The rising NHL powerhouse that Jim Benning constructed

[SilentSam]

On 12/3/2019 at 9:16 AM, 189lb enforcers? said:

Thanks for your kind words. 

Keep your strength and your humour.. 

the ones you love need it.

Positivity and pragmatism is a template for victory,.  Educate yourself on point and have all the right questions.

189, the science and technology these days is amazing and evolves rapidly..  60-70 % of these types of problems exist because they go undetected..  your team is winning already.

Best Wishes to all.

Edited December 5, 2019 by SilentSam

[Junkyard Dog]

We're still a few pieces off.

 

Besides Quinn we don't really have any stand outs on D with Juolevi potential up in the air under his unfortunate circumstances. Maybe Rafferty? Maybe Tryamkin(if we are lucky). Only time will tell. IMO we need one more Hughes-level defenseman.

 

Need a couple more top 6 forwards unless the Canucks fully commit to Gaudette converting to wing. Pod could, we'll see but there's nobody but him currently that i'd expect in our prospect pool.

 

A lot of things need to go right for us to become a powerhouse but most of the core pieces are there. 

[iceman64]

On 12/2/2019 at 10:14 AM, aGENT said:

https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2019/12/2/20989214/jim-benning-vancouver-canucks-nhl-powerhouse

 

 

 

At first when JB took the reigns I was really stoked in hoping he'd start building a big Bruins type team but was handcuffed to a older core with expiring contracts and not much in the pipe line..

 Sadly, it was a super short retool to get the most out them until gone and try to put as many people in the seats as he could.

 Was JB as seasoned pro at GM at his hiring? Not even close but he had some successes before taking over for Vancouver but as a GM he was maybe halfway there at best and by his own words on Twitter, he knew negotiating wasn't his strong suit but learn on the fly was/is the only thing someone could do. 

It sure didn't help that the team he took over was a disaster in many ways, but somehow he made it past a media shi* show and fans haven't changed much either demanding "win it all now" as it has been for many, many years.. risk everything to win no matter what the cost later which included "the farm" which only had limited success after drafts being traded away and the farm sank into oblivion.

 

It landed us back at square one, after the loss to the Bruins for the cup.. when we needed depth on that run at the end after being beaten physically and bodies, especially on D got injured and no depth from the farm to bring up with enough skill to hold their own to help the team pull it off and there are still fans who want it all now but we saw how that ended,  2013 brought back a broken team with a broken identity... with long contracts still in place Gillis had signed on for a few big cup runs but got blind sided by a thing that stole that away for the foreseeable future.. salary cap... IF you want to know why everything didn't work out as Gillis had planned, it was exactly that... I'm still pissed about it.. however, fast forward to today, our "core" is young and gaining valuable experience in gel mode but as an identity, wanting to be tough to play against. Are we there yet? Absolutely not but some of our risks are working out, JV is particular and may peak at the exact right time we need.. Demko and Dip the same, Hughes isn't far off as he's a natural.. 

 

The farm, well finally it's not under foreclosure status anymore and with some good drafting, what's in there might just start to show gains when we need it the most in 2-3 years-ish when (if all goes well) or even close, dare I say it? A serious shot to bring Lord Stanley here? Well all we can do is hope but this team is about the same place (roughly) ish..  what makes it that is we actually have some depth for a change that evens it out but as our depth gets better and more experienced that will make us a better team as our our core grows together.

 

 So a serious contender around the 22/23 season? Absolutely!

Fun to watch in the meantime? Heck ya... Fun to watch AG become even better every game now that he's worked on his D he's going back to what won him the hobey and he's looking great now, let alone in a cpl of seasons from now...

JV is finally getting somewhere as most of us knew it was only a matter of time but annoying as hell to watch went out with the dishwater and he's doing a lot better..

Hogs n Pods? Should be pushing for spots..

Big Mac, if he pushes himself and reaches his ceiling as I'm sure he will.. 

 

More to list but Miller, Ferland, and Rous helped changed the scenery, add to that Myers and hopefully soon, Tryamkin proving the nay sayers wrong and keep us big to balance it all out... 

