The Vancouver Canucks have named former captain Trevor Linden as the teams new president of hockey operations and alternate governor.
Francisco Lindor Indians Jersey . “Today is a real honour," Linden said. "I came to Vancouver 26 years ago and I have never
left. I love this city. It is my home and the Canucks have always been part of
my family." "Im passionate about the Canucks and I want to win – just like the
Canucks fans do," he added. "I believe Im ready for this challenge. Im
passionate about this team and I want to win." Francesco Aquilini, chairman of
Canucks Sports and Entertainment offered glowing praise of the
captain-turned-president. "We believe in Trevors leadership abilities," he said.
"His 20 years of NHL experience including seven as team captain, his role as
NHLPA President, community leader and businessman offers a very special skill
set; one that will positively shape the direction of this club in the future."
Speaking on the succession plan for replacing Mike Gillis, who was dismissed as
general manager on Tuesday, Linden said that he has a multitude of options to
explore and has already begun looking. "Thats a process that I have to
thoroughly evaluate," Linden said when asked about the GM search. "We will do a
general manager search from both within and outside our organization." With only
three games remaining in the regular season, the Canucks announced that Gillis
was fired after the team was officially eliminated from postseason contention.
The Canucks were also eliminated in the first round in each of the last two
seasons after falling one win short of a Stanley Cup in 2011. "I have a profile
of a general manager that I would like," Linden said Wednesday. "Now its about
putting a candidate list together. Thats a critical path." He would add that he
will operate with "full autonomy" as Canucks president and will make all
decisions on hockey operations. Linden also expressed his intention to have a
new general manager in place by the 2014 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 27-28 in
Philadelphia. Under first-year head coach John Tortorella, they sit 11th in the
Western Conference. And as for Tortorellas future with the Canucks, Linden said
theres no hurry to decide. "Any sort of coaching decision will be made in due
time, after a thorough evaluation," he said at Wednesdays introductory news
conference. Aquilini elaborated on the need for a new man at the top of the
Canucks hockey department. "We came from within one game of winning a Stanley
Cup [in 2011], and it was time for a change," he said. Aquilini added that he
would not stop short of pointing the finger at his recently-dismissed GM and his
current coach. ""Mike (Gillis) hired Tortorella and Im responsible for that and
thats why we have a change in direction today," he explained. Linden would not
offer up any theories as to what led to the Canucks failure to make the playoffs
this season, but pointed to the timing of the decision as beneficial to getting
answers. Linden said hed use this coming week to talk to coaches and players
and conduct a "thorough review" of the season. "Ill reserve comment until I have
more detail," Linden concluded. Gillis came to the organization in April of
2008, taking over for the fired Dave Nonis. He turned a club which had missed
out on the postseason in two of the previous three seasons and built them back
up into a contender, snagging five straight playoff berths, five Northwest
Division titles and two straight Presidents Trophies (2011, 2012). "On behalf of
my entire family, I would like to sincerely thank Mike Gillis for his hard work
and the many contributions he made on and off the ice during his tenure," said
Aquilini in a statement on Tuesday. "The Vancouver Canucks had success under
Mikes leadership, and we nearly reached our ultimate goal; but I believe we have
reached a point where a change in leadership and new voice is needed. "I also
want to thank our fans for their support for the Vancouver Canucks through a
difficult and frustrating season," continued Aquilini. "We havent met their
expectations or ours. We are committed to bringing the Stanley Cup to Vancouver
for our fans and we will continue to do everything possible to reach that goal."
Linden played 16 seasons with the Canucks and is the franchise leader in games
played. As team captain from 1991 to 1997, he helped lead the Canucks to their
second-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 1994.
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and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some
attempt at psyching out Hoyer.SALT LAKE CITY -- Down three starters and behind
by 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Sacramento Kings tried to foul their way
back into the game. It almost worked. Derrick Favours had 17 points and 12
rebounds, Marvin Williams added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Jazz held off
the depleted Kings 106-99 on Monday night. "If you build a lead like that then
its easier when you have some lapses down the stretch. You have a little room
for error," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. Enes Kanter added 16 points and
Jeremy Evans tied a career high with 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the
Jazz took advantage of injuries that have left Sacramento without frontcourt
starters DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay for the past three games. "We had a size
advantage so we wanted to mix up plays with the pick-and-rolls. I thought the
two guys, Derrick and Enes, did a good job of getting in low position and made
some good passes when they didnt have a chance to make a play for themselves,"
Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. In addition to Cousins and Gay being out, Kings
point guard Isaiah Thomas left in the third quarter with an illness. "Some of
our guys were like, Oh boy, what are we going to do now? Now we have Isaiah,
Rudy and DeMarcus all out. It was shellshock," Sacramento coach Mike Malone
said. The Kings resorted to Plan B -- foul as much as possible -- and that
shocked the Jazz. "Im going to do everything I can to extend the game and give
us a chance to win. They were having their way with us, but we always try to
identify certain guys who may be poor free throw shooters," Malone said. After
the Jazz sent their starters to the bench with the game seemingly in hand, the
Kings mounted an unlikely comeback that fell just short. Sacramento trimmed a
20-point lead to five in the final minute but came up empty on three of its
final four possessions. "Whew, that was closer than it needed to be," Evans
said. Jason Thompson scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for
the Kings, who lost their fourth consecutive game. Derrick Williams had 17
points and 15 boards. The Jazz set an NBA season high with 53 free throw
attempts. Utah went 12 for 25 at the line in the fourth quarter, allowing the
Kings to make things intereesting.
Joe Carter Jersey. Sacramento, whistled for 36 fouls, began hacking Utahs surprised reserves midway through the fourth
quarter. "I wasnt expecting that at all. I feel a little disrespected. I missed
some and that messed me up mentally," said Evans, who came into the game
shooting 73 per cent from the line. The Jazz took control in the third with a
17-7 run that was capped by seven straight points from Marvin Williams. His free
throws gave Utah an 81-67 lead with 1:36 left in the period. The Jazz stretched
the lead to 20 as both teams played backups in the fourth quarter. The Kings
started intentionally fouling big men Rudy Gobert and Evans, who were a combined
7 of 16 from the line. The scheme worked, and Ben McLemores three-point play
brought the Kings to 104-99 with 31 seconds to play. John Lucas III made one of
two free throws and Diante Garrett split a pair of foul shots to finally put the
Kings away. "We really competed in the fourth quarter. Thats all you can do,
especially when you have three starters out," Derrick Williams said. Cousins
missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle and Gay warmed up his
strained left Achilles but felt he couldnt go and was scratched from the lineup
just before the opening tip. Utah shot 40 per cent from the field but still
moved ahead of the Kings in the standings. "Its a good feeling for us to move
out of last place in the West. Its a step forward for us as a team," Hayward
said. Thomas averaged 27.6 points over the previous five games but mustered only
10 on 4-of-13 shooting. He vomited at halftime and played just 8 minutes in the
second half because of his stomach ailment. His streak of consecutive games with
a 3-pointer ended at 37, two short of Mitch Richmonds franchise record. NOTES:
The Kings were given a delay of game warning for not getting to centre court for
the opening tip in time. ... McLemore poked Evans in the eye as he drove to the
hoop. Evans missed both free throws while squinting at the basket. ... Kings G
Jimmer Fredette, who played at nearby BYU, received loud cheers when he scored
and boos when he brought the ball up the court. He finished with eight points.
... Sacramento outscored the Jazz 52-38 in the paint despite the absence of
Cousins and Gay.
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