When the Vancouver Canucks won straight President’s Trophies as the National Hockey League’s best regular-season team in 2010-11 and 2011-12, everything was fine in British Columbia. Well, aside from that day in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. So what is it that makes Canucks fans cringe when they hear the name of Vancouver’s former general manager, Mike Gillis?
Gillis was the club’s GM starting in 2008, until Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini relieved him from his duties on April 8, 2014. During his six-year tenure in Vancouver, Gillis led the team to two President’s Trophies and a Stanley Cup Final, and he was named GM of the Year in 2011.