(Article)Benning not sticking up for team's play

[Robongo]

Knowing key centre Brandon Sutter would undergo hernia surgery, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning spent the last few days making trade calls to see which centres might be available around the National Hockey League and what they would cost.

Listening to Benning talk about his team Wednesday, you have to wonder what other types of players he may be asking about.

With the Canucks transitioning to a younger, faster team while still carrying a stack of long-term contracts on older players, Benning understands his group will lose more games than it did in the seasons before he arrived 18 months ago. But he hates the way the Canucks lost meekly 4-0 Monday in Anaheim — the only regulation loss on a 1-1-2 road trip Benning sat out.

“That Anaheim game was the most disappointing loss for me since I’ve been here,” Benning said Wednesday as the Canucks announced Sutter will miss another four to six weeks. “We’ve lost games before, but no matter what, we worked hard as a team and we stuck up for one another. I don’t know what happened in that Anaheim game, but … we didn’t work and compete.

“I just felt that there were instances in that game where last year we (would have) stuck up for one another; when someone was picking on one of our guys … it was a pack mentality and as a team we stuck up for each other. For whatever reason, we didn’t stick up for each other that game. That was really disappointing for me to see that.”

Canucks rookie Jake Virtanen suffered a hip injury when cross-checked by Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who near the end of the game also roughed up another 19-year-old, Jared McCann. McCann had hit Getzlaf in the corner after the Canuck was run into the boards by Ryan Kesler on his previous shift. Canucks winger Chris Higgins was also hurt on a check to the head by Nick Ritchie.

There was no response from Canucks on the ice to any of these plays.

“I think it started with Getzlaf cross-checking Jake, and we didn’t have any pushback on that,” Benning said. “It was the Ritchie hit on Higgins and there was no pushback from our group on that. As a team last year, we always stuck up for each other. At the end of the game, I was happy to see McCann do that (against Getzlaf). Kesler hit McCann along the boards and, I thought, went out of his way to hurt him. I was happy to see with Jared, there was pushback from him. He wasn’t just going to take it from Getzlaf. To have a pushback from a 19-year-old kid … I would have liked to see more pushback from our team as a group.”

So his group, which added Brandon Prust in the off-season, isn’t tough enough?

“I think it’s a mindset that, you know, we’re going to stick together no matter what,” Benning explained. “If someone’s going after one of our guys, they’ll have to deal with all of us on the ice. It’s not about fighting, it’s about a mindset from the group that we’re going to stick together and we’re going to have team toughness. That’s the thing I care most about.”

From Alain Vigneault to John Tortorella to Willie Desjardins, Canucks coaches have lauded Vancouver players for showing up every night to compete. That didn’t happen in Anaheim. The next night, Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss in Los Angeles, the Canucks outhit the Kings 37-25. But playing their 11th road game out of 13, with travel before 12 of the 13, the Canucks were clearly spent by the third period and made it to OT only because of goalie Jacob Markstrom’s 38-save night.

Obviously, this still isn’t the Canucks team Benning envisioned when he was hired by hockey-ops president Trevor Linden to replace Mike Gillis. There are only 10 players on the roster from the team Benning inherited, but the Canucks still aren’t hard enough to play against.

They are too accommodating, especially in the defensive zone.

The eventual return of Brandon Sutter, whose value as an understated two-way player has doubled since he left the lineup Nov. 12, won’t solve these problems.

The Canucks are better than their place in the standings, but only by a few points. Best-case scenario, they’re a 90-95 point team, but they’ve got ground to make up to get there after a dismal November. Their 9-9-8 record isn’t a crisis, just a stark market correction after all those 100-point seasons when not enough was done to refresh and replenish the lineup.

“I think it’s a fair comment,” Benning said. “We got this older group … that they’ve had success with over the years. These guys are signed to (long-term) contracts and there was a stretch there, because they had good teams, maybe we didn’t develop players as we should have or draft as good as we should have. So we’ve had to keep some younger players to get them up and going and develop them into the next core group.

