CallAfterLife

I don't think this is anything to worry about. I think his answer has more to do with where he would be if he left for the CHL before his draft year. When the article says "They should go through it" it translates more into "They could go through it" I think he's basically saying that for him he couldn't handle moving away from home and adapting to a new culture and language. That's really nothing to fault him on.

About 5 years ago the conversations on these boards went as follows: The Canucks need scoring so Hunter Shinkaruk should be called up. The Canucks need a puck moving defenceman so Jordan Subban should be called up. The Canucks need a physicality so Alex Grenier should be called up. The Canucks literally have better versions of Shunkaruk, Subban and Grenier in their system right now. Hoglander is a better version of Shinkaruk. Hoglander may be shorter but his fitness level is incredible and he isn't afraid to play a gritty game and battle for pucks. His hands are arguably better than Shinkaruk's as well. Kole Lind isn't as flashy as Hoglander in terms of his puck skills but he's even feistier. That's not to say he doesn't have good puck skills though. Lind basically plays the way we all want Virtanen to play. Lind isn't as fast as Virtanen but he works to forecheck and hit. Lind also has better hockey IQ and can make plays with his teammates. Plus Lind has some major character and determination. He had a disappointing first season in Utica and put in the work in the off season to make himself a better player. Grenier was a big guy that never quite figured out how to use his size to dominate opponents. Lind may be a bit smaller but he isn't afraid to punch above his weight. The Canucks now have Rafferty and Juolevi. Subban was an elite power play QB but could never figure out how to defend and transition the puck up ice. Rafferty and Juolevi are both able to do this. Rafferty prefers to skate the puck up ice himself. Juolevi prefers to hang on to the puck and wait for a good pass to open up. These we're skills that Subban never quite managed. People are forgetting that just two years ago Juolevi was his team's best defenceman in the Liiga playoffs. He's struggled with injuries that have taken away from his mobility but hopefully now that he's healthy he can develop into a top 4 defenceman. I can easily see Juolevi developing into a Jonas Bordin type of defenceman. He may not always be a factor on the score sheet but he'll do a bunch of little things to ensure that his teammates do score. Hoglander, Lind, Rafferty and Juolevi are great prospect but now that the Canucks are winning there's no confidence in them. When the Canucks were losing the mentality around prospects was completely different. Fans just wanted them to be played for the sake of playing them in order to see something new. Now that the Canucks are winning and have a better set of prospects that have been properly developed suddenly they aren't good enough. Ridiculous.

People upset about losing Stecher should consider that the Canucks never saw him as more than third pairing defenceman because of his size. Despite Stecher's analytics consistently proving that he could be a middle pairing defenceman. Stecher chose to sign a cheaper contract with Detroit because they have the thinnest blue line in the NHL. He'll have an opportunity to prove himself there. People are also forgetting that after the draft Benning came out and said that this wasn't going to be a regular UFA period and stated that deals would be happening for weeks after. Benning essentially told the fanbase to not freak out if the Canucks were quiet during the first week of free agency.

Nate Schmidt isn't a direct Tanev replacement. People are forgetting that Edler will either be gone or be resigned to a significantly cheaper contract next year. Nate Schmidt is basically Edler's successor at this point. Both players can eat a lot minutes against tough opposition and consistently score around 30+ points. Plus Schmidt can play both sides. So he can either play with Hughes or be a mentor to either Rafferty, Chatfield, Juolevi or Rathbone.

He's been described as Gadjovich lite.

What can the Canucks learn from the 2020 Stanley Cup champion Lightning? The makeup of the Lightning’s key decision makers has been relatively static, from Cooper to BriseBois — who has been with the team since 2010 — to BriseBois’ three assistant general managers, including amateur scouting guru Al Murray, who have all been with the organization in some capacity for a minimum of eight years. Through disappointment, through failure, they’ve had a plan and they’ve stuck with it.

There was no way for Benning to predict whether he would get high character players like Pettersson and Hughes at the draft. There was also no way of knowing how Pettersson and Hughes would develop at the NHL level. Had Pettersson and Hughes not fallen the Canucks could very well have drafted a different set of players that needed more veteran leadership around them. Had Benning filled the roster with cheap AHL bubble players around prospects like Filip Zadina or Cody Glass or god forbid Lias Andersson people would be asking why a bunch of plugs were ruining our young players. It's easy to say that the Canucks don't need mentors after we've seen Pettersson and Hughes perform.

I think a lot of people are also forgetting that most rebuilds aren't linear. Many teams emerging out of a rebuild take steps backwards as young players take over and old contracts are cleared. I think the OEL negotiations were such a distraction as well. Benning had to negotiate a potential trade that would have crippled his ability to resign multiple players.

