Report: Canucks fire assistant GM Chris Gear and analytics director Jonathan Wall

[DSVII]

They wouldn't have been my first choice for a firing. Especially before Rutherford starts since this should be in his realm. But they were part of the last regime so not a huge loss like Brackett as far as I'm concerned.

 

[DeNiro]

19 minutes ago, DSVII said:

They wouldn't have been my first choice for a firing. Especially before Rutherford starts since this should be in his realm. But they were part of the last regime so not a huge loss like Brackett as far as I'm concerned.

 

I mean if the Canucks want their next GMs to be proficient in cap management and applying analytics it kind of makes these two redundant.

 

They only had these guys in the roles they were in because Benning and Weisbrod were weak in both areas. I’m sure they wanna avoid making that mistake again. Bennings teams reflect both poor cap management and rejection of analytics.

 

The only part that sucks is that they were long time employees that are taking the fall through no fault of their own. That’s business though. There’s a budget for how much you can pay your executives. People in the media don’t understand those tough choices.

[Gawdzukes]

1 hour ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Just to add to the lack of communication narrative that's been pushed by Drance and some other clowns, let's take a look at our opponent tonight Carolina and their GM Don Waddell.  

 

Here's a list of Don Waddell interviews/news.  

https://www.wralsportsfan.com/don-waddell/18218100/

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Don Waddell has done ZERO interviews since the season has started.  Benning had at least two media appearances that I can recall this season so far.  

 

Edit: My point being that GMs aren't supposed to be doing media availabilities very often during the season.  They do a lot of correspondence in the off-season with the season recap, free agency, and the draft.  

 

The expectation that a GM should disclose their detailed game plan and future strategy so the reporters don't have to do any work and cherry pick past statements show just how pathetic, lazy, and incompetent they are at their own jobs. It's a shame media outlets don't even concern themselves with holding their columnists responsible for quality or accuracy anymore. Pretty soon these dinosaurs will be out of work. We don't really need them anymore. Just someone reporting the facts and news would be great. 

 

lol

[Gawdzukes]

27 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

I mean if the Canucks want their next GMs to be proficient in cap management and applying analytics it kind of makes these two redundant.

 

They only had these guys in the roles they were in because Benning and Weisbrod were weak in both areas. I’m sure they wanna avoid making that mistake again. Bennings teams reflect both poor cap management and rejection of analytics.

 

The only part that sucks is that they were long time employees that are taking the fall through no fault of their own. That’s business though. There’s a budget for how much you can pay your executives. People in the media don’t understand those tough choices.

I thought promoting Gear to the hockey side was dumb. I get rewarding loyalty and I'm sure Gear showed some true ability in this area but their must be actual hockey people looking for jobs better equipped for these jobs. I wasn't as against Benning as most but I thought his loyalty became a weakness of sorts in the end.

 

Sometimes jobs end and its not good when anyone gets fired but I don't really think these guys deserve much sympathy. They know the landscape and made real good money in their tenures. They also have excellent resumes and won't be struggling to find employment when they decide to return to work.

[Crabcakes]

2 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

A lot of the perception over "lack of communication" was pushed by the media.  

 

They just wanted to keep hearing from the GM or the owner on a weekly basis so that they would have soundbites and more fuel for their complaining.  

 

I think there's more to Benning's lack of communication than just with the media.  He failed to communicate with players who he lost to free agency (Tanev and Toffoli among others) and the scuttlebutt was that he and Weisbrod had isolated themselves from the rest of the management group and were making decisions on their own so there was a failure to communicate within management.  Consensus among a larger group always results in better decisions and I think there was a bushel full of questionable ones made in the last 2 years.

 

Communication is really important and when it isn't coming, the media in a demanding market like Vancouver start demanding more.  Don't get me wrong, I'm the first one to call them jackals and they are, but if the GM is too busy and doesn't have the time, he needs to have a spokesperson.  To be fair, I think especially since lower revenues in the covid era, the front office has been overly lean.  This lesson I think (hope) is not lost on Aquilini since he has hired a President this time around.