“It is what it is. We have to develop the next group of core players and we want to be competitive. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=11561131

 

 

I know its been talked about a lot but I thought it was a good article with some pretty candid quotes from Benning. Glad he was just as disappointed as most of us were. Now the question is: what is he going to do about it? He's certainly got his work cut out for him.

[Jiggs50]

Smallest and softest team in the league

[Robongo]

Lock it please, on mobile and didnt  see the other thread 

[Kevin Biestra]

Whether our immediate needs are centers or not, I don't want to trade for a C unless it's one that has value to us in the long term.

I don't care about the next 30 games or whatever, relative to the big picture.  Benning needs to make trades for young(ish) meaningful and long-term pieces of the puzzle if he's going to be hitting the phones.  Not temporary stopgaps for injuries here and there.

If he wants another C, go after other players like Sutter in terms of age and skills.  I don't want to give up any draft picks or such for the C equivalent of Prust.

[Canuck Surfer]

1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Whether our immediate needs are centers or not, I don't want to trade for a C unless it's one that has value to us in the long term.

I don't care about the next 30 games or whatever, relative to the big picture.  Benning needs to make trades for young(ish) meaningful and long-term pieces of the puzzle if he's going to be hitting the phones.  Not temporary stopgaps for injuries here and there.

If he wants another C, go after other players like Sutter in terms of age and skills.  I don't want to give up any draft picks or such for the C equivalent of Prust.

I don't want another C at this point.

I mean, Sutter proved how important a C was. But Sutter is coming back.

We meed a D that will bust Kesler's mug in front of the net. No fear.

Not even code. Just bust him!

[ice orca]

Hey Jim.. didn't you just sign Prust to do just what you are crying about.

[Gstank29]

16 minutes ago, ice orca said:

Hey Jim.. didn't you just sign Prust to do just what you are crying about.

Hey Ice Orca can you please check your facts before trying to be witty

[ice orca]

15 minutes ago, Gstank29 said:

Hey Ice Orca can you please check your facts before trying to be witty

Ok trade but the message is still the same..only had 1 cup this morning.

[LeanBeef]

Remember when Benning said Kassian has size but isn't tough?

The same Kassian who took a shiner from Reaves when trying to protect the twins, tried to fight Maroon twice, ran Kesler a few games after his hit on Dorsett, and stood up to Chara when Lucic was on the ice last year? These are just from last year.

Don't get me wrong, Prust has looked great. Those comments about Kassian still kind of rile me up for some reason. They could be using a player like Kass right now.

[Mackcanuck]

Top 5 draft pick and lots of picks and prospects at the trade deadline please!

[WonderTwinPowers]

6 minutes ago, LeanBeef said:

Remember when Benning said Kassian has size but isn't tough?

The same Kassian who took a shiner from Reaves when trying to protect the twins, tried to fight Maroon twice, ran Kesler a few games after his hit on Dorsett, and stood up to Chara when Lucic was on the ice last year? These are just from last year.

Don't get me wrong, Prust has looked great. Those comments about Kassian still kind of rile me up for some reason. They could be using a player like Kass right now.

One could argue so could Montreal though, for all we know Kass could still be in the substance abuse program instead of on the ice.

[D-Money]

25 minutes ago, LeanBeef said:

Remember when Benning said Kassian has size but isn't tough?

The same Kassian who took a shiner from Reaves when trying to protect the twins, tried to fight Maroon twice, ran Kesler a few games after his hit on Dorsett, and stood up to Chara when Lucic was on the ice last year? These are just from last year.

Don't get me wrong, Prust has looked great. Those comments about Kassian still kind of rile me up for some reason. They could be using a player like Kass right now.

We could use a suspended player in rehab?

[Hairy Kneel]

Hutton Sutter Tanev injury bug hits us hard. 

Who would have thought these would be key injuries? 

With no one to cover their minutes while they heal up.

[lmm]

2 hours ago, Hairy Kneel said:

Hutton Sutter Tanev injury bug hits us hard. 

