It's a bad sign that it's hard to even fathom "the plan" or make sense of some of his moves. Red flags that some keep brushing off, but the list keeps getting bigger and soon all of these "small" deals that look questionable will add up and be too difficult for most to keep ignoring.
- Nucker101

There are some red flags but with all due respect... just because you stick your head in the sand and a red flag in your butt doesnt mean they are getting bigger.

in what (frank)in corporate world does a management team take a full page add out and spell out their business goals for everyone? I have to sign a confidentiality agreement and I'm sure they do too. Although they do seem to be pretty open with the media where Mike Gillis was the total opposite.

You'll simple get we plan to get bigger, younger and faster....nothing more.
- LeftCoaster

I started to reply to that but closed the reply box after shaking my head a bit

No one can comprehend the plan yet there are a few who are defending it to the death. We have two camps here; Benning Fluffers and Benning Whiners. Yet we all agree that creating a younger roster and hording draft picks should be the focus.

Is that happening?
- bloatedmosquito

We are creating a younger roster definitely.

Sutter is a 1 season contract. Bonio wasnt. I see opportunities down the middle with that move over the next couple of seasons. Hate to keep pointing out this stuff to you. You keep calling it blind faith etc... I keep trying to show you that there are more than the one layer you see in everything but you come back at me like it's a fault.

That's not my issue with this. It's Benning overpaying without good reason.

I don't see Sutter as someone to build around either
- Nucker101

He seems to pay TDL prices year round.

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

maybe YOU are Benning??

It is Tuesday

He seems to pay TDL prices year round.
- CubanBuffet

Pretty much

Learn to read.
- Nucker101

Learn to be patient. Benning has been here 14 months and you have him on the fire. Wow..

maybe YOU are Benning??

It is Tuesday
- LordHumungous

Depends on if Sutter sleeps with other teammates wives, girlfriends , and Nucker that will we ever know if it will have the same impact .
- VANTEL

It sure seems like some of our guys in here are really big with cancers on our team.

It's funny how many people were on board with calling Hodgson a cancer because of Gillis claiming he wanted out. Gillis was the only one every to claim this of course. Then over the following years he kept cancers and other player who asked out in the line up and the majority were fine with it.

Luongo asked out.
Schneider asked out.
Kesler asked out.

Then you have the special cases of cancer like Kesler the fiance (frank)er and Kassian the out of control party animal.

Amazing how people believed everything Gillis said even when the contradictions were overwhelming.

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


Every GM makes questionable moves...every one.

I started to reply to that but closed the reply box after shaking my head a bit

- boonerbuck

That's kind of what I'm doing with all of your replies to like 15 posts now that Carol's posted a new blog. I've already said that I can write the Kassian deal off, my issues are still with his overpaying of Sbisa, Miller, Bartkowski, Dorsett.

And in the Kesler deal he clearly valued Sbisa as an asset, when originally some assumed Sbisa was just a cap dump that ANA requested(shows you how Sbisa is viewed). Then he turns around and gives him a horrible deal when he had no reason or pressure to do so. how is that not a major red flag? First he somehow targets Sbisa as an asset in the Kesler deal and then he grossly ovepays him.
'

And why is that it always seems like Benning has to pay more in terms of assets and money for role players or prospects than other teams? He gives up a third for Dorsett and pays him 2.6M per, meanwhile there's plenty of UFA's available that are just as good as Dorsett. Ditto with Prust and giving up a 5th plus taking his 1.9M cap hit.

And he gave Miller a limited NTC and 3 years plus big money despite it being known that Miller wanted to be on the West coast and the 23 Cali teams already had starters. He gave up a 2nd for Linden Vey, which I highly doubt any team would give for him right now.

And Kassian was given away for free yet Beartschi who also demanded a trade had to be acquired for a 2nd which the Calgary GM said was "by far the best offer we received". Clendening was just thrown in a trade after we gave up a prospect who has been developing well and had a strong WJHC tourney for him originally(Forsling).

Benning bought high on Bonino then sold low on him and now he's buying high on Sutter and selling Bonino after his value came back down.

Learn to be patient. Benning has been here 14 months and you have him on the fire. Wow..
- LordHumungous

So we can't have an opinion until a certain amount of time has passed?

booner.... what in the hell was that?

Are you okay?

I've read your posts for years now, you're a knowledgeable hockey guy, yet THE PLAN is not obvious to you.

Could that suggest that maybe, just maybe, there is no plan?
- bloatedmosquito

Do you really think that management has no plan?

You may not see or like the plan... but no one has that job without a plan.

booner.... what in the hell was that?

Are you okay?
- BINGO!

You've fit in well

Buffalo will still be bad, but not nearly as bad. Again, these small things add up. Pit should have asked for a 3rd in exchange for a 4th as well or something because no biggie right?

Other GM's are taking notice of these things and will push for these little throw-ins in the future as well.
- Nucker101

I am considering this as well. This trade wasnt like Kesler or Kassian... It doesnt appear to be a "I beg you to take our cancer" situation.

