[Buyout] Oliver Ekman-Larsson

[RWJC]

Scariest part for me is that Benning wanted OEL so bad that the Coyotes realized this and had the balls to ask for Demko as part of a return package. That’s how serious Benning was about him. Thankfully those talks eventually broke down and the trade wasn’t consummated until the following season, but another blunder in that was Benning being so focused on how to absorb the OEL salary that he let Markstrom and Tanev walk in Free Agency. 
 

 

[aGENT]

3 minutes ago, RWJC said:

Scariest part for me is that Benning wanted OEL so bad that the Coyotes realized this and had the balls to ask for Demko as part of a return package. That’s how serious Benning was about him. Thankfully those talks eventually broke down and the trade wasn’t consummated until the following season, but another blunder in that was Benning being so focused on how to absorb the OEL salary that he let Markstrom and Tanev walk in Free Agency. 
 

 

Markstrom was always walking to free agency. There was no getting around that with the impending ED, being in the playoff race and Demko not yet fully established. Sucks but sometimes shite happens

 

Tanev on the other hand should have been extended (or a FAR better/any plan to replace him).

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, aGENT said:

Markstrom was always walking to free agency. There was no getting around that with the impending ED, being in the playoff race and Demko not yet fully established. Sucks but sometimes shite happens

 

Tanev on the other hand should have been extended (or a FAR better/any plan to replace him).

Losing Tanev was a terrible mistake by Benning. 
But then he made it worse by trading for a guy (Schmidt) who cost more and was a serious downgrade in ability. 
And then the dumbest move was trading for OEL, who cost even more, in hopes of fixing his Tanev blunder. Benning. 

[RWJC]

4 minutes ago, aGENT said:

Markstrom was always walking to free agency. There was no getting around that with the impending ED, being in the playoff race and Demko not yet fully established. Sucks but sometimes shite happens

 

Tanev on the other hand should have been extended (or a FAR better/any plan to replace him).

Markstrom could potentially have also been dealt post season prior to UFA status for a mid round pick for negotiating rights.  He didn’t have any movement protection either.

 

He almost doubled his salary from last season in Van (3.6) to Cgy (6.0 with NMC), so he obviously had significant UFA value.

Perhaps you’re right and those factors you mention impacted obtaining any value (especially the ED) but it’s still sh!tty asset mgmt to let a top end  starting goalie in his prime just walk. 

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, RWJC said:

Markstrom could potentially have also been dealt post season prior to UFA status for a mid round pick for negotiating rights.  He didn’t have any movement protection either.

 

He almost doubled his salary from last season in Van (3.6) to Cgy (6.0 with NMC), so he obviously had significant UFA value.

Perhaps you’re right and those factors you mention impacted obtaining any value (especially the ED) but it’s still sh!tty asset mgmt to let a top end  starting goalie in his prime just walk. 

The smart move was to trade Demko after his bubble performance (huge haul there, especially with his contract status) and extend Marky. Then make sure as heck we keep Tanev and Tofu. The guys in the room knew Benning  screwed up. That’s why Miller publicly spoke up for the group and made his “shocking reset” comment. Then Bo publicly supported management, which likely (IMHAO) started the rift in the room. He was the captain, and should have supported the players. 

[DeNiro]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

The smart move was to trade Demko after his bubble performance (huge haul there, especially with his contract status) and extend Marky. Then make sure as heck we keep Tanev and Tofu. The guys in the room knew Benning  screwed up. That’s why Miller publicly spoke up for the group and made his “shocking reset” comment. Then Bo publicly supported management, which likely (IMHAO) started the rift in the room. He was the captain, and should have supported the players. 

Lol and how did Marky and Tanev do getting the Flames into the playoffs?

 

The right choice was made with Demko. Only crappy part is not getting something for Marky when we could.

 

Tanev and Toffoli would have been nice to keep but they wouldn’t have solved our problems. We only would have ended up with a slightly worse draft pick.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, DeNiro said:

Lol and how did Marky and Tanev do getting the Flames into the playoffs?

 

The right choice was made with Demko. Only crappy part is not getting something for Marky when we could.

 

Tanev and Toffoli would have been nice to keep but they wouldn’t have solved our problems. We only would have ended up with a slightly worse draft pick.

Nope. We were on a Cup trajectory until Benning  did the unbelievable. 

[aGENT]

3 minutes ago, RWJC said:

Markstrom could potentially have also been dealt post season prior to UFA status for a mid round pick for negotiating rights.  He didn’t have any movement protection either.

