GM Jim Benning talks about the NHL Combine, 2017 Expansion Draft and 2017 NHL Draft

[Rob_Zepp]

7 minutes ago, TimberWolf said:

 

Kesler gave a list, just one team could afford him at the time. Benning was in a hurry to do a deal in the draft and if you look at the videos they were targeting players that could slot in immediately rather then concerning the future. It was a failure in pro scouting, not a wonderment of GM-ing while handcuffed. 

 

Ducks got kesler and still walked away with Ritchie as a draft pick. That's all that happened that day.

 

 

So you think keeping Kesler and letting him walk eventually for nothing was a better option?   Having him as a player who didn't want to be there remain around?    

 

You are convinced with those handcuffs a better deal was out there?   What would compel another GM to give more when the player has publicly asked to be moved, provided a list of teams that included only really one or two with ability to make a deal and then be approach FA status making it all the more urgent?    

 

I know you think you are a better GM than the current Canuck GM but on this particular move, it is strange to not at least concede he could have got a whole lot less than a roster player AND a first round pick of similar slot to what Kesler was in the first place.

[Alflives]

7 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said:

So you think keeping Kesler and letting him walk eventually for nothing was a better option?   Having him as a player who didn't want to be there remain around?    

 

You are convinced with those handcuffs a better deal was out there?   What would compel another GM to give more when the player has publicly asked to be moved, provided a list of teams that included only really one or two with ability to make a deal and then be approach FA status making it all the more urgent?    

 

I know you think you are a better GM than the current Canuck GM but on this particular move, it is strange to not at least concede he could have got a whole lot less than a roster player AND a first round pick of similar slot to what Kesler was in the first place.

And if JB takes Pastrnak with that first he wins that trade big time and no one is mentioning Kesler.  

[Rob_Zepp]

2 minutes ago, Alflives said:

And if JB takes Pastrnak with that first he wins that trade big time and no one is mentioning Kesler.  

Well, to be fair, no ability to evaluate the player he ended up with in Gub as he really hasn't played for the team yet.   I realize many on CDC have already written him off as clearly Florida hockey writers know the game better than the Canuck GM, but I would rather see what a healthy Gub looks like and if he and Sutter (latter in a proper 3rd line role and the hell away from powerplay) perform to what they likely can, this turns out to be fine trade for Vancouver.......and without having a massive DB on the team.

[Baggins]

4 minutes ago, Alflives said:

And if JB takes Pastrnak with that first he wins that trade big time and no one is mentioning Kesler.  

Well Bonino turned into Sutter, and the first turned into Gudbranson. Plus we have Sbisa. I'd say it turned out pretty damn good.

[Eastsidenuck]

On 6/8/2017 at 9:04 AM, terrible.dee said:

It's really not that hard to see what you have in people, Nonis was an easy read from the first day he took over till the day he was fired. He always did "Dave Nonis" things, I (and a lot of other fans) knew he wouldn't be an effective GM, Same with Gillis, I could tell from day one (again, I wasn't the only one) that the guy had both some mojo and some baggage, he proved that over and over till the day he was fired, I could go on and on,

 

Benning comes in and proceeds to get destroyed in the Kesler deal, he broke a cardinal rule: Two goods are NOT equal to one GREAT, that was very alarming for a lot of us, it made some of us ask "Why would he do something that was so obviously dumb" Then, against every bit of common sense available we find ourselves drafting Jake Virtannen at #5.......if what went down hadn't been predicted by EVERYONE it would just be a "win some lose some" situation, but that it could have been avoided is, again, concerning.

 

 The Joulevi pick, most people around here don't want to admit Benning made another  bad choice, especially because Joulevi may turn out to be good, However, no one seems to understand the long odds of him ever being a player who makes the kind of impact Tkchuck does, we needed toughness, we needed scoring........it was right there and our GM once again did something that appeared to be "Dumb"

 

The worst is something people in this market won't admit too but is well known outside Vancouver. The  Erik Gudbrannson deal, Dale Tallon used his media contacts to float stories about how great Gudbransson was. The stories were BS, but no one questioned it. You couldn't get away with that in a more "Hockey oriented market" but in FLA the hockey beat writers were thrilled to be able to actually help the team pull off a deal. just as the stories about how he was the best D man for FLA in the playoffs and a lynchpin of the team were reaching a crescendo, after FLA's playoff elimination, a bizarre trade goes down DURING the playoffs where one of the NHL's worst players is dealt for valuable assets. Not GREAT assets, but seeing as how the player going back had negative value (Everyone outside Vancouver knows this, look around if you don't believe me, it's not hard to find.) it was UNTHINKABLE that a GM would give up useable assets for him.

 

It was obvious to anyone, not in Vancouver, that Benning had bit the baited trap set for him by Tallon, and that one of the leagues smarter GM's had actually targeted and snookered a GM who's intelligence he obviously did not respect. Benning even admitted on camera that Tallon CALLED HIM right after FLA was eliminated JUST AS ALL THESE STORIES WERE CICULATING, what team tries to get rid of their best defensemen DURING THE PLAYOFFS, it's well know D-men are expensive and price would be maximized by waiting till the draft, but Tallon needed to get rid of his best defenseman right then and there durring the 2nd round of the playoffs........holy mother of god......Did Benning not stop to think something was a little off? Was it not until he arrived and the play died on his stick every time he was on the ice that Benning knew the guy couldn't play?

