Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis says a total overhaul of the team is necessary to keep it competitive and stand a chance of winning next year’s Stanley Cup.
Following four straight losses in the Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks, sweeping the team out of contention, Gillis says he plans to examine every element of the Canucks, including his own leadership.
“The losing is the disappointment. I thought it was two fairly evenly matched teams. Clearly the power play opportunities were better than ours and clearly we didn’t get enough goals.”
In a season-ending media availability held at Rogers Arena Thursday, Gillis told reporters it would be “highly unlikely” that Roberto Luongo would stay with the organization.
He was more optimistic about head coach Alain Vigneault, who some sports insiders have speculated would lose his job after the team’s failure in post-season play.
“Alain is a very good hockey coach. We’ve had an incredible record the past five years. He’ll be evaluated like I’ll get evaluated,” he told reporters.
Gillis plans to present a strategic plan to the team’s ownership by the end of the week. He said major adjustments are coming to the roster, starting with bringing in younger players.
“When I took this job we decided on a style of play that resulted in great success and clearly the landscape has changed and we need to address those changes going forward. We don’t have a choice. We need to get younger.”
Roberto Luongo, who started the first two games of the San Jose series instead of injured goaltender Cory Schneider, said he knows his time with the Canucks is coming to an end – agreeing with a reporter that this season was “a wasted one in his career,” and that he’d prefer to be a starting goalie.
“I didn’t get a chance to play as much as I (thought I) would, but I knew that coming into the season. I was going to be patient and let the cards play out. When you want to play it’s tough to be sitting,” he said.
Luongo said Schneider had a hard time getting back into the series after being sidelined with an injury for the opening of the series.
Schneider, who confirmed he was out with a tweaked groin, said he had hoped to be healed by the time the series started.
“I was trying to push it and maybe that wasn’t the right answer, but that’s what you have to do when you want to play,” he said.