 

 Well as far as the rest goes, simply put, we're not there yet but it's fun to watch again.. 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by iceman64

[Mackcanuck]

 

[coolboarder]

12 minutes ago, Mackcanuck said:

 

All of that despite not looking good for most of the time.  That's skill in itself but imagine what they could do if they looked good?  Most of the time when teams with lethal PP looked good throughout the history of NHL, scores about 10-15% more than the average.   If that is our average while not looking good, I can't wait when they looked dangerous.

[CupIsComing]

On 12/2/2019 at 10:42 AM, Tortorella's Rant said:

But then I see Juolevi and weep. 

#majorleagueflop

The danger of drafting for position and not picking the best player available. Hopefully JB has learned that lesson.

[Nucker 67]

IMO, Benning's Top 3 Worst transactions are:

 

1. Trading Zack Kassian for Brandon Prust

2. Trading Jared McCann for Erik Gudbranson

3. Signing Loui Eriksson for $6MM x 6 years

 

He gets a lot of heat for taking Juolevi over Tkachuk, but at the time, this was a smart choice. Olli is still quite young, and could still make the NHL and do very well. Just need to be more patient with him.

 

For the most part, Benning has done an excellent job rebuilding the roster and prospect pool. I still give him an A (even with those 3 blunders above) It will take a few years for the young guys to find their way, but it's exciting to know they have Podkolzin, Hoglander, Madden, Rathbone and Woo developing. They're going to have a heck of a team in a few years.

[WeneedLumme]

2 hours ago, Mackcanuck said:

 

I guess this means that now is the best time to get rid of our PP coach. We need to trade him now while his value is at an all time high lol. And maybe at the same time we can trade away our entire first PP unit. Imagine the haul of draft picks we could get!

[Monteeun]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

IMO, Benning's Top 3 Worst transactions are:

 

1. Trading Zack Kassian for Brandon Prust

2. Trading Jared McCann for Erik Gudbranson

3. Signing Loui Eriksson for $6MM x 6 years

 

He gets a lot of heat for taking Juolevi over Tkachuk, but at the time, this was a smart choice. Olli is still quite young, and could still make the NHL and do very well. Just need to be more patient with him.

 

For the most part, Benning has done an excellent job rebuilding the roster and prospect pool. I still give him an A (even with those 3 blunders above) It will take a few years for the young guys to find their way, but it's exciting to know they have Podkolzin, Hoglander, Madden, Rathbone and Woo developing. They're going to have a heck of a team in a few years.

I believe at the time, we had to move on from Kassian. I think there were issues. ( i forgot on the specifics of the issues. If someone could correct me if i'm wrong)

In hindsight, yea, the Gud trade didn't work out, but we had to give it a shot. Our backend was very weak.

Loui, well, we gambled and failed. It is what it is.

Edited December 5, 2019 by Monteeun

[spook007]

3 hours ago, Mackcanuck said:

 

While this is brilliant, I wonder, what it would look like % wise? Canucks have the most PP in the league?

Regardless its very impressive, and far better than expected.

 

[Gurn]

22 minutes ago, spook007 said:

Canucks have the most PP in the league?

Yes, funny that people say the team needs to be better 5 on 5, yet the team seems to play well enough to draw a whole lot of penalties.

[spook007]

4 minutes ago, gurn said:

Yes, funny that people say the team needs to be better 5 on 5, yet the team seems to play well enough to draw a whole lot of penalties.

True...

Sometimes people just needs to complain... in particular taken into account this is a team led by youngsters still trying to get to grips with the HNL... 

This team is going to be amazing in a few years...

[stawns]

5 hours ago, CupIsComing said:

The danger of drafting for position and not picking the best player available. Hopefully JB has learned that lesson.

if he were healthy no one would be complaining about OJ.  He's been excellent at every level since he was drafted.

