongo sweepstakes, the reverse is also true and could leave the Canucks with $9 million tied up in a position where only one guy can play. Ultimately, Roberto is a proven commodity whose value, independent of other team’s needs, will not get any higher. Further, he has been the consummate professional in his time here and should be spared any further indignity in this market.
There is still plenty of time in this off-season for Mike Gillis to upgrade his back-to-back President’s Trophy winning team and despite the log jam in net, there is still plenty of money to spend. And we expect it will be spent. Just ask Jason Garrison.
With their New Year’s Eve road victory over Dallas, the Canucks finished up the year 2010 with an amazing regular season record of 48-20-9. That’s a winning percentage of .682 - easily the best twelve months of regular season success ever for the franchise. And after a couple of more wins to start 2011, the team finds itself perched atop the NHL standings.
As our followers know, we will not hesitate to pull the trigger when playing the blame game. So what about now? Who gets the credit for this sustained run of regular season dominance?
The easy answer, of course, is Mike Gillis. After all, he inherited a team that had missed the playoffs twice in three years and is now on the verge of watching his team capture its third straight division crown and, quite possibly, much more.
When you look at the roster that has contributed to the extended run of current success, you will notice that the top three forwards (the Sedins and Ryan Kesler) were draft picks of the Brian Burke era. As was Kevin Bieksa, this year’s comeback player of the year in the minds of many. We’re sure Toronto fans are wondering why he didn’t take this build-through-the-draft strategy with him there instead of pulling a Phil Kessel quick fix. At any rate, we’re quite happy about it.
Digging a little deeper you’ll see that Alex Edler, Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen and Cory Schneider (all key players in this vintage Canuck edition) were all draft picks of Dave Nonis - a man whose drafting record was roundly criticized. And of course, the backbone of this team, Roberto Luongo, was received by Nonis for the combustible Todd Bertuzzi (in a trade offer that no one would have refused). Combine that with his free agent signings of Alex Burrows and Rick Rypien and it’s quite clear that the core of this team was present before Gillis arrived on the scene.
Even the head coach, Alain Vigneault, was a Dave Nonis hire for crying out loud.
Don’t for a moment think that we are pining for yesteryear - we were driving the “fire Dave Nonis bus” as much as anyone. Gillis has been able to do what Nonis was not - he has made Vancouver a desirable destination for players, despite the difficult travel schedule and fishbowl atmosphere. Further, he has reworked the team’s back end while adding the right mix of complementary forwards to the group he inherited.
By far his biggest accomplishment has been to fully recognize what assets he had and retain them with as little cap impact as possible. A man with a bigger ego and less patience would have been more inclined to blow this thing up, putting his personal stamp on the team in the process.
That is not to say that Gillis is beyond reproach. His post season patience with Alain Vigneault is unprecedented; only time will tell if it is warranted. His drafting record is, at best, incomplete. And the biggest contributor to his success may have been simply good fortune - Mats Sundin’s reluctance to accept $20 million for two years of floating. And the lengthy contract of Roberto Luongo “could” hamstring the club down the road.
But like we said, now is not the time for the blame game. There is plenty of credit to go around. Mike Gillis should get most of it, but let us not forget Brian Burke and Dave Nonis for providing the bricks and mortar (not to mention the continued demolition of the Leafs). And a thank you to reader “Jake”, for suggesting this timely topic..
