Has Benning Singlehandedly turned Calgary into a Cup Contender?

[Hairy Kneel]

With Seattle looming we were going to lose Marky anyway. He was going to be a CAP issue especially when we need resign our young stars. 

And Petie and Hughes are being targeted and this is slowing them down. 

I think JB knew this year could possibly hurt, ie. until we can cull some bad contracts.

And wow, former Nucks are playing lights out against us right now. 

The only benefit right now is the development of our young D. Chatfield was doing very well and got hurt? Ouch. Hamonic's legs were stuck somewhere between September and January. With our D suffering I would play 7 Dmen and rotate fresh legs out there.

Schmits giveaways and Myers penalties don't help much either. Although the Armia penalty was pure frustration.

We need Edler back badly.

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Hairy Kneel

[DeltaSwede]

2 hours ago, iinatcc said:

Benning is good at scouting that is his strength but it's obvious his off season moves (either via trade or Free Agent signings) have been horrible.

Even so his track record in later rounds have spotty at best. 

 

I think after this season it's time to move on from Benning. The core is fine but I don't think he's the right GM to build a core around with. 

 

I would even argue that once Steve Yzerman was available maybe Aquilini should have hired him as president. Or made Steve Yzerman GM and promoted Benning to president.

 

Yzerman could get sign FA and re-sign players in great deals instead of throwing crazy money on Free Agents like what Benning does.

 

A spotty track record for later rounds (in the draft i presume you're saying) is actually really good. Benning and co. draft record in later rounds is above average at least and that's being modest. Thought that was a pretty funny way of putting it. Spotty drafting in later rounds. You're happy you get someone who sniffs NHL game time from the 3rd round and on. 

 

Steve Yzerman? Seriously? The guy gave up the best possible GM position in the league to go back "home" to Detroit and you think that any team, let alone Vancouver, could entice him to their team? Seriously? He voluntarily left the best position for the worst position in the league. He built a Stanley Cup winner and didn't even stick around to watch his work come into fruition.. But yea, Aqua man, why weren't you in Stevies ear? 

 

The only good thing about the Canucks being in a slump is the entertainment value it provides by us fans and your post really amused me. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by DeltaSwede

[Smashian Kassian]

3 hours ago, kanucks25 said:

Just unfortunate that two of our best players went to a division rival, hard to blame him for that. If one went to Florida and one with to Columbus it wouldn't have been a big deal, just worked out weird.

 

Now, having to let go of two of our best players when we're supposed to be on the upward trajectory, that's definitely something that falls squarely on Benning and his lack of astute cap/asset management.

 

First of all: not squarely. I'm under the impression that Aquallini getting wrecked by covid is a big part of the offseason movements. 

 

Now in the past, Benning is definitely to blame. That can't be escaped. But I do think he had a plan to try & hold onto some of the pieces that made us so good last year & it just wasn't possible.

[Ghostsof1915]

The level of panic on this board is too damn high. 

People are upset I can understand.

But people are talking blow the team up, trade Petey???

 

Get a grip. 

 

[-AJ-]

28 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

The level of panic on this board is too damn high. 

People are upset I can understand.

But people are talking blow the team up, trade Petey???

 

Get a grip. 

 

Feels like fans who've been a fan for only a few years and haven't faced tough times before. As I'm approaching 20 years as a fan, I think I've learned to be patient and not to panic too much over short term results.

 

Crazy thing is, a lot of the panicking fans are also long-time fans. I guess some people don't learn.

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

A year from now you'd be bitching about asset management with either Demko or Markstrom going to Seattle...

[iinatcc]

38 minutes ago, Drive-By Body Pierce said:

A year from now you'd be bitching about asset management with either Demko or Markstrom going to Seattle...

If Vancouver kept Markstrom and is having .935 SV % he's having with Calgary no one would be complaining. 

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, Smashian Kassian said:

 

First of all: not squarely. I'm under the impression that Aquallini getting wrecked by covid is a big part of the offseason movements. 

 

Now in the past, Benning is definitely to blame. That can't be escaped. But I do think he had a plan to try & hold onto some of the pieces that made us so good last year & it just wasn't possible.

Don't buy it. Vancouver has used up the cap so money isn't the problem. It's plain old Cap management. If Vancouver had the cap room I think management would sign Toffoli and Markstrom on the deals they got from Montreal and Calgary respectively? 

