Linden named President of Hockey Ops

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2Fingers
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by 2Fingers »

If Canucks win the cup it was a great decision.

If they don't he will be gone in 5 years and we will be back to square one.

I love being a fan of a sports team.
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Blob Mckenzie
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Blob Mckenzie »

Mëds wrote:
Strangelove wrote:
Mëds wrote: First change after the GM is hired is to move Smyl out of his role as Director of Player Development.
Good luck with that, the only person in the organization Linden raved about today was Smyl. :D
I know. :(

Hopefully his business sense kicks in and he recognizes that under Smyls "direction" the Canucks haven't "developed" very much in the way of young players.
Smyl is largely involved with the college players the team is looking to sign and/or has already drafted. He was instrumental in birdogging Tanev, Lain , Volpatti and the new kid Zalewski. He has a job within the organization but he would be about 4th or 5th in line to guillotine. You seem like you expect chicken salad out of chicken shit with a huge urine shake on the side.

I am ambivelant about Samsonite Eyes being given the boot and I am curious to see if some fresh eyes can re-boot the rebuild/reno faster. Singalling out 12 for not cashing in enough lttery tickets or making players out of of the few players that are in the system seems a bit short sighted.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Strangelove »

mathonwy wrote:
Strangelove wrote:LOL at Mathonwy all over Linden like RD on Gillis.
Better a critic then a mindless lemming (not saying you are one).

I'm not all over Linden. I'm actually all over Aquaman because I feel that the move of appointing Linden president of hockey ops is an insult to my intelligence.

Appointing Linden as prez and seeing the Canucks get back to respectability are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE as Linden doesn't have any experience in hockey management at any level.

What Linden brings is his reputation as a honest hockey player that didn't bite any fingers who left it all out on the ice and was a terrific community guy. That is it.

Being a good guy and making the right hockey decisions are two different things. Let's just hope it all works out.
LOL you *snipped* the part of my post that addressed your concerns!

Instead of crying about how insulted and offended you feel, try this: :lol:

And THINK ABOUT what yours truly said about "figurehead".
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Island Nucklehead
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Island Nucklehead »

mathonwy wrote: What Linden brings is his reputation as a honest hockey player that didn't bite any fingers who left it all out on the ice and was a terrific community guy. That is it.

Being a good guy and making the right hockey decisions are two different things. Let's just hope it all works out.
Well, if Linden can make this franchise resemble the way he played the game: honestly, hard working and with class, I think that will be a good start. It certainly seems that the guys Gillis has been drafting recently (Horvat, Gaunce etc) play that way, and if he can further remove this franchise from the head-snap, dive, hair-pull and bite era then that is only a good thing, imo. Having a coach that doesn't come completely un-hinged and attempt to attack others is probably in that direction also, just sayin'

Like I said, hopefully he brings in a GM and front-office staff that are experienced and share his values, and hopefully the owners know to give him a long enough leash. You want to talk about damaging your brand? Imagine ownership not giving him him the autonomy to do his job, or having a franchise hero like Linden being seen as an owners puppet.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Strangelove »

Blob Mckenzie wrote:
Strangelove wrote:
Gotta love Jody Vance's legs though...
for what pool cues ? I've seen better legs sticking out of a nest. She was once hot but the birdlike lower body is unnattractive and will be especially so when she hits her mid 50's as buddy will be pushing those sorry assed legs around in a scooter. She must be what 5 ft 8 and 100 lbs ? Yuck. I am not advocating Serena Williams or Dudette Dumaresqe but JV is a stick and a weak one at that.
HEY!! :evil:

She's got great calves, a wiggle in her walk, and a gleam in her eye. Image

True her hamstrings aren't too hammy... but don't tell me you wouldn't if you ever had the chance!

BTW, pretty sure she's 5' 6" without the heels.

*pictures her wearing nothing but glasses* Image

Please don't ever ever say anything bad about Jody ever again, okay Blob? :(


.
Last edited by Strangelove on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Hockey Widow »

A little timeline info. Take it for what it is worth.

The decision was made 3-4 weeks ago that MG was not going to be back. Talks with Linden began as casual conversation around that time. Nothing firm offered just conversation. Somehow MG got word that these talks were going on and the writing was on the wall although nothing official. Cue the MG interview. Trevor was offered the position officially several days before MG was fired. I don't know what several days means though.

