External Validation

[JamesB]

There has been a lot of discussion of Benning on CDC. There is plenty of criticism but the Benning supporters outnumber the critics. That is not surprising. The people on CDC are Canuck fans and want to feel good about the team.

But it would be nice to see some external validation -- positive comments by respected media people about the Linden/Benning regime. Does anyone know of any positive commentary on the Linden/Benning moves.

I have never seen as consistently negative views about the Canuck management in the media as seem to be out there now. That is amazing for a guy just one year in. It took previous GMs a long time to build up consistent criticism. People are not saying Benning has been terrible, but they are saying the he (and the Canucks) are losing ground.

Here is an example from Money Puck at Canucks Army: http://canucksarmy.com/2015/7/5/laurence-gilman-hockey-innovation-and-the-future-of-the-canucks-front-office

I won't post the whole article but here is a key excerpt:

However, as the organization's missteps mount, from bad contracts to bad trades, the undercurrent of front office unrest has slowly bubbled to the surface. This culminated in the termination of Laurence Gilman, Lorne Henning, and Eric Crawford - the some of the last remaining builders of the greatest Canucks team that ever was.

It's hard to blame Trevor Linden too much for this debacle. With no operational hockey experience, it was always clear Linden was hired because he's a local legend and ownership was in dire need of a PR win. No one in Vancouver should have been fooled into believing he's actually been hired to run an NHL hockey team. While this episode seems destined to tarnish Linden's legacy in this city, he's not really the problem here. This is Jim Benning's team - full stop.

It's also hard not to have a touch of sympathy for Jim Benning. It's not like he's the first person to be promoted past the level where he seems most well-suited. Benning clearly has talent evaluating prospects. On balance, the 2014 and 2015 Canucks draft picks look to be slightly above average, and Benning was able to make a couple small time deals around the margins to land Sven Baertschi and Adam Clendening - both trades we celebrated in this space as being a shrewd use of higher-risk assets to land young and near NHL-capable pieces. He's not the best in the league in this area (which is sort of problematic if you want to win a Stanley Cup one day), but he's far from the worst either.

However, being a GM of an NHL team means you need to be able to set a vision, execute a strategy, negotiate contracts, and maximize asset value, all within the context of a challenging salary cap structure.

If it was just one one or two critical media guys, okay. But the Province and Sun reporters are all pretty negative about Benning's record so far and they have become amazingly consistent. Same with the Pass It to Bulis bloggers (Harrison Mooney and Daniel Wagner) and Thomas Drance and many other respected Canuck bloggers and commentators.

So, like I asked above, are there any positive external evaluations out there?

(By the way, Matthias was signed by TO for 2.3 million and DeFazio was signed by Boston on a two-way deal that pays 100K in the AHL. That is a big loss for Utica.)

[-SN-]

There has been a lot of discussion of Benning on CDC. There is plenty of criticism but the Benning supporters outnumber the critics. That is not

If it was just one one or two critical media guys, okay. But the Province and Sun reporters are all pretty negative about Benning's record so far and they have become amazingly consistent. Same with the Pass It to Bulis bloggers (Harrison Mooney and Daniel Wagner) and Thomas Drance and many other respected Canuck bloggers and commentators.

This isn't new at all.

The media has always been extremely critical. When Gillis was hear they hated him too. There has never been a time, and there never will be a time where the media has a positive outlook as a whole. Negative criticism drives views here.

[Edlerberry]

A-A-Ron Ward thinks we did what we could given the circumstances and are making moves in the right direction. He likes Markstrom.

Craig Button is ecstatic with our pick of Boeser, thinks Breisbois is a lot better than his numbers show, both are natural leaders.

[thejazz97]

This isn't new at all.

The media has always been extremely critical. When Gillis was hear they hated him too. There has never been a time, and there never will be a time where the media has a positive outlook as a whole. Negative criticism drives views here.

Negative criticism gets hits and clicks.

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

Here's a positive piece from a Nucks Misconduct blogger:

The Fine Art of Falling Apart

So, it seems that some of you are a little upset with the Canucks recently.

