[Report] Canucks fire Jim Benning, name Stan Smyl as interim GM

[4petesake]

14 minutes ago, DS4quality said:

Ok, say Bruce Boudreau goes on the most incredible Cinderella streak, and no major moves are made before the deadline and Canucks win the cup. 

 

Total hypothetical,  but does Jim Benning get his name on the cup as the architect of this team? 

Just curious 

I guess in theory he could but it’d be highly unlikely. You are allowed a maximum of 52 names, so for example when St Louis Blues won in 2019 they had 24 players and 28 staff. Those names add up surprisingly fast once you get down to scouts, media director, strength and conditioning coach…you get the drift. The team would have to petition the league to add his name so it is vaguely possible.

[48MPHSlapShot]

22 minutes ago, DS4quality said:

Ok, say Bruce Boudreau goes on the most incredible Cinderella streak, and no major moves are made before the deadline and Canucks win the cup. 

 

Total hypothetical,  but does Jim Benning get his name on the cup as the architect of this team? 

Just curious 

He certainly doesn't get his name on the cup, but if the core he constructed goes on to greater things under new management it should certainly help repair his image to a point. He made way too many mistakes in his tenure here, but his legacy is far from set yet.

[beni]

8 hours ago, johngould21 said:

He forgot about Daniel while mentioning names he's working with. Stan has always been a Canuck and public speaking isn't his forte.

He didn't forget, he Said a few names and then he said "others".

 

Shortly after for something else he mentioned Daniel as one of the first names. 

 

He wasn't forgotten 

 

 

[Bathgate]

On 12/5/2021 at 10:56 PM, N4ZZY said:

the new management group is a collaboration of voices. I think Smyll is the interim GM. Johnson the interim AGM. Do you think those guys go back to their posts or will their promotion be permanent?

 

Would Stan make a good poho? His reactions of wanting to restore previous culture a real positive.

[Captain Canuck #12]

2 minutes ago, Bathgate said:

Would Stan make a good poho? His reactions of wanting to restore previous culture a real positive.

I was thinking the same thing myself.....

[King Heffy]

2 minutes ago, Bathgate said:

Would Stan make a good poho? His reactions of wanting to restore previous culture a real positive.

I don't think he'd be great at communicating with the media, which is an important part of the job.

[wallstreetamigo]

29 minutes ago, Bathgate said:

Would Stan make a good poho? His reactions of wanting to restore previous culture a real positive.

I don’t think he would tbh. A good senior advisor working with both the PoHO and the GM for sure. But the team needs someone in that role who can communicate the team vision and plan to fans, the media, and stakeholders. He isn’t Benning level atrocious at that but he isn’t very good at it either. Plus he has simply been here too long to be totally objective in assessing the direction the team needs to go. I think it needs to be an experienced hockey guy but one that can bring a totally fresh pair of eyes to the job.

[Me_]

2 hours ago, CanadianRugby said:

25th

8th

28th

29th

26th

23rd

17th

24th

 

That was the worst streak in team history. 

 

R

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U

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L

D

[N4ZZY]

53 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

I don't think he'd be great at communicating with the media, which is an important part of the job.

Well, couldn’t be worse than Benning. Low bar, I know. 

 

I think the Aquilini’s have to bring in 1. President of Hockey Ops to be a bridge between Francesco and the rest of the Aquilini family, and the GM. And of course, they need to hire a new GM. I like Chris MacFarlane from Colorado. I wonder if his name is being floated, or whether he’d be interested in the job here. 

 

[N4ZZY]

5 minutes ago, Me_ said:

R

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I don’t think it’s going to be full rebuild, though. 

 

I think we got some really good core pieces right now. Personally, I think the team is a couple of tweaks away from being a playoff contender. I didn’t say a championship contender, only because we need to get into the playoffs several years in a row, before making the move to Cup Contending team. Obviously that’s far away from now. But I mean, we could use Miller to get some pieces we need back, assuming that Podkolzin, and Boeser, particularly Brock, gets back to form. Might be too much to be asking Podkolzin to be filling in the shoes of Miller offensively, since he’s a rookie. But I think he can contribute enough to fill in collectively with others in the line up, for the possible departure of Miller. 

 

He would net us the most in return, personally. And I say that because I think the team’s gotta keep Bo. It’s hard finding centers, and we developed him here, and he’s a great #2. 

