With just over two weeks left till draft day, the Twitterverse rippled on Wednesday when comments surfaced from TSN's Darren Dreger that suggested the Vancouver Canucks were open to the idea of trading their fifth-overall pick.
I think it's important to take the comments in context. Chris Nichols has the transcription of the interview, from TSN1290 in Winnipeg, over at
Today's Slapshot.
Considering he's talking to a Winnipeg radio station, this remark was most interesting to me.
Dreger: I talk a fair bit with Jim Benning. He’s one of the good guys in the National Hockey League. I learn a lot when I talk to him, because he comes from a heavily-scouted background, right? I mean, that’s where the passion comes from in Jim Benning. He loves this time of year. He loves spending time in the rinks, getting to know the young players, how they’re developing, looking at the draft-eligible class, and all of those things.
Now, the part about potentially trading the fifth pick:
Vancouver likes fifth overall. They know they’re getting a very, very good player, but Jim Benning did not like being part of the non-playoff picture in the National Hockey League. He’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
I found a fun tool yesterday that projects the odds that different players will be available at different positions in the draft.
Click here to check it out.
If you're interested in the author's methodology, you can
click here to read that. Speaking very broadly, the graph comes from an amalgamation of experts' draft rankings—and takes into account how well those experts have done with their predictions in the past.
I was rather excited to see the tool suggest there's a 26.7 percent chance that Patrik Laine could fall to five! Still a long shot, but wouldn't that be something?? Auston Matthews is basically zero, but here's the likelihood of the other top forwards being available at No. 5:
Jesse Puljujarvi: 36.6 percent
Pierre-Luc Dubois: 61.3 percent
Matthew Tkachuk: 53.3 percent
Logan Brown: 94.9 percent
Of the big three defencemen (Chychrun, Juolevi and Sergachev), Juolevi has the lowest odds of being available with the fifth pick, but they're still a pretty solid 87.50 percent.
Could I see Jim Benning trading that fifth pick? I suppose anything's possible. For all of his professed love for the draft, he has certainly shown a willingness to give up picks and prospects for players that he thinks can make the Canucks better, sooner.
Unless he was offered the moon and the stars—which I don't think will happen for pick No. 5—I would think that a deal would be most likely to happen on the draft floor, if the player(s) that he covets are gone once it's time for him to make his selection. Then, maybe he does make a deal to grab an asset and move down if he thinks his next most-preferred target would still be on the board.
Once again, though, we're seeing signs that this organization is not just paying lipservice to the idea of trying to remain competitive while rebuilding the franchise. That has been their stated intention for the past two years, and it looks like last year's results have not convinced them to change up the plan.
Arthur Griffiths Inducted into B.C. Sports Hall of Fame
The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is holding its Banquet of Champions tonight.
Click here for the full list of 2016 Hall of Fame inductees.
The Memorial Cup-winning 1994-95 Kamloops Blazers team is being inducted, as well as the man who built Rogers Arena and brought the Vancouver Grizzlies to town, former Vancouver Canucks owner Arthur Griffiths.
Griffiths will be the recipient of the W.A.C. Bennett Award, which is given "to an individual who has made a significant, unique and lasting contribution to sport in the Province of British Columbia." Griffiths' father, Frank, received the same award posthumously in 1997.
Ed Willes has a wide-ranging feature interview with Griffiths in
The Province, reviewing those times. Given all the ups and downs that Griffiths has endured in the two decades since the doors opened at the arena, perhaps the most impressive part of the story is the success that the rest of his primary team has achieved since those days.
From Willes:
(Griffiths) built an executive team that continues to influence the world of sports two decades later. Tod Leiweke was part of that team. Today, he's the COO of the NFL and the presumptive heir to Roger Goodell. Tom Anselmi, the former COO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, was part of that team. Chris Hebb, a former v-p at MLSE, was part of that team. Victor de Bonis, the new COO of the Aquilini Group, was part of that team. So was Dave Cobb, the No. 2 man at VANOC.
Makes me wonder about what might have been if Griffiths and his group had been able to keep control of the organization.
Who's Your Conn Smythe Pick?
I was caught a bit off-guard yesterday by the show of support in the comments for Matt Murray as a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate. Certainly, Murray has been a crucial component of the Penguins' success, but I ruled him out in my mind because he hasn't had to work very hard against the Sharks in the Final. Yes, the games have all been close, but he hasn't faced more than 26 shots in any game in this round—and I really haven't seen San Jose bearing down with any unbelievable scoring chances. The much-maligned Penguins' defence has done a tremendous job of making life reasonably easy for the rookie.
As I said yesterday, my nod goes to Crosby. I don't care that he hasn't scored in the Final. He has been playing a complete game and I've been impressed that we haven't seen him crying to the referees like he has been known to do in the past.
And it's not like he hasn't had reason to complain. For example, he got shoved into the open bench door by Marc-Edouard Vlasic in Game 4—a dangerous play—and he let it go.
Yes, Murray has led the Penguins where Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't been able to go for the past six years, but if I was voting, I'd vote Crosby.
What do you think?
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