1. When Tanking, does the quality of the GM really matter outside his drafting ability (Which you have professed numerous times to have liked)?

2. WTF does having a team of "overpaid/bad contracts" matter when attempting to tank??? They are all short-term and frankly, handcuff Benning from acquiring quality free-agents that would otherwise prevent the team from accomplishing the beloved tank in the first place...?

There is a severe lack of reason within your persistent and tedious narrative.
- Whiskey-Tango

1. I've said his drafting is decent, Ehlers is looking like the better pick over JV so far, that could come back to hurt big time. It's an improvement over Gillis who set the bar pretty low.

2. It's clear that he's not trying to tank, otherwise he'd want cap flexibility so he can potentially take on a bad contract from another team in a trade to help the future or eat salary easily when trading a vet. Also he could do what Calgary did and threaten a team with a potential offer sheet for their top RFA, but instead the team is near the cap limit. And when you have a team full of overpaid players, they don't have much trade value which means it'll be harder to acquire draft picks and prospects for them to help the rebuild.

Get the NTC's ready



- classic321

Again, JB has not been careless with the NTC's. The two he gave out are limited and for desirable players on the market.

What is with this place? People just keep fabricating how bad the contracts have been and how bad the future ones will be. Sbisa and Dorsett... i get it, too much money but this poop about too long and NTC's is not warranted. Thats people fabricating a smear campaign on a 1 year GM like he's been here for 6 years (frank)ing poop up.

It is laughable how many people were still defending Gillis and the things they are pinning on JB were everything MG was about. Guys like nucker like Gillis' contracts because the $$ was usually 1 to .5 mil less than market... *but for ever and locked down with NTC's*. I just don't understand the narrow mindedness. There's good and bad but outside of the returns in trades which are not at all being fully considered by the cirtics... it doesnt lean on the side of fail.

Well, that deal came out of nowhere.

Trade analysis and a poll now live in the new blog:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com...-Brandon-Sutter/194/70194

so this is why you are breaking walls and screaming? b/c he is bad at negotiations?

if your stated main goal (tanking) is being accomplished, should you not have a more balanced view?

you're like the guy who keeps arguing even after you've made your point. "sure you agree with me now but you don't agree with me for the right reasons so i'm going to keep yelling."
- RealityChecker

He's bad at both trades and contracts. That's not good, even for a tank. Making good trades and maximizing value for assets is a crucial part of rebuilding, high picks isn't enough(just as the Thrasher, Oilers, Jackets/Panthers in years past).

I'll send you my Pahlsson , Roy and Booth Hockey cards...then you can whine over how much you miss the Gillis era...

waaaah
- LordHumungous

Learn to read.

People laughed when I said Canucks should target Sutter and Lucic earlier this year, yet Sutter now plays for us and Benning earlier tried for Lucic.

I dont mind waiting another year for Luc.

I am telling you , Canucks have all their Ducks in a row to get a first line centre or a very good Dman now by offer sheet. It is possible.
- VANTEL

I wish to see McCann turn into everything I hope for that kid. From personal experience, guys that are extremely given and somewhat arrogant have the most success, even the less talented ones.

I really hope he puts up a good showing in training camp!!

I lost faith after the Sbisa extension.


- classic321

1 short 3.4 mil contract and you lose faith. Living up to the rep TO fans point at.

1 short 3.4 mil contract and you lose faith. Living up to the rep TO fans point at.

- boonerbuck

I can spin it too. I turned on Jim Benning when he signed a border line NHL player who had one of the worst seasons by all d-men league-wide, who held very little bargaining power to a 3 year 3.6M per contract.

Last season:

Eddie Lack

41 Games Played. 2.45 GAA, .921 Save Percentage

Ryan Miller

45 Games Played. 2.53 GAA, .911 Save Percentage

hmmmm...

So you're logic is that it's better to keep the expensive old guy who put up worse numbers last season because he's better?
- BINGO!

Oh please. You are going to claim Lack is better than Miller? You are basing this on a GT who has never been a number 1 yet. A injury fill in who with the help of his team improving their play later in the season, helped Lack's numbers.

