[Confirmed] Jim Benning signs as new Canucks GM

[theminister]

*Salo was still here.

Nope.

Exactly my point.

Ehrhoff was just one option that worked. Salo also worked.

I don't dispute we need a PP QB, far from it as I consider it out most important need this offseason as far as player personnel, but there are different molds of players that can accomplish that. Salo and Ehrhoff are very different players.

I agree with WH that a good skater is the preference.... actually anything to get Edler away from being the PMD and putting him on his off side to receive the passes.

[Canuck or Die]

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0014122007.html

Wrong. Forsberg, Kariya, Arnott, Erat, Legwand and hell even Hartnell were on this team.

Still couldn't get past the 2nd Round. I'm iffy on Trotz.

Forsberg, Arnott, and Kariya were past their prime when they arrived in Nashville.

[DeNiro]

Ya but, everyone put the demise of the Canucks on MG's shoulders, so a good GM is a must.

Letting AV go and trying Torts for a year basically shows that the issue was the team, not the coaching.

IE, we got to the cup final in 2011, then went downhill...bringing in a new coach didn't solve anything...and look at AV now, 2 wins away from being in the SCF.

I don`t agree.

We don`t know what AV would have done with the team had he had one more season here. He may have very well gotten the team back into the playoffs.

You can`t say that we tried another coach and it didn't work, so it must be the team. From the sounds of it, Tortorella was a horrible coach here, and butted heads with a few players on the team. He was a major downgrade from AV.

If a coach like Trotz can't get it done here, then I'll be convinced it's all on the team. But right now, I'm convinced the team was derailed by a coach that was a horrible fit here.

[The Kassassin Train]

Forsberg, Arnott, and Kariya were past their prime when they arrived in Nashville.

By your logic, I guess that means Kesler, Sedins, and Burrows are all pass their prime as well....cause the Sedins are going to be older than Forsberg same with Burrows and Kesler is just a tad uyounger than Kariya as well as Arnott guess we're fucked.

[Canuck or Die]

By your logic, I guess that means Kesler, Sedins, and Burrows are all pass their prime as well....cause the Sedins are going to be older than Forsberg same with Burrows and Kesler is just a tad uyounger than Kariya as well as Arnott guess we're fracked.

You act as if Kariya and Forsberg were lighting it up for Nashville. They weren't.

[The Kassassin Train]

You act as if Kariya and Forsberg were lighting it up for Nashville. They weren't.

76 Points in 82 GP and 15 Pts in 17GP?

Yep you're bang on again......anything else oh wise one or did you realize how dumb you sound?

[steviewonder20]

Move Garrison back to the left side, and get Edler a real coach and we'll be fine

Edler had a real coach (AV) and was still not playing to the potential that CDC expected.

[BurgerKing]

I think the combination of trading Kesler for more depth this year, and the idea we may be another lottery team next year, isn't a bad thing.

How about

Kesler for Etem + 10th(Virtanen)

then we get 2nd overall next year and draft Eichel or McDavid

Canucks in 3 years

Shinkaruk Eichel Kassian

Ritchie Horvat Virtanen

Etem Henrik Jensen

Matthias Gaunce Richardson

Santorelli Higgins

Also need to get a pp qb d man at some point, I would put Fox in that roster too.

[DeNiro]

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0014122007.html

Wrong. Forsberg, Kariya, Arnott, Erat, Legwand and hell even Hartnell were on this team.

Still couldn't get past the 2nd Round. I'm iffy on Trotz.

They put up 51 wins that season and were top 5 in offense ahead of powerhouse offensive teams like San Jose and Anaheim.

They got beaten by the top line in the NHL on the Sharks thanks to some average goaltending by Vokoun.

[The Kassassin Train]

They put up 51 wins that season and were top 5 in offense ahead of powerhouse offensive teams like San Jose and Anaheim.

They got beaten by the top line in the NHL on the Sharks thanks to some average goaltending by Vokoun.

So you're saying that it's possible that if we crossover and play the Hawks it's possible that the same thing could happen? Doesn't matter now since Dreger retracted what he said and also mention Willie Desjardins as well who is someone I much prefer.

