Do Canuck fans think Benning is a great GM?

[bree2]

1 hour ago, VegasCanuck said:

He's been a solid GM for Vancouver.

 

He created an issue for himself in signing Eriksson to this much term, but he also got handed a lot of issues that he's worked his way through.

 

Have been happy with him. Every GM out there has a trade or signing or two that they would like to have  a redo on, but its how the league works.

that is on Eriksson not Benning. 

[Kevin Biestra]

12 minutes ago, bree2 said:

that is on Eriksson not Benning. 

 

Why is Benning free of responsibility for the signing and its results?

[Phil_314]

Solid so far.  As long as he doesn't have anymore acronyms tied to his name (e.g. "OEL" or "NMC/ NTC for bottom 6" as assets acquired) I think his approval could only improve.
Agreed, his drafting and re-signing is pretty top notch.

[NickTheGreek]

He's absolutely awful. I cannot understand how any of you don't see this

 

His trades overall have been mediocre. "But but Miller!" OK, that obviously worked out, but I mean we still lost a 1st rounder. It's not like we fleeced Tampa. In fact, some would argue Tampa won that trade considering they shipped off a guy that wasn't contributing

 

His signings have been TERRIBLE. It's not even an argument. His signings might just be the worst in the entire league (Sutter, Beagle, Roussel, Myers, Loui, etc. etc)

 

The one and only area where you can say he's done a decent job is drafting. I'll give him Petey and I'll give him Boeser. I am not giving him Hughes as he fell into Benning's lap. I also look at the roster and see who is currently contributing at a high rate and I barely see Benning's draft picks make any kind of real difference aside from the 3 I mentioned here. I give his drafting a B overall

 

I'm sorry, but when you're mediocre at most facets of your job, you're not good at your job. Oh how I wish we had Yzerman

Edited October 2, 2020 by NickTheGreek

[buddhahoodlum]

3 hours ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Great is a strong word.  He's signed some really bad deals.  The Eriksson contract is one of the poorest in league history...didn't even get 50% value in the first year of the deal and it was downhill from there.  But Jim's done some fantastic drafting...and a bit of not great drafting.

 

I'd say a pretty good GM as of today.  What happens over the next handful of years could elevate him to great.

IMO, that's on Eriksson.

[Kevin Biestra]

2 minutes ago, buddhahoodlum said:

IMO, that's on Eriksson.

 

Whatever Eriksson's reasons for not performing, unless it's due to unpredictable injury or illness, I would consider it among the things that the GM should assess when signing players.  Be that character issues, motivational issues, advancing age, mediocre play in non contract years, etc.  That's all stuff a GM should evaluate.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Kevin Biestra

[Pears]

Not great, but nowhere near as bad as some are making him out to be. 

[timberz21]

[BoKnows]

Good not great.

 

• Solid at drafting
• Solid trading
• Miserable free agent signings...

2/3 of the big categories is solid.

[IBatch]

11 hours ago, MoneypuckOverlord said:

he's not *great*.  UFA signings such as Loui Erickksson, Michael Del Zaster, Sam Gagne at 3 million dollars per year, when infact they are worth 1/5th that, the gudbranson trade, trading a 2nd for Linden Vey, does not help with his cause, but to be fair too, Vanek for Motte, 1st rounder for MIller, Toffoli trade, Trading Gudbranson for pearson, and a good draft record in the end makes him an OK gm in my books.  upgraded from terrible to good in my books. 

The first group is nothing more then just icing an NHL team - and not stealing a bunch of fringe AHL guys from Utica or ruining our prospects development by throwing them in too early.   Yzerman is starting the same process in Detroit right now “Staal is about icing an NHL team as well as futures etc”.     When a team has zero in its pool and a country club attitude with its old core - claused up and unwilling to leave or if they are handcuffing the GM to a couple of teams - not much going to happen fast.   Look at the difference one trade made transitioning from the Linden to WCE team...Bure, Mogilny too...they got actual assets - not a 9th overall pick and Sutter.   Good grief.   Seen this explained 100 times on here but still some can’t help but think it should have been much better. 

 

If you look at it from their re-tool lens JB was screwed if he didn’t sign Miller and Vrbata.   He did.  The only glowing failure was the LE signing - and maybe getting the team back to competitiveness one year ahead of schedule cap wise - but that’s really a good thing considering the alternative is we, well still just suck right?.  Until the Luongo re-capture is done he’s still paying for the last management’s mistakes too. 
 

Does anyone truly believe he was trying to make the playoffs with Del Zotto and Gagne?  Ha ha.   No he wasn’t - the team needed to bottom out - it did - needed some blue chippers - did that too despite the lotto not being too kind to him.

 

As far as a great GM?  No.  Not yet at least.   Whatever he does the next two years will define his greatness or his perhaps averageness.   Before the playoffs started he was voted the 6th best GM by his peers - quite a few voted for him 3-3-5 I think.   Bet he’d be a finalist if the vote happened after the playoffs were done.   He’s absolutely a great drafting/ re-building GM, and in this era that’s probably the most important part of the job.   And yes he’s active in helping the staff with top three rounds each year .... so far he’s batting close to two players per draft - one is average if you have all your picks BTW.  
 

