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Benning denies backstabbing Linden, TV coverage begins at Summer Showcase |
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One week after Trevor Linden's abrupt departure from his position as the Vancouver Canucks' president of hockey operations, speculation continues to swirl about what triggered the move and where the team will go from here.
Beat writer Iain MacIntyre, who has been covering Trevor since he first wore the captain's "C" as a Canucks player, affirms today that Linden feels anything but 'amicable' about the situation, and that he feels hurt by Jim Benning.
That being said, Benning is insisting that there was no backstabbing on his part.
“There’s no way I could do that,” Benning told MacIntyre. “Trevor was my boss. I had no part of this decision. I’ve worked in this business for 27 years and if you talk to people from other teams, I’m an honest, straight-forward guy. I work hard.
“We always had a really good relationship. Always. We had the same plan and that plan hasn’t changed – drafting and developing to get to where we need to be. We were always on the same page on that.
“I’ve got a job to do building this hockey team," he continued. "I’ve never been into politics. I have a hard enough time finding a defenceman who can help our power play. I don’t have time for politics.
“I had a good relationship with Trevor. We always worked together on things. He was my boss. He hired me as a GM and he extended my contract. I’m grateful to Trevor. If people think I had anything to do with Trevor leaving, that’s just wrong.”
MacIntyre goes on to point out that Benning doesn't exactly benefit from Linden's departure; the new organizational structure means he'll now be responsible for reporting directly to ownership.
Benning also insists that talk of 'accelerating the rebuild' is fallacy.
“The plan is not changing,” Benning reiterated. “Part of the reason I took the job is that’s my history – drafting and developing and helping build winning teams. That part hasn’t changed.
“That’s why we’re not looking to move our young players. That’s why we’re doing things the right way. We don’t want to rush our young players in where they lose confidence and don’t become the players we think they can become."
He also pointed out that this year's offseason signings underscore the idea that the goal is *not* to make an immediate push for the playoffs.
“We still have cap space,” Benning said. “If we were thinking about making the playoffs next season, we’d have signed James Neal or David Perron or someone like that. But we didn’t.”
I don't buy the idea that Benning has been a wolf in sheep's clothing. As I said a few days ago, I can envision a scenario where Linden didn't feel supported by Benning as his vision for the future moved out of alignment with ownership, but I don't think Benning deliberately angled to cut Trevor out of the picture.
Now—back to the good stuff. After an off-day on Wednesday, action resumes at the World Junior Summer Showcase today with two games, both televised on TSN and NHL Network.
Quinn Hughes and Team USA will take on Sweden at 1 p.m. PT before Canada meets Finland at 6 p.m.
The American team cut 13 players on Wednesday, leaving a still-large roster of 29 players in the mix for the three-game round robin that runs through Saturday. No big surprises in the cuts—and of course, 17-year-old Jack Hughes is still in the mix along with three other 2019 draft-eligible players: goaltender Spencer Knight, NCAA champion defenseman Matt Anderson from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and feisty 5'3" forward Sean Dhooghe from the University of Wisconsin. Yes, you read that right: five-foot-three. Dhooghe's size definitely makes him stand out on the ice, but so does his work ethic—he's a high-energy player and a solid penalty killer.
If you missed it, the Hughes brothers offered a tantalizing taste of what they can do together when they combined for the winning goal in USA White's 7-5 win over Canada Red on Tuesday.
The goal came at 4-on-4, after Josh Norris and Morgan Frost were assessed offsetting slashing penalties during a faceoff. Team USA coach Mike Hastings quickly swapped his lines to get the Hughes brothers out to take advantage of the extra open ice; it took them just 31 seconds to get the puck in the net.
Earlier, Quinn and Jack also teamed up to exact some revenge on Canadian defenseman Calen Addison as the horn sounded to end the second period, setting off the closest thing to a line brawl that you'll see in international hockey in 2018.
Because Quinn and Jack are 18 months apart, their experience playing together is mostly limited to mini-sticks in their basement growing up. It's a rare treat to watch them play together—and their chemistry is proving to be almost Sedin-esque as they get more and more comfortable this week.
With Quinn already in the fold for the Canucks, it's hard not to fantasize about the possibility of these two somehow forming Vancouver's next great brother combination. Surely it's time for this *one* favour from the lottery gods?
Quinn and Jack have both been great with the media all week, taking the attention they're receiving very much in stride.
Tuesday's game far surpassed what we have a right to expect from summer hockey in terms of both excitement and passion. It'll be worth your while to tune in for the rest of the week!
The Hughes show is overshadowing the performances of the Canucks' three other prospects who are also here in Kamloops. Toni Utunen's Team Finland bounced back from a 5-2 loss to USA Team White on Monday with a 4-3 shootout win over the Swedes on Tuesday, while Jett Woo rattled the boards nearly every time he was on the ice with his trademark physical style in Canada White's 3-2 loss to USA Blue and Michael DiPietro struggled in half-a-game worth of action for Canada Red in the late game.
Despite having the inside track on the starting position for Canada going into the game, DiPietro gave up five goals on 18 shots, though he was left on an island at times by the defense in front of him. Coach Tim Hunter switched up his blue-line pairings regularly throughout the game and the Canadian skaters got better as the game went along. Down 5-2 when DiPietro was subbed out for goaltender Matthew Villalta at 9:05 of the second, the Canadians came back to tie the game 5-5 before the Hughes' winning goal came with 2:25 left in the third period.
This week, I've also had a chance to take a look at some of the other players that were said to be high on the Canucks' list at the draft last June. I liked Noah Dobson's game better than Evan Bouchard's—Bouchard's style did seem to be more the steady stay-at-home type while Dobson's dynamic game had more of an element of offensive explosiveness. I missed the Sweden/Finland game on Tuesday so I've only had a chance to see Adam Boqvist (and Toni Utunen) once each. Both had pretty low-key games.
The Swedes and Finns left quite a few of their top players at home for this tournament, rather than bringing them back for yet another trip overseas. With plenty of players still on their rosters, both Canada and the U.S. will be making some scratches over their three remaining games. Canada didn't make any cuts on Wednesday. My understanding is that they'll probably stick with their White/Red lineups on Thursday and Friday, then make a decision on how to combine their group for the finale against the U.S. on Saturday.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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