Fan In Van

Not The Answer

Francesco Aqualini said when he fired Dave Nonis that he wasn’t pleased with the way the team was run. He said that the Canucks needed to go in a different direction; that they needed a shake-up and someone who could truly lead the team. That’s why he said he fired Dave Nonis.

And now the Aqualini brothers have hired Mike Gillis, a prominent player agent with zero, count it, zero, player experience.

Tell me, how on God’s green Earth do the Vancouver Canucks expect to be led when they have a general manager who has no experience? Tell me how Gillis, who was Markus Naslund’s agent up until now, expects to deal with Naslund when negotiations open? Tell me how Roberto Luongo can believe that he can win a Cup when he is working under a GM who has never led a team in the managing department before?

I just don’t understand the move. And, hard as I try, I still don’t see much logic in firing Nonis.

So I’m going to dig deep down into my old conspiracy bag again. Look folks, it’s real simple; Francesco Aqualini never liked Dave Nonis as his general manager. Aqualini inherited the team after Nonis was hired; he did not hire Nonis. In addition, I found it very interesting that Gillis has been living in Vancouver ever since the Aqualini’s took over ownership of the squad.

What I’m trying to get at is that all this mumbo-jumbo about “leadership” and “a different direction” from Aqualini is all garbage. It’s garbage. Aqualini wanted to fire Nonis the second he had good reason to, and that reason turned to be the Canucks’ failure to make it to the postseason. Aqualini has wanted Nonis out right from the get-go and wanted to put his own man in. That’s why Gillis has been living in Vancouver, so he could be closer to the team.

Nonis had said before; at the trade deadline, he came to Aqualini with the Brad Richards offer; Nonis indicated that he didn’t want to pull the trigger and Aqualini backed him up on it. If Nonis had his support the whole time, why did Aqualini still fire him?

None of this makes sense. In addition, I still don’t like the idea of inserting a player agent as a GM. If the Canucks somehow manage to land a Doug Armstrong or a Pat Quinn as an assistant GM (Someone with experience) it’ll look a little better. But in this league, experience is most beneficial for successful franchises, and experience is something Mike Gillis does not have.