Canucks' Gilman has earned his NHL stripes

Impressive profile by The Vancouver Sun on Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman, who still hasn't had his formal interview with president of hockey operations Trevor Linden for the GM spot.

As part of a longer quote reflecting that he knows how fired GM Mike Gillis feels, Gilman had a particularly salient observation.

“The profile of the job of being general manager of the Vancouver Canucks is immense. It can be intoxicating in good times, and it can be demoralizing in bad times."

Gilman, who has a law degree, also noted, “I didn’t play the game at the NHL level and didn’t get to this position through the scouting ranks. But I’m an educated guy who has worked for NHL teams for 20 years, the last 13 as an assistant general manager. I understand every facet of this business implicitly. To suggest I don’t understand the key components of a competitive team is laughable to me. But that’s for others to judge. I’ve been around long enough to know the value of a third-line centre or a shutdown defenceman or having character guys on your fourth line.”

Source: Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun