Canuckz.com » Mike Gillis

Gillis Re-Signs Raymond for Cheap

Tonyz Tanti — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:21:40 +0000

The Canucks announced on Monday that they have re-signed Mason Raymond. The restricted free agent re-signed just minutes before his arbitration case was to be heard. But that’s not the surprising part, the surprising part is that Mike Gillis was able to get Raymond to sign a two year deal, worth $2.55 per season. There’s no doubt in my mind that Raymond would have been awarded more in arbitration, perhaps well more. In fact, most pundits (including myself)were predicting $3 million or more.

This begs the question: why did Raymond settle for less? Was he worried that he would get awarded too much and have the Canucks walk away from the award? Does he just really want to win and knew that a lower cap number would help keep the team together? Or did he just run-in to Mike “the negotiator” Gillis?

Mike Gillis has done a superb job on a number of contracts in his two plus years as Canucks GM. His style seems to lay low, keep quiet and then at the last possible minute offers up his best offer. It’s like playing hard to get. Remember when he re-signed Alex Burrows? Rumours were swirling that Burrows would be traded if he didn’t sign before the deadline, and what do you know, he signs a dirt cheap contract. You could almost just see him starting to sweat, wondering what Gillis was going to do.

The fact that Gillis is a former player agent plays a big part in this also. He knows how players think, what offends them, what impresses them, etc. It’s something that we didn’t see with the last few GMs in this town.

So just how good was this deal? Consider Raymond, a 25 goal scorer is getting $2.55 million and compare that to Clarke MacArthur’s arbitration award ($2.4 million for a 16 goal scorer) or Nikolai Kulemin’s new contract ($2.35 million for a 16 goal scorer). Both of those players are of similar age and clearly not as good as Raymond.

Bieksa to Columbus? Got to Love Offseason Rumours

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:17:52 +0000

When you have eight NHL defencemen under contract and are still set to re-sign Shane O’Brien, rumours are bound to follow. When you’re the #6 d-man on the depth chart and making $3.75 million, chances are you’ll be the guy talked about in those rumours. I’m speaking of course of Kevin Bieksa, who was rumoured to be on the trade block by yours truly after the Keith Ballard trade and is now being rumoured all over the place. Despite the fact that Mike Gillis isn’t confirming that Bieksa is being shopped, you have to believe he is.

But where could he be headed? What could be coming back in return? Well, the Columbus Dispatch has done their best to shine a light on it. The Columbus newspaper is reporting that Nikita Filatov could be headed to Vancouver in return for Bieksa. Bieksa would give the Blue Jackets an offensive defenceman that they desperately need. The Canucks would shed cap space and add Filatov, a young skilled Russian forward set to be a $2.196 million cap hit this season. Filatov was picked 6th overall in the 2008 draft (four spots ahead of Cody Hodgson) and played in the KHL last season. He’d be a bit risky to take on, given the fact he could bolt to Russia if he is unhappy about his playing time or life in North America. There’s also the question as to whether or not Filatov would be good enough to play on the team’s top two lines this year or if he has the grit to play on their third line.

Regardless, if this is an offer that’s sitting on the table I think Mike Gillis absolutely has to take it. The upside of Filatov is huge, and snapping him up could pay off huge. Imagine Filatov, Hodgson and Schroeder all developing at the same time and making entry level money. If they were to all pan out (that’s a big ‘if’ I know), the Canucks would be sitting pretty.

Canucks Sign Three! Hamhuis, Malhotra, Perrault on their way to Vancouver

Tonyz Tanti — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:08:54 +0000

Mike Gillis has hit a free agent home run, signing the much coveted Dan Hamhuis to a 6 year deal worth $4.5 million per season. Hamhuis will step-in as their number one shutdown defenceman, replacing Willie Mitchell. He will bring defensive stability and toughness to the blueline.

I like this deal. Hamhuis is only 27 years old, so the six year deal shouldn’t be a problem. Paying him $4.5 million per season suggests that the Smithers, BC native gave the Canucks a bit of a hometown discount. A Bieksa trade can’t be too far away to clear cap space. Perhaps Buffalo would be interested, considering they lost both Henrik Tallinder and Tony Lydman today. The Canucks will be wanting a gritty winger that can score and play on their third line at a low cap hit.

The Canucks have also begun rebuilding their third line, signing Manny Malhotra to a three-year deal worth $2.5 million per season. Malhotra also gets a no trade clause in the deal. I’m not sure what to think about this deal. Malhotra is a centre and if Cody Hodgson is to become what we all hope he will, that will put Malhotra as their 4th line centre. I also don’t like giving a no trade clause to a role player. So this is a bit of a gamble, but it’s a gamble perhaps worth taking. Malhotra can kill penalties, provide size and toughness, and win faceoffs. In fact, Malhotra was the best faceoff man in the league last season, winning 62.5% of his draws last year. I’m a little on the fence with this deal because of the money, but I like it a lot better knowing that it didn’t prevent them from landing Dan Hamhuis.