[DeNiro]

So you're saying that it's possible that if we crossover and play the Hawks it's possible that the same thing could happen? Doesn't matter now since Dreger retracted what he said and also mention Willie Desjardins as well who is someone I much prefer.

Well considering the Canucks probably spend 10 million more than the Preds most seasons, I would say he would have a little more to work with.

[Hedman]

Nope.

Yeah I'm sure Radulov came back to the NHL, just to play some hockey. Trotz decision of sitting him out 2 games didn't have any major influence in his decision of going back to the KHL after just 17 games. The way you respond, it just tells me that you're weak at making arguments.

What world is Hedman living in. Radulov and Kostitchen(?) were benched after a night of boozing it up

before a playoff game. Talk about a guy only there for the pay cheque. Radulov is a classic example of why I would never build a playoff team around a Russian other than Datsuyk or Larianov.

He benched him 2 games. 1 for going out, but he didn't have to do it the 2nd time. If you actually want to win, you shouldn't sit your best offensive player out, especially not because you don't want to "change a winning formula".

Forsberg, Arnott, and Kariya were past their prime when they arrived in Nashville.

You're wrong. Arnott and Kariya were great players in Nashville. Forsberg was also good, but he wasn't there for long.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

NOTE: I wrote this yesterday but my daughter interrupted me before I could click the "post" button (she had a bad "ow-wee" suffered in a scrap with her twin brother). Found it saved in my cache this morning so I figured I'd still post it.

Looks like the Benning hire will be announced soon so I'll just throw the post in a spoiler and people can read it if they want. Has some more info on Benning and on the other candidates mentioned in the post below:

Likely oversimplification on my part, but why not just offer the GM job to the head scout of Phi, Ana or SJ, they have been drafting well for years, Bos got most of their core guys before Benning was even there, 2003-2006

Long post (inside spoiler):

As far as scouting expertise goes, Benning built his reputation from 1994-2006 with the Buffalo Sabres (including 8 years as their Director of Amateur Scouting). His record over those years has been discussed in detail a few times already in this thread. Suffice to say, he's widely considered to have been one of the best in the job over those dozen years.

He joined the Bruins as Director of Player Personnel in 2006 and was promoted to AGM a year later. The first draft he oversaw was Boston's disastrous 2007 (where they picked Hamill at 8th overall). It was no coincidence that the Bruins replaced their senior WHL, QMJHL, and European amateur scouts in time for the 2008 draft (while their senior OHL scout was replaced only one year later). Benning has also overseen the Bruins shuffling their most senior scouting staff, with Scott Fitzgerald moving into the Assistant Director on Amateur Scouting position three years ago, and with last year's dismissal of Director of Amateur Scouting Wayne Smith (one of Chiarelli's first hires and a close friend of the GM), who was hired with Benning in 2006.

Other than the picks acquired from Toronto (where they made out pretty well), the Bruins have picked fairly late under Benning, due to their success over the past several years. Even still, after some early misfires (like 2007), the scouting group that Benning has assembled has performed better than most teams. It's pretty safe to say that, should Benning move on from the Bruins, he'll have left Boston with a better scouting staff than they had when he was hired (and with a fairly well-stocked cupboard of prospects).

Basically, Benning first made his name by scouting players for Buffalo. With Boston, it's more a case that he's "scouted" people to fill many of the organization's scouting positions, and been pretty successful at it. Over a dozen years working as a scout, he's proven to have a very keen eye for spotting player talent. As an AGM, he's also shown an impressive ability to identify the talent necessary to staff positions in hockey ops and the scouting department (and also to identify and root out those who don't perform well).

That all said, I don't think the main point (in the post quoted above) is a bad one. With Linden already hired as the "face" of the franchise and the head of hockey ops, this team already has a "big picture" guy at the top who will decide on the overall direction the team will take. If Gilman is retained, they also will have an excellent contract man and capologist. So all they really need for the next GM is a guy who's proven to have a really good eye for talent.

That's why Benning's so high on their list. It's also the reason why Futa was an early frontrunner (and why LA needed to give him a VP promotion to keep him).

