Positives:
-Drafted 8 NHL level players: Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, Nils Hoglander, Thatcher Demko, Vasili Podkolzin, Adam Gaudette, Jared McCann
-Traded for JT Miller
-Traded a 3rd for Derek Dorsett
-Traded Bieksa for a 2nd
-Traded Gudbranson for Pearson
-Traded Shinkaruk for Granlund
-Traded Carcone for Leivo
-Signing Garland to a good contract
-Signing Demko to a good contract
-Signed and traded Vanek for Motte which has worked out well.
-Signed Vrbata
-Signed Miller
Debatable:
-Trading for OEL and Garland (Both are doing well but having to give up the 9th overall and a 2nd to get rid of the bad contracts JB signed is rough. OEL’s contract is tough to swallow, since imo he’s not living up to it. Good defensively but not putting up any offence)
-Let Markstrom walk for nothing (Vezina calibre G. I understand that Demko showed he was ready to take over but Marky was MVP for 2 years in a row)
-Traded for Toffoli (Big price to give up for 17 games, then didn’t even try and sign him when he fit so well with the team)
-Traded a 2nd for Baertschi (Baer had a few good seasons then got injured. Then never given a chance to make it back on the team despite playing better than certain players like Virtanen and Player Name)
-Ryan Kesler for Luca Sbisa, Nick Bonino, 1st + 3rd (I understand Kesler only allowed a trade to Anaheim, Chicago or Pittsburgh but the return was underwhelming regardless)
-Traded Jason Garrison + for a 2nd (By itself that would be a good trade but what was used with the pick is negative)
-Signed Travis Green as HC (Green has high regard around the league and honestly think he gets way too much hate)
-Traded Hansen for Goldobin (I was ok with the trade itself but didn’t develop Goldy or even let him have a chance with the team)
-Traded Burrows for Dahlen (Again I was good with the trade but didn’t develop him and traded him for a nothing)
-Traded Lack for a 3rd
Bad:
-Missed on Juolevi, Virtanen and every other draft pick so far (Draft Guru lol)
-Traded McCann AND a 2nd for Erik Gudbranson
-Traded Nick Bonino, Clendening and a 2nd for Sutter and a 3rd
-Traded a 2nd for Linden Vey
-Traded a 3rd for Dickinson
-Traded Gaudette for Highmore (This was a downgrade at the time. Gaudette came off a good season. Highmore is an AHL player)
-Traded Kassian and a 5th for Prust
-Traded a 3rd for Nate Schmidt then traded him for a 3rd
-Traded Dahlen for Linus Karlsson
-Let Tanev, Toffoli, Vrbata, Hamhuis, Edler, Stecher walk for nothing
-Let Goldobin, Lind and Gadjovich go for nothing (Lind and Gadj are draft misses for JB)
-Signed Willie D as a coach (He just wasn’t a good NHL coach from the start)
-Signed Virtanen then bought him out after 1 season
-Signed Jay Beagle
-Signed Michael Ferland (He had concussion issues already)
-Signed Tyler Myers
-Signed Antoine Roussel
-Signed Loui Player Name
-Signed Braden Holtby then bought him out after 1 season
-Signed Tucker Poolman
-Signed Hamonic
-Signed Sven Baertschi then put him in the minors after 1 season
-Signed Gagner
-Overpayed Tanner Pearson
-Overpayed Brandon Sutter
-Overpayed Erik Gudbranson
There are other smaller moves that are either slightly negative or slightly positive. They don’t mean anything imo and come out to about even.
Most of the Debatable points ultimately turned out negative for the team.
Benning is a bad GM. I don’t see how you look at this list and say he was good after 8 seasons.