 

And so these things keep happening, from not properly scouting Tryamkin to what I fear will be another "Wha......NOOOO!" draft pick this year (I have a feeling he's going to take one of the two defensmen...I know it, I can feel it in my bones, it will be the skinny kid from the Alberta Jr. league, and he'll make that pick because everyone says "That's where the game is going" just like he drafted Virtannen durring the "Big California" craze)

 

He's had a couple of wins, Boeser looks like the real deal......um.....that's about it, I believe Grandlund and Baer are what they appear to be: Non-descript, non-playoff, almost, sorta-good 15 goal guys, those guys don't get you into the playoffs.........anyway,

 

That is the deaal with GM's, they are never that hard to read, and with Benning I see a guy waaay over his head.

 

It's my hope that Trev demotes Benning to assistant GM and takes over the GM role himself. Trev is a successful businessman outside of hockey, and the secret un-credited hero who saved the NHL when he signal handedly got the NHLPA to stop acting like spoiled sociopaths and accept the salary cap, yep that was Trev, so he is no strager to high level negotiations AND is not adverse to doing the "Right" thing, even if it makes him unpopular, Trev has said for years, that Canucks hockey is entertaining hockey and that a team built to entertain is what this market wants.

 

And mostly, I don't want people to call Benning's brainfarts the "Linden era" if Trev is going to fail in trying to rebuild this team, then I want him to fail based on his own merits or lack there-of.

 

Now, I'm fully aware that his hiring of Benning, paints him with any brush one would dab Benning with, But he means more to this city than hockey, so he gets a pass with me on pretty much everything, and I'm not ashamed to admit that, I just wish the "Linden era" could be just that, because if Trev was answering the phone, I don't think Dale Tallon bothers calling.

You can't even spell virtanens name right, but you know..you knew the whole time..hindsight is 20/20.. real easy for you to say what should have been done now. Have some patience why don't ya. I'd put $1000 down that OJ has a better NHL career than Tkachuk.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Baggins said:

Well Bonino turned into Sutter, and the first turned into Gudbranson. Plus we have Sbisa. I'd say it turned out pretty damn good.

Yes, putting things in that perspective, they did turn out okay.  But they could have been much better with Pastrnak, don't you think?

[coryberg]

38 minutes ago, TimberWolf said:

 

Kesler gave a list..........

 

........Well, I am sure you and I have a different definition of the word "awesome"

You call 2 teams a "list"?

 

I call having your hands tied and only having one team to trade with yet still managing to acquire two top 4 dmen, 20 goal scoring shutdown center and a energy player for a player who commanded a 6 year/7 million dollar contract till age 37 "awesome"

 

 

We definitely see things differently

[Jayinblack]

38 minutes ago, Eastsidenuck said:

You can't even spell virtanens name right, but you know..you knew the whole time..hindsight is 20/20.. real easy for you to say what should have been done now. Have some patience why don't ya. I'd put $1000 down that OJ has a better NHL career than Tkachuk.

Never mind how dismissive that was about the great trades for Granny & Baer.   Two 20 goal scorers for a 2nd round picks and what looks like a bust ?  C'mon now.  Every team those kinds of players... that's why there's the term for secondary scoring.

[B53]

6 hours ago, Baggins said:

Well Bonino turned into Sutter, and the first turned into Gudbranson. Plus we have Sbisa. I'd say it turned out pretty damn good.

Don't forget that 3rd turned into Dorsett

[Baggins]

13 hours ago, Alflives said:

Yes, putting things in that perspective, they did turn out okay.  But they could have been much better with Pastrnak, don't you think?

When the player you're dealing has complete control your options are limited. Considering the limitations, I'm not going to cry about what we got. The return could have been better witrh more options but we only had one team to deal with. Make a deal with them or nothing. I'd say we came out golden given the situation.

[Boudrias]

On 6/8/2017 at 8:59 AM, PhillipBlunt said:

Donald Trump inherited his wealth from his father Fred. Not sure what effort it takes to receive an inheritance, but I'd venture to say, not a whole lot.

The odds of inherited wealth being sustained let alone grown are not big. Father Fred, from what I have read, was pretty conservative and actually counseled his son against many of his investments. Trump has made many successful investments that had nothing to do with his father. He has also made some mistakes that nearly wiped him out.

[IBatch]

23 hours ago, Rob_Zepp said:

Well, to be fair, no ability to evaluate the player he ended up with in Gub as he really hasn't played for the team yet.   I realize many on CDC have already written him off as clearly Florida hockey writers know the game better than the Canuck GM, but I would rather see what a healthy Gub looks like and if he and Sutter (latter in a proper 3rd line role and the hell away from powerplay) perform to what they likely can, this turns out to be fine trade for Vancouver.......and without having a massive DB on the team.

Sutter and Guddy 

Better than a grouchy crybaby Kesler any day.

[Hank Moody]

I had a dream last night my hockey team got invited to play at Rogers Arena and I see Jim Benning in an office upstairs screaming into a phone and he's face palming 

So I decide to go upstairs and I'm like what's wrong Jim and Linden is there and he goes "Jims about to acquire Brent Seabrook for Luca Sbisa and it's a done deal but he's struggling really hard to not offer a 2nd round pick for no reason because he loves giving them away"

So I spent the rest of my Dream trying really hard to convince Jim Benning not to throw in a 2nd round pick into an already done deal

[soshified]

On 2017-06-09 at 10:43 AM, TimberWolf said:

 

Kesler gave a list, just one team could afford him at the time. Benning was in a hurry to do a deal in the draft and if you look at the videos they were targeting players that could slot in immediately rather then concerning the future. It was a failure in pro scouting, not a wonderment of GM-ing while handcuffed. 

 

Ducks got kesler and still walked away with Ritchie as a draft pick. That's all that happened that day.

 

 

Well, I am sure you and I have a different definition of the word "awesome"

not this argument again lol