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VANCOUVER -- The man charged with the job of revitalizing the Vancouver Canucks made his first major move toward erasing the memory of one of the teams worst seasons in recent history. NFL Jerseys . Trevor Linden, the former Vancouver captain who has taken over as the teams president, put his stamp on the Canucks by firing head coach John Tortorella on Thursday. Linden said the action was the first step in moving on from a frustrating season that saw the Canucks miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. "Today is about the future of this team and the goal of getting it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs," Linden told a news conference. Tortorellas firing was expected, but Linden said he didnt want to rush the decision. "I tried to come in from a neutral place," he said. "At the end of the day I kept coming back to a lot of things I didnt like that I saw trending. I just felt to move forward and kind of put a new perspective and new direction, it was the right thing to do." Besides Tortorella, assistant coach Mike Sullivan was also relieved of his duties. They join fired president and general manager Mike Gillis as those paying the price for a dismal year that saw the Canucks finish 25th overall. Assistant coaches Glen Gulutzan and Darryl Williams and goaltender coach Roland Melanson will keep their jobs. Linden hopes to have a new general manager hired by the end of the month. The search for a coach could coincide with looking for a GM. "I have a real strong (GM) candidate list that I will be starting the interview process next week," said Linden. "I think the two processes can move along together for a certain period of time. "Its important the manager have a great deal of input on the coaching direction. That would be the ideal situation." One of the names most frequently mentioned for the Vancouver GMs job is Jim Benning, Bostons assistant general manager and a former teammate of Linden. The Bruins have the potential to play deep into the Stanley Cup playoff. Linden refused to be specific about any candidates but indicated playoff teams may be willing to let him talk to their staff. "I have not got any pushback on timing from a playoff standpoint," he said. Linden wants a coach with experience at "many levels." The person must be a teacher and be able to communicate with his players. One of the most popular Canucks of all time, Linden is trying to repair the teams image and its relationship with fans left disillusioned by Vancouvers drop from the ranks of the NHLs elite. "This is a fresh start for our team and youll see us make some other changes this summer," he said in a letter to season ticket holders. "It starts with how we shape our management and coaching staffs and the roster improvements were able to make." The Canucks had a good start under Tortorella but finished the year with a 36-35-11 record for 83 points. The Canucks had just 13 wins in the 41 games since Jan. 1. Vancouver also struggled to score, managing just 196 goals on the season, leaving the Canucks tied for second least in the league. At an April 14 season-ending news conference Tortorella was blunt when he said the Canucks are getting old and the core needed revitalizing. Linden was asked about the comments. "We talked about that," he said. "I dont totally agree with everything he said." Tortorella, who won a Stanley Cup coaching Tampa Bay in 2004, was hired as the Canucks 17th head coach last June to replace the fired Alain Vigneault. Vigneault took over Tortorellas old team, the New York Rangers, and has led them into the second round of this seasons playoffs. Tortorella has four years remaining on a contact which is estimated at US$2 million a season. Its estimated the Canucks owe Gillis $4 million for the remaining four years left on his contract. Tortorella could be cantankerous, even rude, when dealing with the media during his five seasons with the Rangers. He kept his promise to be different in Vancouver, where he was cordial and often humorous when talking to reporters. On the ice Tortorella preached defence and shot blocking. He used star players Daniel and Henrik Sedin on the penalty kill. He also faced criticism for the amount of ice time he heaped on front-line players like the Sedins and centre Ryan Kesler, who averaged 21 minutes 48 seconds of ice time a night. Tortorellas decision to start rookie goaltender Eddie Lack in the outdoor Heritage Classic game frustrated veteran Roberto Luongo. That decision eventually resulted in Luongo being traded to Florida. A rash of injuries took their toll, Both Sedins, Alex Burrows and defenceman Chris Tanev all missed a significant number of games with injuries. Noted for his fiery manner behind the bench Tortorella shocked management and the teams owners when he tried to get into the Calgary Flames locker-room following a line brawl in a Jan. 18 game in Vancouver. Tortorella was prevented from getting at Flames coach Bob Hartley and was suspended for six games. The Canucks were 2-4-0 during that period, then 2-7-1 when Tortorella returned. Linden said that incident did not factor in Tortorellas firing. Canuck players said they played a