Aquilini’s intentions with JB

[darkpoet]

5 hours ago, 6string said:

Benning will continue for another term, stability in the front office makes good business sense.

There's a better chance of Aqua-weenie firing Linden then there is Linden firing Benning

Come on, you're talking about the guy who talks six ways from Sunday trying to convince the fan base that the Sedins can play until they're 50 years old

Linden will fall on his own sword before he fires Benning, or has the balls to tell the Sedins time's up. 

[HarryCanuck]

6 hours ago, combover said:

Good bye jimmy. Stay competitive.

 

Or Let’s see what the sedins do first because that should effect a team still in the very early stages of a rebuild.

 

 

The Sedins have been pretty clear, either retire or stay with the Canucks. Are you expecting Benning to move them at the deadline?  The only people who can make that happen are the Sedins. It would be great if they agreed to move to another team, we pick up some draft picks and then they re-sign for 2 more years. But that appears to be a pipe dream. 

[HarryCanuck]

5 hours ago, spur1 said:

Think about it folks. 

What idiot fires a GM who just had his second year first rounder go to the allstar game and win one of the skills. 

Then to top it off brings it to the game and wins MVP. 

 

P.S.  That first rounder was at the 23rd pick. 

As a rookie I might add. 

Agreed. How many other GMs passed on Boeser?

 

Would other GMs have been as patient when they opt’d to let Boeser head back to university when he was showing clear signs he could play. 

 

That alone, is a strong statement about Benning’s hockey IQ. 

[canuktravella]

   aqua  needs to get sedins to agree to  a trade at deadline  get a first and  a second and a cap dump from a contender plus retain one of sedins contract so instead of 14 mill cap space needed they only need  10.5  gets us two more prospects.  linden stays  possibly benning runs scouting with backett  

 

not sure who gms 

[RRypien37]

I think he deserves an extension. My heart says he stays, my brain says otherwise. Just brings back memories of the Torts signing...feels like dejavu...If Aquaman has his eyes set on someone specific, not much can be done unfortunately. 

[khay]

I think we should keep him but knowing Acquillini's, they would want to bring Holland or someone with fame. They brought on Torts, although they denied getting involved. They will bring Holland and this time, they don't even have to deny anything.

 

Having them as owners is million times better than having McCaw as the owner I guess but I wish we can have an ownership group that the fans can respect. Or perhaps, such thing doesn't exist.

[Mike Vanderhoek]

As it has been stated the President shoukd be making the decision. But like all other NHL clubs ownership will play a role.

 

Although its bordering on concerning why he yet to be re-signed I have no doubt Benning returns.

 

If it was soley Linden's call he's seen and worked with Benning to know he has made some solid moves. Sure someone else could be brought in to make trades but Benning has shown an ability to adapt/learn and anybody who thinks the returns on Burrows and Hansen were poor well they were solid youth pieces brought in.

 

Ownership, had it been up to them solely and ultimately what would influenced hockey passionate owners see ? Well the fambase generally supportivecand if not already up in arms over why Benning has not been extended already. If paying customers are where they listen. They are being told right now.

 

If they think simply as some have suggested this is business, not enough return on investment etc. Well true maybe in real estate or other investments, but I will say it again Benning would not have been hired in the first place if they didn't understand the team was in decline and needing to go young.

 

It would be poor business to make a change as this would add years onto a rebuild that is only now providing people with hope thanks to Benning's work. Do the owners want longer term poorer revenues ? No.

 

Benning comes back.

[alfstonker]

8 hours ago, samurai said:

It is Linden's call.   He will or has already presented the owners with a report on what should be done, and the owners will leave it up to him.  That is how it works people.  Trevor is getting paid to make the decisions.

Well it's high time he got his ass in gear and made them. JB should be extended and the Sedins given a send off parade. What is the big deal. Actually come to think of it I would rather get rid of Linden, I don't think he is cut out for the job.

[alfstonker]

7 hours ago, Slegr said:

I appreciate this point. JB is great at drafting. He is mediocre at best in respect to other aspects of being a GM. I wish there was a way he could comfortably stay on the drafting capacity but not as full GM. Then again, I'm okay with him as GM if he can continue to draft like he has.

Actually out of these three it is my opinion that the drafting holds 60% of the weight, as drafting is what will ultimately secure the future of this Club. 

 

On trades/signings, I don't really think we could could say he is much worse than 2/3 of the GMs in the League. We have yet to see how many of them will finally turn out. Look how Vanek has already starting to pay dividends and Gagner is imo starting to get better as he settles in.

