When asked if Vancouver Canucks coach John Tortorella would return next season, his own general manager was as candid as he could be. Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . "Im not sure Ill be back next season," said Mike Gillis. Speaking to the Team 1040 in Vancouver on Thursday, the Canucks general manager spoke of his clubs failure to live up to the success of past years, but refused to heap all the blame on his coach. "John is a proven winner and competitor," said Gillis. "The running of this team is my responsibility and I feel that the last few seasons we have been chasing goal posts that have been moving and got away from our core principles of how I want this team to play and how we want to perform and the tempo we want to play with. "People want someone to blame but the reality is that as an organization we have deviated from things that have been successful and I know will be successful. We will get back to those levels and that style of play that we started six years ago and we have the personnel to do it." Gillis added that believes that the system in place is solid enough for any coach to find success, but acknowledges that the Canucks failures this season are broad. "If given the resources and the players are committed to it, any coach can coach the team that he has," explained Gillis. "But having said that, our problems are far reaching and will be addressed. If people dont want to get onside with how I view this team and how its supposed to play then they wont be here.” Gillis also said that he believes that everybody in the organization, from top to bottom, is in line to go under the microscope at seasons end. "I think everybody is open for evaluation," he said. "Weve had players who have severely underperformed. Our team has underperformed. I think that were all open for evaluation and deserve evaluation and thats whats going to come. Well go through a thorough evalutaion of what occurred this year. Well go through a thorough plan of where we see we have to go and theyll make a decision about what route theyll choose." Now in his sixth year leading the Canucks front office, Gillis admits that this season has brought him frustration unlike any other. "Weve had a lot of success in the past and none of this sits well with me," he explained. "Its been an incredibly frustrating season on a variety of different levels. For me, Im committed to getting back on the levels that we expect and we have a plan do it. "We had a plan six years to do it and we got as close as we could get. We learned a lot of lessons from that and Im tired of chasing a moving target. We are going to get back to the fundamentals and the principles that I believe in and thats how were going to play. Like I said, if people dont want to comply, and we did this six years ago, we made hard choices. Those hard choices are going to come again if we dont see people get on the same page." One player that Gillis refused to fault in his teams struggles is goaltender Eddie Lack, who became the teams starting goaltender following the trade of Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers at the deadline. "You get people in Toronto who just love to carve the Vancouver Canucks and its going to be unending, so were used to it now, but its unfortunate for a young guy like Eddie Lack," said Gillis. "Eddie is a very special player. Hes got great personality, hes got great size and his emergence allowed us to think a little bit differently about where we were going." For his money, Gillis thinks Lack should be in the conversation for the leagues top rookie. "If we had given Eddie any run support this season, he would certainly be, in my mind, a nominee for the Calder," posited Gillis. "He probably wouldnt win it, but he should be in consideration based on the way hes played. Hes lost more one-goal games than any goalie in the league. Hes second in the league in shutouts with half the games played." Gillis also expressed his faith in his goaltending tandem on the whole, including the recently acquired Jakob Markstrom, who came over from the Panthers in the Luongo deal. "I think Jakob Markstrom is another 24-year-old goalie who has all the attributes to be a top-flight goalie in the National Hockey League," he said. "I feel strongly that we have two young guys who are in their prime. I hope our fans get behind them and support them." The Canucks currently sit 10th in the Western Conference, six points behind the Dallas Stars for the final wild card playoff spot. The Stars also have two games in hand on the Canucks. The Canucks play the first of their final five games on Saturday when they host the Los Angeles Kings. Brandon Fusco Jersey . -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. Justin Bethel Jersey . Cleveland has won the first two of this set and has won six straight games since losing back-to-back tilts to open the year. Seattle, on the other hand, has now lost six in a row following consecutive wins to kick off its campaign.When I look at the Hall of Fame ballot and wonder how baseball will ultimately deal with the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, I try to think back to when the game and its ethics really changed. I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. What struck me as unusual was Caray almost seemed to have a vendetta against Downing. He was always finding fault with him and ultimately the pressure of playing in Chicago wore Downing down. On December 5, 1977, Downing was part of a huge six-player trade with the Angels that sent him back home to California. Downing had always been a player who battled adversity and beat the odds. He made his Magnolia High School team, but hardly played and was cut. Same story pretty much at Cypress College. It looked as though his baseball dream was over. But then he went to a White Sox open tryout camp and was signed. When Downing played his first game with the White Sox he was a third baseman and believe it or not on the very first pitch he severely damaged his knee when he tried to make a diving catch near the dugout and tumbled down the steps. When he returned, he was converted to catcher and became a back-up to veteran Ed Herrman. But he never was much of a hitter and could never please Harry Caray. Downing didnt fare much better in his first year with the Angels and realizing his career could be slipping away, he committed to a "serious weight training" program in the off-season of 1978, changed his batting stance dramatically and even had a batting cage installed in his home. From there his career began to take off, though not particularly fast. Downing was so good at getting on base he often batted lead-off and he once led the American League in walks. He ran into more adversity in 1980, when he suffered a broken ankle and was ultimately forced to move to left field. Though not a great fielder, through hard work, he become more than adequate and actually didnt make a single error in the 1982 season. Downing played with the Angels right through the 1990 season before the Angels effectively forced him out in a bit of contract dispute. He played his final two yyears in Texas as a designated hitter. Logan Paulsen Falcons Jersey. By the time he left the Angels though Downing had built up franchise record numbers in games played, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBIs and walks. He retired on the final day of the 1992 season at age 41. His final game and last at-bat came at the Angels ballpark, and he ended his career with a pinch-hit single off his former teammate and future Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven. Downing received a prolonged standing ovation. Ten years later Brian Downing was honoured as a member of the Angels All-time team and still later on August 27, 2009 he was named to the Angels Hall of Fame along with his former teammate Chuck Finley. The point of this is, Brian Downing was one of the very first to get involved in weight training. By all accounts, he transformed his long lanky body into a muscular physique with nothing more than dedication and extremely hard work. Others perhaps inspired by Downings success followed his path. Others learned of the shortcuts to building a new body with PEDs and created the era that still clouds baseball to this day. Downing carved out a career that is to be admired, but his nickname then - "The Incredible Hulk" - is strangely ironic now considering the brand of baseball it may have helped span over the last 35 years. Changes in Philly It was sad for me this week to see that Chris Wheeler and Gary Matthews were let go by the Phillies as broadcasters. "Sarge", as Matthews is affectionately known, had a great career as a player and worked with the Blue Jays as a batting coach, and even spent two years in the Toronto radio booth with Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth. I only had the pleasure of working with "Sarge" for one year, in 2001 and enjoyed every minute of it. He was insightful and funny and a good friend. He is apparently staying with the Phillies in another capacity but he will be missed on the air. A couple of interesting notes on Gary Matthews playing career. He slugged seven homers in 19 career post-season games. If thats not impressive enough, in his final Major League at-bat "Sarge" singled off Texas lefty Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, only to be immediately picked off first base to end the game. What a way to end your career. All the best "Sarge"! Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Florida Panthers Jerseys Cheap Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys ' ' '