Jim Benning's mid-season press conference

[Dazzle]

4 minutes ago, falcon45ca said:

I thought adding Schmidt and Hamonic was a D upgrade, and knew losing Marky did weaken us in net, but Demko needs more opportunity and Marky had (finally) earned being a starter with a payraise, so something had to give. Demko showed in the playoffs what he's capable of, so I was ok with Marky moving...moving to Calgary fuxkin suxk, but oh well.

 

Letting Toffoli go tho...big mistake. Huge.

The Toffoli thing may or may not be a mistake. Short term, it looks bad. Long term? Who knows. We've seen the risks of paying long term for someone. There wasn't a guarantee that Toffoli would've produced the same amount. I'm sure that when such a situation happens, ppl will change their tune and say the signing was horrible 'as usual' because Benning did it.

[24K PureCool]

2 minutes ago, falcon45ca said:

I thought adding Schmidt and Hamonic was a D upgrade, and knew losing Marky did weaken us in net, but Demko needs more opportunity and Marky had (finally) earned being a starter with a payraise, so something had to give. Demko showed in the playoffs what he's capable of, so I was ok with Marky moving...moving to Calgary fuxkin suxk, but oh well.

 

Letting Toffoli go tho...big mistake. Huge.

I won't say Toffoli leaving is a huge mistake. The guy only have 8 points against other teams. 11 of his 19 points came against us.

Mistake none the less but barely the reason we struggled to begin the season.

[AV.]

2 minutes ago, falcon45ca said:

I thought adding Schmidt and Hamonic was a D upgrade, and knew losing Marky did weaken us in net, but Demko needs more opportunity and Marky had (finally) earned being a starter with a payraise, so something had to give. Demko showed in the playoffs what he's capable of, so I was ok with Marky moving...moving to Calgary fuxkin suxk, but oh well.

 

Letting Toffoli go tho...big mistake. Huge.

We can debate the effectiveness of each like-for-like switch/replacement (as of now, not great as we have regressed) but at the end of the day, it was horrendous asset management to simply let everybody walk.  Perhaps, there can be a case for Markstrom given Demko (we were always going to go into this season with one but not the other) but it doesn't justify letting Tanev, Stetcher, and co. go.  There was no certainty that Schmidt would have ever become available had Vegas not signed Pietrangelo (arguably, a guy we shoud have been after); in the same notion, there was a reason Calgary felt comfortable to let Hamonic leave (not that he's been horrible but he's not the top pairing shutdown guy he once was).

[falcon45ca]

I like Benning's drafting, a lot. I don't think I've ever seen the Canucks draft so well as they have under Benning.

 

 

He's made some questionable trades & signings, and some solid ones as well. That's many, if not all, GMs, so whatever, it kinda washes out.

 

The fact is tho that Benning has had time to work his plan, and this year is a huge step back. I feel like we're the Flames when we should be looking like the Avs.

 

If both Benning and Green feel secure in their jobs right now after what this season is shaping out to be, that's a problem.

 

Of course Benning isn't gonna come out to the media and say "damn, I'm on the hot seat & this $&!# needs to start going the other way or I'm krrrrrk."

 

 

We'll see. Right now there's not the same pressure management feels as fans who choose to leave the seat empty, not COVID forcing it so.

 

But things need to change, and 2 years isn't acceptable. 

[falcon45ca]

5 minutes ago, Alain Vigneault said:

We can debate the effectiveness of each like-for-like switch/replacement (as of now, not great as we have regressed) but at the end of the day, it was horrendous asset management to simply let everybody walk.  Perhaps, there can be a case for Markstrom given Demko (we were always going to go into this season with one but not the other) but it doesn't justify letting Tanev, Stetcher, and co. go.  There was no certainty that Schmidt would have ever become available had Vegas not signed Pietrangelo (arguably, a guy we shoud have been after); in the same notion, there was a reason Calgary felt comfortable to let Hamonic leave (not that he's been horrible but he's not the top pairing shutdown guy he once was).

Vancouver was once known as a goalie graveyard, I've noticed it's been trending toward a Dman graveyard.

 

Several highly touted D have come thru Vancouver and wilted it seems

[spur1]

4 minutes ago, falcon45ca said:

I like Benning's drafting, a lot. I don't think I've ever seen the Canucks draft so well as they have under Benning.

 

 

He's made some questionable trades & signings, and some solid ones as well. That's many, if not all, GMs, so whatever, it kinda washes out.

 

The fact is tho that Benning has had time to work his plan, and this year is a huge step back. I feel like we're the Flames when we should be looking like the Avs.

 

If both Benning and Green feel secure in their jobs right now after what this season is shaping out to be, that's a problem.

 

Of course Benning isn't gonna come out to the media and say "damn, I'm on the hot seat & this $&!# needs to start going the other way or I'm krrrrrk."

 

 

We'll see. Right now there's not the same pressure management feels as fans who choose to leave the seat empty, not COVID forcing it so.

 

But things need to change, and 2 years isn't acceptable. 

Isn’t acceptable to who?

[AV.]

