[Article] Canucks Bizarre Off-Season Continues...

[Canucks]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25252468/canucks-trade-for-brandon-sutter-continues-bizarre-offseason

The 2014-15 season was a nice comeback year for the Vancouver Canucks. They rebounded from the very forgettable John Tortorella experience, they finished with more than 100 points in a tough Western Conference and returned to the playoffs. But in the months that have followed their first-round loss to the Calgary Flames general manager Jim Benning has taken the team down a strange and bizarre path that doesn't seem to have any real direction.

Even though they were back in the postseason this past year and still have Henrik and Daniel Sedin, their window as a true Stanley Cup contender has likely closed. But with 11 players on the roster over the age of 29, including eight players that are age 32 or older, they're not really a rebuilding team, either. Like the Boston Bruins, their opponents in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, they are a team that seems to be stuck in the middle of the two extremes. Instead of picking a direction this summer (all-in to try and capitalize on the remaining years the Sedin's have in the league, or a total tear down to kick off a true rebuilding process) they have simply made a series of head-scratching moves, each more confusing than the last.

Perhaps the best move was their decision to trade the remaining year of Kevin Bieksa's contract to the Anaheim Ducks for a 2016 second-round draft pick. Bieksa's best days are clearly behind him, and the trade not only allowed the Canucks to clear some cap space, it also brought them a future asset back in return. Beyond that move it's hard to see how anything the Canucks have done this summer has made them better now or in the future.

They traded Eddie Lack, statistically the best goalie on the roster in 2014-15, to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for two draft picks at this year's draft. Then, shortly after that move Benning stood in front of the team's season ticket holders and told them he could have traded Ryan Miller because teams were calling about the veteran goalie. Considering that Miller is coming off of a down year, isn't likely to get better at this point in his career (he will turn 36 this season, an age that isn't kind to NHL goaltenders), and still has two years and $12 million remaining on his contract it's no surprise that the fans in attendance responded by booing their GM.

They also moved 25-year-old forward Zack Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Brandon Prust, a physical forward that is five-years older than Kassian, more expensive, and is not only not as productive as Kassian, but also has far less upside.

Just look at the comparison of their production both last year and over the past three seasons.

Kassian is also only eligible for restricted free agency after this season while Prust will become a UFA. Less production. More salary. Fewer years of control. What is the long-term gain here? How does this make Vancouver better in any way?

And then there was Tuesday's trade that saw the team send forward Nick Bonino, defenseman Adam Clendening and a 2016 second-round draft pick (the draft pick they acquired for Bieksa) to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Brandon Sutter and a third-round draft pick.

This move might be the most confusing of them all.

Even if you look at it as a straight-up swap of Bonino for Sutter it's hard to see where the Canucks are coming out ahead. Bonino has been by far the more productive of the two in recent years and is still signed for two more years at a very reasonable cap hit of $1.9 million per season. Sutter will not only count more against the cap this season ($3.3 million) but will also be an unrestricted free agent next summer. So they will either lose him for nothing, or end up paying him even more money for what will most likely be worse production than they would have received from Bonino.

Again, just look at the production comparison for the two players. This one is even more lopsided than the Kassian for Prust swap as Bonino averages nearly one additional point per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time.

After the trade Benning said the Canucks view Sutter as a "foundation player," a strong statement when it involves a player that turns 27 this season and has only once topped 40 points in a single season (and that was six years ago).

The reality, though, is that Sutter can be a very frustrating player because every once in a while he will bust out a great individual move and score a highlight reel goal that grabs your attention. He also has a tremendous wrist shot that is a real weapon off the rush or when he finds himself with some open space in the middle of the ice. But you don't see it consistently enough, and there isn't enough playmaking ability to help make those around him more productive when he isn't the one scoring the goals.

His shot allows him to put 15 or 20 on the board every year, something that always looks good on the final stat line for the season. But when you look back on the year as a whole you have a hard time remembering any of them or any of them making a real impact on the season. He also has a great reputation is as a defensive forward, but there is little objective evidence to back it up.

