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stuff99 · 04-25-2011, 03:48 PM

Why Gillis might have spoken his mind
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By TONY GALLAGHER TUE, APR 26 2011 COMMENTS(3) GALLAGHER
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It's been nine years since a Vancouver general manager has made strong comments about officiating in a playoff series but really, after what everyone saw in game six, how could any man in Mike Gillis' situation could be expected to remain mute.
And this wasn't a performance like the one Brian Burke staged at a podium. This one came right from the heart.
The absurd string of non-calls doesn't need to be reviewed in any great detail other than to affirm that when Gillis said there were 'at least six or seven legitimate calls that could have been made that weren't' in game six, it's hard to argue. How they weren't called is nothing short of amazing, a real head scratcher. But the GM did his best to dodge whatever fine the NHL might have in mind by simply saying he had no explanation for what happened and that he was just presenting the facts when he talked about the enormous power play discrepancy in this series.
Why might this be happening other than the complete incompetence of the officiating staff, something the league insists is not a problem? That's another matter altogether. We would all like to believe it would happen just by chance or it's a run of bad luck, but after the way the vicious hits on Ryan Kesler and Rick Rypien were blithely ignored two years ago, the cumulative affect is getting to be more than obvious.
Clearly your agent will be called a homer for writing this but let's review a possible set of reasons. It's certainly in the league's best interest to have this series go as long as possible for financial reasons. For starters a one third portion of revenue sharing comes from first round games and nobody rolls the cash into the coffers more than Vancouver and Chicago except perhaps Montreal this season. Both clubs have to be near $3 million per gate in the playoffs.
Clearly the league did not want these two high revenue cities ending up in a sweep. Whether that had anything to do with the highly questionable 'too many men call' early in the second period of game four by a linesman is open to question. But that call was followed by the Chicago goal that made it 2-1 and got them on their way, a goal which series supervisor Rob Shick has already admitted was offside, the call blown by the on-ice staff. That mistake was made by the same linesman who called the too many men penalty.
Another reason could be Versus television in that they get solid ratings from games in which the Blackhawks appear and that shouldn't come as any surprise given the stars on that team. The Hawks going out rapid order would not be helpful and what captivates this league more than U.S. television revenue. Clearly the terrific job the Hawks new ownership-management group has done revitalizing that franchise is also capable of intimidating league officials.
But let's be clear, that revenue shoe would also have been on the other foot had it been the Hawks threatening to sweep.
There are also possible local influences. We've already chronicled how Scotty Bowman has been in to see the series supervisor Shick on at least two occasions, once in an attempt to get an instigator call on Kevin Bieksa when he smacked around Viktor Stalberg at the end of game four and earlier to complain about Henrik Sedin's private on ice conversations with the referee after game two. There may have been many more trips in to try to curry influence, and everyone has respect for Bowman and what he's accomplished..
Gillis also referenced somebody being sent into the dressing room as if on some spy mission and that is apparently Bowman's best friend Brian Heany who lives in Vancouver although he wasn't in the Canucks room for more than 30 seconds so he wasn't likely able to find out anything from that little adventure.
The Canucks did call the league office and inform Colin Campbell beforehand that they were going to address the officiating discrepancy in this series although there is no report of how that news was greeted by the NHL vice-president who has been under fire a lot this year both for his decisions on discipline and for a conflict of interest given his son plays with the Boston Bruins.
Why this big advantage in power play opportunities might be happening is a matter of speculation and certainly open to question. So also is the affect Gillis' speaking out might have on his team's performance.
We'll have one those answers tonight.

04-25-2011, 03:48 PM	#25899
stuff99 I subscribe to the Fight Club ONLY Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver Posts: 7,316 Thanked 212 Times in 79 Posts Failed 35 Times in 23 Posts	Why Gillis might have spoken his mind $ By TONY GALLAGHER TUE, APR 26 2011 COMMENTS(3) GALLAGHER $ $ It's been nine years since a Vancouver general manager has made strong comments about officiating in a playoff series but really, after what everyone saw in game six, how could any man in Mike Gillis' situation could be expected to remain mute. And this wasn't a performance like the one Brian Burke staged at a podium. This one came right from the heart. The absurd string of non-calls doesn't need to be reviewed in any great detail other than to affirm that when Gillis said there were 'at least six or seven legitimate calls that could have been made that weren't' in game six, it's hard to argue. How they weren't called is nothing short of amazing, a real head scratcher. But the GM did his best to dodge whatever fine the NHL might have in mind by simply saying he had no explanation for what happened and that he was just presenting the facts when he talked about the enormous power play discrepancy in this series. Why might this be happening other than the complete incompetence of the officiating staff, something the league insists is not a problem? That's another matter altogether. We would all like to believe it would happen just by chance or it's a run of bad luck, but after the way the vicious hits on Ryan Kesler and Rick Rypien were blithely ignored two years ago, the cumulative affect is getting to be more than obvious. Clearly your agent will be called a homer for writing this but let's review a possible set of reasons. It's certainly in the league's best interest to have this series go as long as possible for financial reasons. For starters a one third portion of revenue sharing comes from first round games and nobody rolls the cash into the coffers more than Vancouver and Chicago except perhaps Montreal this season. Both clubs have to be near $3 million per gate in the playoffs. Clearly the league did not want these two high revenue cities ending up in a sweep. Whether that had anything to do with the highly questionable 'too many men call' early in the second period of game four by a linesman is open to question. But that call was followed by the Chicago goal that made it 2-1 and got them on their way, a goal which series supervisor Rob Shick has already admitted was offside, the call blown by the on-ice staff. That mistake was made by the same linesman who called the too many men penalty. Another reason could be Versus television in that they get solid ratings from games in which the Blackhawks appear and that shouldn't come as any surprise given the stars on that team. The Hawks going out rapid order would not be helpful and what captivates this league more than U.S. television revenue. Clearly the terrific job the Hawks new ownership-management group has done revitalizing that franchise is also capable of intimidating league officials. But let's be clear, that revenue shoe would also have been on the other foot had it been the Hawks threatening to sweep. There are also possible local influences. We've already chronicled how Scotty Bowman has been in to see the series supervisor Shick on at least two occasions, once in an attempt to get an instigator call on Kevin Bieksa when he smacked around Viktor Stalberg at the end of game four and earlier to complain about Henrik Sedin's private on ice conversations with the referee after game two. There may have been many more trips in to try to curry influence, and everyone has respect for Bowman and what he's accomplished.. Gillis also referenced somebody being sent into the dressing room as if on some spy mission and that is apparently Bowman's best friend Brian Heany who lives in Vancouver although he wasn't in the Canucks room for more than 30 seconds so he wasn't likely able to find out anything from that little adventure. The Canucks did call the league office and inform Colin Campbell beforehand that they were going to address the officiating discrepancy in this series although there is no report of how that news was greeted by the NHL vice-president who has been under fire a lot this year both for his decisions on discipline and for a conflict of interest given his son plays with the Boston Bruins. Why this big advantage in power play opportunities might be happening is a matter of speculation and certainly open to question. So also is the affect Gillis' speaking out might have on his team's performance. We'll have one those answers tonight. __________________ ....