More specifically 'a little upset' could also mean full toddler-tantrum, head spinning (Exorcist-style), running down the street with hair lit on fire, gnashing teeth and shouting warnings of the coming return of The Messier and days of darkness.

I heard some dude sacrificed a goat outside Gate 16 in hopes the Fire Gods would be pleased and remove these evildoers from the Temple- er, Rogers Arena.

That last part may or may not have been a fabrication. I'm looking into it.

We awake this morning to find the people of Vancouver (but mainly media) shakingtheir fists and voicing their collective displeasure of being forced to bid adieu to theirbeloved apparently not-so-bad-in-hindsight Gillis regime and prophesying more danger coming because Eddie Lack will not be wearing a Canuck uniform when he tweets about tacos and because of course they did, because even professionals would rather sit and complain than deal with real change (not just for parents' basement-dwelling 30 -year-olds anymore!). Also because a true Vancouver sports writer will never- NEVER miss an opportunity to spin a narrative that provides easy page-turning, comment churning, click-baiting content. I swear there is smoke still emanating from The Province offices. Gollum TonyG, was at his usual, curmudgeonly best:

Yes, it was another grim day and you shake your head.

I only shake my head at thee, sir.

In the end though, no one sums up the media's feelings better than Botch himself:

All this seems like quite an overreaction to what amounts to relatively minor changes that in fact we all knew, or at least thought, might happen for quite some time now. We'll get to the details shortly, but it would appear that despite a pretty nice honeymoon for "Lindenning", the roof has come crashing down rather suddenly.

This all reminds me so much of a high school hangover story.

Benning, in the role of your old man, just came in your bedroom and dumped a bucket of cold water on your head and is telling you to get out and dig fence holes in 30 degree heat.

It all seems so unfair. You're angry. I understand.

Just hours ago you were having the time of your life, enjoying a few pints, some good friends, making new ones, it was awesome. You drank and caroused all the way to the VIP room of the NHL club, bottle service and everything. You were having the best. Time. EVER!!

That's when it happened. Boston showed up with the Jager. That a**hole. You couldn't resist, tried to drink shot for shot with the big guy and lost your edge. It started simply enough, just got a little stumble-y is all, but slowly it all went downhill. You spilled a couple drinks here and there, no big deal, but then you really lost it and wiped out hard on the dance floor and took a couple innocent partygoers down with you.

The rest is really blurry, but it involves getting kicked out of the club, losing a shoe and possibly urinating on a drive-thru intercom.

Somehow you wake up in your own bed, still wearing just the one shoe and your brother Torts is in your room banging pots and pans in your face and jumping on your bed.

You want to die. Then pops shows up with the water.

It's all so damn unfair. At least it feels that way now. But really deep inside you knew it was inevitable. The hangover was coming; now all you can do is bear down and sweat it out.

It's easy to forget how good it's been to be a Canuck fan for the better part of 15 years now. Playoffs have been all but guaranteed, star players, exciting hockey and a fair amount of drama all wrapped up in Blue and Green, but the reality is that things need to change. It's easy to get upset seeing fan's favourite players being traded away for what doesn't always appear to be much coming back, or front office executives being shown the door after years of loyal (and typically exceptional) service. Change is never easy, but always necessary. It's time to move on, even if it hurts having to take that bandaid off inch-by-inch.

Fans and media-types both have been sounding the bells for change for a while now, but when it finally comes, it's distasteful and therefore wrong. Seriously?

I know, it's a shame that "Juice" won't retire here. It's horribly unfair to see an excellent goalie and resident man-girl-crush (triple threat guy!) leave for little in return and that now-too-familiar refrain of 'damn if only Kassian had one more chance, maybe with the twins finally...' will be uttered no more.

It sucks when good hockey men have to lose their jobs. It sucks when the team you love doesn't improve while the teams you love to hate get better. You can ask Flames' andOilers' fans about that one.

If you want my two cents- which I assume you don't but you clicked on the article and you've already read this far so you're just gonna have to deal with it- this is ugly stuff. It's supposed to be ugly, it's the change so many people have been waiting for and oh man, it's gonna get worse. Don't worry though, it's a good thing.