 

He almost doubled his salary from last season in Van (3.6) to Cgy (6.0 with NMC), so he obviously had significant UFA value.

Perhaps you’re right and those factors you mention impacted obtaining any value (especially the ED) but it’s still sh!tty asset mgmt to let a top end  starting goalie in his prime just walk. 

So we're complaining, how many years later, about maybe a mid-late round pick (with next to no leverage due to the ED)...? 

 

It sucks, but sometimes you just have bad options. Of all Benning's mistakes, this one is pretty low on the list IMO (as much as it sucks letting a starter in his prime walk). It's right there with the not trading the Sedins (with their NMCs, zero desire to move, and combined $14m salary that no contender would have had room for).

 

15 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Losing Tanev was a terrible mistake by Benning. 
But then he made it worse by trading for a guy (Schmidt) who cost more and was a serious downgrade in ability. 
And then the dumbest move was trading for OEL, who cost even more, in hopes of fixing his Tanev blunder. Benning. 

It wasn't great.

 

Schmidt wasn't even the problem (he's been fine in WPG). Similar to OEL (and Myers), you can't just bring these guys in and place them in a lineup with no cohesive, complementary partners and expect them to succeed. We let Tanev (very solid defensive D) walk and replaced him with yet another offensively inclined D, on a roster with a dearth of defensive D to complement them... And watch in mock amazement as it inevitably fails in spectacular fashion.

 

That was Benning's biggest failing. The ability to actual build anything COHESIVE. 

[DeNiro]

27 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Nope. We were on a Cup trajectory until Benning  did the unbelievable. 

We didn’t even make the playoffs that year. It took a special format to get us in…

 

We saw what happened when they went up against a real contender in Vegas. It was not close despite it going 7. The team has always needed way better D and size up front.

[Salacious Crumb]

52 minutes ago, Alflives said:

. Benning. 

New sig Alf?

[aGENT]

41 minutes ago, Alflives said:

The smart move was to trade Demko after his bubble performance (huge haul there, especially with his contract status) and extend Marky. Then make sure as heck we keep Tanev and Tofu. The guys in the room knew Benning  screwed up. That’s why Miller publicly spoke up for the group and made his “shocking reset” comment. Then Bo publicly supported management, which likely (IMHAO) started the rift in the room. He was the captain, and should have supported the players. 

No, you keep the younger, cheaper goalie with more runway infront of him.

[Alflives]

Just now, aGENT said:

No, you keep the younger, cheaper goalie with more runway infront of him.

Or is the goal to build on an already winning club? Marky was playing great for us. Demko would have returned a huge haul. Benning. 

[aGENT]

Just now, Alflives said:

Or is the goal to build on an already winning club? Marky was playing great for us. Demko would have returned a huge haul. Benning. 

He was. But you keep the younger, cheaper guy with more runway. One of the things Benning got right actually.

[RWJC]

24 minutes ago, aGENT said:

So we're complaining, how many years later, about maybe a mid-late round pick (with next to no leverage due to the ED)...? 

 

It sucks, but sometimes you just have bad options. Of all Benning's mistakes, this one is pretty low on the list IMO (as much as it sucks letting a starter in his prime walk). It's right there with the not trading the Sedins (with their NMCs, zero desire to move, and combined $14m salary that no contender would have had room for).

 

It wasn't great.

 

Schmidt wasn't even the problem (he's been fine in WPG). Similar to OEL (and Myers), you can't just bring these guys in and place them in a lineup with no cohesive, complementary partners and expect them to succeed. We let Tanev (very solid defensive D) walk and replaced him with yet another offensively inclined D, on a roster with a dearth of defensive D to complement them... And watch in mock amazement as it inevitably fails in spectacular fashion.

 

That was Benning's biggest failing. The ability to actual build anything COHESIVE. 

This is all true. What it amounts to though, and more so what I was going to get at, is how these moves in succession have led to a fan base that was already so impatient with the way this club was being operated to having it preemptively cloud judgement about what the next regime could even achieve. I’m on the fence with Benning in a lot of ways, but aside from some solid draft picks, his approach on how to build a sustainable future for this club while also satisfying the owners intent, was remarkably impotent. Like it or not, Benning’s decisions are still THE measuring stick for the foreseeable future…until the total OEL buyout is complete or we have achieved enough overall success to have mitigated it being forgotten. We’re only just starting to chip away on these fronts. 
 