8 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

The Toffoli thing may or may not be a mistake. Short term, it looks bad. Long term? Who knows. We've seen the risks of paying long term for someone. There wasn't a guarantee that Toffoli would've produced the same amount. I'm sure that when such a situation happens, ppl will change their tune and say the signing was horrible 'as usual' because Benning did it.

Oddly enough, I don't believe anybody would have been on Benning for re-signing Toffoli.  From the get-go of being brought in, Toffoli fit like a glove playing alongside Horvat, genuinely enjoyed playing here, and importantly, wanted to stay beyond his contract.  Where now we look at the trade as a pure rental and an irresponsible use of a 2nd/Madden, re-signing Toffoli would have really maximized the value of that trade.

[spur1]

1 minute ago, Alain Vigneault said:

Oddly enough, I don't believe anybody would have been on Benning for re-signing Toffoli.  From the get-go of being brought in, Toffoli fit like a glove playing alongside Horvat, genuinely enjoyed playing here, and importantly, wanted to stay beyond his contract.  Where now we look at the trade as a pure rental and an irresponsible use of a 2nd/Madden, re-signing Toffoli would have really maximized the value of that trade.

True... but pandemics and Luongo’s contract recapture are things that happen all the time to all teams. You know what they say....sheet happens. 

[falcon45ca]

3 minutes ago, spur1 said:

Isn’t acceptable to who?

To anyone who was excited by the Canucks last season, and watched them play some exciting hockey and were 1 win away from the Western Conference Final?

 

What exactly does Benning think the team needs that is 2 years away, and not here right now? This team has pieces right now that should make it a playoff team, not 4 games below .500

 

I don't expect the team to be a Cup contender right now, but c'mon 11-15-2? Playing in arguably one of the weakest divisions? No way that should be acceptable to fans who watched this team last season.

 

 

Seasons not over yet, and 2 in a row against the Leafs is awesome. Keep it up...or I'll be....disappointed! 

[WeneedLumme]

Sure a lot of people here who want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Personally I am loving the stream of Calder finalists and other extremely promising young players Benning is accumulating.

 

In a cap-strapped world there is nothing more valuable than premium quality young players on cheap contracts. 

 

Right now we have Petey, Huggy, Hogs and Demko taking the combined cap hit of one fairly good player. How many GMs are doing better than that with several million cap dollars this year?

 

Podz will probably be the next one to produce a ridiculous amount of value for his cap hit. If the Benning haters have their way he might be the last.

[Rabbit]

I believe Benning has a plan behind, but we don't know at this stage.

After this season, lot of caps off the book, we will see what it is.

 

For Goalie decision, this is not a mistake,  Demko definitely will be our first Goalie starting this year.  Compared with Marky, Demko is cheaper, younger, and longer to go.

For Tofu, I don't agree to let him go. However, the cap is the main issue.

[AV.]

13 minutes ago, spur1 said:

True... but pandemics and Luongo’s contract recapture are things that happen all the time to all teams. You know what they say....sheet happens. 

I wasn't aware Vancouver was the only team operating under such circumstances.

 

Thank you for also clarifying that the 3M out of 81M that is owed to Luongo is a bigger detriment to the team than the 12M owed to Baertschi, Eriksson, and Ferland to not be playing NHL hockey.

[falcon45ca]

1 minute ago, WeneedLumme said:

Sure a lot of people here who want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Personally I am loving the stream of Calder finalists and other extremely promising young players Benning is accumulating.

 

In a cap-strapped world there is nothing more valuable than premium quality young players on cheap contracts. 

 

Right now we have Petey, Huggy, Hogs and Demko taking the combined cap hit of one fairly good player. How many GMs are doing better than that with several million cap dollars this year?

 

Podz will probably be the next one to produce a ridiculous amount of value for his cap hit. If the Benning haters have their way he might be the last.

Premium quality players on cheap contracts are amazing, and that's why you want to win and have success with them while they're cheap...cuz they will get raises, and if there isn't some solid motivation to stay, like winning! they may move to greener pastures.

 

I'm not advocating firing Benning or Green this instant, or burning the team down, but c'mon! Canucks are sitting 22nd in the league, and have 9, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 games in hand on every single team below them. Our win % right has us finishing 25th. How can fans really accept that this is ok? Especially when we saw them last season & the playoffs?

[falcon45ca]

3 minutes ago, Alain Vigneault said:

I wasn't aware Vancouver was the only team operating under such circumstances.

 

Thank you for also clarifying that the 3M out of 81M that is owed to Luongo is a bigger detriment to the team than the 12M owed to Baertschi, Eriksson, and Ferland to not be playing NHL hockey.

Truth. Luongo actually earned that money wearing a Canucks sweater, those other 3 haven't done squat for the Canucks.

 

 

 

Well, maybe Eriksson has given squat, but that's it!

[24K PureCool]

1 hour ago, falcon45ca said:

Truth. Luongo actually earned that money wearing a Canucks sweater, those other 3 haven't done squat for the Canucks.

 

 

 

Well, maybe Eriksson has given squat, but that's it!

Ferland is on LTIR so that is a wash. 