Mike Gillis also added Joel Perrault to the mix, signing him to a one year deal worth $510,000. The deal is a one-way deal, so the 27 year old will probably play on the fourth line. Perrault is a 6’1″, 200lbs centre who has split time between the NHL and AHL over the last few years.

*Update: It looks like the Canucks signed one more player. Jeff Tambellini (yes, Steve’s son) has signed with the Canucks. A little surprising, I thought Tambellini was an RFA, but apparently he was a UFA. He signed a one-year deal. As long as it’s a two-way contract (*Update: confirmed, it’s a two-way deal), I like the move. He’s a former first round draft pick who is going to get his last chance to become a full time NHL player. Maybe a move back home for the BC boy is what he needs.

Bieksa Being Shopped? Hamhuis on his way to the West Coast? Those Rumours and MORE!

Tonyz Tanti — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:22:40 +0000

We’re one day away from the start of NHL free agency and the rumours mill is churning. With respect to Vancouver Canucks, no name has been rumoured more than Kevin Bieksa. With the acquisition of Keith Ballard, many (including yours truly) have theorized that this makes Bieksa a little bit redundant. Personally I think it’s time to ship Bieksa out of town.

Why he needs to go:

Bieksa is now three years removed from his breakout season in which he was the team’s best defenceman. Since then, his play his slipped. He no longer plays with the kind passion and intensity that endeared himself to Canucks fans. He has been able to put up some decent numbers, mostly due to getting a lot of (I believe) undeserved power play time.

Right now Bieksa is an anchor on the Canucks salary cap. He makes $3.75 million, he’s not capable of playing against the other team’s top lines, he’s not good on the penalty kill and is probably their third best defenceman on the power play.

So just what could Bieksa fetch the Canucks? I think they could get a very nice player for their third line in return, or perhaps a draft pick. That draft pick could be used to fetch something at the trading deadline or restock their prospect cupboard.

You may be asking, why on earth would the Canucks trade Kevin Bieksa when their biggest weakness is defense? The answer, I suggest, is that will clear cap space to sign a better free agent defenceman.

Here’s a list of the top free agent defencemen that Mike Gillis should be targetting:

Dan Hamhuis

The numbers: Averaged 21-22 minutes of ice time and is usually a plus player with an average Nashville team. Typically puts up about 25 points per season and rarely gets injured.

Why he would be a good fit: He’s a BC boy and a good stay-at-home defenceman. He would probably step in as the Canucks #1 shutdown defenceman, replacing Willie Mitchell.

What will he cost? There aren’t many good free agent d-men so you’ll probably have to overspend a little. He could make $5 million per season on a long term deal.

Anton Volchenkov

The numbers: He usually averages about 20-21 minutes per night with Ottawa and puts up about 15 points per season. He’s almost always a plus player, playing against the other team’s top lines on a nightly basis. He’s always one of the shot blocking leaders in the league as well.

Why he would be a good fit: Tough, stay-at-home defenceman that plays big minutes and blocks shots against the other team’s top lines. What team wouldn’t want that?

What will he cost? In a similar situation to Hamhuis and will probably fetch about $4-4.5 million

Paul Martin

The numbers: Averages 23-24 minutes per night on a good New Jersey team. Was their #1 defenceman the last few years. Almost always a plus player while putting up 30 points per season and can play on the power play and penalty kill.

Why he would be a good fit: Would step in as the Canucks #1 d-man. He can do it all and eats big minutes.

What will he cost? About $5 million per season.

The Best Fit

Right now Dan Hamhuis and even Anton Volchenkov are getting most of the publicity but I think that Paul Martin might be the best fit for the Canucks. Having a defenceman that can play big minutes and can contribute in all facets of the game is something they sorely lack. With that said, if they can get Hamhuis, Volchenkov or Martin for around $5 million and shed Bieksa’s contract they will be much better off. That kind of a move would be essentially trading your 5th defenceman for your #1 or 2 defenceman for only $1.25 million. If I were a betting man, I would put money on Hamhuis coming here, because he’s a BC boy and probably wants to play in a traditional hockey market after years in Nashville.