 

On the contract/admin side, surely it is not beyond the Club to hire a "contracts/cap specialist" in place of Linden, who if he is not not at least influential in these categories is just a waste of a salary.

 

Benning is for me a "salt of the earth" type of guy. A guy who probably hardly ever switches off from his duties in the service of this Club. Is he perfect? Hell no. Is Linden perfect? Hell no.

The difference is at least we can see what Benning has done to help the future of this club. I can't remember when we have had so many potential NHL prospects and no doubt we will acquire more this year.

 

Linden for me is starting to get in the way, like the Sedins, to our changing the style and character of this Club. For me, if he has not strongly advised the owners to get JB sorted then I can only assume he is not behind Benning or worse still (as I suspect) he is sitting on the fence, looking for clues.

His was a post I could not understand unless it was to assist Benning settle in and handle the "non scouting" aspects of Bennings remit. If people think that is where JB has sagged then blame Linden, if people think JB is now coming to grips with his other duties then Linden has done his job and needs to step aside.

[spook007]

9 hours ago, spur1 said:

Think about it folks. 

What idiot fires a GM who just had his second year first rounder go to the allstar game and win one of the skills. 

Then to top it off brings it to the game and wins MVP. 

 

P.S.  That first rounder was at the 23rd pick. 

As a rookie I might add. 

Well said.

Hope he stays, but the delaying is concerning. Totally agree, and Brock may just be the player to tip the scales in JB's favour.

[DrJockitch]

The lifeblood of any organization is drafting and developing young players.  JB understands and stresses this well, again though I wish development was more hands on but what can you do when these guys play for different teams on different continents.  For this reason I would like to see him stay.  Call it GM or whatever.

 

Would also like to see them add another experienced hockey guy as VP Hockey Ops or some such title.  Have them work a little more on the contract negotiation side of things and another experienced voice in the room when it comes to trades kind of like the structure MG.

 

So far the long needed restructuring of the scouting staff looks good.  Hopefully the pro-scouting improves because this is where we look to loose the thread.  It is like JB is going back to his junior scouting files and not looking at the body of work as a professional enough.  That being said, I was all over some of his deals that have worked quite well.  I thought the Vanek signing was terrible and now it looks pretty good, though that opinion will change if he doesn't trade him.  MDZ and Gagner have worked about like expected, warm bodies to play until some of the kids are ready.  Erikksen though, not the player we were sold.

[timberz21]

11 hours ago, Alflives said:

JB’s radio interview was more influential to me than the Holland rumours.  If Aqualini wants to keep JB, why hasn’t he extended him already?  JB sure sounded like a guy who wants to extend here.  He even mentioned his family, and his worry about them, considering his not knowing about his future.  

Well, JB was entering his 4th or 5th year as the Canucks GMs.  How often to you see a GM or coach re-signed during the offseason just to see him crash and burn during the next season and fired at the end, and has to be paid for another 3-4 years after that.

 

Aquilinis wanted to see how the season unfolded before making a decision...it's a gamble, if you want to re-sign him at the end of the season JB has all the leverage, or if we crash and burn, then we replace him.  If Boeser was on pace for a 40 pts season and Pettersson not tearing up the SHL...would we see JB the same way?

 

The Canucks had a great start, but lost their #1 centerman Horvat and another important veteran centerman in Sutter, and then we crumbled.  The defense as always, was plagued with injuries.  The Vanek signing was positive, Gagner decent, the Sedins returned to a level of respectability under Green and of course Boeser is in Calder contention.  Pettersson is having an awesome season in Sweden, Juolevi seems to have mature, Gadjovich and Lind are looking like steals in the draft, Goldobin and Dahlen were great acquisitions.  Gudbransson expirement seems like it will not pan out, Virtanen seems destined for a bottom 6 role, our defense is still fragile and has no depth and no future except for Juolevi.

 

Overall, with Boeser, Pettersson and the overall prospect pool, which was heavily replenished by JB, I think he deserve another 3-4 years to see how these guys pan out, but we need to start seeing a progression at the pro level.  If would not be fair to bring in another GM and see all the guys mentionned above having an impact in the NHL.  It will probably cost more at the end of the season to re-sign Benning than it would have at the beginning, but I think it was worth the wait.  I think JB has proven that his draft abilities are amongst the top in the NHL and we all know that championship teams are build through draft, so Aquilini would be a fool to let him go, but I think we needed that past 6 months to validate that.

