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. Steph Curry Shoes Discount . 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." Stephen Curry Shoes Cheap . -- Phil Mickelson came to the St. Stephen Curry Shoes Wholesale . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. http://www.cheapcurryshoes.net/ . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand.STILLWATER, Okla. -- Seventh-ranked Oklahoma State required patience Tuesday night -- on both ends of the floor. The Big 12 Conferences second-leading offence, averaging 88.4 points per game, faced off with a Delaware State squad that employed the deliberate, shot-clock-eating offence of veteran head coach Greg Jackson. The time-consuming tactics worked for a half, but the athletic Cowboys bolted out of the gate in the second half, forcing their guests to play at a much quicker pace. A 30-16 halftime advantage ballooned to 48-18 four minutes into the second half thanks mainly to full-court defensive pressure. After playing at Jacksons pace for 20 minutes, OSU head coach Travis Ford decided it was time to play at his pace the rest of the way. The 75 points in a 75-43 victory were 13 points below his squads season average, but Ford knew what to expect from Tuesdays opponent. "We played hard in the first half, but we didnt play with the energy or push the ball the way we wanted," said Ford, whose team returns to the court against Colorado in the MGM Grand Showcase in Las Vegas on Saturday. "We didnt make anything happen; we played within the slow-down style of basketball. I told the guys at halftime that we were better than how we were playing." "(Delaware State) wanted to slow it down a lot, and we actually got to put some pressure on them and we pushed the ball," said Cowboys senior guard Markel Brown. "I think that is when we are at our best, when were pushing the ball, moving down the court and taking fluid shots that we like to take." The Hornets (2-9) ate much of the shot clock during a first half that saw them shoot 24 per cent (6 of 25) and go scoreless for an eight-minute stretch. Yet, a long-range 3-point basket by Casey Walker in the final minute kept Delaware State within 12 points. Since giving up 32 first-half points to Memphis on Dec. 1, the Cowboys have held their last three opponents under 20 points in the openinng 20 minutes: South Carolina (15), Louisiana Tech (18), and Delaware State on Tuesday. Buy Curry Shoes Online. "Coming into this game, we knew that (Delaware State) was going to be running a lot of false motion and run the clock down," Brown said. "We just sat down and talked about it all week in practice, about playing disciplined defence and not letting them get the shots that they want, even lulling us to sleep or anything." The game was played at OSUs pace in the second half. "I thought we did an excellent job in the first half," said Jackson, in his 14th season at Delaware State. "We played with discipline and we played hard. Then talent took over; the difference in that ball game is simple talent. We controlled the tempo in the first half and held (OSU) to 30 points, but they played at their pace the rest of the way. You can only play with emotion for so long." Kendall Gray led the Hornets with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Cowboys out-rebounded Delaware State 39-34. Marcus Smart, the Big 12s leading scorer, did not score in the first half. However, the athletic sophomore guard sparked the early second-half run, recording two of his three steals -- OSU had 10 overall - and following them up with a 3-pointer and dunk. Brown, who tied for high-point honours with LeBryan Nash with 14 points, drained a long-range 3-pointer to put OSU up 54-30 and end any hopes of a Hornets comeback. The lead was 34 points with 13:52 remaining. Despite another lopsided win, Oklahoma State continued to struggle from 3-point range. The Cowboys entered Tuesday 10 of 47 (21 per cent) over their last three starts. They were was 6 of 23 Tuesday, with Phil Forte hitting 1 of 10. "I dont think anything about (his struggles)," Ford said. "I want him to shoot it. You dont worry about makes or misses with a guy of his shooting ability. We know if they go in, it really helps your team, but weve got other things to worry about." ' ' '