Baertschi was performing fine for that contract before he got concussed by that dirty hit. It is not like JB gave him that contract knowing that injury will derail his career. To me everyone complaining about Bear's contract is a low knowledge fan when it come to this team or are suffering from amnesia. 

[24K PureCool]

1 hour ago, falcon45ca said:

To anyone who was excited by the Canucks last season, and watched them play some exciting hockey and were 1 win away from the Western Conference Final?

 

What exactly does Benning think the team needs that is 2 years away, and not here right now? This team has pieces right now that should make it a playoff team, not 4 games below .500

 

I don't expect the team to be a Cup contender right now, but c'mon 11-15-2? Playing in arguably one of the weakest divisions? No way that should be acceptable to fans who watched this team last season.

 

 

Seasons not over yet, and 2 in a row against the Leafs is awesome. Keep it up...or I'll be....disappointed! 

Cause those pieces performed like $&!# to start the season. Hughes is still there for the worst plus minus in the league. Petey was a shadow of himself even to now. Miller decided to throw a temper tantrum. Horvat is being his show up once in awhile self. Only Boeser and Hogz was performing throughout like a contender. Demko just got back into the grove and adapted to being a number 1.

 

So yeah those pieces need the 2 year development. Remeber Avs went through a cratering as well and they got Markar from it. We need our Markar and this is lining up for us to grab one of those this draft should we miss the playoffs. So we are in a win win situation. Who knows, with how the team is playing now, we might be right back at it next season with Podz and our shinning new D men coming in next year. 

[NickTheGreek]

For the life of my I can't understand how any of you still support the bozo that is Benning

 

Who gives a crap about Calder trophy finalists if you're icing one of the worst teams in the league 7 years later

 

Come on people

[24K PureCool]

3 minutes ago, NickTheGreek said:

For the life of my I can't understand how any of you still support the bozo that is Benning

 

Who gives a crap about Calder trophy finalists if you're icing one of the worst teams in the league 7 years later

 

Come on people

Cause whomever comes in after will take 2 years to get the team to contender status anyways and you run the risk of the new guy blowing everything up and delay the timeline further. 

Point is, have patience with or without JB. We might need a new set of eyes but being impatient is not the reason to let him go. Thinking he sucks at contract negotiations and pro scouting to get the team there in 2 years are reasons to replace him. 

[canuckleheads fan]

On 3/5/2021 at 10:40 AM, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

I don't love that they aren't being more proactive right now to make deals. I know its hard to fine a suitor, but to "wait closer to the deadline" has always been JB's mantra and hasn't worked out very well at times. 

 

Not sure what I was really expecting from his comments today, but it seems like the same recycled stuff we hear all the time. 

It's good you're not GM. You don't make moves for the sake of it. The Canucks are still rebuilding, you don't have a fire sale during a rebuild. JB said they don't even know what the value of draft choices will be until the league finalizes the draft, so why trade Pearson? Without the ability to scout junior hockey the draft will be a lot of shooting in the dark, especially the later rounds when JB has gotten great value thanks to his talent assessment skills. Besides, every game this year is a four point game, so they are not yet out of it. The way they played the last two games and now with a hot goalie, a more favorable schedule with more rest and practice time, they are one good stretch from being in a playoff spot. Also, I think the past two games, especially Thursday nights game has earned Jake a little longer look. Based on the law of averages, he should score at least ten goals in the second half.  

Edited March 7, 2021 by canuckleheads fan

[Provost]

6 hours ago, canuckleheads fan said:

It's good you're not GM. You don't make moves for the sake of it. The Canucks are still rebuilding, you don't have a fire sale during a rebuild. JB said they don't even know what the value of draft choices will be until the league finalizes the draft, so why trade Pearson? Without the ability to scout junior hockey the draft will be a lot of shooting in the dark, especially the later rounds when JB has gotten great value thanks to his talent assessment skills. Besides, every game this year is a four point game, so they are not yet out of it. The way they played the last two games and now with a hot goalie, a more favorable schedule with more rest and practice time, they are one good stretch from being in a playoff spot. Also, I think the past two games, especially Thursday nights game has earned Jake a little longer look. Based on the law of averages, he should score at least ten goals in the second half.  

You absolutely have a fire sale of all your expiring veterans if you are in a rebuilding stage.  Getting draft picks is how you rebuild.

You need a constant stream of ELC players to make the cap work because you keep needing to pay players market rate really quickly.

That whole part of not knowing the value of picks is honestly nonsense.  The pick is worth more than a few games from a player in a season where they playoffs aren’t happening.  Even opening up the roster spot for a younger player currently sitting on the taxi squad is valuable on its own.  If Benn goes, maybe Rafferty gets some games in for example.

Picks are also valuable just as assets, especially during expansion.  They are what teams will look for back in trades for players they can’t protect and would lose for free.

 

There is no such thing as a law of averages working like you say.  He isn’t “due” for 10 goals.  The closest thing someone could say is if he was way below his career shooting %, maybe it is just bad bounces and maybe it corrects... but he is right around his historic career shooting %.