Dave Nonis enjoys GM job in NHL

Former University of Maine two-year hockey captain Dave Nonis has a unique distinction.

He spent his first season as the Vancouver Canucks’ general manager during last season’s lockout.

“That’s an interesting way to get into it,” quipped Nonis.

The Canucks are on hiatus with the rest of the NHL during the Olympic break and they entered the break in second place in the Northwest Division with 71 points, two behind leader Calgary.

Nonis, who played four years at Maine, said the rule changes implemented by the NHL to generate more goals are working well.

“It was definitely needed. The changes, by and large, have been very beneficial to the game. But none of them will matter if the referees don’t continue to officiate the way they have been,” said Nonis.

He was referring to the clamp down on interference, holding and hooking infractions that limit scoring opportunities..

The only change he doesn’t like is the shootout. That occurs if the teams are tied after overtime.

“But the fans love it and as long as they’re paying the bills, we’ll go with it. We are in the entertainment business. I just wish we were better at it,” said Nonis, who had been an NHL administrator and assistant GM for the Canucks before being elevated to the GM slot.

He said the collective bargaining agreement reached between the players association and the owners, which has included a salary cap, took a period of adjustment.

“It took a while to understand how to work the system between the players, management and agents. But the principles used to build the system are very sound and there’s a good partnership. We all want the game to grow,” said Nonis, a 1988 Maine graduate.

He is enjoying his job but says the level of enjoyment “depends on if you’re winning or not. Things have been pretty good. We’ve got a good team and a very good fan base here. We’ve been up and down. I’d like to see us be more consistent.

“But when we come back after the Olympics, we’ve got a pretty good schedule,” said Nonis.

Vancouver doesn’t travel any farther east than Columbus (Ohio) and they play 13 of their final 23 games at home.

Nonis is keeping a close eye on the Winter Olympics because six of his players are involved and two others (Swede Markus Naslund and Canadian Ed Jovanovski) would have also played but are injured.

He wasn’t pleased with the tight schedule, which had 14 NHL teams, including his Canucks, play on the first Sunday of the Olympics. The players then had to fly to Italy to begin a five-games-in-seven-nights round robin three days later leading up to the medal round, which starts today.

“That’s very tough on the players,” said Nonis. “Hopefully, they’ll all come out of it all right. It’s a grind for the players, no question.”

Nonis called up former Bear defenseman Prestin Ryan and he made his NHL debut in a 4-2 loss to St. Louis on Feb. 8.

“He was nervous, as can be expected. But he did quite well. He had a good training camp with us. He’s a smart player and he has some jam [toughness],” said Nonis.

Ryan, who played 13 shifts, was called up from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Ryan has eight goals and seven assists in 41 games for the Moose along with 44 penalty minutes.

Four of his goals have come on the power play.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.