The Puzzling Firing of Dave Nonis - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Like Bob McKenzie over at TSN, I'm having a tough time getting my head around the dismissal of Dave Nonis as GM of the Vancouver Canucks. Sure, the Canucks took a pretty horrible tumble from last season, dropping from a Northwest Division title and 107 points to a ninth-place finish (technically 11th) in the West just three points outside a playoff spot. Then again, as others have recounted, the Cancuks blue line had to be held together with spit and bailing wire this season after getting hit with a tsunami's worth of injuries that saw six defensemen miss a significant amount of playing time.

For me, and I'm sure for many others, Nonis should be remembered and hailed for just one thing: His acquisition of Roberto Luongo from the Florida Panthers for Todd Beruzzi, Alex Auld and Bryan Allen. The Canucks also got defenseman Lukas Krajicek back in the deal. Still just 29 27, Luongo probably has anywhere between 8-10 seasons of elite-level play left in his career, more than enough time for the Canucks to make a few changes around the margins to acquire the offensive pieces they need to get back into the playoffs and make a serious Cup run.

And as we all know from our hockey history, time and time again, it's the elite goalie who makes the difference in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And while the current ownership group in Vancouver would like you to forget about Nonis starting right about now, hockey fans in the know understand all too well that he put the franchise in the position to do some damage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year they manage to qualify. That is, as long as Luongo is in the picture. It won't be long before Nonis finds another job.

More thoughts from Orland Kurtenblog and Canucks and Beyond.