Sports

Puck Droppings: Vancouver Canucks Fire Dave Nonis as General Manager

by ryan | April 14, 2008 at 05:39 pm

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This decision comes as a surprise to both fans and probably players. Nonis is still hailed as a genius for wrangling Luongo failed to make a move at the trade deadline to push the Canucks into the playoffs. What some observers thought was the fault of the players and perhaps the coach the owners have clearly placed the blame on the GM. The removal of Nonis comes at a time when the Canucks are faced with rebuilding their team as Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison are free agents come July 1st. The new GM will be tasked with this responsibility.

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that Dave Nonis has been relieved of his duties as the team’s General Manager & Sr. Vice-President. The Canucks finished the 2007-08 season with a record of 39-33-10 and missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

“The decision to relieve Dave of his duties was difficult,” explained Francesco Aquilini, Chairman, Vancouver Canucks. “We want to thank Dave for the many contributions he has made helping to build our organization during his tenure. However, I think this important change in leadership is critical to the future of the team and the direction we need to take. It’s not acceptable to our fans or to us as owners that our team isn’t in the playoffs.”

“As owners we made a commitment to deliver the kind of hockey our fans deserve. At the same time, with leadership comes responsibility. So, our search begins today for a new general manager, and our focus going forward is on a winning season in 2008-09.”