Benning rebuild on the fly.

[TOMapleLaughs]

You say, 'rebuild on the fly.'

I hear, "We're going to draft high."

Yusssss. Praise Chychrun!

[mpt]

The fan base didn't even care enough to sell out the games in the playoffs. Maybe they just can't handle watching an elderly regular season team.

I wonder how long people think the team's 'stars', the Sedins, will last? Forever? lul

Exactly my point, this team is only supported when they are winning, the Lions are the same.

This city can't handle a Calgary, Edmonton, Arizona, Buffalo situation.

Poor business decision to suffer losses financially for 5 years before fans may or may not come back depending if it works out in our favour

[Cupless44]

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-gm-benning-wants-to-improve-on-the-fly/

I have to say I am a little disappointed that this management group isn't gonna take a bigger action to Rebuild this team and just retool. Benning thinks that this core can still compete and be successful. I am happy to hear that he is very willing to ask players on our team with NTC to waive but some of the decisions he has made like to sign sbisa for 3.6M just doesn't make sense. He mentioned he wants to be like Detroit or Boston. Boston had lots of luck with there free agents and stuff and had a glory run like us and beat us now they aren't even in the playoffs. Detroit on the other hand has been successful this year by making the playoffs this year and every other year but haven't really been close to winning a stanley cup in 7 years. Also Detroit got really lucky by drafting studs in the later rounds like Federov and zetterberg and datsyuk.

Does benning think he is just gonna replicate this and be like Detroit and get total studs in the later rounds. I don't know but it seems to me that he is trying to get into the first round every year and just see how it goes and get lucky. I don't know about you guys but I don't wanna just get into the first round every year and lose I wanna draft high and rebuild and push for the cup it seems a lot more productive. I personally don't blame Detroit for doing this because they already have lots of stanley cups, we don't have any. All our forwards are old and he wants to draft 20th overall every year and thinks were gonna be like Anahiem in 5 years. Change isn't coming, same old same old. He says he wants to build a culture around winning for the younger guys OK great but the thing is getting into the first round every year isn't winning anything. I'm not saying be like the oilers obviously I'm just saying he should be rebuild more then what he plans on doing.everyone gets the wrong idea of a rebuild, don't think of edmonton think of calgary. Who started a more aggressive rebuild a couple years ago and beat us in the first round yeah that team.

Have to admit I feel the same way

[Me_]

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-gm-benning-wants-to-improve-on-the-fly/

I have to say I am a little disappointed that this management group isn't gonna take a bigger action to Rebuild this team and just retool. Benning thinks that this core can still compete and be successful. I am happy to hear that he is very willing to ask players on our team with NTC to waive but some of the decisions he has made like to sign sbisa for 3.6M just doesn't make sense. He mentioned he wants to be like Detroit or Boston. Boston had lots of luck with there free agents and stuff and had a glory run like us and beat us now they aren't even in the playoffs. Detroit on the other hand has been successful this year by making the playoffs this year and every other year but haven't really been close to winning a stanley cup in 7 years. Also Detroit got really lucky by drafting studs in the later rounds like Federov and zetterberg and datsyuk.

Does benning think he is just gonna replicate this and be like Detroit and get total studs in the later rounds. I don't know but it seems to me that he is trying to get into the first round every year and just see how it goes and get lucky. I don't know about you guys but I don't wanna just get into the first round every year and lose I wanna draft high and rebuild and push for the cup it seems a lot more productive. I personally don't blame Detroit for doing this because they already have lots of stanley cups, we don't have any. All our forwards are old and he wants to draft 20th overall every year and thinks were gonna be like Anahiem in 5 years. Change isn't coming, same old same old. He says he wants to build a culture around winning for the younger guys OK great but the thing is getting into the first round every year isn't winning anything. I'm not saying be like the oilers obviously I'm just saying he should be rebuild more then what he plans on doing.everyone gets the wrong idea of a rebuild, don't think of edmonton think of calgary. Who started a more aggressive rebuild a couple years ago and beat us in the first round yeah that team.

WINNING WINS CUPS

Count yourself lucky the GM is a guy who knows what he's doing. You're still talking Gillis terms. That ship has long passed.

Every team has waves of success and failures. Boston just released their GM of his duties after failing to make the playoffs. L.A. didn't make the playoffs either. Chicago is having a good run so far but they don't make it to the Cup final every year. Detroit, perhaps the last true dynasty, has had some retooling pains they're going through. I assure you though, none of those teams are in the business of losing. They also happen win Cups.

