Linden "Gathering Information"

Two weeks have passed since Trevor Linden was hired as the new President of the Vancouver Canucks. The two biggest immediate pressing needs for the local hero are to hire a new General Manager (since Mike Gillis was both President and GM) and to decide the fate of much-maligned head coach John Tortorella. The two decisions seem quite intertwined. Linden met with Tortorella twice in week 1 of his tenure. Tortorella, keep in mind, had said the core of the team was stale in his post season interview and it appears that Linden agrees with that assessment. That doesn't mean that Tortorella's job is safe. But Linden did say:

"This (decision) has a ripple effect through the whole organization. I need to be very strategic and thoughtful in any decision I make, so it’s going to take some time. The decisions I make will impact this organization for years to come, so it’s really important I gather as much information as I can. I came into this with a completely open mind and I’m not going to be pressured into a situation of what people think my timeline should be."

Linden recently sought advice from Bruins' President and former NHL star Cam Neely on how to build a team from the top-down. Bruins' Assistant GM and former Canuck Jim Benning is believed to be a front-runner for the GM job but there are no guarantees at this point. Linden has said he has not even talked to Benning yet, but that current Canuck brass Lawrence Gilman is on Linden's list. Reportedly, so is Flyers' assistant GM Ron Hextall.

After a decision on a general manager is made, the decision on John Tortorella will be made. We may not hear about a decision on a GM until the playoffs are over, as many commenters on this site have mentioned that Jim Benning, for example, will want his name engraved on the Stanley Cup should the Bruins prevail. But if the Flyers and Bruins are eliminated early, we may hear a decision sooner.

A big hat tip to the Vancouver Sun's Iain MacIntyre for his Linden piece on Friday.

More Canucks info:

Eddie Lack will not play for Sweden at the World Championships for maintenance reasons. Canucks' 3rd-string goalie Joacim Eriksson will play for his homeland. The Sedins and Alex Edler also declined to play for Sweden. That makes US happy, but pisses off Sweden make no mistake,

Ryan Kesler has declined to play for USA

Burrows, Bieksa, and Garrison will play for Canada

Yannick Weber will play for the Swiss.

Jensen and Hansen will play for Denmark.