[N4ZZY]

29 minutes ago, wallstreetamigo said:

I don’t think he would tbh. A good senior advisor working with both the PoHO and the GM for sure. But the team needs someone in that role who can communicate the team vision and plan to fans, the media, and stakeholders. He isn’t Benning level atrocious at that but he isn’t very good at it either. Plus he has simply been here too long to be totally objective in assessing the direction the team needs to go. I think it needs to be an experienced hockey guy but one that can bring a totally fresh pair of eyes to the job.

I think your right on that assessment. I like Smyl. He’s a good man, and has been loyal to the Canuck organization for such a long time. He bleeds blue and green. 

 

I’m not sure if he’d be interested in that role either. So, might be a moot point. 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by N4ZZY

[filthycanuck]

3 hours ago, unknown33429 said:

Probably not the best time to bring this up but let's give some credit where credit is due.

 

Calder trophy finalist

Calder trophy winner

Calder trophy finalist

 

That was a pretty good streak. 

 

2 X Art Ross winner

Hart trophy winner

Selke winner

Ted Lindsay winner

Jennings winner

Presidents trophy

Stanley Cup Final

Presidents trophy

 

All that Calder crap is garbage compared to what the other guy did in the same span

[48MPHSlapShot]

5 minutes ago, filthycanuck said:

2 X Art Ross winner

Hart trophy winner

Selke winner

Ted Lindsay winner

Jennings winner

Presidents trophy

Stanley Cup Final

Presidents trophy

 

All that Calder crap is garbage compared to what the other guy did in the same span

One could argue that Nonis and especially Burke are responsible for a lot of that.

[khay]

2 hours ago, CanadianRugby said:

25th

8th

28th

29th

26th

23rd

17th

24th

 

That was the worst streak in team history. 

 

25th in 2014 wasn't Benning. It was still Mike Gillis.

 

For what it's worth, he did retool the team and made the playoffs in 2015. First round exit but he did what he said he would. Acquiring good analytics player like Bonino was smart. Sbisa wasn't great but filled a bottom 6 role better than anyone else that we had in the depth chart at the time, that's how bad our defence was. Vrbata was signed and he produced. Horvat was brought on to the team. We still had good role players like  Richardson, Hansen, Higgins, and Burr and they made sure Horvat didn't get thrown to the wolves.

 

When we were one of the worst teams in 2016, that's when they should have decided on a rebuild. I don't think we had many assets to sell anyways but it could have at least saved us from signing Player Name. And that would have made a huge difference in 2020 off season, where we could have kept Tanev and Toffoli. Coming off a good playoff run, if the right moves were made in 2020, I think our 2021 season would have been better.

 

As I look back to JB's tenure as the GM of the Canucks, I think signing Player Name was the worst mistake followed by re-signing Travis Green after finishing dead last in the CDN division in 2020-21 season. 

 

[khay]

10 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

One could argue that Nonis and especially Burke are responsible for a lot of that.

The hope is that what JB did is like what Burke and Nonis did. 

 

The next guy's job is similar to what Gillis had to do, but hopefully the next guy will do a much better job at drafting.

 

[filthycanuck]

9 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

One could argue that Nonis and especially Burke are responsible for a lot of that.

Lol how so? Just because they brought them here? Gillis played a big part in their development as well as the team with nutritionists, sleep doctors ,etc, not to mention surrounded the same players with key cogs to their success like Erhoff, Higgins Lapierre and so on.

 

If going by the arguement of you or "one" I guess the whole Burke era was a total sham then considering the Burke Nonis era, the West Coast express, was built on Quinn and Keenan's shoulders. Quinn got Naslund, and Keenan got Bertuzzi. Guess Keenan isn't such a bad guy after all

[48MPHSlapShot]

1 minute ago, filthycanuck said:

Lol how so? Just because they brought them here? Gillis played a big part in their development as well as the team with nutritionists, sleep doctors ,etc, not to mention surrounded the same players with key cogs to their success like Erhoff, Higgins Lapierre and so on.

 

If going by the arguement of you or "one" I guess the whole Burke era was a total sham then considering the Burke Nonis era, the West Coast express, was built on Quinn and Keenan's shoulders. Quinn got Naslund, and Keenan got Bertuzzi. Guess Keenan isn't such a bad guy after all

Lol. You don't have to get mad. Jesus 

 

But yes, a lot of what made the Gillis era so good was inherited, just as what made Burke's era good was inherited. Kudos to Gillis for doing what he could to maximize the potential of those players, but the foundation to build on had already been set. This isn't opinion, it's just a matter of fact.

