Gäste-Forum » 2010, had 161 catches for 2,030

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Mike Gillis doesnt think John Tortorella deserves full responsibility for the disaster that this Vancouver Canucks season has become, yet also did not absolve him of blame. Gillis wouldnt comment on "rumour and speculation" when asked if Tortorella would remain the coach through the end of the season. In doing that, the general manager did little to quiet the rumblings. But perhaps his most telling comment about the Canucks "remarkable" free fall involved bringing up Tortorellas locker-room incident in Calgary as one reason why things have gone wrong. "Theyre not excuses but weve had massive injuries this year, weve had key guys out of our lineup for extended periods of time," Gillis said Wednesday at the NHL GMs meeting. "We had an incident in January that was hard to describe. It is what it is. We have to continue to try and find ways to win games." Tortorella was suspended for 15 days and six games for trying to enter the Flames locker-room after a first-period brawl in a testy Jan. 18 game. The Canucks are 4-12-1 since that night. Dating to Jan. 1, Vancouver is 6-17-3 and has fallen from one point out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference to six. Gillis called the drastic downturn this year indescribable. "The ebb and flow in this season has been as challenging as its ever been," he said. "Theres reasons for it — multiple reasons for it — but currently, right now, were not meeting my expectations, were not meeting a lot of peoples expectations and that has to change." That includes Tortorella, a Stanley Cup-winner 10 years ago who has become embattled after the trade of Roberto Luongo, request from Ryan Kesler to be dealt and then Monday nights embarrassing loss to the New York Islanders. After building a 3-0 lead, the Canucks gave up seven third-period goals to lose 7-4. Tortorella afterward called it a "kick in the teeth," while Gillis on Wednesday said the aftermath has been tough just like the past month and a half has been. Asked if changes to the coaching staff and/or front office were being considered, Gillis said he did not want to comment because it would lend credibility to that talk and that was not good for anyone. Asked directly if Tortorella would be the coach for the remainder of the season, he repeated a similar sentiment. "Thats rumour and speculation," Gillis said. "Im not commenting on that because then it just lends credibility to whats out there with bloggers and all kinds of different people. So its unfair to comment on any future plans other than what weve already said, which is were trying to get younger, were trying to retool and were trying to do some things a little differently the next one, three, five years." Gillis added that the Canucks need to "get behind our team and behind our players and behind our coaching staff." Later in his six-minute chat with reporters at Boca Beach Club, Gillis refused to answer a question about how Tortorella has handled Daniel and Henrik Sedin and then another about the suggestion that the coach lost the locker-room. "Im not going to comment about specific things with John," he said. "I think its unfair to him, its unfair to our team and its unfair to all of us that are responsible for whats going on." After losing to the Islanders, Tortorella shouldered a lot of the responsibility for the Canucks downfall. "You know, Johns an honest guy and he took responsibility, but its all of our responsibility and I dont want to focus on John," Gillis said. "We have a hockey team, we have an organization. To focus on one or two people in that organizations unfair. We have to win as a group, and every guy in that room has to win as a group. To single out anybody is unfair and Im not going to do that." Except for Tortorellas role in the infamous incident against Calgary. 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Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Before John Elway headed out to the golf course to take advantage of a sunny Sunday in the Rocky Mountains, the Denver Broncos general manager made yet another splash in free agency by signing wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to a three-year, $15 million contract. The Broncos have been the leagues most successful suitors so far, committing nearly $128 million to five players, including three thumpers who will reinforce a defence that was exposed in the Super Bowl: safety T.J. Ward, cornerback Aqib Talib, pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, and two receivers in Bubba Caldwell and Sanders. "They definitely did a great job from a free-agent perspective," Sanders said. "When I saw them bring in DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward, I was like, Theyre stacking up on defence. I knew with Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas and Wes Welker and (Bubba) Caldwell, I was like, I would fit with these guys really well. When my agent, Steve Weinberg, got the call, we were definitely fist-bumping. We were hoping that the numbers matched, and they matched. So yesterday was probably one of the best days of my life." A former Pittsburgh Steelers No. 2 receiver, Sanders can play both the slot and the outside in place of Eric Decker, who left Denver for the New York Jets. This latest move left several teams fuming, according to NFL.com, which reported that Sanders agent, Steve Weinberg, shopped is client around after agreeing to a deal with principle with the Kansas City Chiefs. A call from The Associated Press to Weinberg went straight to voice mail Sunday, and that mailbox was full. Sanders defended his agent, saying Weinberg did nothing wrong. He said he visited four teams and when he was ready to sign they reached out to all four of those teams to ask for their final offer. "And I guess the Chiefs felt like they had a deal. But we never officially had a deal," Sanderss said.dddddddddddd He said the fact that he was at the Chiefs facility at the time may have made them believe they had a deal in place. "There was no handshake. There was no kind of agreement ... we were close to a deal, but it wasnt anything official just yet," Sanders said. "In terms of shopping around, we didnt shop around. Teams were still calling. Teams were still trying to get involved. Thats what happened. Steve Weinberg, he did an exceptional job in terms of the whole free-agency process. At times, I was like, Steve, what is going on? Am I flying East Coast or West Coast? But I believe in him. Everything that he said was going to happen, happened. I ended up at the place that I needed to be." Elway said this sort of thing happens this time of year. "I will say this, we didnt know anything about it, but having been in this for the last three years, that stuff happens quite a bit, so miscommunications happens a lot of times," Elway said. Sanders, a third-round draft pick in 2010, had 161 catches for 2,030 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Steelers. He also has 13 receptions for 172 yards in four career playoff games. Last year, he caught a career-best 67 passes for 740 yards and six TDs, including four over the Steelers final six games. Although not as big as Decker, Sanders is fast and elusive -- he ranked fourth in the league last year by causing opponents to miss 15 tackles. Elway said, "I think hes going to add a lot," to Denvers high-octane offence that shattered several records last year and was the envy of many a wide receiver who marveled at the numbers Manning put up week after week. "It was amazing and I remember sitting at my house saying, Man, thats what I want to be a part of someday," Sanders said. "It always works out as long as you work hard. They had a really good season last year and hopefully we can repeat the same things and this time finish it off." ' ' '