And yeah I don’t like harping on small details, but you never know what or who a pick will turn into. Considering allll the draft capital we lost, almost any pick was valuable to our stockpile. When they become your single most depleted resource, you have set back building a future (or replacement parts) at an exponential cost.  Many holes were dug for far too long and only covered up with straw and sawdust. It should be present in the back of our minds as a reminder while we witness how it is actively repaired. 

[RWJC]

12 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Or is the goal to build on an already winning club? Marky was playing great for us. Demko would have returned a huge haul. Benning. 

Again, depends on who you’re trying to trade for…for two seasons. Got to find a way to foot that bill. 
Despite the ED, if you’re that focused on acquiring an 8mill Dman, you have to have some internal concept of where those $ are going to come from for the semantics of the deal to take place. 
 

Markstrom was a casualty for a few reasons: ED, his own play commensurate with a raise, and Benning’s inability to squeeze the most or even fair value out of his assets. 
The first of those reasons was a problem for almost every team. The second is a great problem to have. The 3rd…incompetence from the head honcho. 
That’s a bad look and sends a poor message to the players under your control.

He didn’t even talk to Tanev’s camp, FFS! Left them completely in the dark. At least show some respect for a guy who was known to be loved in the locker room, even if the plan is to let him move on. It would at least let the roster know you have some class and appreciation. Just moronic, imho. 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by RWJC

[DeNiro]

14 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Or is the goal to build on an already winning club? Marky was playing great for us. Demko would have returned a huge haul. Benning. 

Define “winning club”.

 

Do we wanna build a cup winner or just be like the Leafs and be thrilled to win a round?

 

The team was not close, and if you took off your rose coloured glasses you’d see that.

[aGENT]

8 hours ago, RWJC said:

This is all true. What it amounts to though, and more so what I was going to get at, is how these moves in succession have led to a fan base that was already so impatient with the way this club was being operated to having it preemptively cloud judgement about what the next regime could even achieve. I’m on the fence with Benning in a lot of ways, but aside from some solid draft picks, his approach on how to build a sustainable future for this club while also satisfying the owners intent, was remarkably impotent. Like it or not, Benning’s decisions are still THE measuring stick for the foreseeable future…until the total OEL buyout is complete or we have achieved enough overall success to have mitigated it being forgotten. We’re only just starting to chip away on these fronts. 
 

And yeah I don’t like harping on small details, but you never know what or who a pick will turn into. Considering allll the draft capital we lost, almost any pick was valuable to our stockpile. When they become your single most depleted resource, you have set back building a future (or replacement parts) at an exponential cost.  Many holes were dug for far too long and only covered up with straw and sawdust. It should be present in the back of our minds as a reminder while we witness how it is actively repaired. 

And I'm saying... There's enough actual Benning mistakes to lament over, than a goalie we weren't going to trade while in the playoff hunt, who we were going to lose for nothing in the ED anyway. Focus your energy on those if you want to look back on the road taken to arrive at our current location.

 

Again, I put this up there with things like not trading the NMC having Sedins to teams without cap space for them. "In theory" sure it would have been nice to get rebuild assets for two of the best players this franchise has ever had, during down years we were never going to compete for a cup. But in reality, it just wasn't ever happening, for multiple reasons. So lamenting over it is pretty silly and useless.

Edited August 27, 2023 by aGENT

[RWJC]

30 minutes ago, aGENT said:

And I'm saying... There's enough actual Benning mistakes to lament over, than a goalie we weren't going to trade while in the playoff hunt, who we were going to lose for nothing in the ED anyway. Focus your energy on those if you want to look back on the road taken to arrive at our current location.

 

Again, I put this up there with things like not trading the NMC having Sedins to teams without cap space for them. "In theory" sure it would have been nice to get rebuild assets for two of the best players this franchise has ever had, during down years we were never going to compete. But in reality, it just wasn't ever happening, for multiple reasons. So lamenting over it is pretty silly and useless.

yeah whatever, Dad.

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by RWJC

[dougieL]

10 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Bad and not worth a superstar contract are 2 entirely different things. 

Wait a second...are you suggesting that OEL could have gotten more term/AAV, but decided to do the Panthers a solid by taking a one-year deal with low AAV because he figured he was already making enough from the Canucks?

 

 

 

 

[dougieL]

12 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Nope, again not worth a superstar contract =/= awful. 

Btw...you have to be pretty bad for a team to pay you for eight years just to get you to stop playing for them for four years