Some teams win the Cup, others don't. But one thing for sure is, every team that wins the Cup are in the business of winning.

In 1984, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded out everyone that counted so as to secure the rights to Mario Lemieux; a decision that worked at the time and was performed in the spirit of winning. And they did.

What Edmonton has done to their franshise is borderline stupidity. A bunch of players who won the Cup together but seem to not get a few things fundamental to survival. With Chiarelli now the Edmonton GM, McDavid is pretty much a lock but beyond that, he knows what winning is about. My bet is, he rebuilds "on the fly" like any normal, winning franchise, like Burke's Calgary Flames and like Benning's Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks were gutted by a third from the non-playoff version of last year and that was good enough to make the playoffs; a pleasant surprise. Add a healthy Miller, Burrows, Kassian and Richardson to the lineup and the Calgary series is a little harder for Calgary and a little easier for Vancouver.

The Canucks are going into the summer with some decisions to make and they'll come out on top of most of them.

[lmm]

I like most everything you say except these steals your talking about aren't really steals until they pan out (bear cheese and clendening) but they seem like good calculated risks to me.

The cancer of a hockey team though is bad contracts and Jim Benning seems a little weak in this area if you ask me.

DOn't we still have Gilman? isn't he supposed to be the contract genie?

Wasn't he also here for all of Gillis' bad contracts also?

I am chasing my tail here!

[Cupless44]

What's the alternative? Blow up the team and tank? For every Chicago there is an Edmonton. I think as a GM you should be doing everything in your power to ice the best possible team every year.

Edmonton is a unique situation that gets thrown out there by every fan who doesn't want a proper rebuild.

You don't have to completely tank and be bad for 10 years, but you do need to face the reality that this veteran core has been easily beaten and physically manhandled for 4 years in the playoffs. It is not going to change!! To think otherwise is delusion and I certainly hope our management is smarter than that.

Yes you might have to take a couple of steps back and miss the playoffs for a couple of years and get some impact draft picks. Where do you think the Canucks got the Sedins? 2nd and 3rd overall that's where.

If ownership is so set on getting revenue from 2-3 home playoff dates a year they better give their heads a shake because trotting out this same old core next year means more empty seats at Rogers. Most of the fan base want change and want the hope and energy that youth can bring.

I honestly don't see the Canucks making the playoffs this year with this team anyways.

[Cupless44]

Calgary sucked for quite awhile before blowing up the team, then grossly overachieved this year.

Calgary has really good youth already making an impact on the NHL roster and they have 5 picks in the top 100 picks of a really good draft this year. We have 1 in the top 100.

[DIBdaQUIB]

It sounds like a great plan to build on the fly and add our prospects into the vet mix. Everyone talks about the Detroit model for introducing youth slowly and how successful they have been. Well...according to Babcock, it is pretty clear the way to succeed is to be bad enough to get top picks for a few years or else you end up with an aging team where your best payers are old. Just good enough to win enough games to make the playoffs but never threaten for a cup while always picking late in the draft.

With the management changes in Edmonton and their over-stocked talent cupboard, they are far more likely to be a contender before this nucks team.

Below is Babcock's assessment. Sounds eerily familiar to our situation. Aside from Bo, we lack any real young, top talent up the middle and have no star power on the back end.

“We are what we are,” he went on. “[The Lightning] have a young team. They were bad here for long enough that they were able to rebuild and get good young players, and young players at key positions.

“Three of our best players are 34 [Niklas Kronwall], 35 [Henrik Zetterberg] and 37 [Pavel Datsyuk]. So any way you look at it, we’re a team that’s changed a ton of players. We’re a team that’s added a lot of youth to our lineup, and right now on the outside they don’t pick us as a Stanley Cup contender.”

The coach saw positives in the strength of the developing players in AHL at Grand Rapids, but hinted that he wanted to coach all-stars at important positions.

“Who’s going to replace Pav? I don’t think [Datsyuk] is going anywhere right away, but that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to have big-time players up the middle and on the back to be successful. So those are questions that our organization works towards. We’ve been drafting good, we’ve been developing good, but we’ve been winning too much [to land top draft picks]. That’s the facts.”

[Cupless44]

It sounds like a great plan to build on the fly and add our prospects into the vet mix. Everyone talks about the Detroit model for introducing youth slowly and how successful they have been. Well...according to Babcock, it is pretty clear the way to succeed is to be bad enough to get top picks for a few years or else you end up with an aging team where your best payers are old. Just good enough to win enough games to make the playoffs but never threaten for a cup while always picking late in the draft.