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, DeltaSwede said:

 

A spotty track record for later rounds (in the draft i presume you're saying) is actually really good. Benning and co. draft record in later rounds is above average at least and that's being modest. Thought that was a pretty funny way of putting it. Spotty drafting in later rounds. You're happy you get someone who sniffs NHL game time from the 3rd round and on. 

 

Steve Yzerman? Seriously? The guy gave up the best possible GM position in the league to go back "home" to Detroit and you think that any team, let alone Vancouver, could entice him to their team? Seriously? He voluntarily left the best position for the worst position in the league. He built a Stanley Cup winner and didn't even stick around to watch his work come into fruition.. But yea, Aqua man, why weren't you in Stevies ear? 

 

The only good thing about the Canucks being in a slump is the entertainment value it provides by us fans and your post really amused me. 

Yes the later rounds. The only one from the that panned out are Demko and Gaudette it's still to be determined what kind of players they will end up as.

 

As for Yzerman it was a thought but if Vancouver had someone in management that can sign players to team friendly deals like Yzerman. I mean look at Hedman's and Point's contracts. Another team would have to add 2 to 4 million a year just to re-sign them. Canucks could use someone like him working with Benning and the Aqualinis

Edited January 22, 2021 by iinatcc

[Deets]

4 hours ago, iinatcc said:

Benning is good at scouting that is his strength but it's obvious his off season moves (either via trade or Free Agent signings) have been horrible.

Even so his track record in later rounds have spotty at best. 

 

I think after this season it's time to move on from Benning. The core is fine but I don't think he's the right GM to build a core around with. 

 

I would even argue that once Steve Yzerman was available maybe Aquilini should have hired him as president. Or made Steve Yzerman GM and promoted Benning to president.

 

Yzerman could get sign FA and re-sign players in great deals instead of throwing crazy money on Free Agents like what Benning does.

Yah, do you wanna know how Stevey Y did that? He was in Florida where you don't pay any income tax. That's an extra 20% compared to what they would pay if they lived in BC. If we could sign all of our free agents for 20% less, Benning would look like a genius.

 

[Deets]

Things are not looking good for the Canucks, but I think things will still turn around for us. Our best players playing poorly had been the real issue so far. It might be time to look at coaching.

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Deets

[KoreanHockeyFan]

CDC always reminds me why the media point out the Canucks fanbase for being the one that's constantly angry and upset compared to others in the league.  

[timberz21]

Give it some times....Tanev will get injured just in time for the playoffs and things will unraveled from there for them.  Benning's plan all along.  Let them get the higher seed and we'll upset them as the underdog in the playoffs.

[canucklehead44]

Eriksson 6
Rousssel 3
Beagle 3 
Myers 6
Baer 3.3
Gagner/Spooner Buyout 1.1
Benn 2 

That is 24.4 million on players who either are not playing or are providing no net utility over a replacement level player. Then you can also loop in Sutter & Holtby who have some utility but are 2-3x overpaid. I guess you can throw Myers into that 2-3x overpaid column as well. 

For 1.7 million in cap we went from a top 10 starter in the NHL to a bottom 3 starter. For 1.25 million in cap we lost a very good top 6 forward in Toffoli for ... take your pick there is a bunch of garbage up front. 

Tyler Myers is basically an average offensive defenseman with no defensive utility who is basically just tall. 

GMJB actually made some really great moves this offseason with Hamonic & Schmidt but his past mistakes came back to haunt him. There is no other team in the NHL that comes even close to having as many bad contracts as the Canucks. 

[canuktravella]

20-30 games in marky will pull groin or hurt knee and tanev will break a toe blocking a shot and they will be out first round like every yr flames get in

[NewbieCanuckFan]

2 hours ago, -AJ- said:

Feels like fans who've been a fan for only a few years and haven't faced tough times before. As I'm approaching 20 years as a fan, I think I've learned to be patient and not to panic too much over short term results.

 

Crazy thing is, a lot of the panicking fans are also long-time fans. I guess some people don't learn.

Most/all of those first 30 or so years we didn’t have ownership that could or would spend money.  Much of it before the cap.  That obviously doesn’t guarantee success (else Sather would’ve won a ton of Cups in New York) but it is a disadvantage/obstacle for a GM.