When you add all of that with the fact that Vancouver added another player (Clendening) to the trade and gave up the better draft pick (sending a second-round pick to Pittsburgh and getting a third-round pick back) it's just a completely bizarre move for the Canucks. Given the difference in production and the difference in contracts it's almost as if Pittsburgh is the team that should have been adding pieces to the trade.

That type of management has been a major problem for the Canucks this summer. With every move the Canucks have made they ended up giving up more production than they received in return, while also taking back the larger salary (minus the Bieksa trade). And that's still true if you add in the decision to deal Lack (again, their best goalie this past season) and keep Miller (by far the more expensive of the two). Obviously there is more to the game than just simple point production (though, that is the object of the game, to outscore your opponents), but do players like Sutter and Prust provide enough in other areas to make up for what should be a drop in production? Not likely.

Basically everything they have done is the exact opposite of what a team in the salary cap era should be trying to do.

None of it makes any sense.

[I'm Your Huckleberry]

"Jim Benning has taken the team down a strange and bizarre path that doesn't seem to have any real direction."

I couldn't get past this. Jim Benning's direction is obvious, people just don't like how he's valued players. Is the rest of the article worth it?

[hsedin33]

I have to admit I am a bit confused as well. I can only assume he is trying to do a rebuild/retool on the fly. Not sure how well that will work out in the long run but hey, he knows more then I.

[stexx]

bonino is a tweener, not good enough to be a second line player not big, fast, defensively aware enough to be a solid matchup player in the west.

Sutter at the very least is a matchup player on a solid 3rd line so from that standpoint id say he is a foundational player as he can help carry a heavy weightload as we transition to younger players like Bo, Cassels and Mccann down the middle.

[Bagofcats]

Mike Gillis made some good trades and some bad trades. He always had a bad habit of hanging onto players too long but negoatiated a lot of good contracts. Benning on the otherhand is just making bad trades. Seems like he wants to build through the draft but I dont see how stocking up on 3rd round picks and foundational players is going to help this team.

[butters]

I have to admit I am a bit confused as well. I can only assume he is trying to do a rebuild/retool on the fly. Not sure how well that will work out in the long run but hey, he knows more then I.

Why assume? They straight up said it. The author of the article doesn't seem to be aware of that though. He seems to think you either challenge for the cup or scrap everything. No wonder he finds other directions confusing. The guy is not so smart. He also subscribes to the belief that you must win every trade, which is kinda idiotic.

[samurai]

Bizarre let see

For drafting he likes forwards who are big fast can shoot the puck. He also likes guys who have shown something at the international level. For D's he likes big guys and guys who can skate and move the puck out quickly - hmm pretty sound thinking

For goalies - he always thinks you need a least one blue chipper somewhere in the system. With Miller over Lack he took the experienced goalie with elite credentials.

For D he moved an Bieska in decline to make way for one of the younger guys who they would lose if waived - Corrado. Of Hammer, Tanev, and Edler - bieska was the 4th guy.

For forwards after 3 coaches and a number of years decides Kassian isn't worth the investment and notes that they have other guys and need to move on - most pundits Pierre McGuire, Button, and others concur that Kassian wasn't working out.

Finally gets presented with a chance to get a decent C who fits the conference and gives up fair value.

And what is more gives up a second to land a Baertchi who many pundits admit didn't quite get the chance he should have had in Calgary.

All in all pretty good management - wouldn't call it bizarre at all.

[gs7]

The only thing I am going to say about this article is this guy is full of BS!

[-SN-]

Bizarre Articles About Canucks Off-Season Continue

[Raoul Duke]

There are actual Benning believers? Damn.

[Baggins]

"Jim Benning has taken the team down a strange and bizarre path that doesn't seem to have any real direction."

I couldn't get past this. Jim Benning's direction is obvious, people just don't like how he's valued players. Is the rest of the article worth it?