[Boudrias]

2 hours ago, alfstonker said:

Well it's high time he got his ass in gear and made them. JB should be extended and the Sedins given a send off parade. What is the big deal. Actually come to think of it I would rather get rid of Linden, I don't think he is cut out for the job.

Alfy your getting radical in your old age! TL & JB are half way thru their 4th year in Vancouver. I have always given Gillis a lot of credit for buying a AHL franchise. By that same token I will give Linden and Benning full credit for the shakeup they did in management, especially the scouting department. I have little doubt that move was made jointly by these two. IMHO Benning gets a lot of credit for talent scouting, which he should, but no man can cover the gamut of all those prospects. They have obviously put people in place who are producing. 

 

Do we resign the Twins? I have reservations tempered only by concern about which vets are on the roster next year. Is it Vanek and Gagner or Danny and Henrik? If the Twins are not available for trade then Benning has to move Vanek for a 2nd Rounder if possible. If he loves Vancouver resign him as a UFA. Are Goldy and Boucher in Utica a better development decision than resigning the Twins? If EP or Gaudette push for a roster spot who do they displace? Many talk about vet mentoring. There is value to that but there is a limit in numbers.   

 

The uncomfortable part for resigning the Twins to me is that they take two spots and have to play together. They can still produce points like a 2nd line top 6 but one has to ask how important is that on a rebuilding team? To me the most important aspect of play over the next 3 years is TOI and who gets it. It is not about making playoffs or trying to structure a roster around making playoffs. Ownership might have other priorities and one has to understand that. In all likelihood Benning and the Twins are resigned and Vanek and Gudbranson traded. Tanev should be traded to bring back a 1st Rounder but my dreams never seem to be realized. 

[combover]

6 hours ago, HarryCanuck said:

The Sedins have been pretty clear, either retire or stay with the Canucks. Are you expecting Benning to move them at the deadline?  The only people who can make that happen are the Sedins. It would be great if they agreed to move to another team, we pick up some draft picks and then they re-sign for 2 more years. But that appears to be a pipe dream. 

The sedins have said they will let the Canucks know their intentions soon. I don’t want them traded but I’ve heard jim say that once he knows what the sedins are doing he can move forward. As the gm of a rebuilding team who the f care what the sedins intentions are move forward trade vets and ufas for picks and prospects. Nothing should be hinging on the sedins  future. Jim should be be saying This is what we are doing if they want t be part of it then fine if not good bye.

why use them as an excuse once again for not doing anything. 

 

 

 

[Hockey101 class]

12 hours ago, Alflives said:

JB’s radio interview was more influential to me than the Holland rumours.  If Aqualini wants to keep JB, why hasn’t he extended him already?  JB sure sounded like a guy who wants to extend here.  He even mentioned his family, and his worry about them, considering his not knowing about his future.  

 Aqualini is just exploring all his options in the end he will resign Benning. Duedilligence kind of expected with any business.

[Pete M]

tbh, the Canucks have finished 2nd and 3rd from last in the last two years of JBs 3 year tenure, which allowed him to pick top 5 twice (taking OJ and EP). This year it seems that the team will finish 2nd and 3rd from last which will allow him to pick top 5 again. In addition, he picked JV top six and knocked it out of the park picking BB at 23.

 

JV is progressing but is not confident with his game

BB is an allstar/ superstar

OJ and EP have yet to play in the show, but have shown promise in their respective men's leagues that they play in.

 

If ownership is only looking at his drafting record in the top five, then they need to give JB another 3 years to see his top picks play in the NHL.

 

On the other hand, if ownership is looking more at standings the last four years including this year, then there is a case for firing JB.

He definitely has made questionable signings (LE, SG, Bartkowski, Weber, Larsson, Vey, etc.) that contributed to the dismal record.

 

Taking only these three things into mind, top draft picks, standings and signings, then there is definitely a strong case for cutting bait on JB.

 

Like others have said, by not extending JB now, ownership is not showing a vote of confidence with JB...similar to when they let WD go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crabcakes]

3 hours ago, alfstonker said:

Actually out of these three it is my opinion that the drafting holds 60% of the weight, as drafting is what will ultimately secure the future of this Club. 

 

On trades/signings, I don't really think we could could say he is much worse than 2/3 of the GMs in the League. We have yet to see how many of them will finally turn out. Look how Vanek has already starting to pay dividends and Gagner is imo starting to get better as he settles in.