Kesler never publicly said that. To my relocation he never publicly said anything that would hurt the Canucks in negotiations either. Kesler always said that if the Canucks chose to retain him he would play his best for the team. I never said I was expected Benning to walk away with multiple first round picks under the circumstances. The year before Kesler signed his new deal in 2010 he scored 73 points and finished second in Selke voting. In the same year he also got 69 votes for the Hart Trophy. In 2009 he scored 75 points and finished third in Selke voting. In 2008 he scored 59 points and finished eleventh in Selke voting. Kesler was 26 and had major results in recent years so he was fully entitled to a contract with either more money or a NTC. Gillis gave Kesler the right to decide his destination. Gillis handcuffed himself. Kesler was still signed for 2 more years when Benning became GM. Benning could have waited to deal Kesler during the season to see if a better trade package could be negotiated. Instead Benning decided that he didn't want the drama of constant trade rumours and a toxic environment in the locker room to start the season and settled for Bonino, Sbisa and the 24th OA.

I liked Bondi as well. I think there were also players drafted after Kunz that would have been better. I liked Alex Jefferies and Matteo Costantini. Jefferies played in the same league as Kunz and scored the same amount of points but with 13 less games. Costantini also has an August birthday like Kunz and will be going to UND. I think Kunz is a bit of a reactionary pick to the Vegas series. I think Benning and the scouting team are looking for an Alex Tuch type player. I guess I'm glad they're doing it with a fourth round pick. I just think there were players that had more talent and were also at least 6 feet or over. I think with Kunz size was prioritized over talent. But oh well. Kunz is a Canuck so I'll cheer for him regardless.

I think Kunz is a bit of a miss at 4. I think more talented players were still on the board. I think the Canucks should have gone for someone with higher hockey IQ. Kunz doesn't really have anything in his game that stands out except his size which will mean nothing if he can't improve his skating and vision. The Canucks also don't really need another bottom 6 winger type. I wish they went for someone that could have filled a positional needs at centre or RHD.

Stecher went from the NCAA and played 4 games in the AHL until injuries gave him an opportunity to prove himself in the lineup. Rafferty has at least played 57 games and put up 45 points. That's comparable to Jake Bean who played 59 games and put up 48 points. But Stecher gets the benefit of the doubt because he's a local boy.

I hate hind-sighting reasoning as well but the Canucks did draft Brisebois the year they gave up the second round pick for Baertschi. Maybe they wouldn't have drafted Andersson but I think it's likely they would have targeted a defenceman in that spot. If the Canucks wanted Cirelli they could have taken him instead of Brisebois. Baertschi was essentially another bargain bin / reclamation type trade like Vey and Etem and Clendening. Benning acquired him because not necessarily because he fit the long term identity of the team but was a cheap opportunity type pick up that could make the Canuck younger.

The initial plan was for Miller to play with Pettersson and Boeser. But then Ferland signed with the Canucks after the draft. Ferland even publicly said after he chose to sign with the Canucks because he was promised an opportunity to play with Pettersson and Boeser. Ferland started the season with Pettersson and Boeser. Miller started the season with Horvat and Pearson / Eriksson. That was the reality when the season started in 2019. There was a lack of chemistry and injuries happened and Green juggled the lines. Miller emerged as the most effective guy to align with Pettersson. I'm not attributing a negative conation to the term sheltering. Nor am I advocating for Pettersson to play with a plug. I'm not even saying that Pettersson should be given plugs to drag along when he reaches his peak years. I'm just saying that Pettersson's point totals show that he can play with anyone that can match his skills and smarts. I'm not advocating for Hughes to be used on the PK. Nor am I disputing that he should be paired with someone who can compliment him. I'm just saying that under the current circumstances the Canucks as a whole may be better served if they move on from Tanev. If another team is willing to throw Tanev term and money, I don't think the Canucks should be pressured to match that offer simply because Tanev is currently the best player to play with Hughes.

I'm honestly really excited to see who the Canucks draft this year despite not having a first and second. Plus I'm really curious to see what the scouting team can do without Judd Brackett.

Benning was thrown into a tire fire. Linden became President in April and hired Benning near the end of May with the draft near the end of June. That's just ridiculous. Benning became GM and had a month to prepare for the draft. All while negotiating a trade for Kesler and trying to sign Miller and Vrbata. Benning also traded Garrison for a second and used it to get Vey also traded a third to bring in Dorsett. Tanev and Kassian needed new deals around that time. Oh and the team needed a new head coach. Demko was picked because of Benning's experience in Boston. I've never been bothered by Benning's signings for the exact reasons you stated. I always thought it was smart of him to sign players that could potentially have been traded for something at the deadline. Like with signing Vanek and trading him for Motte. It's just too bad that more of those trades couldn't have been made.

I'm not equating them 1 for 1. I think Toffoli was brought in to compensate for Leivo, Ferland and Boeser. Eriksson and Virtanen just didn't have the ability to step in and contribute on the scoresheet in top 6 roles. Hence Toffoli. The bigger question about acquiring Toffoli is why the Canucks didn't just give Baertschi, Goldobin or even Bailey more of a chance. It sucks to have lost Madden and 2nd round pick in such a deep draft year. Leivo was having a good season and was on pace to hit 40+ points this year if not for his injury. And he was doing it for $1.5 million. He was effective and cheap. That's the exact combination teams need to win.