With the management changes in Edmonton and their over-stocked talent cupboard, they are far more likely to be a contender before this nucks team.

Below is Babcock's assessment. Sounds eerily familiar to our situation. Aside from Bo, we lack any real young, top talent up the middle and have no star power on the back end.

“We are what we are,” he went on. “[The Lightning] have a young team. They were bad here for long enough that they were able to rebuild and get good young players, and young players at key positions.

“Three of our best players are 34 [Niklas Kronwall], 35 [Henrik Zetterberg] and 37 [Pavel Datsyuk]. So any way you look at it, we’re a team that’s changed a ton of players. We’re a team that’s added a lot of youth to our lineup, and right now on the outside they don’t pick us as a Stanley Cup contender.”

The coach saw positives in the strength of the developing players in AHL at Grand Rapids, but hinted that he wanted to coach all-stars at important positions.

“Who’s going to replace Pav? I don’t think [Datsyuk] is going anywhere right away, but that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to have big-time players up the middle and on the back to be successful. So those are questions that our organization works towards. We’ve been drafting good, we’ve been developing good, but we’ve been winning too much [to land top draft picks]. That’s the facts.”

Tampa is a great example people don't talk about. A few bad seasons has them stacked with young talent. They will be contending for a long while.

[aGENT]

Calgary has really good youth already making an impact on the NHL roster and they have 5 picks in the top 100 picks of a really good draft this year. We have 1 in the top 100.

The draft is not here yet and we have assets to sell for picks. Don't assume we're going in to the draft with that "one pick in the top 100".

[hlinkas wrister]

I'm fine with what Benning and Linden hope to achieve with a "re-tool on the fly" as long as it shows consistent improvement. The main problem I see with the philosophy though is it seems to be counter-intuitive to what Benning claims is another of his drivers- building through the draft.

When your team is successful the lack of high end draft picks shifts the impact of your franchises' scouting from amateur scouting to pro scouting. Benning comes from a family of amateur scouts and if his one and only draft for the Canucks last year is any indication he has an eye for exactly the types of players this franchise needs.

On the flip side if the team becomes a victim of it's own success and needs to build through pro scouting / trading then picks have to be on the table to attain players with any decent level of pedigree. The fact that Benning's Canucks resume so far in this regard is Vey, Baertschi and Clendenning doesn't exactly fill me with optimism. Fingers crossed I guess.

[wallstreetamigo]

Can't please everyone I guess. I for one am on board with what JB is doing. We can't just trade everyone and put the team on Bo's back.

Can't wait to hear all the "benning got lucky" if Sbisa takes a major step forward next year.

How does replacing a couple of core players equal people suggesting to trade everyone?

That is just an excuse for people who want no changes to the stale core.

[Jack Fig]

This is all a little discouraging. I was hoping JB had more balls than this, more belief in himself to push the process along a little faster. If losing to that young, energetic Calgary team doesn't prod him, then yes I'm disappointed. It's getting a little too close to the Nonis approach for my liking. Willie's comments about youth are even more concerning.

This all smacks of too much job protection/ass-covering and not enough guts.

[Me_]

I like most everything you say except these steals your talking about aren't really steals until they pan out (bear cheese and clendening) but they seem like good calculated risks to me.

The cancer of a hockey team though is bad contracts and Jim Benning seems a little weak in this area if you ask me.

Benning has not given anyone NTCs so far. He has also gone on record saying he'll ask players to waive if that's the decision they make.

Jim Benning has not given out bad contracts to anyone.

3 X $6,000 for Miller - great value for one of the best goaltender to play the game.

2 X $5,000 for Vrbata - Vrbata is now an All-Star vet. Enough said.

4 X $2.650 for Dorsett - He's the epitomy of what is needed on the 4th line. Think of it as a welcoming figure for rookies.

3 X $3.600 for Sbisa - Right on market for what Sbisa brings. He's also only 25 years old.

5 X $5.450 for Tanev - I don't see anything wrong with signing a calm defenseman who makes their partner shine.

Best of all those contratcs? No NTC's.

