Coaching Candidate Profiles: John Stevens
Thomas Drance
May 27 2013 04:10PM
Screencap via Kings.nhl.com.
So much of what a hockey coach does happens behind the scenes, and away from the view of fans and media. Most of the time we just don't know that much about how good a particular coach is, often until that coach is fired (like what happened with Bruce Boudreau)...
With that skeptical outlook in mind, we'll launch our "Coaching Candidate Profile" series today with a look at John Stevens. John Stevens is a current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings, and according to Bob McKenzie the Canucks are pretty interested in interviewing him once his season ends.
Does Stevens make sense as Alain Vigneault's successor? Read past the jump.
Malhotra Hopes to Continue Playing Career
Thomas Drance
May 27 2013 12:04PM
Manny Malhotra, a true character guy, dives for a puck in practice.
Image via wikimedia commons.
This is last week's news, but it's such a multi-faceted and fascinating story that I want to talk about it a bit more.
Manny Malhotra's three year term with the Canucks came to an end, as a player anyway, in February of 2013 when Mike Gillis made the decision to shut the faceoff-ace down permanently. Malhotra couldn't defend himself to an acceptable level for Mike Gillis's comfort any longer, with this superficially innocous incident in a game against the Wild being the final straw. Gillis explicitly compared putting Malhotra into an NHL game - with his limited vision - to allowing a drunk motorist on the road.
Last week reports from the Province and Bob McKenzie indicated that Manny Malhotra isn't ready to end his playing career just yet, which isn't much of a surprise since Malhotra never really agreed with Mike Gillis's decision in the first place. Malhotra intends to hit the unrestricted free agent market on July fifth, and though I'd suggest he'll struggle to secure a one-way contract, he clearly still wants to play and still wants a chance to end his career on his own terms.
Read past the jump.
Candidates Emerge in Canucks Coaching Search
Thomas Drance
May 27 2013 10:25AM
Judging by the plethora of details leaking out in the media this weekend, the Vancouver Canucks have launched what is sure to be a drawn out, rigorous process to hire a replacement for recently deposed head coach Alain Vigneault. While the landscape is beginning to shift on the Canucks coaching search front, we shouldn't expect anything to happen quickly here. After all, several of the names that have emerged as the "favourites" are still coaching in the Calder Cup or Stanley Cup tournament...
Let's round up the latest reports and launch "coaching week" at our humble Canucks blog. Some of the names discussed here will be profiled at length later in the week (or later today), so check back for more coverage of Vancouver's coaching search.
Read past the jump.
Canucks Zeroing in on Location for AHL Affiliate, Possibly Utica
Thomas Drance
May 24 2013 08:27AM
Will Vancouver park their newly purchased AHL franchise at this arena next season?
Photograph by: Manuel Palomino Arjona, via eventseeker.com
We've tracked the scuttlebutt about the Canucks's American Hockey League affiliate kerfuffle extensively over the past year - from the Abbotsford rumours, through to their somewhat messy divorce with the Wolves, to the club's purchase of the Peoria Rivermen franchise. When we last checked in on this developing story, the hottest gossip was that Vancouver may let their newly purchased AHL franchise go dormant for a year and scatter their prospects across a variety of north american minor leagues.
Well, thankfully, it now appears that the Canucks are zeroing in on a deal with "a specific city that hasn’t been concluded yet." So that's good news. We should hear more about the deal soon too according to Mike Gillis - who addressed the situation in an apperance on the Team1040 on Thursday - and told Matt Sekeres and Blake Price that, "Hopefully we’ll be ready to announce something by the middle of next week."
Read past the jump.
Don Cherry Puts Mike Gillis, Sedin Twins on Blast
Thomas Drance
May 23 2013 06:47AM
On Wednesday night, during the Coaches Corner segment in the first intermission of CBC's broadcast of Pittsburgh's dismantling of the Ottawa Senaotrs, the always colourful and confusing Don Cherry addressed Alain Vigneault's recent dismissal. Needless to say, Grapes's assessment of the playoff performances of the Sedin twins and the management skills of Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis wasn't altogether charitable.
We've embedded the video above for your viewing pleasure, or you can watch it over at the CBC's website. Alternatively, you can click past the jump where we've transcribed Cherry's comments and also parsed his arguments because that's how we do.