Have you looked at Pettersson's point totals? 66 points in 71 games played in his first season. He was mainly paired with Boeser. 66 points 68 games in his second season. Miller isn't sheltering Pettersson as much as you're claiming. Miller's mainly been sheltering Pettersson from taking face offs. And don't forget that Miller was initially brought in to play with Horvat. Miller had a career year under Pettersson. It's a complete false equivalency to say that Miller has the same effect on Pettersson like Tanev has on Hughes. I'm not discounting the time it takes to develop prospects. But I also think that being given an opportunity is an important stage of development. Stecher played 4 games in the AHL simply because Willie Desjardins was trying to save his job and didn't want to give him a chance. Look at Ryan Graves in Colorado. He had never played a full season in the NHL prior to this year and he ended up playing on Colorado's top pairing with Makar. I don't want Tanev to leave but signing him to a long term contract carries more risk compared to Markstrom and Toffoli.

The big difference is that Miller is 32 and had his injury happen at the end of a $10 million x 4 year contract. Leivo was likely looking to prove that he was worth something similar or more. He's 27 and has yet to have a stable role in the NHL. Much less sign a big contract. I'm curious to see where Leivo's skating will be when he's healthy. Also if Leivo hadn't been injured I don't think the Canucks would have even traded for Toffoli.

I'm not even convinced that Virtanen was Benning's pick. When I look at McCann, Boeser, Juolevi, Pettersson, Hughes and Podkolzin, scouts all touted their hockey IQs and their ability to anticipate plays. Virtanen is the lone exception. Plus we all heard the rumours of Benning wanting to move up in the draft in order to grab Sam Reinhart. To me Virtanen was an Aquilini suggestion / pick. A local boy to get an anaemic and displeased fanbase excited. I'm not convinced Benning didn't want Pettersson or Hughes. Benning openly admitted that trading down would have been a possibility in 2017 but he didn't want to risk having another team take Pettersson. The rumour was that Buffalo was a willing trade partner because they were targeting Casey Mittelstadt but the Rangers were also high on Pettersson and they were picking ahead of Buffalo. Hughes even came out and said that in his draft interview with the Canucks, Benning told him that if he was still available at 7 the Canucks wouldn't let him slip to 8. For whatever reason people think Benning places a higher value on size vs skill. If he did, Cody Glass and Evan Bouchard would be Canucks instead of Pettersson and Hughes. Madden, Hoglander, DiPietro and Rathbone. And even Gaudette who was as skinny as a bean pole when he was drafted all say otherwise too.

Jake doesn't even utilize his speed half the time. Toffoli and Boeser may be slower but they know how to work the tools they have.

He's just someone who prefers to nitpick every single detail in isolation from the whole. He complains about Virtanen being a bust at #6 but can't see Boeser as complete steal at #23. He's been complaining about a flat cap due to the pandemic but doesn't understand that every GM in the NHL was operating on the assumption of the cap going up this year and the next. He's literally one of those guys who'd rather blow everything up because of one wrong move instead of trying to move forward and building from there.

This is such a ridiculous statement for so many reasons. You're so determined to hate Benning that you've forgotten so many facts. The first being that it's factually untrue. Virtanen was drafted in 2014. Boeser was drafted in 2015. Juolevi was drafted in 2016. Do you not consider Boeser to be a top player? You've talked about Boeser's future contract so many times yet you've completely forgotten that Benning drafted him at #23 in his second year as GM. The second being that it's completely illogical. The 2014 and 2016 draft DID happen. Virtanen and Juolevi haven't just magically disappeared just because they haven't lived up to their draft pedigree. Both these players are still assets in the organization. The Canucks didn't forfeit these picks just because they didn't choose the best player available. Third. Juolevi is still a good prospect. He may not be as dynamic as Hughes but he's still has all the skills to contribute to the team. He's a good skater and can read the ice well. He didn't look out of place in the 8 minutes he played in his lone playoff game. A fair judgement on Juolevi can only be made after he's at least played 1 or 2 seasons in the NHL. Every GM has hits and misses at the draft. Tampa and Chicago. Arguably the best organizations at drafting have their regrets. Tampa took Slater Koekkoek over Filip Fosberg in 2012. Chicago took some guy named Kyle Beach who never played a game in the NHL and missed out on Erik Karlsson in 2008. Everyone is so keen to be suspicious about Benning because he supposedly didn't want Pettersson and Hughes. Even if that were true, it still says a lot about Benning that they were drafted anyways. Pettersson is the consensus #1 pick in a redraft. Hughes is either the #2 or #3. Boeser is a consensus top 10 pick.

Major brain freeze on my part. But I do stand behind my point. Tanev's injury history should be noted when signing a multiyear contract at the back end of his career. His lower body has taken a beating over the years. Even his skating is slightly but noticeably not what it use to be. I'd rather give Rafferty and Chatfield an opportunity to develop in the NHL on ELC's and use the extra money to resign everyone else. There would be enough cap space to offer Markstrom enough money to sign a new contract without a NTC, resign Toffoli and give the RFA's raises. If the Canucks didn't have dead cap space in Eriksson, Baertschi, Ferland and Luongo this wouldn't even be an issue.