Monday April 7: Anaheim Ducks 3 - Vancouver Canucks 0

UPDATE: 11:50 AM - Mike Gillis has, in fact, been let go by the Vancouver Canucks. Francesco Aquilini will be meeting the media on Wednesday to talk about what happens next.

Not sure this is worth re-living, but for the sake of consistency, here are your highlights from the Canucks' shutout loss to Anaheim on Monday. Vancouver is now officially out of playoff contention.



The official line from the players last night is that the team played a "good first period" but had trouble with execution. I don't wanna kick 'em when they're down, but when Andrew Cogliano earned his first of two clear-cut breakaways 14 seconds into the game, I wouldn't say the Canucks started the game with a great sense of desperate urgency.

I've given the players a lot of credit for their compete level over the past couple of weeks, when all was virtually lost, especially last Saturday against the Kings. But Monday's game was a listless affair.

The Ducks defended well. Rookie defenseman Hampus Lindholm was in the lineup for the first time in Vancouver after being scratched for Anaheim's earlier visit, and he was terrific. He broke up the Canucks' one dangerous two-on-one with a tidy little stick check and also played the body more than I was expecting from a 20-year-old. Lindholm has an impressive sense of confident authority about him that will likely make him very tough to play against for years to come.

Anaheim's other rookie, goaltender John Gibson, pitched a shutout in his first-ever NHL game, and likely wasn't even especially buzzed about his achievement. He looked bored for much of the night, raising his arm enthusiastically for icing after icing in the second period as the Canucks struggled to cross the 10-shot plateau. His most difficult save of the night was probably a close-in chance by Nicklas Jensen. He must think this NHL thing is going to be a walk in the park.

Once the Ducks converted a Kevin Bieksa giveaway into their third goal of the night early in the third period, the writing was on the wall. Plenty of fans left early, and those who remained decided to give their lungs a workout with about three minutes left in the game.

Did the "Fire Gillis" chant come across on television?

I felt for the MG in the moment. Nothing easy about having your job performance judged in such a public fashion. It was pretty amazing to watch the chant build momentum around the arena, with the remaining fans in their blue-and-white smiling and clapping along for a good 90 seconds or so of continuous (but monotonous) on-ice action. The mood of the moment wasn't especially vicious or vindictive, oddly enough—the fans just looked pleased to have an opportunity to voice their frustration.

So—this morning I wake up to Eklund's proclamation that big changes are coming in Vancouver sooner rather than later, backed up by the normally reliable Pierre LeBrun:

Hearing whispers that perhaps change is coming sooner rather than later with the Canucks, perhaps as soon as today or tomorrow...

— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) April 8, 2014

Darren Dreger's suggestion about Trevor Linden is actually pretty tentative. Here's the original tweet that caused the latest firestorm:

Not sure exactly what will go down in Van today, but Trevor Linden's name is in the mix. Perhaps, Van using Sakic and Av's template...#TSN

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 8, 2014

Of course, we discussed all this a few weeks ago and determined that, while Linden would be a popular choice, it's unlikely that he'd be interested in the job. Accordingly, a swift denial has already been issued by the man himself:

Linden says on Global he has not been approached by ownership about #canucks prez job & than an announcement is not imminent

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) April 8, 2014

But—Brad Ziemer picked up on one other critical part of Linden's comments this morning:

Linden tells Global that since retiring he has always said he would be open to a hockey job. #Canucks

— Brad Ziemer (@BradZiemer) April 8, 2014

Is that an invitation to the Aquilinis?

Wednesday is supposed to be the deadline for fans to submit their season-ticket renewals, so it is possible that some news might come down today.

When Vancouver missed the playoffs in 2008, Dave Nonis was fired the day after the regular season ended—Monday, April 14—so there is precedent for a quick strike when dealing with the general manager's office. Gillis was in place as his replacement by April 24, with lots to do in preparing the team for the draft and free agency.

Tuesday may be a team day off, but there's never a dull moment around this franchise. Stay tuned!

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