As for the head scouts from the Flyers, Ducks, and Sharks:

Chris Pryer is Philly's current Director of Scouting. He's a former NHL player (9 seasons in the Minnesota and NYI systems--played D) whose previous non-playing experience has been with the Islanders as an AHL assistant coach and player/coach, scout, and director of player development. With Pryer running their draft board, the Flyers have done very well over the part several years, having graduated several key picks to their NHL roster and with a strong group of "NHL-ready" prospects waiting in their pool. I just think he lacks the necessary management experience to step directly into a GM role. He could be a great candidate down the road but right now, I think he needs some time in an AGM role (possibly running the farm team) before he's ready for the big chair.

Martin Madden is the Ducks Director of Amateur Scouting. The "baby-faced" Martin is actually a career scout with 16 years of experience scouting the amateur ranks for NHL teams. He spend 7 seasons with the Rangers (eventually working his way up to their Director of Scouting) and another 4 with the Hurricanes (where he won a Cup) before the Ducks poached him for their chief scouting position. His record speaks for itself and he's considered one of the brightest "new school" minds in the business and is well-renowned for his ability to spot talent.

Here's an excellent two-part interview with Madden: Part I, Part II.

While it's easy to let Madden's appearance convince you that he's a little too young to step into GM's role, he's actually a 16-year veteran in the NHL, with all of that time spent in a scouting capacity (the majority as a Chief Scout or Director of Scouting). He's well-educated with "a degree in engineering from McGill University in Montreal and a master's in finance from HEC Montreal." His name is already inscribed on the Stanley Cup. He's been a star wherever he's gone and his most recent work, with Anaheim, has allowed a contending team to draft well enough to have one of the best stocked prospect pools in the NHL (which is no small feat).

I'd imagine Madden is currently a top candidate to replace David McNab (Ducks Senior VP of Hockey Ops), whenever the 60-year-old McNab decides to retire or gets tapped for a GM role somewhere.

I'm not sure where Madden's career aspirations lie, but if he wants to pursue a senior management position, I think he has the talent to be very successful as an NHL GM. At the current moment, it would be quite a bold hire, since he hasn't had any hockey ops or management experience outside of the scouting department.

I think I'd still prefer to have someone with previous GM or AGM experience, given that Linden is a relative neophyte and will need to lean heavily on his GM. But I'd love to poach Madden for an AGM position.

Tim Burke is the San Jose Sharks' Director of Scouting and he's been rumoured to be one of the main names in the mix (as noted in several threads) for the vacant GM's chair in Vancouver. He's also been a candidate in several other teams' GM searches and is considered by many people around the league to be a guy who's "ready" to make the next move.

The profile I've linked above (from the Sharks official site) says pretty much everything I'd say about Burke.

He's an excellent GM candidate and we'd probably be lucky to have him here (although he's not my "first choice"). Burke's been at the helm of San Jose's scouting department for 16 years. While their pool has arguably gotten a little shallow in recent years, they've generally done very well under Burke (just look at their roster for evidence):

Since the 2003 NHL Draft, Sharks draft selections have played the second-most games of any NHL team’s draft picks (4,078), despite the organization having the lowest average draft position of any NHL team during that span (137.96).

That record pretty much speaks for itself.

Burke seems pretty ready for the "big time" and moreso than the other two guys I've mentioned (although I actually think Madden could be the shrewder hire--but he's probably just not right for Linden's specific needs).

All three of Pryer, Madden, and Burke are guys with excellent scouting credentials that could serve them well in a GM position. I think they are probably listed in descending order of readiness and there's a good chance that we'll eventually see all three of them promoted into senior management roles in the NHL.

However, I think Benning has demonstrated very comparable scouting ability but holds the significant advantage of already working for several seasons as an Assistant General Manager for one of the NHL's most successful teams (in recent years). He's been in the sights of several teams over the years and it's no longer a question of "when" but just "where" he'll end up becoming an NHL General Manager.

It's really looking like the "where" is going to be Vancouver, hopefully to be announced very soon. Most pundits and "insiders" consider Benning to be the best candidate currently available, for any team looking for a new GM, so hopefully Linden gets it done and we'll have an announcement this week.