It's awful to hear experienced writers sounding alarm bells about Trevor Linden and Jim Benning's abilities and qualifications because the team fired people who's fingerprints are all over the team (yes, THAT team) that's been crumbling before our eyes for years, the team that is saddled with contracts they complain about being stumbling blocks, yet celebrate when the man responsible for them is fired?

It's time for fans and writers alike to calm down, take a step back from the breach, and look at where the team is headed. Or at the very least stop whining and untwist your undies for a moment. The fact is that in times like these popular players get traded, front offices get cleared out and in general everybody gets that awkward, uncomfortable feeling in their nether regions.

Welcome to the rebuild.

It's mildly better than that time you woke up hungover and soaking wet because your old man dumped a bucket of water on your face.

Flame away! I plan on specifically breaking down Benning's recent moves in future blogs in what will hopefully be a 4-Part series, so stay tuned! Or not. Or maybe f___ yourself, I don't care.

http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2015/7/3/8890069/the-fine-art-of-falling-apart

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

Here's a positive piece from a Nucks Misconduct blogger:

http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2015/7/3/8890069/the-fine-art-of-falling-apart

And of course, CDC forums destroy the formatting in the quote.

[terrible.dee]

Rebuild? Top players moving? Ok.....that's life (Panties fit loosely)

Top assets REPEATEDLY traded for MUCH less valuable returns? Not cool (Panties twisting into knot)

Kassian Lack and Bieksa gone and not ONE sexy asset to show for it? (Throw Kessler in there too....although McCann could be the savior)

If it walks like a suck and quacks like a suck...It sucks,

And these deals suck

Benning's trades remind me of the Phanuef to TO deal.....5 pounds of whatever does not equal 1 pound of top tier talent.

[48MPHSlapShot]

Team can't compete. Team can't tank properly.

Nah, I'm still pissed.

[TOMapleLaughs]

I believe the peak was, y'know, the peak... 2010-2012, and then the fans and media were all pretty much onboard with Gillis and the team, aside from the playoff losses. Even Gallagher said 'Enjoy this while it lasts.' And we did.

Now that the team is trending downward, you would expect more critical analysis of the team than before.

I don't see how this is all on Jim Benning at the moment, esp. since people harped on Gillis inheriting Nonis' team throughout his tenure here. This is year two of Benning's time here. Too early to judge, obviously. While my worry is more about his current asset management, and fretting about predicted future moves and draft choices that haven't happened yet, I think that 2016 will be an 'up' year for Jim Benning.

I think we might have to start realizing that there will be peak and valley years coming ahead. This seems to be a growing norm for NHL teams, to go for it one year, build the next, repeat. The teams that are too far gone will have an extended stretch of valley seasons, while the elite teams will string together many peak seasons in a row.

Still, it's hard to support a rebuild that has seen us throw away good picks in good draft years like candy. That will set any team behind no matter what, as other teams are being given opportunities to pick up significant players. Does Benning's scouting ability trump this? We will see.

When we start acquiring players like Ehrhoff for nothing, we will see massive external validation again.

[thema]

Written by a complete idiot clearly choked over the Kassian "debacle". Then he quotes Downbiggen. Nuff said...

[TOMapleLaughs]

Was I supposed to care about DeFazio? Sorry. No.

[Nas19]

Rebuild? Top players moving? Ok.....that's life (Panties fit loosely)

Top assets REPEATEDLY traded for MUCH less valuable returns? Not cool (Panties twisting into knot)

Kassian Lack and Bieksa gone and not ONE sexy asset to show for it? (Throw Kessler in there too....although McCann could be the savior)

If it walks like a suck and quacks like a suck...It sucks,

And these deals suck

Benning's trades remind me of the Phanuef to TO deal.....5 pounds of whatever does not equal 1 pound of top tier talent.

Kassian an inconsistent player who has never put it together and has back problems. Only 24 yes, but he's had inconsistency issues since Junior.

Lack a goalie who is signed only for 1 more year and then will be a UFA.

Bieksa a 34 year old d-man who was 1 year away from UFA and had a really poor year last year. And congrats he signed an extension for $4M per year. He's not worth that.