 

Gillis did what he had to to get the Canucks to the promise land and fell just short, but it was a hell of a ride nonetheless. Unfortunately, he basically left scorched earth in his wake outside of a couple of players. 

[filthycanuck]

2 hours ago, Smashian Kassian said:

 

I do aswell. Seemed like a really good hearted person that cared & worked hard. Not smug at all (like Gillis), if anything honest to a fault - which I came to appreciate.

 

I was not a fan of his through the first 3-4 years, I thought the direction they went was completely wrong & they wasted time + assets in the process. But after Linden left I thought he started to make some better moves as the inevitable rebuild was forced upon them. 

 

The last couple of years he improved yet got a somewhat unfair wrap. His drafting had really come through, he scored some great RFA deals, made better trades overall (Miller/Pearson), and the big ARZ move (which showed needed belief in the core) turned out to be one of his best, despite the team record.

 

That said I felt he wasn't the guy to take this team to the next level. I hope one day this core will reach Stanley Cup heights & he'll be looked at as Nonis/Burke were during the Gillis years.

 

Benning did some great things here without a doubt. Drafting prospects? No one is going to touch him in that dept, probably the best we've had. He's batting about .500 maybe even touch above, and most people will take that. Its the crappy signings during UFA season, mismanagement of assets, not only players but coaches as well.

 

Hansen was on the 650 last week and brought up a very interesting take. Hansen mentioned that after the flames series, he was actually quite optimistic about the next season but then Doug Jarvis was brought in as an assistant coach and screwed everything up, with Jannik saying "his coaching really got in out heads, we began second guessing" FYI hes still employed in the organization as a consultant. Its little things like that can mess up a team. Even went on to mention that Manny Malhotra being let go might have been a bigger loss than expected as people, gravitate towards him, when he talks, people listen. Just a great communicator in general, but has an aura that players just buy in to what hes selling. Seems to me that Benning is really just cut out to be a scout rather than running a whole franchise

[73 Percent]

1 hour ago, filthycanuck said:

Benning did some great things here without a doubt. Drafting prospects? No one is going to touch him in that dept, probably the best we've had. He's batting about .500 maybe even touch above, and most people will take that. Its the crappy signings during UFA season, mismanagement of assets, not only players but coaches as well.

 

Hansen was on the 650 last week and brought up a very interesting take. Hansen mentioned that after the flames series, he was actually quite optimistic about the next season but then Doug Jarvis was brought in as an assistant coach and screwed everything up, with Jannik saying "his coaching really got in out heads, we began second guessing" FYI hes still employed in the organization as a consultant. Its little things like that can mess up a team. Even went on to mention that Manny Malhotra being let go might have been a bigger loss than expected as people, gravitate towards him, when he talks, people listen. Just a great communicator in general, but has an aura that players just buy in to what hes selling. Seems to me that Benning is really just cut out to be a scout rather than running a whole franchise

I agree with a lot of what you said. However we don't know the details on Malhotra. He certainly wasn't "let go" (a term which implies he was fired). He was born in Mississauga. He has a home and family there. He could have left for more money. Bigger role. Better team. 

 

I hated to see him go but there's a lot more evidence of Manny wanting to go than Benning kicking him out the door.

[wallstreetamigo]

5 hours ago, filthycanuck said:

Benning did some great things here without a doubt. Drafting prospects? No one is going to touch him in that dept, probably the best we've had. He's batting about .500 maybe even touch above, and most people will take that. Its the crappy signings during UFA season, mismanagement of assets, not only players but coaches as well.

 

Hansen was on the 650 last week and brought up a very interesting take. Hansen mentioned that after the flames series, he was actually quite optimistic about the next season but then Doug Jarvis was brought in as an assistant coach and screwed everything up, with Jannik saying "his coaching really got in out heads, we began second guessing" FYI hes still employed in the organization as a consultant. Its little things like that can mess up a team. Even went on to mention that Manny Malhotra being let go might have been a bigger loss than expected as people, gravitate towards him, when he talks, people listen. Just a great communicator in general, but has an aura that players just buy in to what hes selling. Seems to me that Benning is really just cut out to be a scout rather than running a whole franchise

The best drafting GM in Canucks history is Jake Milford. And it’s unlikely his status as such will ever be touched.

 

Loved Hansen as a player but the Jarvis thing sounds like just another in a long line of excuse making to shift blame off that core group for being unable to recover from losing to the Hawks and Bruins so much in the playoffs.

Edited December 7, 2021 by wallstreetamigo