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[Report] Stan Smyl steps down from position with Canucks Hockey Operations


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53 minutes ago, Steamer4GM said:

I never got to see him play for New West but heard he was just amazing there as well.

 

As brief and somewhat shy of the reign I'd ultimately loved to have been witness to, it definitely made my day when he made GM

 

Wish nothing but the best to him and his family and just hope the current class of characters at the helm can do him proud, turn things around in due time and make a few more runs at the grail while Stan's still with us. Wish it could've happened while he was in hockey ops but dude deserves to step back / retire.

I used to watch most of the New West Bruins at Queens Park Arena.

 

Smyl's a champ! 

 

What a team! Because my dad's buddy knew "Punch" McLean, I met him, Smyl, Beck and more. 

 

He's a natural born leader, no doubt, and a fantastic person.

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47 minutes ago, Truefan99 said:

this organization is running all the legends out of town, Bure, Linden, Smyl, only time before the Sedins are leaving. 

 

Don't think Smyl got pushed out.  He's getting older and maybe wanted this.  

 

Bure wanted out and then came back after Pat Quinn lobbied him into HOF.  His jersey then got retired.  

 

Linden got pushed out, maybe by JB.  Who knows.   I hope he will return to be part of team in some way again.   

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12 minutes ago, Jaimito said:

 

Don't think Smyl got pushed out.  He's getting older and maybe wanted this.  

 

Bure wanted out and then came back after Pat Quinn lobbied him into HOF.  His jersey then got retired.  

 

Linden got pushed out, maybe by JB.  Who knows.   I hope he will return to be part of team in some way again.   

Sounds amicable. 

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1. Everybody likes and respects Stan "the Steamer" Smyl, including me.

 

2. At age 65, "transitioning" out of his full-time position to a minor role with the club seems like a pretty nice sort of retirement. I wonder if he gets paid anything for his role as a "community and business ambassador" with the club.

 

3. With JR and PA running the show and with relatively new AGMs Cammi Granato and Émilie Castonguay in place, I am guessing that Stan did not have much input to decision-making, despite his title as Vice-President, Hockey Operations. This is not a criticism of anyone, but I am guessing that Stan maybe got tired of just being window-dressing.

 

4. It is great to have Stan remain in some sort of official capacity with the team.  Expect to see him hoisting the Cup at the end of this season. 🙂

 

5. Too bad things did not work out the same way for Trevor Linden.

 

Edited by JamesB
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3 minutes ago, JamesB said:

1. Everybody likes and respects Stan "the Steamer" Smyl, including me.

 

2. At age 65, "transitioning" out of his full-time position to a minor role with the club seems like a pretty nice sort of retirement. I wonder if he gets paid anything for his role as a "community and business ambassador" with the club.

 

3. With JR and PA running the show and with relatively new AGMs Cammi Granato and Émilie Castonguay in place, I am guessing that Stan did not have much input to decision-making, despite his title as Vice-President, Hockey Operations. This is not a criticism of anyone, but I am guessing that Stan maybe got tired of just being window-dressing.

 

4. It is great to have Stan remain in some sort of official capacity with the team.  Expect to see him hoisting the Cup at the end of this season. 🙂

 

5. Too bad things did not work out the same way for Trevor Linden.

 

 

I'm still not over how they did him dirty with the whole GM thing. They name him interim GM after canning Benning and then boom, Rutherford. Should have given him a chance to run with the GM hat imo, he was more than qualified. 

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7 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

I'm still not over how they did him dirty with the whole GM thing. They name him interim GM after canning Benning and then boom, Rutherford. Should have given him a chance to run with the GM hat imo, he was more than qualified. 

Aquilini using a greatly respected Canuck to hide behind? 

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Just now, Alflives said:

Aquilini using a greatly respected Canuck to hide behind? 

 

They should have just waited to fire Benning until they'd wrapped things up with Rutherford, I know there was a lot of pressure for them to fire him but it turned into a bit of a clown show. At that point just wait til you've got the guy you actually want. 

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(Re?)signed up just to express my frustration and vent at Steamer being pushed out - like the legends before him - and to malign the direction of the franchise based on this event.

 

Then y'all have to provide context and rational positions that may contradict my intitial jump to conclusions. 

 

How can I march on Rogers Arena with a pitchfork if you do that? I wanted a pitchfork. Where's my pitchfork?

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If there was one thing that was continuity from the early days of it all it was that Stan Smyl was somewhere in the organization...assistant GM, head coach of the farm team, etc.  The guy survived every changing of the guard and then...got his two games as GM.  Seemed kind of like Robert Loggia in Independence Day.  Just this loyal guy behind the scenes that was always there.

 

After all the decades it still kind of feels like he never quite got his shot after he hung up the skates.  Bounced around in almost every role but never became more than a consigliere...and even then like an assistant consigliere.  The blessing there is that we never had to see him get fired...as all head coaches and GMs and those who wear the crown eventually do.  Even the legends like Pat Quinn.  In that regard maybe it's best he never rose to a position where his head might have to be the one to roll.

 

At the same time...who knows what might have happened if he had held the reins for a little while.  Couldn't have been worse than the Benning years anyway.

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Stan Smyl ranks #2 in my all time Canuck list behind Trevor Linden. Stan did things on the ice that no Canuck has come close to other than Linden. His plaoff drive in '82 was epic. Never forget rolling down the runway at YVR and the pilot comes on the intercom to tell us that Stan had just scored against the Hawks. The plane positively erupted in cheers. He went on to take his team to the finals against the very talented NYI. Canucks could/should have won the 2 opening games in NY but could not. Absolutely no player in Canuck history has shown more determination and will to win. 

 

Stan 'steaming' down the right side and letting one of his classic slappers lose is a fond memory.  

 

Enjoy retirement Steamer. 

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14 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Stan Smyl ranks #2 in my all time Canuck list behind Trevor Linden. Stan did things on the ice that no Canuck has come close to other than Linden. His plaoff drive in '82 was epic. Never forget rolling down the runway at YVR and the pilot comes on the intercom to tell us that Stan had just scored against the Hawks. The plane positively erupted in cheers. He went on to take his team to the finals against the very talented NYI. Canucks could/should have won the 2 opening games in NY but could not. Absolutely no player in Canuck history has shown more determination and will to win. 

 

Stan 'steaming' down the right side and letting one of his classic slappers lose is a fond memory.  

 

Enjoy retirement Steamer. 

 

If I remember right in the last half of third period of game 4 against the Islanders Billy Smith just slashed Stan in the face for no reason as he was near the net and the ref missed it.  Stan was pissed but just took it with blood dripping out of his mouth to keep his team from going shorthanded with the Stanley Cup on the line.  He probably wanted to kill Billy Smith as much as I did.

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One of my first memories of Stanley Steamer was at 4 Rinks, yes, 4 Rinks, not 8 Rinks as it is now. He was on the ice taking power skating training prior to training camp after being drafted. Thomas Gradin, Curt Fraser, and Stan made the Canuck team that year, and formed one of the best lines in Canuck history. Also back in and around late '79 the Canucks hosted an on ice skate with the team for their fan club. We were invited and our oldest son who was a bit over two years old was kidnapped by Stan Smyl and Glen Hanlon. They carried him around the ice for a very long time. At that time my son knew the names and numbers of all those Canuck players, they were amazed when he told them what number they wore on their jersey. He's been the heart and soul of this team since being drafted.

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