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[Article] Jim Benning is the perfect fit for Vancouver Canucks GM, says Mark Recchi

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http://www.theprovince.com/touch/story.html?id=9764235

BY BEN KUZMA, THE PROVINCE APRIL 22, 2014

Mark Recchi knows this much about the Vancouver Canucks: He hated playing against the confident and cocky club in the 2011 Stanley Cup final to such a degree that he even called them arrogant a year after the highly-strung seven-game series.

However, the Kamloops native wonders where that swagger has gone. Far removed from that championship run and in a state of franchise flux, Recchi has some advice for Trevor Linden, the new Canucks’ president of hockey operations, to fix the floundering: Hire Jim Benning to replace the fired Mike Gillis.

In Game 2 of the 2011 final, the 43-year-old Recchi became the oldest player to score a Stanley Cup final goal and the Boston Bruins winger would earn his third championship ring before retiring. As an assistant general manager, Benning had much to do with assembling that club and maintaining its strong stance as a Cup contender.

“That’s why I think a guy like Jim would be fantastic,” Recchi said Tuesday from his Pittsburgh home.

“He can build around the Canucks’ core players and get pieces in there. They’re going to have to draft really well from now on and they’re going to have to make great trades. I’d love to see him back in Canada because that (Vancouver) is a wonderful hockey market.”

The Bruins fashioned the league’s best record this season and had the second-ranked power play and penalty kill. And because Recchi knows first-hand that Benning’s strengths are strong leadership, smart draft evaluation and savvy personnel decisions, Linden former Canucks teammate looks like a good fit. He was interviewed by Buffalo in late November to replace fired general manager Darcy Regier — the job went to Tim Murray — because of Benning’s success as the Sabres director of amateur scouting. He had a strong hand in selecting Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy, Paul Gaustad, Daniel Paille and Dennis Wideman.

When Boston promoted Benning to director of player personnel in 2006, the club drafted Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand that summer. The former NHL defenceman was bumped to assistant general manager the following year and the 50-year-old Edmonton native works tirelessly with general manager Peter Chiarelli.

“I know that Peter absolutely loves him and leans on him heavily,” said Recchi. “He’s a workhorse. He’s non-stop. He’s just one of those guys who lives and breathes and is always at the rink and will do whatever it takes to help the team get better. He’s a wonderful person.

“Look at his history. He’s always been able to draft well. He knows what he likes and he believes in what he likes and who will turn into good hockey players. A big key to that is he gets good team players, guys who have a great work ethic and skill along with it.”

That’s why the 2014 Bruins look a lot like those 2011 Bruins. And with Linden already citing the four-line Bruins — especially Shawn Thornton — in reference to the type of game he’d like to see the Canucks ice, forget about following that Detroit model. Boston seems to make more sense if you like speed, grit and finish.

“They’ve got everything,” said Recchi. “They’re deep everywhere. A guy goes down and another fills in. And their core guys are still 26, 27, 28, 29, and they can keep building and winning. It’s fun to watch.”

That’s certainly not the case in Vancouver.

From leading the league in 2011 — first in offence, power play and defence and third in penalty killing — to plummeting to 26th on the power play and 28th on offence just three years later — the fall from grace has been swift and stunning.

From Alain Vigneault to John Tortorella to whoever, the Canucks are a shadow of what they were because of more than coaching. The talent level has dropped off. And the swagger of Raffi Torres, the leadership of Mikael Samuelsson, the calm of Sami Salo and effectiveness of Christian Ehrhoff are all gone. What remains is an aging core that has missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, has managed one playoff victory in the last 11 postseason outings and has been outscored 32-17.

Recchi amassed 1,533 regular season and 147 playoff points with seven teams in a career that spanned 22 years, but even he is shocked by what has happened in Vancouver.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “Obviously, that (2011) was a big series, but I’m still a Canucks fan and grew up one and you still want them to do well. It’s tough to watch that. And when you lose that swagger, it’s tough. That’s what made them successful because they believed in what they were doing.”

Today, Recchi serves as a minor hockey coach for his son and as an unpaid advisor for business partner and Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi. They’re part of an WHL ownership group with the Kamloops Blazers and share a similar hockey vision. When Gaglardi hired Jim Nill as general manager and Lindy Ruff as coach on the Stars, Recchi knew his cell wouldn’t ring nearly as much.

“Absolutely,” he chuckled. “They know what they’re doing — they’ve been around forever.”

bkuzma@theprovince.com

twitter.com/benkuzma

Interesting how Recchi says he's still a Canuck fan despite what occurred in 2011...

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"Recchi amassed 1,533 regular season and 147 playoff points with seven teams in a career that spanned 22 years, but even he is shocked by what has happened in Vancouver.


“Yeah, I am,” he said. “Obviously, that (2011) was a big series, but I’m still a Canucks fan and grew up one and you still want them to do well. It’s tough to watch that. And when you lose that swagger, it’s tough. That’s what made them successful because they believed in what they were doing.”

I guess Recchi hasn't really been paying much attention to the goings-on of the Canucks since he retired after the 2011 SCF...I think most of us could see deteoration of the Canucks since the end of 2011-2012.

In all seriousness, everyone who has some history with Benning seems to be endorsing him. Would be great if we could land him as GM...expectations of draft day failures will be a thing of the past.

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