I am considering this as well. This trade wasnt like Kesler or Kassian... It doesnt appear to be a "I beg you to take our cancer" situation.
- boonerbuck

Benning had no need to be desperate in the Sbisa/Beartschi/Vey/Dorsett negotiations as well. And in the Miller negotiations, I'd argue that Miller was just as desperate as Benning yet Benning decided to make a strong initial offer instead of trying to wait him out.

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


Every GM makes questionable moves...every one.
- LordHumungous

And when they do they deserve criticism. No?

Isn't that essentially whats happening?
Agree with the moves or not, the team has gotten younger and roster spots are continuing to open up.

Apart from the third/fifth round picks and fourth-liners, I'll gladly take a more "established" commodity such as Sven over a Second any day of the week though i suppose the outcome of such deals remains to be seen.
- Whiskey-Tango

I don't understand how anyone could see otherwise.

Like I said, people are going to get the younger team they wanted but will to kick and scream all the way there. it might help them if they could see farther ahead than the summer.

And when they do they deserve criticism. No?
- CubanBuffet

He's only been on the job for 14 months so no.

I don't understand how anyone could see otherwise.

Like I said, people are going to get the younger team they wanted but will to kick and scream all the way there. it might help them if they could see farther ahead than the summer.
- boonerbuck

How are they getting younger? Outside of the Bieksa trade, that's about it. Kesler forced a trade, who knows if Benning would have even traded him otherwise. Trading decent draft picks or prospects for young players isn't really getting younger if you think about it, a draft pick is technically a younger asset.

It's pretty obvious he's moving out players that are A) considered a problem or want out...Kesler and Kassian B) what would be considered mediocre talented NHL players the Canucks have never been able to win with.

Yet he signs a guy like Sbisa? That I don't get. I get he likes "character" in guys like Dorsett, so do I.

Looks as though he's putting all his chips in on the youth he's got, or, the youth he's going to get? He'd better hope like hell this pans out for him in a couple of years or he'll be canned.
- LeftCoaster

I keep turning the Sbisa contract in my head to get an angle and the only thing I come up with is just how much JB feels physical play on the back end is needed.

Lets be honest here... Sbisa's money was too much when he arrived. They had to give him a raise or dump him. He got a small raise. Maybe they should have dumped him... but the discussion about Benning giving him more than he is worth is pretty moot. Sign him or move him was the decision we should be discussing... not his meager raise that he had mostly coming to him regardless.

I agree the market sets the value but a savvy GM will be able to gauge the market and not put themselves in a position to be forced to take poor value for assets.

Kesler trade, Garrison trade, Lack trade, Kassian trade and Bonino all IMO were poor value but the excuse always is, Benning got as much as he was offered and that the market was poor. Personally I think Benning needs to be holding on to those assets if the deal is not fair value.

Someone compared it to the housing market and how the market dictates your houses price not what you perceive the value is, this is true but the people who usually do the best in the housing market are the ones who can afford and choose to wait until the market is giving fair value.
- belcherbd

Let me ask you what is fair value for problem players? Wife (frank)ers and druggies.. one of whome asked to be moved?

Again, keep Kesler for what? There was 1 trading partner thanks to Kesler. He was sleeping with a team mates fiance and caused a divide in the locker room. What could the team possibly hold out for that would give them more for Kesler?

So lets for a minute say we kept Kesler last season because the Ducks didn't offer more. The very things that got Horvat into the line up were only there because of Kesler being gone... face offs... defensive play.... I WONDER HOW HORVAT'S SEASON IN JUNIOR WOULD HAVE WENT?

Hold onto Kassian for a better return? Maybe Benning does that... meanwhile, our kids are hearing that they have to compete with a lazy cokehead for a roster spot... it's totally worth it... as long as we get a bit better of a return?

Yes he has...so lets get everyone to start demanding a GM change, no more waiting to see what the PLAN is.

Nucker, Bloated, Bingo and that wishywashyleafs guy, are right....Gillis was such a demi god GM, how could we have been so wrong.

Personally I'm gonna wait this out, I've given every other GM and coach the benefit of a doubt for a few years, I'll be doing the same here.

The problem is that if you don't swallow what the nay sayers are pushing then your automatically lumped into the circle jerk gang...for the record I'm the wait and see what happens, 2 hands above the covers guy.
- Makita

Ya, I like that one... anyone who is a wait to see approach or trying to look at the entire collection of details is in the circle jerk gang. Thats funny. It is easy to see why they get so stuck on whats going on when they have the same level of recognition of what a simple post is saying or the obvious is sitting right in front of them and they are too busy panicking to see it.

I have never said any such thing. Mike Gillis was a (frank)ing trainwreck. Thing is, Benning hasn't really been an improvement.
- BINGO!

Tell us why this is?

JB short contracts, no full NTC's... MG long contracts full NTC's.

I agree that they both havent impressed me with trades but Benning is trading from a position that (frank)head Gillis put him in.

Drafting already looks better. How long did it take for Gillis to get a bonified player out of the first round? Seems like a decade almost lol. I'll put money and all 3 of Bennings 1st rounders being solid NHLers.

Benning removes the cancer on our team. Gillis kept them here until there were major problems.

It's been one season and already you can see the new culture of this team. Thats a seperate transition on it's own.