Who would have thought these would be key injuries? 

With no one to cover their minutes while they heal up.

In fairness, Hutton was starting to struggle and has not really been missed. I still have high hopes for the guy

Sutter's injury has exposed the youth, especially Horvat

Biega filled pretty well for Tanev and plays a fairly similar game.

I think we are missing Vbata, Burrows, Higgins, Hamhius, Edler, Prust, Dorsett and That One Save.

[CANUCK-EXPRESS]

“I think it started with Getzlaf cross-checking Jake, and we didn’t have any pushback on that,” Benning said. “It was the Ritchie hit on Higgins and there was no pushback from our group on that. As a team last year, we always stuck up for each other. At the end of the game, I was happy to see McCann do that (against Getzlaf). Kesler hit McCann along the boards and, I thought, went out of his way to hurt him. I was happy to see with Jared, there was pushback from him. He wasn’t just going to take it from Getzlaf. To have a pushback from a 19-year-old kid … I would have liked to see more pushback from our team as a group.”

[Tyndall2]

Okay.  Do most of us agree Edler is playing way below his potential?  Or, is what you are getting his potential?  If he will not waive his no move clause then sit him in the press box for a few games.  He certainly isn't doing anything on the ice to improve our chances.  Actually, in most games the opposite.  Most everyone on here is right though when they say don't trade away any picks or young guys.  Dump contracts and vets for choices next June.  If players like Miller don't see the long term plan he can head out of town on the trade train too.  

[Alflives]

31 minutes ago, CANUCK-EXPRESS said:

“I think it started with Getzlaf cross-checking Jake, and we didn’t have any pushback on that,” Benning said. “It was the Ritchie hit on Higgins and there was no pushback from our group on that. As a team last year, we always stuck up for each other. At the end of the game, I was happy to see McCann do that (against Getzlaf). Kesler hit McCann along the boards and, I thought, went out of his way to hurt him. I was happy to see with Jared, there was pushback from him. He wasn’t just going to take it from Getzlaf. To have a pushback from a 19-year-old kid … I would have liked to see more pushback from our team as a group.”

It's good to hear JB stating this publicly; you know he's met with the team about before.  I think most of us here saw Sbisa lay a great hit on Ehlers and no one stepped in to protect Sbisa from the oncoming knuckle dragger.  That moment made me feel sick about our guys (much like in the summer summit series when no one on the ice stepped up for McCann).  We are too soft in our top minute guys, and even the Twins need to step up for their mates.  McCann is our next captain.  That guy has a motor, high skill, and is hyper competitive.  

[Carl's Jn]

12 hours ago, Robongo said:

Knowing key centre Brandon Sutter would undergo hernia surgery, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning spent the last few days making trade calls to see which centres might be available around the National Hockey League and what they would cost.

Listening to Benning talk about his team Wednesday, you have to wonder what other types of players he may be asking about.

With the Canucks transitioning to a younger, faster team while still carrying a stack of long-term contracts on older players, Benning understands his group will lose more games than it did in the seasons before he arrived 18 months ago. But he hates the way the Canucks lost meekly 4-0 Monday in Anaheim — the only regulation loss on a 1-1-2 road trip Benning sat out.

“That Anaheim game was the most disappointing loss for me since I’ve been here,” Benning said Wednesday as the Canucks announced Sutter will miss another four to six weeks. “We’ve lost games before, but no matter what, we worked hard as a team and we stuck up for one another. I don’t know what happened in that Anaheim game, but … we didn’t work and compete.

“I just felt that there were instances in that game where last year we (would have) stuck up for one another; when someone was picking on one of our guys … it was a pack mentality and as a team we stuck up for each other. For whatever reason, we didn’t stick up for each other that game. That was really disappointing for me to see that.”

Canucks rookie Jake Virtanen suffered a hip injury when cross-checked by Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who near the end of the game also roughed up another 19-year-old, Jared McCann. McCann had hit Getzlaf in the corner after the Canuck was run into the boards by Ryan Kesler on his previous shift. Canucks winger Chris Higgins was also hurt on a check to the head by Nick Ritchie.