The original plan or thought was to wait until the season was over. Two things happened. One, season ticket sales are down by, one figure I have heard, as much and 7000 tickets. The other was the MG presser which was a shot across the bow of the Aquos. As soon as the team was eliminated, mostly based upon season ticket sales, they acted quickly. By this time MG had heard all the rumblings. Given that he played this game himself when Nonis was here I'm sure he knew exactly what was up.

Linden asked for and received several days to think on it and do his own internal assessment as to whether he wanted this job at this time. The final decision was made before MG was fired, all that was left was the waiting.

The method is an Aquos signature. Having said that I have worked for, with a lot of people who operate this way. And there is something to be said about having a transition plan in place before you act. At least this time they were more transparent about it. None of this trying to pretend it was an exhaustive search.

FA has said since day one, failing to make the playoffs is not an option. I think had they made the playoffs MG may have been given one more year. But the wheels fell off in a hurry. There was serious internal strife on a lot of levels. Trying to get more on that. But I guess the bottom line is when you begin the slide everything goes to hell quickly.

Re Torts.

Prior to the big Cali road trip and the subsequent Calgary game, the players were very supportive of Torts. What some of us thought or hoped was a galvanizing moment, a team searching for an identity, was perceived by many as an embarrassment. The response during that road trip did not sit well with a number of players who saw it more as a loss of composure than a statement. Torts going ape shit before the start of the Calgary game and at the end of the first period lost the room. One player described it as very confusing. The players didn't really understand what he was so triggered by.

During his suspension there was general dislike for Sullivan. By then I think Torts lost the room and the respect of a number of players. There was internal talk, not sure how serious it was, about dismissing Torts then. I am lead to believe that a former GM favoured letting Torts go but I am still trying to get more juice on that one.

Once the wheels fell off the general perception was that Torts had no real idea how to stop the slide. His relationship with MG was not a strong one in the end. I was told today that Torts has very little support left among the players. He very quickly went from being well like and having full support to being tuned out and not respected.

If this is accurate I fully expect that Linden will get, if he doesn't already have, very frank feedback. I believe he has the authority to remove Torts if that is the case. It was one thing he insisted upon, was full hockey operations autonomy. I think he has been given that. How it plays out over the years we will see. But I think Torts and his entire staff will be history soon.

The people I talked to today said they would be shocked, stunned, if Torts was back. But then I was told that about AV, when Nonis was fired :mrgreen:

The general feedback has been very positive and optimistic. I also think the Aquos will be going out of their way to improve their image and will do what they can to remove the meddling owner stigma. Bottom line, it's business and their business is taking a huge hit right now, or at least the threat for that to happen is there.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by ukcanuck »

mathonwy wrote:
Strangelove wrote:LOL at Mathonwy all over Linden like RD on Gillis.
Better a critic then a mindless lemming (not saying you are one).

I'm not all over Linden. I'm actually all over Aquaman because I feel that the move of appointing Linden president of hockey ops is an insult to my intelligence.

Appointing Linden as prez and seeing the Canucks get back to respectability are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE as Linden doesn't have any experience in hockey management at any level.

What Linden brings is his reputation as a honest hockey player that didn't bite any fingers who left it all out on the ice and was a terrific community guy. That is it.

Being a good guy and making the right hockey decisions are two different things. Let's just hope it all works out.
You and intelligence is mutually exclusive is more like it. You're fixating on inexperience as if mattered.

Were you listening to his answer to that question? Did you hear inexperience talking, I didn't.

Let's recap shall we? He said he was going to surround himself with knowledgable people, he mentioned being mentored by the legendary Pat Quinn and Stan smyl, he has already spoken to Yzerman, Sakic, and Neely about exactly your concerns. He mentioned several times that he sees his function is to hire a GM and a managerial team, and to be the leader of that team... A captain if you will...

There's a point here I'm trying to make about experience... Gee I wonder what that would be....?

Oh yeah! you're an idiot.
Last edited by ukcanuck on Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by mathonwy »

ukcanuck wrote:[
You and intelligence is mutually exclusive is more like it. You're fixating on inexperience as if mattered.

Were you listening to his answer to that question? Did you hear inexperience talking, I didn't.

Let's recap shall we? He said he was going to surround himself with knowledgable people, he mentioned being mentored by the legendary Pat Quinn and Stan smyl, he has already spoken to Yzerman, Salic, and Neely about exactly your concerns. He mentioned several times that he sees his function is to hire a GM and a managerial team, and to be the leader of that team... A captain if you will...

There's a point here I'm trying to make about experience... Gee I wonder what that would be....?

Oh yeah! you're an idiot.
Insulting the other poster is always the best way to end a conversation.

You win Uk!

