I don't know Francesco Aquilini, the new Vancouver Canucks' owner. Like a lot of people, I watched his press conference announcing Dave Nonis's dismissal as general manager and thought he sounded like a fan. Nor do I mean that in a pejorative sense. Fans are the lifeblood of the industry. No matter what you do – play, coach, manage, own or comment – you forget that all-important starting point at your own peril.
By their nature, fans react emotionally – they are up when their teams are winning; and down when they're not. Managers can't do that. Managers – the responsible ones anyway – need to avoid quick-fix solutions because they rarely ever do any good, not in the short term and never, ever in the long term. Managers need to divorce themselves emotionally from the day-to-day results of a team and focus on big-picture thoughts, something Nonis understood better than Aquilini. Or so it seemed from the outside looking in. Philosophically, he was taking a sober, long-term approach to building the team and after coming up short in the Brad Richards sweepstakes, figured it was better to do nothing than to make a half-hearted attempt at reinforcing the team at the trading deadline for the stretch drive.
To all those people who wondered why he couldn't land a scorer, my question was: Where exactly was he going to find one? It wasn't as if a lot of teams were dangling proven scorers at the trading deadline. Richards is primarily a playmaker; Cory Stillman was only prepared to waive his no-trade to go to Ottawa; who knew that Sergei Samsonov had anything left in the tank? Usually, the trading deadline nets you a Bryan Smolinski-sort of upgrade. Would that have made a difference in the grand scheme of things for the Canucks? Probably not. In four years on the job – one lockout, three seasons – Nonis made the one exceptional deal for Roberto Luongo; and didn't goof in any major way on any other transaction. He showed he was willing to pull the trigger on a trade when the opportunity presented itself, but not panic and overpay to get a short-term fix that might undermine the long-term future of the franchise.
There is a finite amount of talent in the 30-team NHL and until the next George Maguire or Baz Bastien comes along, there isn't much hope in stealing some of it away for next to nothing. If I were running the Canucks, I'd probably look at moving one of my good young defencemen to an organization seeking that quality and willing to surrender a good young forward in return. Philadelphia, for sure, would be one possible trading partner in the off-season. And here's a radical thought that Leaf and Canucks fans can debate from coast to coast: If after you do that deal, should the Canucks take a chance on Bryan McCabe, if the Leafs could coax him into waiving his no-trade to move back to Vancouver? It'd probably cost you next-to-nothing in acquisition costs to get him. The dollar figures aren't bad on McCabe's contract either, even if the salary-cap hit is a little high. Maybe McCabe could fit in as a No. 3 defenceman, if Kevin Bieksa or Luc Bourdon were on their way to another NHL team to get you the scorer you need.
The Aquilinis weren't all that complementary to Nonis on his way out the door; you wonder if whoever succeeds him might eventually have to tip their cap in his direction, if the Canucks do stay competitive in the near term.
I don't know Aquilini; but I do know Nonis. If I'm an NHL team looking to make a front-office change, you could do a lot worse.