At one point Miller was winning games for the Canucks while they couldnt score. Then later lack was letting 4 goals a game in while the Canucks scored their way out of trouble.

The numbers mean so little from last season. Lack is not a starter. Miller is. Waiving the backups numbers around while the starter was injured has made many look foolish later.

1. I've said his drafting is decent, Ehlers is looking like the better pick over JV so far, that could come back to hurt big time. It's an improvement over Gillis who set the bar pretty low.

2. It's clear that he's not trying to tank, otherwise he'd want cap flexibility so he can potentially take on a bad contract from another team in a trade to help the future or eat salary easily when trading a vet. Also he could do what Calgary did and threaten a team with a potential offer sheet for their top RFA, but instead the team is near the cap limit. And when you have a team full of overpaid players, they don't have much trade value which means it'll be harder to acquire draft picks and prospects for them to help the rebuild.
- Nucker101

And Nylander

Schneider for Horvat doesn't look terrible now. Let's hope McCann has a similar effect on the Kesler deal.
- Nucker101

You'd still be poopting bricks if your man Gillis didnt make the trade.

He's bad at both trades and contracts. That's not good, even for a tank. Making good trades and maximizing value for assets is a crucial part of rebuilding, high picks isn't enough(just as the Thrasher, Oilers, Jackets/Panthers in years past).
- Nucker101

if you actually want to look at the moves objectively, you can see that he is clearing out cap and roster space in the next two seasons.

you can't be flexible moving forward with trades and/or contracts if your cap is pretty much set for the next 5 years. mg, while being very good at negotiating, decided it was worth sacrificing flexibility for stability. this was a strategy that could be defended for a contender but not for a team on the decline.

the canucks are now on the decline. benning has overpaid players on short term deals so as to get maximum roster flexibility going forward (3 years out.)

while each individual contract/transaction can be pilloried, it may be better to take the long view.

benning is totally reshaping the team and you can see that the major rebuild/reshaping will come in the next 2 seasons.

the problem is that people want a rebuild but still want to "win" every trade/signing/transaction. the team needs to get worse before it can get better. i thought you were on board with that.

Kassian for Prust
Miller over Lack
Clendening gone, traded a 2nd for a 3rd


Dat youth
- Nucker101

You would rather keep the coke head then take a player older than Kassian... even though Prust is tougher, more physical and will protect his team mates. It's pretty clear. Cancer good...Prust bad.

I don't see the contradiction once the whole picture is looked at but it seems you have tunnel vision with this GM.

It's not that simple....Kesler wanted out, how do you measure that?
- LeftCoaster

Isnt it crazy how irrational Nucker is being?

Druggy players should stay here until we find a younger, cheaper player. Kesler should stay here until the Ducks offer more(another season of Kesler holding this team back).

His man Gillis would never get rid of cancer players without hitting what he thinks is a home run in return(like he thought with Kassian). Then when the new GM is left in this situation... all the negatives are his fault.

Let me ask everyone... when was the last time you heard Nucker acknowledge that MG put Benning in a tough situation... no, but you've heard him recently defending Gillis because of his under market $$ for players while ignoring how long the contracts were for and the NTC's.

Nucker forgets that many of the players left money on the table so Gillis could go out and get players to win a cup. He completely failed on his promise. Does benning have that kind of leverage with a team entering a rebuilding phase...no. Nothing is going to be simple and make Benning look like a genius.

Do you think Gillis would have done worse, the same or better?
- Nucker101

We both now your man Gillis would have sat letting the cancer eat away just like he did with Luongo.

We lost both Schneider and Luongo in the end. The Ducks would still be the only team on Kesler's list that wanted him. I don't know why you think Gillis would do better or worse. Thats the whole point... it wasnt in Bennings control.

I doubt any of those four players were in the teams long term vision.
Then again, if you figure that Lack and/or Kassian were building blocks then that's on you.
- Whiskey-Tango

Kassian going to mentor our youth in the washrooms at the Roxy. At least nucker knows where to score some blow.