But if we somehow miss out on getting Benning, there are certainly other talented guys available out there who could serve this team (and Linden's specific needs) quite well, and looking at those three teams' "head scouts" is really not a bad place to start.

[Heretic]

I don`t agree.

We don`t know what AV would have done with the team had he had one more season here. He may have very well gotten the team back into the playoffs.

You can`t say that we tried another coach and it didn't work, so it must be the team. From the sounds of it, Tortorella was a horrible coach here, and butted heads with a few players on the team. He was a major downgrade from AV.

If a coach like Trotz can't get it done here, then I'll be convinced it's all on the team. But right now, I'm convinced the team was derailed by a coach that was a horrible fit here.

That's basically what I said...

Under AV, we bowed out in the 1st round 2 years in a row with only 1 game won - was that AV's fault?

The team was on a downward spiral since they lost the SCF in 2011.

There was no indication that this team was turning around - regardless of who was coaching.

The team was derailed because of our former GM.

As far as Torts goes, 12 seasons coaching on 3 teams with 8 playoff appearances and 1 Cup.

AV, 12 seasons coaching on 3 teams with 8 playoff appearances.

Very similar.

[DeNiro]

Doesn't matter now since Dreger retracted what he said and also mention Willie Desjardins as well who is someone I much prefer.

Where did he retract what he said?

[DeNiro]

That's basically what I said...

Under AV, we bowed out in the 1st round 2 years in a row with only 1 game won - was that AV's fault?

The team was on a downward spiral since they lost the SCF in 2011.

There was no indication that this team was turning around - regardless of who was coaching.

The team was derailed because of our former GM.

As far as Torts goes, 12 seasons coaching on 3 teams with 8 playoff appearances and 1 Cup.

AV, 12 seasons coaching on 3 teams with 8 playoff appearances.

Very similar.

No, we weren't saying the same thing at all.

You're saying it was the team, I'm saying it was Tortorella.

We won the President's trophy in 2011-2012 under AV, and then lost our best offensive player right before the playoffs and got cold. I wouldn't say we were trending downwards at that point.

Last season they won the division and then were swept by the Sharks, mainly due to some very lopsided officiating, but also depleted scoring depth on the team.

Really the team only had one off season under AV. So saying that we were trending downward is false IMO.

Tortorella wasn't the right fit here plain and simple. He took a team that needed to be built back up, and kicked them in the nuts. I really believe he was the sole reason for this teams spectacular demise this season.

[Hedman]

Sure he's got skill, but it's not like he is lighting it up winning games with another NHL team right now.

That's because Nashville got his rights. He had/has the potential to be a star in the NHL.

Meaning he was a horrible teammate and not willing to buy into the system.

You don`t win with players like that no matter how talented they are.

It shows Trotz has the balls to make tough decisions when players don`t buy into the culture of the team.

Seems they aren't winning without him either.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Twitter currently "blowing up" with several more unofficial announcements that Benning will be the Canucks' next GM. Recently posted reports (from the past few minutes):

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/jim-benning-set-to-be-named-next-general-manager-of-canucks--report-153112754.html

http://www.thescore.com/news/505483

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140520/BLOGS/140529715/-1/blogs01

http://tracking.si.com/2014/05/20/jim-benning-canucks-general-manager-bruins-nhl/

http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2014/5/20/5734876/one-step-closer-to-the-jim-benning-era

These are all still sourced from Darren Dreger's original tweet earlier this morning (and subsequent TSN report).

[rawkdrummer]

Where did he retract what he said?

Yeah, I don't see a retraction either.

Dreger's last 2 tweets were...

@DarrenDreger: Mentioned Trotz as the obvious top candidate for Canucks coaching job following Benning hire. Willie Desjardins is a strong option as well.

@DarrenDreger: The Canucks have not yet asked the Dallas Stars for permission to speak with Desjardins, but expectation is they will. Desjardins is a strong option as well.

[DeNiro]

Seems they aren't winning without him either.

Being in the toughest division in the NHL has a little to do with that I think.