Not just that the quality of his picks are just fine, not just the 25% of the second rounders that play 200  NHL games types...you know the Vey’s/Goldobins of the world.   
 

Personally I was on the fence with JB until he made the Burrows and Hansen trades.   That’s when we made our biggest annual jump in the 21 and under catagory from 30th, to 24, all the way down to 11-12.   Even though we had a couple of wasted years with the last core it was evident he was fixing our pool a lot faster then our slide.    
 

Have to compare other teams and GMs if you want to play this game.   TG and JB were both considered top ten material this year despite a lot of fans still holding onto the past and complaining about him he’s emerging as one of the best in the league right now.   So is TG despite the constant nitpicking about where to play LE and JV ha ha...Since OJ he’s been on an upward trajectory - if he can manage a competitive team as well as he did a crappy team - absolutely we will become contenders, and for sure JB has earned the chance to see it through and manage a better team, the one he built basically all by himself with the exception of Horvat...

Edited October 2, 2020 by IBatch

[IBatch]

48 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

Good not great.

 

• Solid at drafting
• Solid trading
• Miserable free agent signings...

2/3 of the big categories is solid.

Miserable is a tad harsh.   You can’t expect a GM in a rebuild not to find placeholders, and you have to be the highest bidder in these cases as those types obviously aren’t looking for a cup - just the biggest paycheque they can get.  
 

Once the team is better free agents will take discounts.   Even last year both Myers and Benn did given their connections to BC.    Why don’t we see how it goes now that the team is on the upswing.   Myers contract is exactly the same as Hamhuis and Ballards were percentage wise... 

 

Id give him a B- overall for UFAs.   Miller, Vrbata were good signings given the mandate at the time.    LE is a miserable one for sure.   Most teams have one or two of those so not unusual.   Beagle, Roussel we’re fine - just one year too long.    And even now we don’t have enough in our pool to replace the guys we will be walking away from over the next two years - but this time the UFAs that come in won’t be just looking for a pay cheque - but a chance to be part of something special.   All the Gagne, Del Zotto’s don’t matter or count.   Could have been anyone really.  

[IBatch]

8 hours ago, NickTheGreek said:

He's absolutely awful. I cannot understand how any of you don't see this

 

His trades overall have been mediocre. "But but Miller!" OK, that obviously worked out, but I mean we still lost a 1st rounder. It's not like we fleeced Tampa. In fact, some would argue Tampa won that trade considering they shipped off a guy that wasn't contributing

 

His signings have been TERRIBLE. It's not even an argument. His signings might just be the worst in the entire league (Sutter, Beagle, Roussel, Myers, Loui, etc. etc)

 

The one and only area where you can say he's done a decent job is drafting. I'll give him Petey and I'll give him Boeser. I am not giving him Hughes as he fell into Benning's lap. I also look at the roster and see who is currently contributing at a high rate and I barely see Benning's draft picks make any kind of real difference aside from the 3 I mentioned here. I give his drafting a B overall

 

I'm sorry, but when you're mediocre at most facets of your job, you're not good at your job. Oh how I wish we had Yzerman

I can’t wait to review this in 2-4 years.   Yzerman is already doing the exact same thing JB did, which is take on a bunch of muffins to ice an NHL team.  
Like JB he won’t underdevelop his prospects and play them too early.   So ...in come the Gagne, Del Zotto’s etc.   Maybe he will time it better ... or maybe he won’t.    At least he wasn’t there during Holland’s last phase which was trying to compete with an aging roster (Kronwall ha ha).    When was Larkin drafted again?  When was Horvat?  Hmmm where are the in their rebuild and where are we...about one year difference yet we are miles ahead of them.   Holland was considered the best GM for two decades.    Yzerman could become just like Babcock for all we know.   He’s not in Tampa Bay anymore.   And he’s already said he’s going to be taking on a bunch of mediocre guys to ice a team while his prospects develop.   At least he’s not handcuffed like Holland was a little.   Again let’s re-visit in 2-4 years.   They have some great prospects in Zadina and Seider to start with...plus Mantha, Larkin and Bertuzzi.   Better then Horvat, Markstrom, Sutter at the time for sure.   Be like JB losing his job and a new guy coming in right around QHs draft.   Clock is started.  Will his team play 17 playoff games in two years time?   

[IBatch]

11 hours ago, Kevin Biestra said:

Great is a strong word.  He's signed some really bad deals.  The Eriksson contract is one of the poorest in league history...didn't even get 50% value in the first year of the deal and it was downhill from there.  But Jim's done some fantastic drafting...and a bit of not great drafting.

 

I'd say a pretty good GM as of today.  What happens over the next handful of years could elevate him to great.

Think this about sums it up.   His predictions were one year off on his placeholders contracts - but that’s actually a good thing and better then the alternative - 17 playoff games definitely made up for this off seasons contract gymnastics.    What he does the next two years will define his and the cores legacy.    He’s definitely earned the right to see it through.   So far his RFA deals have been fair or even a little team friendly which is a good precedent.  
 