[LowerMainLander18]

2 hours ago, Monteeun said:

I believe at the time, we had to move on from Kassian. I think there were issues. ( i forgot on the specifics of the issues. If someone could correct me if i'm wrong)

In hindsight, yea, the Gud trade didn't work out, but we had to give it a shot. Our backend was very weak.

Loui, well, we gambled and failed. It is what it is.

substance abuse program in California that Kass had to go to fix his problems? is that chronologically fitting with that trade?

[LowerMainLander18]

5 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

IMO, Benning's Top 3 Worst transactions are:

 

1. Trading Zack Kassian for Brandon Prust

2. Trading Jared McCann for Erik Gudbranson

3. Signing Loui Eriksson for $6MM x 6 years

 

He gets a lot of heat for taking Juolevi over Tkachuk, but at the time, this was a smart choice. Olli is still quite young, and could still make the NHL and do very well. Just need to be more patient with him.

 

For the most part, Benning has done an excellent job rebuilding the roster and prospect pool. I still give him an A (even with those 3 blunders above) It will take a few years for the young guys to find their way, but it's exciting to know they have Podkolzin, Hoglander, Madden, Rathbone and Woo developing. They're going to have a heck of a team in a few years.

I agree with 1 and 3. 

But at the time of that trade, 2 didnt seem too bad.

We needed a tall, physical Defenceman who can take some beatings + log difficult minutes.

And we thought Guddy would turn it around and be that guy for us at the time. 

Turns out that his good days have passed him. 

Now that McCann has flourished with his opportunity in Pitts, this look bad. 

Even when McCann was still in Florida and struggling to find a fit at the NHL level, I didn't think this trade wasn't a lost one yet. 

Just my 2 cents. 

[Nucker 67]

3 minutes ago, LowerMainLander18 said:

I agree with 1 and 3. 

But at the time of that trade, 2 didnt seem too bad.

We needed a tall, physical Defenceman who can take some beatings + log difficult minutes.

And we thought Guddy would turn it around and be that guy for us at the time. 

Turns out that his good days have passed him. 

Now that McCann has flourished with his opportunity in Pitts, this look bad. 

Even when McCann was still in Florida and struggling to find a fit at the NHL level, I didn't think this trade wasn't a lost one yet. 

Just my 2 cents. 

I agree the Canucks needed more size on D, and a right shot, but I think the Canucks gave up on McCann too early. Even though his reaction to being drafted by VAN was much less than pleased, he was still Canucks property and they should've developed him anyway, until an offer came up they couldn't refuse. Now he's turned out to be a really good player for PIT. Gudbranson is now a dinosaur. Kind of like Kassian, they may have given up on him too early as well, instead of working with him and getting him into treatment. Now look at him, really good support player on a winning team, and sober. What's Prust doing these days? Drinking beer in Germany? This is a good reminder that they shouldn't give up on Jake either. He's still got work to do, and it's taking time, but he's going to be a good player down the road. Same with Juolevi. We need to be patient with some of the young guys.

[Phat Fingers]

On 12/2/2019 at 11:38 PM, 189lb enforcers? said:

Just got word that a sister-in-law has rectal cancer. 

My Queen is not happy tonight. 

Fuk Cancer. 

&^@# Cancer.  

 

That really sucks 189.  Hope is vital to beating cancer.  I sincerely pray that this was caught early. 

 

My wife's father had his lung removed 9 months ago... his doctor told him it was arthritis ( bi lateral foot swelling to the point he couldn't put on his shoes)  I got him to get a second opinion and he is still alive today.  He wouldn't have been if he hadn't actually listened to his paramedic son in law.  First time that ever happened.  

 

 Rectal CA can be treated with good success rates, everything depends on timing.  My uncle went in for an unrelated test and the doctors noticed a strange lab result.  They looked a little deeper and found Pancreatic CA, but early stages.  That's a diagnosis that usually comes with a '2 weeks to live' talk.  He was lucky, very lucky.  That was 8 years ago and he is still kicking.  

 

The big thing is to support your queen and by doing that, you will support your sister in law.  Staying positive and actually talking openly helps me when dealing with patients.  People feel isolated when you hush up and don't address the elephant in the room.