No. Honestly not at all. I highly doubt he's watched or followed the Canucks at all.

[Baggins]

For forwards after 3 coaches and a number of years decides Kassian isn't worth the investment and notes that they have other guys and need to move on - most pundits Pierre McGuire, Button, and others concur that Kassian wasn't working out.

I'll take that a step further and say Kassian had become a problem child. When he started crying to the press about being a healthy scratch Henrik publicly said "shut up and play better". When Henrik speaks out negatively like that about a teammate, which he has never done before, it's a huge red flag. HUGE.

[Lionized27]

There are actual Benning believers? Damn.

Answer these 2 questions honestly:

where is Jim Benning's desk?

where is my desk?

[Frazzy Desjardins]

Bizarre? Have these people never heard of rebuilding or eras ending. Happens to all teams.

Strange use of words and dumb article.

[canucklehead44]

I agree 100%. I can't really make sense out of any Benning move ever since he signed Dorsett and Sbisa to those gross contracts. Prior to that, I thought the Kesler, Vey, and Baertschi trades were fine, the Vrbata signing smart, and the Miller signing justifiable. I honestly don't understand what direction we are going in.

The Canucks were a good team last year. I can understand why we wouldn't rebuild like many fans wanted. However, we got a bit crappier this offseason without really adding any young assets. I also agree that the only sensible deal was dropping Bieksa for a 2nd round pick. I am worried we will drop out of the playoffs but finish just a few points out, so we don't end up trading for picks at the deadline or received a high draft pick.

Gillis made some moves that weren't great in the end, but each and every deal could be justified. Even some of his not so good deals turned out alright like Steve Bernier (a solid 3rd liner for us) and David Booth (played well his first year, traded for two players we signed for free agents and eventually turned into Cassels). His only really bad move was the Ballard trade. Even that deal wasn't bad at the time considering Ballard was an established top 4 and we didn't have Hamhuis signed. The Roy deal sucked, but at least Roy was an established top 6 centre. Burke gave up similar return for 3rd liners.

Awesome deals include signing Lack / Tanev / Kenins, trading for Ehrhoff, signing Samuelsson, signing Hamhuis, signing Malhotra, acquiring Lappy and Higgins at the deadline for cheap, signing Santorelli for 550K etc. The biggest thing was whenever we had a weakness Gillis would address it. All of the aforementioned players are great examples. Even though his drafting wasn't great, if you include Lack, Tanev and Kenins into the mix his ability to bring prospects into the system overall wasn't too bad.

[Professor.of.Perception]

There are actual Benning believers? Damn.

Benning believer sounds a little silly, but yes i can see that he has a plan and i understand the value of it.

Sure he has "Paid The Price" in some of the trades of late, however they are for key positional players which you need, to have a successful team.

We have an influx of youth coming, you absolutely need to have the right players in place to assure proper development and a competitive culture at the NHL level.

Kassian was not developing

Lack a fan favourite doesn't have the potential of Markstrom, and he didn't have the experience to be the anchor in net.

Bonino we improved on

Beiska .... while a core player was our 4th defencemen

Change is hard and fan favourites leaving is bound to cause some anger, but we have created room for prospects and we should be a better team this year.

[desiboynux4lifee*******]

Benning will be gone in 2 years, he is running this team into the ground. I'm sorry guys these are completely bad trades and there is no other way to put it. Just thinking of Tuesday trade enrages me big time. I will leave it at that, but honestly how many grinders does Benning need? We are suppose to get younger but instead we are getting more grinders. I'm speechless.

[Pears]

Answer these 2 questions honestly:

where is Jim Benning's desk?in his office

where is my desk?in your house/office?

Did I do it right?

[skeena1]

Hey kids! Maybe when you go back to school in the fall there will be a course called "Don't Swallow Everything You Read on the Internet."

Ihope so.

Can't wait for September.

[jstewboy]

Desiboy, how did you land a CBS gig?