Ice Storm
By Bruce Dowbiggin
What People Are Saying About Ice Storm
"Great read. Bruce's book is a compilation of news sources with his own narration to recount the events of the Gillis regime for the Canucks. Some interesting tidbits but doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of new information.
"
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Novel Overview
Ice Storm
An incendiary inside look at the Canucks' meteoric rise to the top of the NHL and
their dramatic post-riot fall to mediocrity—all at a time when new efforts are being launched to save the once-great
team.
In 2008, the Vancouver Canucks were Team Modern, revolutionizing the NHL under their
new GM, former player agent Mike Gillis. Cool, calculating, and unsparing with the media, the onetime
number one draft pick of the old Colorado Rockies swept away the tangled psychological past of the
Canucks with bold innovation, remodeling Vancouver as a destination city for NHL star players. To
do so, he built the Canucks from a non-playoff team in 2008 to the best in hockey from 2010-2012.
He modernized the players' diets and psychological approach, he rebuilt the dressing room, and he
sought sleep consultants to help with the Canucks' punishing travel schedule. More than that, his
winning team lifted Vancouver from eighth overall in NHL revenues to second by 2013. When the
team took to the ice for Game 7 of the 2011 Cup Final, it seemed there was nothing the Canucks
couldn't overcome with their "Canucktivity" approach. The hockey world was at their feet.
But things changed in Game 7. Physically exhausted and bullied by the Bruins, the
Canucks
succumbed 4-0. To cap the greatest season in team history, Vancouver rioted. Gillis tried a number
of aggressive moves to get back to the Final, from switching Luongo for Schneider to trading
players, but nothing worked. From there, the dominoes fell: Alain Vigneault was dismissed, John
Tortorella hired; Tortorella raged, fans bayed for Gillis' head; and finally, Gillis and Tortorella
were
both fired. In spring 2014, tried-and-true Canuck hero Trevor Linden was installed as president, with
former teammate Jim Benning by his side as GM. No one was quite sure if this was
an
improvement, but at least the hysterical screaming had stopped.
How did it happen? Ice Storm follows the journey that led the Canucks from the top
of the mountain
to the bottom of the abyss in six short years.