Covid and Luongo definitely will set us back a little and do expect a down year next season as a result - maybe even purposeful - doubt all fans will be ok with that but it’s IMO the right move.   One more lottery ticket will cement our future.   If not we will have overachieved again - which also is a win.  Playoffs rule.

LE is definitely his worst move...that said IF he was a 30/30 guy throughout none of the rest would have happened either, just like drafting MT instead of OJ, no EP, no QHs.  Accidentally on purpose or otherwise this rebuild was down extremely well and much quicker then I expected.   Detroit followed our timeline almost exactly.    Now Holland is in EDM and Yzerman is there working on completing it and full on telling it like it is - that bad contracts are coming in as they need to “ice an NHL team”.   Both were top teams and both couldn’t get much of anything from previous cores.  Maybe it would have been easier on some fans if JB said the same - instead of the “stay competitive “ mantra.    It became very obvious to me he was rebuilding the third year in, our pool was getting better faster then our slide.   
 

For all our sakes I’m hoping he’s the right guy to guide us to the next level.  Don’t know for sure.   And and hopeful he makes the tough decision to let Markstrom walk.   Or an equally bold move ... BB for Elblad.   Or not sign TT and Tanev instead sign AP. 

[Silky mitts]

12 hours ago, GarthButcher5 said:

I think Benning is great, this team is surging upwards and will be very competitive for a long time to come....Instead of emptying the pantry of prospects to get better, Benning has strengthened it and this ill make the Canucks growth sustainable.

He has also hampered the team with loads of bad contracts

[73 Percent]

12 hours ago, ItsMillerTime said:

He's solid I'd say not great but he's doing alright. 

Yeah he does some things great.

 

Drafting obviously great.

 

Other things like resigning and trades hes hit or miss.

 

I like him. Hes a good GM. Not great imo.

[VegasCanuck]

10 hours ago, bree2 said:

that is on Eriksson not Benning. 

I agree, Eriksson never really showed up after getting the big contract. At 6 mill per season,he was a reasonable gamble, but I think 4 year term would have been more reasonable, considering his age entering the contract.

[BCNate]

12 hours ago, AriGold2.0 said:

I came here to say this.. If they trade for OEL I will be highly disappointed and trust he actually has no idea what he's doing.

How on earth can you make this claim?  You have no idea what he would give up in a deal for OEL.  Let's not act like OEL doesn't instantly make a us a far better team.  He would slot in behind Hughes as the 2nd best D on our team.

[BCNate]

2 hours ago, IBatch said:

Miserable is a tad harsh.   You can’t expect a GM in a rebuild not to find placeholders, and you have to be the highest bidder in these cases as those types obviously aren’t looking for a cup - just the biggest paycheque they can get.  
 

Once the team is better free agents will take discounts.   Even last year both Myers and Benn did given their connections to BC.    Why don’t we see how it goes now that the team is on the upswing.   Myers contract is exactly the same as Hamhuis and Ballards were percentage wise... 

 

Id give him a B- overall for UFAs.   Miller, Vrbata were good signings given the mandate at the time.    LE is a miserable one for sure.   Most teams have one or two of those so not unusual.   Beagle, Roussel we’re fine - just one year too long.    And even now we don’t have enough in our pool to replace the guys we will be walking away from over the next two years - but this time the UFAs that come in won’t be just looking for a pay cheque - but a chance to be part of something special.   All the Gagne, Del Zotto’s don’t matter or count.   Could have been anyone really.  

I love how people slam the Rousel and Beagle deals.  When you rebuild, you pay a premium because you are a bad team and have to offer some incentive for people to play for you.  Honest question is, who would you have in their place?  Beagle was very good in the playoffs.  Having a guy win a ton of faceoffs, 60% of them in your own end is massive.  The reason why we have been able to bounce back quickly is that we have has solid vets to shelter our young guys.  Many on CDC would rather just ice a roster of prospects and deal everyone of our vets for mid round picks.  

 

Also, anyone notice that Benning has been near lights out as a GM since the day Linden left?  I really don't think it's a coincidence.  

[Tystick]

Yes.

No GM is perfect but he's done a great job considering he started with an aging team and a non-existent prospect pool.

[xereau]

13 hours ago, NickTheGreek said:

He's absolutely awful. I cannot understand how any of you don't see this

 

His trades overall have been mediocre. "But but Miller!" OK, that obviously worked out, but I mean we still lost a 1st rounder. It's not like we fleeced Tampa. In fact, some would argue Tampa won that trade considering they shipped off a guy that wasn't contributing

 

His signings have been TERRIBLE. It's not even an argument. His signings might just be the worst in the entire league (Sutter, Beagle, Roussel, Myers, Loui, etc. etc)

 

The one and only area where you can say he's done a decent job is drafting. I'll give him Petey and I'll give him Boeser. I am not giving him Hughes as he fell into Benning's lap. I also look at the roster and see who is currently contributing at a high rate and I barely see Benning's draft picks make any kind of real difference aside from the 3 I mentioned here. I give his drafting a B overall

 

I'm sorry, but when you're mediocre at most facets of your job, you're not good at your job. Oh how I wish we had Yzerman