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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by ukcanuck »

Glad I could straighten you out
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Strangelove »

Hockey Widow wrote: The decision was made 3-4 weeks ago that MG was not going to be back. Talks with Linden began as casual conversation around that time. Nothing firm offered just conversation. Somehow MG got word that these talks were going on and the writing was on the wall although nothing official. Cue the MG interview.

The people I talked to today said they would be shocked, stunned, if Torts was back.
OMG the Great Strangelove is a GENIUS!!! :thumbs:

*goes back and deletes all the Bob Nicholson posts*
Hockey Widow wrote: It was one thing he insisted upon, was full hockey operations autonomy. I think he has been given that.
Are you trying to insult Mathonwy's intelligence? :mrgreen:
Hockey Widow wrote: I also think the Aquos will be going out of their way to improve their image and will do what they can to remove the meddling owner stigma.
Yeah I think everyone realizes this.

I think everyone can trust Gilman and Henning and McNab (or whoever) and.... Linden
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Strangelove »

Island Nucklehead wrote: Like I said, hopefully he brings in a GM and front-office staff that are experienced and share his values, and hopefully the owners know to give him a long enough leash. You want to talk about damaging your brand? Imagine ownership not giving him him the autonomy to do his job, or having a franchise hero like Linden being seen as an owners puppet.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=713673

"You need to surround yourself with good people. It's about building a good team not only on the ice but off the ice too. There will be changes, but I intend to surround myself with good, thoughtful, independent thinkers. That's how we will make the right decisions."

A "figurehead" isn't necessarily completely without power.

He won't be a puppet of the pwners, he will the face of the organization... imo.

I'm good with that.

And no doubt, over time, as he learns, he will become more than that.

Now if he starts to run amok, I'll be the first to complain.

But he's a smart man and he knows a few things about leadership, so no chance of that.

My name is Strangelove and I love this hiring.
Last edited by Strangelove on Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by mathonwy »

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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Arachnid »

mathonwy wrote:
ukcanuck wrote:Some people are making it sound like its literally rocket science

Learn the ropes... That there is a joke. The guy spent his entire life in hockey I'm sure he knows wtf..

The hard part in being a manager is making tough decisions with big money... Dudes done that as a NHLPA exec.

I don't think it's a leap to say that he has as much experience as a GM as gillis had, which was none.

He also has respect around the league as a solid player and as a straight shooter.

The Canucks could have done a lot worse today ...
Running a hockey team is probably harder than "rocket science" as in rocket propulsion science, you typically don't have a customer base as passionate as Canuck fans are.

Learn the ropes? Sort of like learning how to drive standard by being given the keys to a Masserati?

Spent his entire life in hockey? That's sort of like saying, that person's been a waiter all his life, so he must know a thing or two about running a restaurant. Linden has been an EMPLOYEE all of his hockey career.

If only he was just a "manager". That would have been the smart decision actually if Aquaman had hired Linden to be director of player personnel. But nope, he is il presidente.

Gillis had 20 years as a player agent when he took over.

Respect and being a straight shooter plays zero role when it comes to knowing how to run a professional hockey team other than appeasing the local populace by presenting them a marketing figure-head that we know and implicitly trust.

Edit.
What are you? 2?

You know nothing.

Trevor Linden was President of the NHLPA.

It is not an 'employee' position.

It is a PRESIDENT position

It is a management position.

The guy is revered in some circles for saving modern hockey from itself.

You are like a wannabe Dude...and a bad one at that.

Next time either come with a bitter limp-dick alcoholic attitude or some substance to your argument.

What have you accomplished in your short miserable life?

Other than the occasional funny. 8-)
I love every move Jim Benning makes 8-)
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by mathonwy »

Arachnid wrote:
What are you? 2?

You know nothing.

Trevor Linden was President of the NHLPA.

It is not an 'employee' position.

It is a PRESIDENT position

It is a management position.

The guy is revered in some circles for saving modern hockey from itself.

You are like a wannabe Dude...and a bad one at that.

Next time either come with a bitter limp-dick alcoholic attitude or some substance to your argument.

What have you accomplished in your short miserable life?

Other than the occasional funny. 8-)
You sound bitter. Bitter enough to personally attack me. Why are you bitter?
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Re: Linden named President of Hockey Ops

Post by Art Vandelay »

wow as usual poster mathonwy nailed it . I guess if you consider a foul tip with a rolled up newspaper nailing it. Go back to following boys intramurals handball. You are out of your element regarding hockey talk.

:baaa: :drink:
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