 

They have always understood this in Montreal because they have always had a top executive who is French speaking so that he can communicate with the fans directly without the need for a translator.

[butters]

55 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

The expectation that a GM should disclose their detailed game plan and future strategy so the reporters don't have to do any work and cherry pick past statements show just how pathetic, lazy, and incompetent they are at their own jobs. It's a shame media outlets don't even concern themselves with holding their columnists responsible for quality or accuracy anymore. Pretty soon these dinosaurs will be out of work. We don't really need them anymore. Just someone reporting the facts and news would be great. 

 

lol

sports journalism is marketing. They are giving the people what the people want.

[Crabcakes]

2 minutes ago, butters said:

sports journalism is marketing. They are giving the people what the people want.

Yes, it has become an exercise in self promotion.  To it's detriment imo

[butters]

1 minute ago, Crabcakes said:

Yes, it has become an exercise in self promotion.  To it's detriment imo

it used to seem more legit ya. But at the end of the day, unlike most news, the point of sports journalism is to keep you engaged with your team and buying tickets. 

[N4ZZY]

1 hour ago, DeNiro said:

I mean if the Canucks want their next GMs to be proficient in cap management and applying analytics it kind of makes these two redundant.

 

They only had these guys in the roles they were in because Benning and Weisbrod were weak in both areas. I’m sure they wanna avoid making that mistake again. Bennings teams reflect both poor cap management and rejection of analytics.

 

The only part that sucks is that they were long time employees that are taking the fall through no fault of their own. That’s business though. There’s a budget for how much you can pay your executives. People in the media don’t understand those tough choices.

Fixed it for ya.

[Goal:thecup]

On 12/11/2021 at 8:28 AM, MaxVerstappen33 said:

He is making way more money by not having to live in Vancouver. Which has one of the worst housing inflations in the world.

If he'd bought a house with his first contract, he'd have nothing to worry about as far as housing costs go.

It is a sad tale; I loved the guy.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, lmm said:

Carolina is 4th in the league, the Canucks were 4th from the bottom a week ago

What is Waddell supposed to do, come on and gloat?

the problem was Jim came on and said nothing, that is worse than not making a statement

now Aqua ia in a pissing match with those who should be ignored

What is Benning supposed to do though, come on and start throwing people under the bus?  

 

Elias is playing like sh*t. 

Boeser is looking as slow as molasses. 

Horvat is not the leader that we thought he was. 

 

etc, etc...  

 

Jim came to talk after all the pressure from the media.  He shouldn't have in my opinion, there was nothing positive or constructive to be said.  

Drance and the rest of the local clowns that were pushing for it were just acting like petulant children if you think about it. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Crabcakes said:

 

They have always understood this in Montreal because they have always had a top executive who is French speaking so that he can communicate with the fans directly without the need for a translator.

Apparently not, because Geoff Molson (the owner) went on record as saying that he made a mistake and underestimated how much burden is placed in a Canadian market on the GM to correspond to the media and all the other expectations.  He actually said that he made a mistake only having a GM in Bergevin and not having a President.  It's clear that Aqualini thought the same without explicitly saying it. 

[Crabcakes]

44 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Apparently not, because Geoff Molson (the owner) went on record as saying that he made a mistake and underestimated how much burden is placed in a Canadian market on the GM to correspond to the media and all the other expectations.  He actually said that he made a mistake only having a GM in Bergevin and not having a President.  It's clear that Aqualini thought the same without explicitly saying it. 

Ok, I looked it up.  It's an unwritten rule that the head coach of the Habs must speak French.  What I said was about the importance of communication with the fans.

