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The Vancouver Canucks have named former captain Trevor Linden as the teams new president of hockey operations and alternate governor. “Today is a real honour," Linden said. "I came to Vancouver 26 years ago and I have never left. I love this city. It is my home and the Canucks have always been part of my family." "Im passionate about the Canucks and I want to win – just like the Canucks fans do," he added. "I believe Im ready for this challenge. Im passionate about this team and I want to win." Francesco Aquilini, chairman of Canucks Sports and Entertainment offered glowing praise of the captain-turned-president. "We believe in Trevors leadership abilities," he said. "His 20 years of NHL experience including seven as team captain, his role as NHLPA President, community leader and businessman offers a very special skill set; one that will positively shape the direction of this club in the future." Speaking on the succession plan for replacing Mike Gillis, who was dismissed as general manager on Tuesday, Linden said that he has a multitude of options to explore and has already begun looking. "Thats a process that I have to thoroughly evaluate," Linden said when asked about the GM search. "We will do a general manager search from both within and outside our organization." With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Canucks announced that Gillis was fired after the team was officially eliminated from postseason contention. The Canucks were also eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons after falling one win short of a Stanley Cup in 2011. "I have a profile of a general manager that I would like," Linden said Wednesday. "Now its about putting a candidate list together. Thats a critical path." He would add that he will operate with "full autonomy" as Canucks president and will make all decisions on hockey operations. Linden also expressed his intention to have a new general manager in place by the 2014 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 27-28 in Philadelphia. Under first-year head coach John Tortorella, they sit 11th in the Western Conference. And as for Tortorellas future with the Canucks, Linden said theres no hurry to decide. "Any sort of coaching decision will be made in due time, after a thorough evaluation," he said at Wednesdays introductory news conference. Aquilini elaborated on the need for a new man at the top of the Canucks hockey department. "We came from within one game of winning a Stanley Cup [in 2011], and it was time for a change," he said. Aquilini added that he would not stop short of pointing the finger at his recently-dismissed GM and his current coach. ""Mike (Gillis) hired Tortorella and Im responsible for that and thats why we have a change in direction today," he explained. Linden would not offer up any theories as to what led to the Canucks failure to make the playoffs this season, but pointed to the timing of the decision as beneficial to getting answers. Linden said hed use this coming week to talk to coaches and players and conduct a "thorough review" of the season. "Ill reserve comment until I have more detail," Linden concluded. Gillis came to the organization in April of 2008, taking over for the fired Dave Nonis. He turned a club which had missed out on the postseason in two of the previous three seasons and built them back up into a contender, snagging five straight playoff berths, five Northwest Division titles and two straight Presidents Trophies (2011, 2012). "On behalf of my entire family, I would like to sincerely thank Mike Gillis for his hard work and the many contributions he made on and off the ice during his tenure," said Aquilini in a statement on Tuesday. "The Vancouver Canucks had success under Mikes leadership, and we nearly reached our ultimate goal; but I believe we have reached a point where a change in leadership and new voice is needed. "I also want to thank our fans for their support for the Vancouver Canucks through a difficult and frustrating season," continued Aquilini. "We havent met their expectations or ours. We are committed to bringing the Stanley Cup to Vancouver for our fans and we will continue to do everything possible to reach that goal." Linden played 16 seasons with the Canucks and is the franchise leader in games played. As team captain from 1991 to 1997, he helped lead the Canucks to their second-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 1994. Buy Shoes Black Friday . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . They probably ruined Tim Duncans hopes of a career change, though. Duncan wants to be a point guard, coach Gregg Popovich revealed Saturday, a wish that wont be granted. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/. - A retired Indiana school principal who was NASCAR star Jeff Gordons drivers education teacher was killed with his wife in a Tennessee crash while returning from watching Gordon race. Discount Shoes Black Friday . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Fake Shoes Black Friday . Colton Sissons also scored for Milwaukee (19-12-8), which went ahead with a two-goal third period. Wade MacLeod and Greg McKegg replied for Toronto (23-12-4).PORTLAND, Ore. -- Pep Guardiola showed more than a few moods during his stop in Portland. The charismatic Bayern Munich manager was funny, playful and thoughtful. But Guardiolas mood darkened considerably during Wednesdays 2-1 loss to the MLS all-stars. Second-half challenges by Seattles Osvaldo Alonso and Canadian international Will Johnson of the Portland Timbers led to yellow cards and Bayern players writhing on the artificial turf at Providence Park. Alonso was cautioned in the 64th minute for felling Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri. Johnson hobbled Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 89th minute, leaving the German World Cup star with what Bayern later called a bruised ankle. Alonso and Johnson are both ball-winning midfielders who make their living getting their nose dirty on the soccer field, so were essentially doing their job -- albeit with more enthusiasm than Bayern would normally encounter in what was for them a pre-season game. Guardiola glared at the all-stars bench and looked daggers at coach Caleb Porter, who raised his arms as if to say "What did I do?" After the game, the Bayern boss studiously avoided Porter as the all-stars coach tried to chase him down on the field to shake hands. It added somewhat of a sour ending to what had been a model all-star week. Red Bulls star forward Thierry Henry, who played for Guardiola at Barcelona, did track him down. The two chatted, with Henry seemingly doing most of the talking. Guardiola paid tribute to Henry in the post-game news conference, saying it was an honour to manage him. As for the bad blood and yellow cards, the Spaniard looked to taake the high road.dddddddddddd "Im not talking about that," Guardiola said of the cautions, although he did say the club was "a little bit upset" at Schweinsteiger getting hurt. "So its not my job. The job was (that of) another person. I dont know if he did it but its not my job." "Coaches get heated," said Porter, downplaying the Bayern bosss apparent displeasure. Guardiola did offer congratulations to the MLS all-stars and to Portland for hosting the event. And he said the U.S. trip was "good," although his praise was somewhat underwhelming, making it sound like it was more of a chore than something for his scrapbook. The all-stars were called for eight fouls to five for Bayern, which had Jerome Boateng cautioned for dissent in stoppage time. Johnson was unrepentant after the match. "Obviously when they go down a goal, I think they got a little pissed off and they tried to get back into it and it got a little bit chippy," he said. "Thats the way games go sometimes." Osvaldo said his piece via Twitter. "Happy with the win tonight against a great team. Ill always play to win, thats my mentality, I hate (to) lose and I play for my family," said the Cuban. Eight of Bayerns World Cup stars arrived on the eve of the game after their post-tournament vacation, making a 12-hour journey to the West Coast essentially to satisfy sponsors and Major League Soccer. Seven came on in the second half, with six, including Schweinsteiger, arriving in the 80th minute or later. Bayern now heads home for a team presentation Saturday. ' ' '