Mike Gillis Mike David Gillis ( born December 1 , 1958 in Sudbury , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian professional player and current general manager of the Vancouver Canucks . Playing career . Mike Gillis spent his junior hockey career with the Kingston Canadians of the OMJHL from 1975 – 1978 , playing in 111 games , and scoring 132 points ( 39 goals - 93 assists ) . He added on 18 points ( 4G - 14A ) in 12 playoff games . Gillis missed most of the 1976 – 77 season due to a leg injury . He was drafted in the 1st round , 5th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft . In 1978 - 79 , Gillis played 2 games with the Philadelphia Firebirds of the AHL , getting no points , and spent 30 games with the Rockies , getting 8 points ( 1G - 7A ) . He split the 1979 – 80 season with the Rockies , getting 9 points ( 4G - 5A ) in 40 games , and the Fort Worth Texans of the CHL , with 22 points ( 9G - 13A ) in 29 games . Gillis started the 1980 – 81 season with Colorado , and had 18 points ( 11G - 7A ) in 51 games before being sent to the Boston Bruins for Bob Miller . Gillis then had 6 points ( 2G - 4A ) in 17 games , for a total of 24 points ( 13G - 11A ) , which would be his career high . Gillis also appeared in a playoff game , going pointless . In 1981 – 82 , Gillis then registered 17 points ( 9G - 8A ) in 53 games , and earned 3 points ( 1G - 2A ) in 11 playoff games . He spent the majority of the 1982 – 83 season with the Baltimore Skipjacks of the AHL , getting 113 points ( 32G - 81A ) in 74 games , good for 4th in AHL league scoring . He also played 5 games with Boston , earning an assist , then played 12 playoff games for the Bruins , earning 4 points ( 1G - 3A ) . Gillis split the 1983 – 84 season with the Bruins , getting 17 points ( 6G - 11A ) in 50 games , and with the Hershey Bears of the AHL , getting 29 points ( 8G - 21A ) in 26 games . He played 3 playoff games with Boston , getting no points . Gillis retired from playing hockey in the summer of 1984 . Post - playing career . Upon retiring from playing hockey , Gillis coached the Queen ' s University Golden Gaels hockey team in 1985 – 86 . He earned a law degree from Queen ' s University in 1990 , and became a player agent . His clientele over the years included Pavel Bure , Markus Näslund , Bobby Holík , and Mike Richter among others . With the firing of Vancouver Canucks ' general manager Dave Nonis at the end of the 2007 – 08 season , Gillis was introduced by the organization as Nonis ' successor on April 23 , 2008 . Entering into the free agent market for the first time , Gillis made immediate changes , choosing not to re - sign former client and longtime Canucks captain Markus Naslund , as well as Brendan Morrison . He made an aggressive pitch for unrestricted free agent centre Mats Sundin with a two - year , $ 20 million offer . The deal would have made him the highest paid player in the league . Sundin chose to spend more time pondering his future and missed the beginning of the regular season , but eventually accepted a one - year , pro - rated $ 8 . 6 million offer on December 18 , 2008 , arguably Gillis ' most significant move in his first year as a general manager .