 

On the contract/admin side, surely it is not beyond the Club to hire a "contracts/cap specialist" in place of Linden, who if he is not not at least influential in these categories is just a waste of a salary.

 

Benning is for me a "salt of the earth" type of guy. A guy who probably hardly ever switches off from his duties in the service of this Club. Is he perfect? Hell no. Is Linden perfect? Hell no.

The difference is at least we can see what Benning has done to help the future of this club. I can't remember when we have had so many potential NHL prospects and no doubt we will acquire more this year.

 

Linden for me is starting to get in the way, like the Sedins, to our changing the style and character of this Club. For me, if he has not strongly advised the owners to get JB sorted then I can only assume he is not behind Benning or worse still (as I suspect) he is sitting on the fence, looking for clues.

His was a post I could not understand unless it was to assist Benning settle in and handle the "non scouting" aspects of Bennings remit. If people think that is where JB has sagged then blame Linden, if people think JB is now coming to grips with his other duties then Linden has done his job and needs to step aside.

My thought was that Linden was to be a buffer between management and ownership.  Post SCF, Gillis had to spend a lot of time with the owner which took away from time he could spend on team issues.  Under this structure, Bennings time with FA is minimized and he can spend more time actually doing his job.

 

All this smoke has been generated by guys like Botchford who clearly does not like Benning.  He's sees a contract expiring and assumes there is a problem.  We know it's not the only expiring GM contract and many of the so called "insiders" keep telling us that this is less an issue than it is with coaches on expiring contracts.

 

Ownership is going to want to pass a team plan for the next 4 or 5 years moving forward in order to determine the term of the new contract.  Mid season last year was when they did a lot of review and decided to call it a rebuild and move Burrows and Hansen.

[bassetgreg]

3 hours ago, alfstonker said:

 

 

On the contract/admin side, surely it is not beyond the Club to hire a "contracts/cap specialist" in place of Linden, who if he is not not at least influential in these categories is just a waste of a salary

Gilman as an Asst. GM would be a good contracts/cap specialist.

 Benning also needs to improve his Pro Scouting

 

I don't see the point in  Linden's position at all 

[coastal.view]

12 hours ago, Alflives said:

If ownership is thinking they’re not extending JB, will JB be free to make any trades?  He might suggest trades of vets for picks/prospects, but (if the owners want JB replaced) will Aqualini rubber stamp deals that make us less competitive right now?  This whole situation is a tangled mess, that could be cleaned up by simply extending JB now.  The wait for the JB extension has me quite concerned (as it clearly does JB from his radio interview) about the future direction of our team.  

i doubt benning ever made even 1 trade

in complete secrecy from the rest of management

i'd expect there is a consultation process in place

that has always been followed in relation to trades

i see no reason why that would change now

 

it would be pretty damn funny though

if benning did pull off a trade no one knew about

and surprised linden in the morning when it was announced in the papers

 

"yeah trev i thought our tending needed shoring up and i moved gud and gaunce to florida for luongo"

[alfstonker]

1 hour ago, Boudrias said:

Alfy your getting radical in your old age! TL & JB are half way thru their 4th year in Vancouver. I have always given Gillis a lot of credit for buying a AHL franchise. By that same token I will give Linden and Benning full credit for the shakeup they did in management, especially the scouting department. I have little doubt that move was made jointly by these two. IMHO Benning gets a lot of credit for talent scouting, which he should, but no man can cover the gamut of all those prospects. They have obviously put people in place who are producing. 

 

Do we resign the Twins? I have reservations tempered only by concern about which vets are on the roster next year. Is it Vanek and Gagner or Danny and Henrik? If the Twins are not available for trade then Benning has to move Vanek for a 2nd Rounder if possible. If he loves Vancouver resign him as a UFA. Are Goldy and Boucher in Utica a better development decision than resigning the Twins? If EP or Gaudette push for a roster spot who do they displace? Many talk about vet mentoring. There is value to that but there is a limit in numbers.   

 

The uncomfortable part for resigning the Twins to me is that they take two spots and have to play together. They can still produce points like a 2nd line top 6 but one has to ask how important is that on a rebuilding team? To me the most important aspect of play over the next 3 years is TOI and who gets it. It is not about making playoffs or trying to structure a roster around making playoffs. Ownership might have other priorities and one has to understand that. In all likelihood Benning and the Twins are resigned and Vanek and Gudbranson traded. Tanev should be traded to bring back a 1st Rounder but my dreams never seem to be realized. 

But do they defend like a 2nd line top 6? I say not near it.