 

 

But yeah, it’s way too early to panic.  Much like if we had won six games in a row right off the bat  (for the opposite reaction).

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by NewbieCanuckFan

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, Deets said:

Yah, do you wanna know how Stevey Y did that? He was in Florida where you don't pay any income tax. That's an extra 20% compared to what they would pay if they lived in BC. If we could sign all of our free agents for 20% less, Benning would look like a genius.

 

I mean Tax is one factor but that doesn't tell the whole story. Otherwise the Panthers could have signed Bobrovsky for less

[kanucks25]

4 hours ago, Smashian Kassian said:

First of all: not squarely. I'm under the impression that Aquallini getting wrecked by covid is a big part of the offseason movements. 

Well you can have that impression all you want but there's no basis for it.

 

We're operating capped out, same as we have been for most of Benning's tenure. 

 

You can say a lot of things about the Aquilinis but not giving their GM the resources is not one of them.

[Nucker 67]

I have been a big fan of Benning since he joined the Canucks in 2014. He has made some questionable moves, but he also made some good ones. The Canucks are suffering this year, because they lost their #1 goaltender and dependable Dman. They didn't have to, but Benning made a decision that Demko is the goalie of the future. Bad move IMO. Been thinking about other bad moves that led to this point. There's a huge list of mediocre moves, which I won't list, but a few stand out: Spooner, Eriksson, Kassian for Prust, Virtanen at #6, Juolevi at #5, and now losing the team's MVP and Tanev. Forget about Stecher, I actually think he's better than Schmidt, from what I've seen so far. Maybe Stecher isn't as jolly, but he works his butt off for his team. Benning made such a huge deal about Kole Lind at the 2018 Draft, but for a high 2nd rounder, what is his ceiling? 3rd liner? Now we see Toffoli shredding the Canucks. The new Canucks killer. 

 

2015 - #6 Virtanen (miss)

2016 - #23 Boeser (hit)

2017 - #5 Juolevi (miss)

2018 - #5 Pettersson (hit)

2019 - #7 Hughes (hit)

2020 - #10 Podkolzin (tbd)

 

Benning has been somewhat fortunate during his tenure that the Canucks have had quite a few high picks over the years. It would've been difficult to really mess those picks up, but I think he did in 2015 and 2017. He also got lucky with Hughes, thanks to ARI taking Hayton and DET taking Zadina. 

 

I think his time is coming to an end here. Taking this big a step back after that playoff run. Disappointing start for sure.  

[NewbieCanuckFan]

14 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

I have been a big fan of Benning since he joined the Canucks in 2014. He has made some questionable moves, but he also made some good ones. The Canucks are suffering this year, because they lost their #1 goaltender and dependable Dman. They didn't have to, but Benning made a decision that Demko is the goalie of the future. Bad move IMO. Been thinking about other bad moves that led to this point. There's a huge list of mediocre moves, which I won't list, but a few stand out: Spooner, Eriksson, Kassian for Prust, Virtanen at #6, Juolevi at #5, and now losing the team's MVP and Tanev. Forget about Stecher, I actually think he's better than Schmidt, from what I've seen so far. Maybe Stecher isn't as jolly, but he works his butt off for his team. Benning made such a huge deal about Kole Lind at the 2018 Draft, but for a high 2nd rounder, what is his ceiling? 3rd liner? Now we see Toffoli shredding the Canucks. The new Canucks killer. 

 

2015 - #6 Virtanen (miss)

2016 - #23 Boeser (hit)

2017 - #5 Juolevi (miss)

2018 - #5 Pettersson (hit)

2019 - #7 Hughes (hit)

2020 - #10 Podkolzin (tbd)

 

Benning has been somewhat fortunate during his tenure that the Canucks have had quite a few high picks over the years. It would've been difficult to really mess those picks up, but I think he did in 2015 and 2017. He also got lucky with Hughes, thanks to ARI taking Hayton and DET taking Zadina. 

 

I think his time is coming to an end here. Taking this big a step back after that playoff run. Disappointing start for sure.  

Missing:

 

2015 - #24 McCann (marginal hit; but still a NHLer)  Granted we dealt him (along with a very high 2nd round pick) for blech.  blech was mitigated by dumping that pylon for Pearson.  Though we sure could use a C who can handle the defensive roles (upgrade over Gaudette).

Edited January 22, 2021 by NewbieCanuckFan