Vancouver Canucks Post-Season Press Conference

The Canucks held their post-season press conference with General Manager Mike Gillis and Head Coach Alain Vigneault yesterday, May 14th, and they delved into a number of hot topics. If you didn’t have a chance to watch, read on for a summary.

The Coaching Staff:

Gillis talked about the mixed expectations on the coaching staff following the previous season and stated that a 100 point season and division title were a great accomplishment. When asked if he intends to extend the contracts of the coaching staff, Gillis replied with a yes.

The new GM has proven to be a straight shooter who sticks to his word, but he's also shown that he plays things close to his chest. He is quite capable of surprising us at anytime, might he be wavering on his coaches?

Were the Canucks a Contender?

On being asked his thoughts on the playoff success of his team, the GM suggested that the Canucks had not played their best during the Chicago series. He stated that they never found their “A” game, but they were on the right track as they had held the lead in every game of the series.

Note: Gillis did state earlier that he intends to resign Alain Vigneult, but don’t his comments stating that the team never performed to it’s abilities say something about the coaching of the team? He basically affirmed that he thought his player personnel had the ability to go further… so if they didn’t play up to their abilities, whose fault was it?


The Sedins:

One year ago, when Mike Gillis was announced as the new GM of the Canucks, he claimed that he knew the Sedins were good players but wasn’t sure if he’d want to build a team around them. When asked about those comments yesterday, he said that it’s simply difficult to suggest building a team around players whose contracts are expiring in one year, with no guarantee that they will be resigned.

“I thought they were excellent players when I got here and I have an even higher opinion of them now,” he said, adding that he intends to sign them and he will be meeting with their agent J.P. Barry in a couple of weeks.

Roberto Luongo:

One reporter brought up the negative comments that have been thrown about since game 6, in which Luongo allowed 7 goals, and Gillis responded by saying that the idea of trading a world class player based on salary cap issues makes no sense. He cited that there are no salary cap issues on the team, and they work very hard to make sure of that.

Later he was asked if he intends to sign all three – Luongo and the twins – and if he believes he can fit the three under the cap, and he said, “I do believe I can.”


Mats Sundin:

Upon being asked about the future of Mats Sundin as a Canuck, Gillis mentioned that he had met with the individual players earlier in the day, including Sundin. He said that Sundin had been everything he asked for, in terms of being an example in the locker room, his professionalism, character, and integrity. On his and all of the players’ prospects of signing a new contract, Gillis said that he’s giving everyone a few weeks to decompress and they will be in touch thereafter.

Note: interesting that he didn’t mention his thoughts on Sundin’s actual on-ice play. Surely good character alone does not deserve a $10M contract.

During an interview on the Team 1040 radio station a day later, Gillis stated that he had told Sundin during their meeting that "He'd be welcome on any team I'm in charge of."


Steve Bernier

Earlier in the day, the Canucks resigned Steve Bernier for two additional years. Having just inked the deal, Mike Gillis obviously had many positive things to say. He commented on Bernier’s determination and character. On Bernier’s finishing ability, Gillis pointed out that it was Bernier who had put himself in those scoring positions, and that the Canucks would be working with him on his goal-scoring to help him relax in those situations in order to capitalize on the opportunities.


Injuries

As is always the case during the playoffs, injuries are completely hidden from the public. So which Canucks were playing hurt, and did it affect the series? This is the report we received:

Pavol Demitra will be undergoing shoulder surgery for a labrum tear. Maybe this is the reason he didn’t throw a body check during the playoffs. But that doesn’t explain his softness during the regular season.

Taylor Pyatt is having arthroscopic surgery on his knee, but it should be nothing serious, according to coach Vigneault.

Alex Burrows will be having surgery for a bone chip that has been bothering his wrist for some time.

Ryan Johnson will finally have a chance to heal his broken finger.