[westcoast]

Picking up one or two good draft picks just keeps Vancouver on par at best,something drastic has to be done to add pieces to Horvat and virtanen

[JamesB]

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-gm-benning-wants-to-improve-on-the-fly/

I have to say I am a little disappointed that this management group isn't gonna take a bigger action to Rebuild this team and just retool. Benning thinks that this core can still compete and be successful. I am happy to hear that he is very willing to ask players on our team with NTC to waive but some of the decisions he has made like to sign sbisa for 3.6M just doesn't make sense. He mentioned he wants to be like Detroit or Boston. Boston had lots of luck with there free agents and stuff and had a glory run like us and beat us now they aren't even in the playoffs. Detroit on the other hand has been successful this year by making the playoffs this year and every other year but haven't really been close to winning a stanley cup in 7 years. Also Detroit got really lucky by drafting studs in the later rounds like Federov and zetterberg and datsyuk.

Does benning think he is just gonna replicate this and be like Detroit and get total studs in the later rounds. I don't know but it seems to me that he is trying to get into the first round every year and just see how it goes and get lucky. I don't know about you guys but I don't wanna just get into the first round every year and lose I wanna draft high and rebuild and push for the cup it seems a lot more productive. I personally don't blame Detroit for doing this because they already have lots of stanley cups, we don't have any. All our forwards are old and he wants to draft 20th overall every year and thinks were gonna be like Anahiem in 5 years. Change isn't coming, same old same old. He says he wants to build a culture around winning for the younger guys OK great but the thing is getting into the first round every year isn't winning anything. I'm not saying be like the oilers obviously I'm just saying he should be rebuild more then what he plans on doing.everyone gets the wrong idea of a rebuild, don't think of edmonton think of calgary. Who started a more aggressive rebuild a couple years ago and beat us in the first round yeah that team.

What's the alternative? Blow up the team and tank? For every Chicago there is an Edmonton. I think as a GM you should be doing everything in your power to ice the best possible team every year.

I find it strange (and disappointing) that the Canuck brass is adopting the principle that "it is important to develop players in a winning environment" as a kind of mantra or article of faith.

It is actually something on which there is a lot of data. What does the data tell us? The most successful recent Stanley Cup teams are Chicago and LA. The key players on both teams (Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Brown on LA and Keith, Toews, and Kane on Chicago) were all brought in to losing teams that continued to lose for a while. Those players did not seem to be hurt by losing for a couple of years.

There is NO evidence to suggest that it is better to consistently be a marginal playoff team and pick in the lower part of the draft than to be really bad and get some very high picks. There is evidence in the other direction. Almost all Stanley Cup winners in recent years are teams that really sucked for a while and got some high draft picks.

In fact, I would say the main reason the Canucks contended for a Cup in 2011 was that they were bad enough to be able to get the #2 and #3 picks and get Henrik and Daniel.

Of course, being really bad is no guarantee of ultimate Stanley Cup success (see Edmonton and Toronto and Buffalo). And it is possible to win a Stanley Cup without acquiring really draft picks. I hope the Canucks pull it off. But the odds are against it.

However, tee line Benning has adopted -- playing on a winning team is crucial for player development -- is just wrong on the evidence. It might be a small benefit, but that benefit is more than offset by the advantage of being able to draft more talented players.

[TOMapleLaughs]

This is all a little discouraging. I was hoping JB had more balls than this, more belief in himself to push the process along a little faster. If losing to that young, energetic Calgary team doesn't prod him, then yes I'm disappointed. It's getting a little too close to the Nonis approach for my liking. Willie's comments about youth are even more concerning.

This all smacks of too much job protection/ass-covering and not enough guts.

I think he knows the fans would be more impressed by a great pick rather than another half-cooked playoff berth thanks to a cushy schedule at this point. However, whether he's able to act on this is a different story.

[Carl's Jn]

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-gm-benning-wants-to-improve-on-the-fly/

I have to say I am a little disappointed that this management group isn't gonna take a bigger action to Rebuild this team and just retool. Benning thinks that this core can still compete and be successful. I am happy to hear that he is very willing to ask players on our team with NTC to waive but some of the decisions he has made like to sign sbisa for 3.6M just doesn't make sense. He mentioned he wants to be like Detroit or Boston. Boston had lots of luck with there free agents and stuff and had a glory run like us and beat us now they aren't even in the playoffs. Detroit on the other hand has been successful this year by making the playoffs this year and every other year but haven't really been close to winning a stanley cup in 7 years. Also Detroit got really lucky by drafting studs in the later rounds like Federov and zetterberg and datsyuk.

