Update: Trevor Linden has been named Canucks president.
The Vancouver Canucks' elimination from the playoff race on Monday night effectively ended their 2013-4 season with two games left to play. The firing of president and general manager Mike Gillis a day later closed a chapter in their history.
Now, the focus turns to the Canucks' future, and the No. 1 name on everyone's mind is one from their past: Trevor Linden.
Multiple reports that the popular former captain would take a position in Vancouver's front office surfaced soon after the news of Gillis's firing broke.
Further to @ DarrenDreger, nothing official yet, but sounds like Trevor Linden expected to be new president in VAN.- Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 08, 2014
Despite his denial, all indications point to Trevor Linden being the #1 option to be named Canucks President.- John Shannon (@JSportsnet) April 08, 2014
I'm told Trevor Linden will officially be named the #canucks President tomorrow.- Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) April 09, 2014
The Canucks are holding a press conference at 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, where the announcement could be made.
The CBC's Elliotte Friedman also reported at the end of March that ownership was rumoured to be courting Linden.
Linden denied he had signed on with the Canucks on Tuesday, telling Global television he had not spoken with the team about an executive job.
'When teams struggle, there is lots of speculation,' Linden told the station. 'I have been rumoured to be doing a lot of things.'
Other names rumoured to be in the mix for a job in the front office include Bob Nicholson, who resigned as Hockey Canada's president and CEO last week, and Jay Feaster, a former Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning GM. As the Vancouver Sun's Elliott Pap points out, Feaster and current Canucks coach John Tortorella have a history together, having won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004.
Linden, who was the Canucks' captain from 1990 to 1997 and let the team to the Stanley Cup final in 1994, is easily the most popular name among those candidates. That goodwill would be a marked change from the end of the Gillis era: Fans have called for Gillis's firing more than once this season, and chanted 'Fire Gillis!' during the loss that ended the Canucks' playoff hopes.
Sun columnist Iain MacIntyre likes the idea of hiring Linden for that very reason. The Canucks, whose season-ticket renewals are going poorly, could use the PR boost. From MacIntyre's column:
For the first time since they became local owners of the Canucks in 2004, the Aquilinis face a crisis of consumer confidence when it comes to their product. The Canuck brand has been badly tarnished during the team's erosion from Stanley Cup finalists only three years ago to non-qualifiers for this season's tournament.
To start the process of restoring confidence, Francesco Aquilini sacrificed the unpopular, unorthodox GM he hand-picked six years ago. To begin restoring the Canuck brand, Aquilini should hire Linden as president or general manager or both.
... Just as changing coaches didn't change the Canucks' downward trajectory, changing managers doesn't make them a good team again. The heavy lifting is all about improving and re-invigorating the roster. But firing Gillis earned the Aquilinis some approving nods and the understanding it may take a little time for new management to revive the team and restore the Canuck brand.
Linden is in a position to help both.
The Province's Jason Botchford echoes this idea, writing that 'no one can woo British Columbia sports fans quite like Linden can ... If you asked would you rather win with Gillis or lose with Linden, the percentage of people in Vancouver who would choose losing would shock people in places like Ontario.'
But he also points out that the honeymoon will not last forever and the move comes off as a 'public relations chess move and shameless pandering to the fan base' due to Linden's inexperience:
He may have been yearning for a chance to get involved again, but, at least publicly, he has shown little interest in the NHL since he retired in 2008. He has carved out a varied and interesting life in Vancouver, but it's one which has not involved much hockey.
How closely he's been watching the league, and all the feeder leagues, suddenly becomes a fairly significant question, especially with a critical draft coming up in June.
Indeed, not everyone is in love with the idea of hiring Linden:
Hiring Trevor Linden to be the Canucks' team president is a good way to ruin a relationship with the one person that all Canucks fans love.- Harrison Mooney (@HarrisonMooney) April 08, 2014
So there are reports that Bob Nicholson and Trevor Linden are going to run the Canucks. Not sure that's the duo I'd pick.- (@mc79hockey) April 09, 2014
Canucks fans will likely only have to wait a few hours to find out if Linden has the job, but will have to wait a while longer to find out if he's right for it.
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/09/can-trevor-linden-turn-the-vancouver-canucks-around/
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