role in the fate of both Gillis and Tortorella. "The bottom line is if we win more games, then guys dont lose their jobs," said defenceman Kevin Bieksa. Among the available coaches is Barry Trotz, who was fired from Nashville last month after 15 seasons with the Predators. Other candidates include L.A. assistant coach John Stevens and former Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher. "We will do everything we can to make this team as good as it can be and get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs," Linden said. "We have ideas of how we can do that. "Going down that path you need things and puzzles to fit together." Adidas Jerseys . - Mike Zimmer has brought a demanding style to the Minnesota Vikings. Custom Jerseys .This one was bigger than most.Ben Roethlisberger and LeVeon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/ . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season.MILWAUKEE -- Brandon Knight took a couple dribbles and an important step forward in turning into the lead guard for the Milwaukee Bucks. The third-year pro went shot for shot with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony down the stretch before nailing the most important one of the night. Knight made a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left and finished with 25 points, and the Bucks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 101-98 victory Monday night over New York. "Thats his shot. He loves that little step-back, half-dribble 3," said forward Khris Middleton, who had 19 points. With no timeouts and the ball in his hand for the Bucks last possession, Knight quickly but calmly brought the ball up the floor after Anthony (36 points) hit a 3-pointer with 19.4 seconds left. He played out the seconds ahead in his head. Dont get caught in a "bad situation" off a screen or trap, an outcome that Knight said had played out too many times before. "So I just walked it down, got into rhythm and was able to knock down that shot," Knight said. Raymond Felton leaped into the air with an outstretched arm to try to disrupt Knight, then turned in disbelief as the Bucks guard rushed down the other end to celebrate. "When I went back and looked at it, Ray kind of backed off a little bit. I thought he could have been a little more aggressive," coach Mike Woodson said. "Rays hand was up there." The Knicks had one last chance, though Anthony misfired on a deep 3 before stumbling back into the first row of seats as time expired. He finished with 36 points. Save for a sprinkling of onlookers wearing Knicks blue, the 11,000-plus fans at the Bradley Center rewarded the Bucks with a rousing ovation. Wins -- let alone this kind of dramatic victory -- have been rare in this 9-39 season. But Monday was especially important for Milwaukee because they fended off numerous runs by the streaky Knicks, who lost a second straight following a four-game winning streak. This is the same team thats also had streaks of five wins and nine losses, too. New York hopes this isnt the start of another bad run. New York rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but ended up falling to the worst team in the league two nights after losing to the Southeast Division-leading Miami Heat. Soccer Jerseys. "There are no freebies in the NBA. You can lose on any night to any team if you dont play well," said centre Tyson Chandler (seven points, 10 rebounds). Middleton hit a season-high five 3s for Milwaukee, which also snapped a seven-game skid to New York. Rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo had 15 points and sparked the crowd that included his family with a rousing dunk in the fourth quarter, while Zaza Pachulia also gave the Bucks a lift off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds. New York was usually never more than a few possessions away and the last few minutes got even tighter. Anthony hesitated before firing up a 3 with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 98 before Knights last-second heroics. Unlike most of the rest of the season, the Bucks had a counterpunch for every Knicks spurt. "I made some mistakes at the end that can cost us the game, but Brandon was there," Antetokounmpo said. "The hero was there to knock down the shot." Knights back-door layup off a pretty feed by Pachulia with 27.5 seconds left gave Milwaukee a three-point lead to answer Feltons 3 on the previous possession. Anthony finished 13 of 25 from the field and 5 of 10 from 3-point range. J.R. Smith had 30 points and seven rebounds. Knight went 10 of 23 from the field and 4 of 8 from long range. "My teammates did a great job tonight persevering," Knight said. "Our past habits have been to drop our heads and say Here we go again." New York led by seven early and had plenty of chances to gain control but went through inopportune dry spells and went just 15 of 24 from the foul line. Chandler was 1 of 6. Notes: Iman Shumpert returned to the Knicks starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained right foot. He finished with five in 24 minutes. Forward Kenyon Martin sat out again with a nagging left ankle injury. ... Bucks F Caron Butler left in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle. ' ' '