But yeah Kassian should have gotten us Gallagher.

Lack should have gotten us Lindholm.

And Juice? Well crap he should have gotten us Getzlaf.

I've never seen fans as a whole over value their players as much as we do. I get it that they were arguably the fans 3 favourite players but come on. None of them had that high of value. It's not like we traded Horvat.

[Barry_Wilkins]

I think the reactionary media are panicking because they see a team in obvious decline, with no saviour on the horizon, and are terrified of another run of (near) futility lasting as long as the initial run between circa 1970-1992.

It's in long-time Canucks' fans DNA by now.

[BI3KSA-]

The vast majority of the media talk towards them that I've seen/read/heard usually says that its their first year on the job so its too soon to throw them under the bus, that Linden and Benning are both very smart guys, and are well respected around the league, and that we should trust them. As well as that they arent making flashy moves, more so working hard on lots of smaller things that they believe (and we should hope) turn into a bigger picture. Only the hacks like the Crypt Keeper, etc, have I really seen bash their moves and spewed negativity toward them. IMac too, but to a much lesser extent.

[Dr. Crossbar]

But wait, don't move anyone unless you get higher value. Who cares if we have to create roster spots so a youth movement can actually happen. Keep holding out for the low 2nd and 3rd for Lack even if no one's interested. Keep Bieksa in an awkward roster spot until you get a 1st, 2nd even if there aren't takers. Keep Kassian and hope he gets with the program.

And either way, if we keep these guys, we can complain. If we move these guys and don't get what we thought, we can still complain. Win - win for negativity.

And really, who cares that we now have a few guys on 1-year deals so we're not saddled without roster options next year.

Yeah, keep holding onto guys until the other GMs wake up. Meanwhile, say hi to Baertschi, Clendening, Corrado, and Virtanen in Utica, who you had to tell, sorry boys, we're waiting until we get full or higher value for some of the vets... as we wave goodbye to Markstrom for nothing and fans say goodbye to the Canucks ... again!

EDIT: As related to the topic, the media is playing you through negstivity and sooo many people fall for it. Dare to have your own opinions.

[Erik Karlsson]

I think everyone's just sick of losing our top assets for scraps.

We lost elite players in Luongo, Kesler, Schneider and all we got left is Bonino, Sbisa, Markstrom, Horvat and McCann.

Just Luongo and Kesler alone should have gotten atleast that.

I get they have ntc's etc, but it's not the fans faults.

Then there's the Lack and Kassian trade. Lack one is whatever, but I'm sure we could have made a package with Kassian, Burrows and something else intriguing and gotten Scherbak or Gallagher back or something.

[JamesB]

This isn't new at all.

The media has always been extremely critical. When Gillis was hear they hated him too. There has never been a time, and there never will be a time where the media has a positive outlook as a whole. Negative criticism drives views here.

Yes there are always some media critics. But the consistency among negative views is unusual. For most of the Gillis regime he had a lot of supporters in the media, and Burke and Nonis both had quite a lot support in the early years.

So, yes there is always media criticism, but the current situation is unusual.

Here's a positive piece from a Nucks Misconduct blogger:

http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2015/7/3/8890069/the-fine-art-of-falling-apart

Thanks, a fun read. Not much in it to make me feel optimistic about the Canucks but, like I said, fun to read.

Was I supposed to care about DeFazio? Sorry. No.

DeFazio was never going to play for the Canucks. But he is a very good AHL player and was very popular in Utica. Personally I got a lot of pleasure out of the Utica run this year and it is too bad to see Utica dropping down the priority list for the Canucks.

It probably has something to do with firing Henning, who use to run the situation. Clearly the Canucks have decided that it is less important to have a "winning environment" in Utica and more important to let prospects take the key roles on the team. That might be right, but I am still sorry that Utica will not be as good next year.

[theminister]

Why do we care what other people are saying?

It matters as much as what the mob on CDC says.

Results are the only thing that matters. That takes data which we don't have enough of yet.

[higgyfan]

Maybe Benning should make Miller the captain and pay Sundin 10m to come back for a year!

[BanTSN]

Canucks fans going full emo now.