 

What Molson is talking about is the burden placed upon the GM.  In future I guess he will have a President to deal with the media rather than the GM which sounds like a good idea to me.  It sounds like Aquilini is thinking along the same lines

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Crabcakes said:

Ok, I looked it up.  It's an unwritten rule that the head coach of the Habs must speak French.  What I said was about the importance of communication with the fans.

 

What Molson is talking about is the burden placed upon the GM.  In future I guess he will have a President to deal with the media rather than the GM which sounds like a good idea to me.  It sounds like Aquilini is thinking along the same lines

I have usually defended Benning more often then not but his communication skills and PR ability was 32nd in the league 

 

[Crabcakes]

39 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

I have usually defended Benning more often then not but his communication skills and PR ability was 32nd in the league 

 

Me too, I turned on him recently

[Josepho]

3 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

What is Benning supposed to do though, come on and start throwing people under the bus?  

 

Elias is playing like sh*t. 

Boeser is looking as slow as molasses. 

Horvat is not the leader that we thought he was. 

 

etc, etc...  

 

Jim came to talk after all the pressure from the media.  He shouldn't have in my opinion, there was nothing positive or constructive to be said.  

Drance and the rest of the local clowns that were pushing for it were just acting like petulant children if you think about it. 

Take accountability, express understanding of why the team is in the position that they're in, possibly learn from mistakes, not blame your team sucking on bull$&!# such as the division you're playing in. Any time there's a crises in the workplace, on a sports team, politically, etc., you need a strong voice to take charge. The man admitted that he didn't know why the team was losing; how can you possibly have someone like that leading your organization? 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Josepho said:

Take accountability, express understanding of why the team is in the position that they're in, possibly learn from mistakes, not blame your team sucking on bull$&!# such as the division you're playing in. Any time there's a crises in the workplace, on a sports team, politically, etc., you need a strong voice to take charge. The man admitted that he didn't know why the team was losing; how can you possibly have someone like that leading your organization? 

The accountability wasn't on Benning, it was on the players and the coaching staff.  

The roster hasn't changed, this is the same team that's won four in a row and six of seven now.  

 

How is he going to express this understanding without saying that Petey sucks, Boeser is invisible, Horvat has lost his hands over the summer and Poolman's a bad d-man?  

[Josepho]

8 minutes ago, VancouverHabitant said:

The accountability wasn't on Benning, it was on the players and the coaching staff.  

The roster hasn't changed, this is the same team that's won four in a row and six of seven now.  

 

How is he going to express this understanding without saying that Petey sucks, Boeser is invisible, Horvat has lost his hands over the summer and Poolman's a bad d-man?  

I don't think it's as simple as that. Having your players believe in the organization and getting the most out of them is a skill. There are so many little pieces of evidence (Horvat cold-shouldering management when asked about organizational support during the COVID outbreak, Miller talking about the weird 2020 offseason, the way Tanev was reportedly treated during contract negotiations, Hughes' comments about his brother's contract negotiations, Edler finally leaving after sticking through so many awful seasons, Schmidt wanting out after one year) that indicated that the players weren't thrilled with having Benning running the team, and that likely had an impact on their performance. 

 

I've had jobs where people have believed in the process and upper-management, and jobs where people didn't. The atmosphere is completely different.

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Josepho

[86Viking]

16 hours ago, Goal:thecup said:

If he'd bought a house with his first contract, he'd have nothing to worry about as far as housing costs go.

It is a sad tale; I loved the guy.

who?

[appleboy]

12 hours ago, VancouverHabitant said:

What is Benning supposed to do though, come on and start throwing people under the bus?  

 

Elias is playing like sh*t. 

Boeser is looking as slow as molasses. 

Horvat is not the leader that we thought he was. 

 

etc, etc...  

 

Jim came to talk after all the pressure from the media.  He shouldn't have in my opinion, there was nothing positive or constructive to be said.  

Drance and the rest of the local clowns that were pushing for it were just acting like petulant children if you think about it. 

He should have replaced his coach.