 

Medical science has come a long way since 'terms of endearment''.  Don't buy into quackery.  I have seen people with really treatable cancers go for holistic treatment and have had terrible results.  

 

Treatment or surgery is very hard to get thru.  Just being there to help post treatment is vital.  Getting groceries, taking the kids for a few weeks etc...   it takes a family to beat it.  

 

Good luck 189 and best wishes to your family.  

 

 

[spook007]

1 hour ago, NUCKER67 said:

I agree the Canucks needed more size on D, and a right shot, but I think the Canucks gave up on McCann too early. Even though his reaction to being drafted by VAN was much less than pleased, he was still Canucks property and they should've developed him anyway, until an offer came up they couldn't refuse. Now he's turned out to be a really good player for PIT. Gudbranson is now a dinosaur. Kind of like Kassian, they may have given up on him too early as well, instead of working with him and getting him into treatment. Now look at him, really good support player on a winning team, and sober. What's Prust doing these days? Drinking beer in Germany? This is a good reminder that they shouldn't give up on Jake either. He's still got work to do, and it's taking time, but he's going to be a good player down the road. Same with Juolevi. We need to be patient with some of the young guys.

Don't disagree, but to be fair we don't really know, what went on with McCann.... 

'It is, what it is' boy said all the wrong things, when he got drafted. There were rumours of entitlement, and I believe senior players hinted towards this as well, although I may be mistaken.

We were in need of a physical D-man (still is actually), so I think it was a trade that ticked all the boxes...except it didn't work out for neither player in their new surroundings... He looks decent now, but have a feeling it was never going to work here. We'll never know, but this is how it goes with trades... just like drafting, its a gamble...

Kassian, as much as we all loved him, needed to get away from Vancouver. Canucks did get him into rehab programmes as far as I remember, but they may have saved Kassian and his career from Kassian himself by moving him along. 

 

yes JB could be given a minus for these trades in hindsight, however they were both trades that most could understand as they happened. Only few were unhappy when Guddy turned up in a Nux uniform....

 

In saying all the above, you are totally right that we should not give up on neither JV or OJ... People are so quick in dismissing players, which is one of the reasons I wish players should be a couple of years older when the draft commences... together with the likelihood of the players being a bust also being reduced considerably.

[Baggins]

7 hours ago, CupIsComing said:

The danger of drafting for position and not picking the best player available. Hopefully JB has learned that lesson.

Pettersson wasn't a concensus top 5 pick. As a matter of fact only 1 of 12 listed on mynhldraft.com had him 5th while 4 had him 15th or later. BPA is subjective, there's a reason each team has their own scouting department. 

[Gawdzukes]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

I agree the Canucks needed more size on D, and a right shot, but I think the Canucks gave up on McCann too early. Even though his reaction to being drafted by VAN was much less than pleased, he was still Canucks property and they should've developed him anyway, until an offer came up they couldn't refuse. Now he's turned out to be a really good player for PIT. Gudbranson is now a dinosaur. Kind of like Kassian, they may have given up on him too early as well, instead of working with him and getting him into treatment. Now look at him, really good support player on a winning team, and sober. What's Prust doing these days? Drinking beer in Germany? This is a good reminder that they shouldn't give up on Jake either. He's still got work to do, and it's taking time, but he's going to be a good player down the road. Same with Juolevi. We need to be patient with some of the young guys.

 

2 hours ago, LowerMainLander18 said:

I agree with 1 and 3. 

But at the time of that trade, 2 didnt seem too bad.

We needed a tall, physical Defenceman who can take some beatings + log difficult minutes.

And we thought Guddy would turn it around and be that guy for us at the time. 

Turns out that his good days have passed him. 

Now that McCann has flourished with his opportunity in Pitts, this look bad. 

Even when McCann was still in Florida and struggling to find a fit at the NHL level, I didn't think this trade wasn't a lost one yet. 

Just my 2 cents. 

Lol. Pearson has the same number of points. Flourished indeed.