The Third Line

Mike Gillis has hinted that he wants to reconstruct his third line, which could come in the way of younger players stepping up like Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder. I don’t think he can bank on that though, and will probably go looking to free agency to help out the third line. There’s been talk of Colby Armstrong coming to town, but he’s going to command over $3 million which is too pricey given their pay structure. Matt Cullen falls much into the same category, but he’s a former client of Gillis, so who knows.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that Mike Gillis needs to improve his defence, first and foremost. Going into next season with Keith Ballard instead of Willie Mitchell isn’t going to cut it. Changes need to made and Bieksa is the guy to move. Hamhuis, Volchenkov and Martin will be overpaid, but if they’re not ridiculously overpaid then the Canucks need to try to sign one of them. The third line needs to be improved with some players with grit who can also score, but that’s going to be difficult to add through free agency. Ideally they would add that piece in a trade for Bieksa.

Enjoy the silly season!

Trade Deadline Aftermath

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:35 +0000

Am I the only one that had a little bit of trouble adjusting to life after Olympic hockey? What an amazing tournament with such speed, skill and intensity. Then two days later, we have to watch the Canucks take on the Blue Jackets? Tough transition, but I think I’m getting back into the swing of things. The Canucks are on a nice little post-Olympic roll, beating the Blue Jackets in a comeback and laying a surprising beat down on the Red Wings.

They did this, despite not making a significant trade deadline acquisition (apologies to Andrew Alberts and Yan Stastny). The only thing tougher to do than watch Blue Jackets-Canucks hockey two days after one of the greatest moments in Canadian hockey history is watch TSN/Sportsnet/CBC hours upon hours of non-events! True, Wednesday’s trading deadline set a record for trades, but none were of the spectacular variety. TSN went on the air at 5am Pacific time on deadline day! The biggest names (Kovalchuk, Phaneuf, Jokinen) all moved before the Olympic trade freeze, which made for a challenging day for all the insiders. Including this guy:

It’s always difficult to judge a GM’s trading ability because we simply don’t know what he was offered. The only thing we can really do is to look at the other big names that moved, and judge whether or not we would have given up more to get that player. Looking at the list of players that moved, there weren’t many that would have significantly upgraded their defense or forwards. Of those who would have made a mild impact, they were given up for more than the Canucks should have been willing to give up (ie. I wouldn’t have given up a second round pick for Eric Belanger).

So what would I have done? Well, a 6th rounder for Milan Jurcina would have been smarter than getting Andrew Alberts for a 3rd rounder. Getting Scott Walker might have been well advised as well, considering that it only took a 7th rounder to get him. Other than those, I don’t see what the Canucks had to give up. They’re thin in the prospects pool, and just because you have Cory Schneider to trade doesn’t mean that you give him up for nothing.

So who is Andrew Alberts? He’s a 28 year old big defenseman that was a plus-player playing 15 minutes a night for the Hurricanes. Seems promising that he was a plus-player with such a terrible team, but averaging only 15 minutes a night worries me a little bit. I’m not certain that he’s an upgrade over any of their top 6 defensemen when they’re all healthy.

Mike Gillis also made a couple of other moves on deadline day, acquiring Yan Stastny for Pierre-Cedric Labrie (minor leaguer for another minor leaguer) and getting rid of Mathieu Schneider for Sean Zimmerman (depth defenseman for the Moose) and a conditional 6th round pick (I assume it’s conditional on Schneider clearing re-entry waivers).

All-in-all, a very underwhelming trade deadline day, but probably for good reason. Making a deal for the sake of making a deal usually doesn’t turn out well, nor does giving up draft picks and prospects for 2nd or 3rd liners. Stay patient, I say, build-up the farm and then roll the dice.

David Backes Rumoured to be on his way to the West Coast

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:22:02 +0000

Who likes rumours? Everyone! Matthew Sekeres is reporting that the Canucks and Blues may be working on a deal that would see the Canucks acquiring David Backes with Cory Schneider heading the other way. Apparently Mike Gillis decided last minute to skip the Top Prospects Game in Windsor in favour of the Habs-Blues game in Montreal, presumably to watch Backes.

Here are some other interesting things that Sekeres is saying about this rumour:

- In July 2008, one of Gillis’ first acts as Canucks GM was to sign St. Louis centre David Backes to a three-year, $7.5-million (all currencies U.S.) offer sheet. The Blues, grudgingly, matched.

- The Blues are six points out of a playoff spot, and have 16 games remaining before the Olympic break

- Blues president John Davidson was in Winnipeg in early-January, and told a local radio station he was there to scout the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose, Vancouver’s farm team, and the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals farm team. Both the Canucks and Caps are in playoff position.

