Sounds like former Canucks GM Mike Gillis is getting NHL interest again
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for a new general manager, and they’re apparently considering Mike Gillis.
Gillis, 67, has been out of the NHL ever since the Vancouver Canucks fired him 12 years ago. During the polarizing executive’s six seasons in Vancouver, the Canucks won five division titles, two Presidents’ Trophies, and came agonizingly close to winning the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving on Monday. Initial reports had St. Louis Blues president and GM Doug Armstrong pegged as the frontrunner to replace him, but Gillis’ name was mentioned as a possibility on Tuesday.
“I think one of the names that has kind of been floating around, because they’re interested in what he did in his past job, I think potentially is Mike Gillis. I think that is the name that they’ve kind of looked at,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on The Fan 590. “I don’t know that it’s going to be Mike Gillis, but I think that he is the kind of person that they’ve been looking at.”
MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley admitted on Tuesday that the Leafs are looking for a “data-centric” executive. Gillis certainly fits that description.
The Canucks might also be in the market for a new GM, with Nick Kypreos reporting on Monday that Patrik Allvin “doesn’t expect to survive past this season.”
Vancouver is currently ranked 32nd in the NHL standings, which is a position they’re likely to clinch this week.
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