Does benning think he is just gonna replicate this and be like Detroit and get total studs in the later rounds. I don't know but it seems to me that he is trying to get into the first round every year and just see how it goes and get lucky. I don't know about you guys but I don't wanna just get into the first round every year and lose I wanna draft high and rebuild and push for the cup it seems a lot more productive. I personally don't blame Detroit for doing this because they already have lots of stanley cups, we don't have any. All our forwards are old and he wants to draft 20th overall every year and thinks were gonna be like Anahiem in 5 years. Change isn't coming, same old same old. He says he wants to build a culture around winning for the younger guys OK great but the thing is getting into the first round every year isn't winning anything. I'm not saying be like the oilers obviously I'm just saying he should be rebuild more then what he plans on doing.everyone gets the wrong idea of a rebuild, don't think of edmonton think of calgary. Who started a more aggressive rebuild a couple years ago and beat us in the first round yeah that team.

just be patient... owner wants to make money the team has to be competitive.. the route of mix vets and youth is huge.. in my mind just have ride out the existing contracts...

[Carl's Jn]

I find it strange (and disappointing) that the Canuck brass is adopting the principle that "it is important to develop players in a winning environment" as a kind of mantra or article of faith.

It is actually something on which there is a lot of data. What does the data tell us? The most successful recent Stanley Cup teams are Chicago and LA. The key players on both teams (Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Brown on LA and Keith, Toews, and Kane on Chicago) were all brought in to losing teams that continued to lose for a while. Those players did not seem to be hurt by losing for a couple of years.

There is NO evidence to suggest that it is better to consistently be a marginal playoff team and pick in the lower part of the draft than to be really bad and get some very high picks. There is evidence in the other direction. Almost all Stanley Cup winners in recent years are teams that really sucked for a while and got some high draft picks.

In fact, I would say the main reason the Canucks contended for a Cup in 2011 was that they were bad enough to be able to get the #2 and #3 picks and get Henrik and Daniel.

Of course, being really bad is no guarantee of ultimate Stanley Cup success (see Edmonton and Toronto and Buffalo). And it is possible to win a Stanley Cup without acquiring really draft picks. I hope the Canucks pull it off. But the odds are against it.

However, tee line Benning has adopted -- playing on a winning team is crucial for player development -- is just wrong on the evidence. It might be a small benefit, but that benefit is more than offset by the advantage of being able to draft more talented players.

you speak of the la and chicago..go the other route... like the oilers. losing for a few years with all those number 1 picks... it has to do with management. for all we know we don't the deal in van city... maybe we are like the oilers and no one wants to come here... maybe management has tried and players refused to come by trade or free agency. if only we could be a fly on the wall...

[stawns]

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/canucks-gm-benning-wants-to-improve-on-the-fly/

I have to say I am a little disappointed that this management group isn't gonna take a bigger action to Rebuild this team and just retool. Benning thinks that this core can still compete and be successful. I am happy to hear that he is very willing to ask players on our team with NTC to waive but some of the decisions he has made like to sign sbisa for 3.6M just doesn't make sense. He mentioned he wants to be like Detroit or Boston. Boston had lots of luck with there free agents and stuff and had a glory run like us and beat us now they aren't even in the playoffs. Detroit on the other hand has been successful this year by making the playoffs this year and every other year but haven't really been close to winning a stanley cup in 7 years. Also Detroit got really lucky by drafting studs in the later rounds like Federov and zetterberg and datsyuk.

Does benning think he is just gonna replicate this and be like Detroit and get total studs in the later rounds. I don't know but it seems to me that he is trying to get into the first round every year and just see how it goes and get lucky. I don't know about you guys but I don't wanna just get into the first round every year and lose I wanna draft high and rebuild and push for the cup it seems a lot more productive. I personally don't blame Detroit for doing this because they already have lots of stanley cups, we don't have any. All our forwards are old and he wants to draft 20th overall every year and thinks were gonna be like Anahiem in 5 years. Change isn't coming, same old same old. He says he wants to build a culture around winning for the younger guys OK great but the thing is getting into the first round every year isn't winning anything. I'm not saying be like the oilers obviously I'm just saying he should be rebuild more then what he plans on doing.everyone gets the wrong idea of a rebuild, don't think of edmonton think of calgary. Who started a more aggressive rebuild a couple years ago and beat us in the first round yeah that team.

What's your beef with Sbisa? He's young, an excellent skater, a good passer and has some untapped offensive talent. To say nothing of his physical play. Is it because he's 25 and makes mistakes almost all 25 year old dmen make? At least he's being aggressive and trying to make plays. Give this kid two years and he'll be very good.