- The Blues have been trying to get by with the tandem of Chris Mason and Ty Conklin, a pair of 33-year-olds who have been backups more than starters over their careers. Prospect Ben Bishop seems to have fallen out of favour, and long-range prospect Jake Allen proved that he is not nearly ready for prime time with an abysmal performance at the world junior championship in Saskatchewan earlier this month.

What would this trade mean for the Canucks:

-Acquiring a 25 year old 31 goal scorer (last season)

-Adding size and grit

-Upgrading on Kyle Wellwood as a 3rd line centre

What this would mean for the Blues:

-Securing their goaltending future

-Shedding some salary for a relatively cash poor franchise

Acquiring David Backes is very intriguing to me. Is he the 31 goal scorer we saw last year or is he the under performing player we’re seeing this year? Probably somewhere in between. He’s the right type of player they need: a young big bruising forward. My only concern is that giving up Cory Schneider might be a bit too much. If they could throw-in a draft pick, I think they may have a deal.

Lets hope this deal gets done if for no other reason than to wonder what Kesler and Burrows have to say to Backes when he walks in the room:

Canucks Shopping Demitra and O’Brien?

Tonyz Tanti — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:58:14 +0000

Interesting stuff from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Among other things, Garrioch is reporting that the New York Rangers are interested in acquiring Pavol Demitra and that the Canucks are shopping Shane O’Brien. Interesting news on both fronts.

Apparently the Rangers are interested in reuniting Slovak buddies Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra (no word on Demitra buying a house in Manhattan yet). This makes some sense when you think about it, as Glen Sather has been prone to reuniting countrymen, just as he did with Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang and the rest of the Czech National Team.

Just who the Canucks could get in return is another story. Sure, the Rangers would love to have Demitra, but he also makes $4 million per season and the blue shirts are at the cap. Looking at the Rangers roster/cap situation, I don’t see a fit.

So what about O’Brien? Vigneault dressed him in three straight games which has sparked rumours that he’s shopping him. While on the surface this may make some sense, they had better get a defenceman in return if they trade him. The Canucks have been remarkably lucky with their injury prone defense corps this season, but lets not forget that Sami Salo and/or Mathieu Schneider are VERY prone to injuries. They need to have extra d-men waiting in the wings.

This is not to say that Mike Gillis isn’t or shouldn’t be working the phone lines. The Canucks have not been good enough this season and could still use a proven scorer. Let me be the first to beat the Alex Tanguay and Ray Whitney drums. Both guys are pending unrestricted free agents that are having disappointing seasons thus far. Might be worth a shot.

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Forsberg to Vancouver? Maybe…

Tonyz Tanti — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:27:45 +0000

It’s that time of year again folks. Yep, the time of year that Mike Gillis tries to coax an aging Swedish future hall of fame centre to not retire and come to Vancouver. Peter Forsberg played in the Karjala Cup tournament in Helsinki this week, and is apparently contemplating a return to the NHL and possibly play in the 2010 Olympics this February. And Mike Gillis is interested.

The issue with Forsberg is of course his health. If he’s healthy, he’s still a very good player, but nagging foot problems have plagued him over the last bunch of years. So where will Forsberg land? Not Philadelphia according to reports. There are also rumours that he’s considering the KHL, but I would find that hard to believe. The Canucks should have the cap space to sign him because of Demitra’s injury, but would Forsberg consider Vancouver out of loyalty to the Avalanche? In the past he has reportedly felt that way, but lots has changed since then. Both teams have completely revamped rosters (gone are the likes of Bertuzzi, Cooke, Ruutu for the Canucks and Sakic, Roy, etc for the Avs), and are no longer the bitter rivals they once were. I’d still consider the Canucks a long shot to get him, but it sure would be nice to see him in a Vancouver uniform.

Imagine what a healthy Forsberg could do for the Vancouver lineup:

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows

Demitra-Kesler-Raymond

Samuelsson-Forsberg-Bernier

Those are three pretty potent scoring lines. If he gets injured, you throw Wellwood into his spot, and you’re back to where you are now.

TEAM 1410 Sports Radio

That’s right, there’s a new all-sports radio station in Vancouver, and it can be found on 1410 AM. It appears that it will be the home for the BC Lions as well as some US syndicated shows such as the Jim Rome Show. Pretty good idea if you ask me.

The current Team 1040 lineup has a lot of the same kind of show with the same kind of guests. I love listening to it, but sometimes it’s nice to hear about, say, the World Series instead of the Calgary Flames’ H1N1 flu shots.

Schneider in Goal Tonight

No, not Mathieu Schneider (wouldn’t be too surprising considering all the positions Canucks defencemen are playing lately), but Cory Schneider will get the start in goal tonight against Dallas. A little surprising considering how well Andrew Raycroft has been in goal this year (did you know he’s first in GAA and 2nd in SV% this year?!). The move is probably a good one, considering that the last time Raycroft played in the 2nd of back-to-back games he was pulled.