There was no response from Canucks on the ice to any of these plays.

“I think it started with Getzlaf cross-checking Jake, and we didn’t have any pushback on that,” Benning said. “It was the Ritchie hit on Higgins and there was no pushback from our group on that. As a team last year, we always stuck up for each other. At the end of the game, I was happy to see McCann do that (against Getzlaf). Kesler hit McCann along the boards and, I thought, went out of his way to hurt him. I was happy to see with Jared, there was pushback from him. He wasn’t just going to take it from Getzlaf. To have a pushback from a 19-year-old kid … I would have liked to see more pushback from our team as a group.”

So his group, which added Brandon Prust in the off-season, isn’t tough enough?

“I think it’s a mindset that, you know, we’re going to stick together no matter what,” Benning explained. “If someone’s going after one of our guys, they’ll have to deal with all of us on the ice. It’s not about fighting, it’s about a mindset from the group that we’re going to stick together and we’re going to have team toughness. That’s the thing I care most about.”

From Alain Vigneault to John Tortorella to Willie Desjardins, Canucks coaches have lauded Vancouver players for showing up every night to compete. That didn’t happen in Anaheim. The next night, Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss in Los Angeles, the Canucks outhit the Kings 37-25. But playing their 11th road game out of 13, with travel before 12 of the 13, the Canucks were clearly spent by the third period and made it to OT only because of goalie Jacob Markstrom’s 38-save night.

Obviously, this still isn’t the Canucks team Benning envisioned when he was hired by hockey-ops president Trevor Linden to replace Mike Gillis. There are only 10 players on the roster from the team Benning inherited, but the Canucks still aren’t hard enough to play against.

They are too accommodating, especially in the defensive zone.

The eventual return of Brandon Sutter, whose value as an understated two-way player has doubled since he left the lineup Nov. 12, won’t solve these problems.

The Canucks are better than their place in the standings, but only by a few points. Best-case scenario, they’re a 90-95 point team, but they’ve got ground to make up to get there after a dismal November. Their 9-9-8 record isn’t a crisis, just a stark market correction after all those 100-point seasons when not enough was done to refresh and replenish the lineup.

“I think it’s a fair comment,” Benning said. “We got this older group … that they’ve had success with over the years. These guys are signed to (long-term) contracts and there was a stretch there, because they had good teams, maybe we didn’t develop players as we should have or draft as good as we should have. So we’ve had to keep some younger players to get them up and going and develop them into the next core group.

“It is what it is. We have to develop the next group of core players and we want to be competitive. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=11561131

 

 

I know its been talked about a lot but I thought it was a good article with some pretty candid quotes from Benning. Glad he was just as disappointed as most of us were. Now the question is: what is he going to do about it? He's certainly got his work cut out for him.

can't hit guys if your always out of position..and ya you have to know we lost toughness with bieska gone... 

[HC20.0]

5 hours ago, LeanBeef said:

Remember when Benning said Kassian has size but isn't tough?

The same Kassian who took a shiner from Reaves when trying to protect the twins, tried to fight Maroon twice, ran Kesler a few games after his hit on Dorsett, and stood up to Chara when Lucic was on the ice last year? These are just from last year.

Don't get me wrong, Prust has looked great. Those comments about Kassian still kind of rile me up for some reason. They could be using a player like Kass right now.

To be frank, Kassian needed to go one way or the other. The only real good thing about him from his time here was that he was willing to stand up for teammates. Prust was supposed to fill that part, but for whatever reason this year hasn't. I think part of it is injury though, he's just come off the injured list, and I don't think he's quite100% yet.

[The Lock]

I'm not surprised by this article really. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of things Benning doesn't say in public about the team as well. It's all about the transition really at this point: out with the old core and in with the new. Hopefully he figures things out temporarily through a trade or 2 as hard as that can be at times.