Vancouver Canucks: Maple Leafs hire Laurence Gilman

The Toronto Maple Leafs bolstered their front office this morning, adding former Canucks Assisstant GM Laurence Gilman. Vancouver and Toronto may be communicating with each other a little more often.

It’s official. Former Vancouver Canucks Assistant General Manager Laurence Gilman is heading to Toronto. The Maple Leafs made the announcement this morning.

Like all PR announcements, the Maple Leafs speak glowingly about Gilman’s experience and success. The hire is well deserved and here at The Canuck Way, we would like to extend our congratulations to Laurence.

For selfish reasons, I will miss listening to Gilman on TSN 1040. His insights about his time in Vancouver, as well as how hockey teams operate behind the scenes were always insightful. I appreciated his calm, witty segments and he was joy to listen to.

The good news for Canucks fans is that Gilman won’t be terrorizing Vancouver from the same conference. Although, he joked several times during the Hurricanes hiring process that he wished Carolina was in the Pacific. Like many former Canucks coaches, Laurence heads to the Eastern Conference.

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Here’s how it affects the Canucks

Okay, this update wasn’t going to just be about how I will miss Gilman on the radio. You want to know how this affects Jim Benning and the Vancouver Canucks. Despite being dismissed about three years ago, Gilman observed a lot from this new regime.

Since his termination, Gilman has continued to pay attention, albeit from an outside perspective. Furthermore, it’s safe to say that Gilman knows where the Canucks are and likely what they are looking for in trades. To be fair, Benning has made this a little obvious over the years with his primary targets being those roster players that are 22-23 years old (aka Hockey Trades).

Toronto’s interest in Chris Tanev is common knowledge at this point. I don’t want to assume, but based on their vocal fans and media on twitter, Toronto does not value Tanev as much as we do in Vancouver. For a trade to occur, Gilman can likely bridge the gap in understanding, should one exist.

However, this goes both ways. Gilman isn’t there to help Benning get the best deal. Conversely, he is supporting Kyle Dubas, which means Toronto could potentially play hard ball. As a result, roster players or those on the fringe of the NHL may be the only pieces offered.

Although, what if Toronto convinces Benning to take on someone experienced like Jake Gardiner back? This would be instead of a high-end prospect or package of draft picks. Unfortunately, the team’s primary goal is to make the playoffs by any means, so I don’t see how Benning passes up on a quick fix to the show. However, this would be detrimental to the rebuild. To me, it’s as if the Canucks are taking one step forward, followed by two steps back if this occurs.

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We will see how this all shakes out. Honestly, I don’t think Toronto will make several trades with Vancouver, just the really big one mentioned above. Additionally, I wish Laurence all the best. It’s good to see him back with an NHL team, even if it is the Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m kidding. Again, congratulations.