The Return of Matt Pettinger and Your Daily Injury Update

Tonyz Tanti — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:53:07 +0000

How bad are the Canucks injury woes? Well, they’ve brought back a Tampa Bay Lightning cast-off! Yeeesh. Actually, I don’t mind this signing. Matt Pettinger was re-signed by Mike Gillis yesterday. With all their injuries at the moment, bringing a veteran NHL forward who can skate and kill penalties probably isn’t a bad idea. He’ll be here on a temporary basis in all likelihood though. The best they can hope for is a Trent Klatt effect. Klatt was sent down to the minors early in his Canucks tenure, and when he came back up was a changed man. His intensity was up considerably and he became an effective player. Surely, Pettinger will be a motivated player.

Speaking of Canucks injuries, this is getting ridiculous. In what seems like a daily injury update, Michael Grabner will be lost for six weeks with a fractured ankle. Amazing how you can be chased around at high speed by 220 lb defencemen for your career and it’s casually kicking a soccer ball that knocks you out.

After watching the following video I started to think that maybe Canuckz.com should consider spicing up its injury updates? Just a thought…

Friday Night Fights: Burke vs Gillis, Gallagher vs Suitor

Tonyz Tanti — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:12:20 +0000

The all holier than though Brian Burke is at it again. In a video posted on the Toronto Maple Leafs official website, Burke at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft tells the camera about a rumour he heard. That rumour involved Mike Gillis offering Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and their 1st round pick in exchange for number two overall pick Victor Hedman.

“Vancouver has made a major effort to get the second pick out of Tampa Bay,” Burke tells his scouts at a pre-draft meeting. “We heard they offered – again, this is all second-hand, so we’re not sure – [Alex] Burrows, [Kevin] Bieksa and their own pick. Those are two pretty good players.”

Isn’t this the same Brian Burke who goes ballistic every time a member of the media prints a trade rumour? If this was something was leaked out by accident, you could give Burke a pass, but this was him talking into the camera, and the video ended up on the Leafs official website! Clearly, Burke is at odds with Canucks management. He was closely linked to the Tom Gaglardi/Ryan Beedie group that tried to buy the Canucks from John McCaw. He’s also probably pissed that Gillis was critical about the team he inherited at his first press conference.

Unbelievable that the NHL isn’t going to look into this, yet another example of Brian Burke tampering. Aside from him leaving the Ducks and joining the Leafs last year in mid-season, his coach Ron Wilson was on Toronto radio telling the whole world how much he liked the Sedin twins shortly before the two were to become unrestricted free agents.

What makes all of this worse, is what a hypocrite Brian Burke is. He’s constantly up on his moral high horse, when in reality, he’s just as guilty as everyone else. Remember how mad he was at Kevin Lowe for putting an offer sheet out to Dustin Penner? Well, that’s within the rules. Leaving one GM post for another in mid-season, isn’t.

What about being completely uninterested in Dany Heatley because he demanded a trade?

“We’re not going to be in on that,” Burke stated. “He’s a good player but I have certain guidelines on how players ask for trades.”

Well, he had no troubles acquiring Chris Pronger when he was the GM in Ahaheim. Didn’t he demand a trade too?

Gillis, to his credit, has truly taken the high road. He’s voiced his displeasure, but he isn’t going overboard. In fact, he’s not even going to file a formal complaint with the league. Good on him.

Now for a real fight. Did anyone catch Gallagher vs Suitor on Team 1040 this week? Tony Gallagher criticized the CFL in one of his columns, to which Glen Suitor took great offense. Too much offense in my opinion. If someone wants to criticize the CFL, fine. Nobody has to like the CFL. There’s been all sorts of reaction to this, everything from message boards to newspaper columns.

Here’s the part of the column that Suitor was pissed at:

“After all, we are talking about the CFL, where if you somehow manage to scrape into the playoffs, you’re only three wins away from a championship, no matter how bad your record may have been over the course of a season.

And at that championship point, everyone jumps up and down and pats each other on the back and acts as though they’ve cured cancer and declare themselves winners, when in fact somebody has to come away with a trophy in a league that has just eight teams.”

And he’s right! I love the CFL, but 75% of the teams make the playoffs! That doesn’t mean it’s easy to play professional football, but your chances of winning a championship in an eight team league are pretty high! Suitor’s got to realize that the CFL is what it is. It’s a second-rate football league. It’s fun to watch, it’s of high quality, but it’s the second best football league in the world. And it only has eight teams. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.