Lateral move, with the cap space being what it is, obviously Benning isn't done. I'm guessing he's going to be moving some salary out via Higgins/Burrows/Hansen so that he can resign Baertschi.

Horvat is obviously the 2LC now, and I agree with Vantel, Sutter is a decent bottom 6 C and is UFA and could be flipped at the deadline. I admit it looks strange with how close we are to the cap with Baertschi still to sign.
- DariusKnight

It doesnt look like many people are looking more than a couple of months ahead.

The contract situation is getting better because they are getting shorter or just gone. There is room being made and people wanted it... but are going to bawl the whole way there...

So by that line of thinking it's fine if they lose anyone who's not Horvat/Virtanen/McCann/Boeser no matter what kind of value they get back?
- Nucker101

Huh?

Losing the white nosed Kassian for Prust is not like losing one of our honorable players for Prust(Sedins, Hammer, Edler etc...)

OMG... just slow down Nucker. You use to be able to have a reasonable discussion. You still can be critical on this topic without your head in the sand, manipulation of facts or hyperbole.

I just cannot comprehend what the plan here is. Unless he's banking on being able to pick up some big UFA's next season, but even then there's a good chance he'll get (frank)ed by the expansion draft.
- BINGO!

BIG UFA'S?????

This team is going the other way. Room is being made for young players next season.

The disdain you show towards Benning is somewhat valid and yet these nostalgic after the fact Gillis references completely destroy any ground you have made.

piss or get off the pot.
- Whiskey-Tango

BANG ON

Solid credentials for a GM.
- bloatedmosquito

His strengths are scouting and drafting. We are headed in that direction.

How about we get a GM who can sign UFA's under value and pretend we are pushing for a cup. Would that make you and Nucker happy?

Let's just be honest here. BRING BACK GILLIS. He would have saved us money on contracts by making them expand over the better part of a decade. Scouting was horrible under him and his drafting was pathetic but we would have saved 3 or 4 million dollars during our rebuild.

Benning deserves the criticism . He has made a lot of questionable moves
- VANTEL

Some of those questions have simple answers that no one will consider though.

The Kesler trade is in question...had 1 team to trade with...

The Bieksa move in question... had a better 2nd offered but would have showed the league that we can be (frank)ed around after a verbal agreement... a GM who other teams have refused to deal with.

Miller... easy to question a year later but we know Lack was not ready and showed red flags.

Lack... it was only rumored there was a better offer in division... Lack prodused little interest over other GT's available.

Kassian for Prust... cancer that had to be chopped out... Kassian made sure it was no secret either...

I scratch my head at Sbisa 3.4 mil but would take him at a mil less than Bieksa any day.

Bonino for Sutter has it's upsides that most are ignoring... Horvat looks like the best fit for the 2nd right now with Sutter being a better fit than Bonio on the 3rd.

Define value.

Have you inside knowledge pertaining to other deals on the table for Lack and Kassian?
The market sets the value, as witnessed by the return we received.

Christ, we had to throw in a pick simply to rid ourselves of Kassian.
Sometimes addition through subtraction represents a positive move forward....
- Whiskey-Tango

But EA sports doesnt consider the details outside of salary and term.

Absolutely, i just find it odd how Gillis has quickly "reemerged" as the Golden boy of GM'ing in light of Bennings bizarre/questionable/horrid moves of late.

I suppose its merely a symbolic representation concerning the bandwagoning behavior of this fanbase
- Whiskey-Tango

I think you are on to something here.

Looking at this deal it reminds me of the Kesler trade. It's very similar, Bonino is involved in both, Sbisa and Clendening isn't much of a big difference imo, the only slight difference is the pick is slightly lower, so is Suter as good as Kesler based on the return?
- canucktruck

Why is that even being asked? They didnt trade Kesler to upgrade him. They had to move a player who demanded out and left the GM with 1 team to deal with. In what world do you come out with an upgrade on Kesler in this situation... it's unreasonable to expect that and pointless to debate it.