Linden also said "We are under no illusions. I like our direction. There are no quick fixes."

Which to me means, he, more so than Benning, understands/accepts they're in a building phase not a going for it phase, as Benning sometimes alludes to.
- LeftCoaster

Benning knows rebuilds don't sell tickets. He probably says that so people think we are trying for playoffs so they buy tickets to the games. As long as tickets sell, AQ won't mind missing a few playoff games if it means more in the future. Round 2 tickets sell for a lot more than round 1

The difference to me is Linden says that's their goal, which is fair, but Benning says we feel we'll certainly be a playoff team or pushing for those wildcard spots. At least that my interpretation from listening to him, Benning. That's a mixed message because they mean two completely different things.

Linden is much more subtle in his message, he's much more refined.
- LeftCoaster

No argument there. Not only what they have said but the moves they have made point pretty clearly to an emphasis on being competitive now.

How come nobody is pissed that we don't have Shinkaruk coming in as a top six scoring winger. He was doing great in the A and seemed like this would be the time to have a young scoring winger come in. Granlund should be Cracknell and the. We wouldn't need a Kane/Hartnell whatever. I don't mind Benning but that trade was crazy.
- fubtastik

Shink is a long shot. Who cares

Provincial Health Care. It's amazing how much money is lost by inexperienced people in key positions.

I have no problem with Linden and under no illusion of way he was brought in. Actually, it's Aquaman's best move to date. Saying that, the president of a business shouldn't have to constantly clarify his GMs comments.

Lefty again posted Linden comments that contradict statements made by his GM. Frustrating.
- bloatedmosquito

Why do you get worked up over Sh!t like this? Linden has final say over all of Bennings move so who (frank)ing cares

Benning is not a professional managerial person, he has trouble articulating sometimes, but, he knows what he's doing on the draft floor.

Trades and signings need some work though!

I feel your pain with him, and even Willie to be honest, but at some point you're always gonna have some growing pains with a person who's not filled a certain position ever before.
- LeftCoaster

I agree, but does it make sense to put someone of inexperience in charge of the very delicate and complicated job of restructuring your team? It’s been proven by history that teams who don’t do it right can lose millions trying to get back to respectability.

Is this a good time for the franchise to implement an “on the job training” policy? It’s not how I would structure my business through a turbulent time.

Benning knows rebuilds don't sell tickets. He probably says that so people think we are trying for playoffs so they buy tickets to the games. As long as tickets sell, AQ won't mind missing a few playoff games if it means more in the future. Round 2 tickets sell for a lot more than round 1
- Retinalz

It's not Bennings job to sell tickets, it's his job to build a championship team. Winning obviously sells tickets but IMO it's the President of Hockey Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Linden and Victor De Bonis to 'sell' the team to the general public.

Why do you get worked up over Sh!t like this? Linden has final say over all of Bennings move so who (frank)ing cares
- CanuckDon

Relax. It's summer fodder.

We don’t have a clue on how this team will perform next season. Yet we spend a huge amount of time posting made-up line combos and fantasy trade proposals. I don’t understand how people can spend months and months posting that stuff.

But we still can assess the job of team management. It’s important. If they (frank) up then the whole deck of cards come crashing down. It’s the one true topic we all can actually relate to. We all have jobs and some business management experience. I doubt any of us have NHL playing experience.

I'm surprised that we don't discuss it more.

I agree, but does it make sense to put someone of inexperience in charge of the very delicate and complicated job of restructuring your team? It’s been proven by history that teams who don’t do it right can lose millions trying to get back to respectability.

Is this a good time for the franchise to implement an “on the job training” policy? It’s not how I would structure my business through a turbulent time.
- bloatedmosquito

I think John Chayka in Arizona is "inexperienced", I think Jim Benning has years of experience as a hockey executive but he's never been the General Manager of course.

If I owned the team, having never met the man, I probably wouldn't have hired him because to me he'd interview poorly, but that's just me and I'm most certainly guessing here. Just making huge assumptions.

It's not Bennings job to sell tickets, it's his job to build a championship team. Winning obviously sells tickets but IMO it's the President of Hockey Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Linden and Victor De Bonis to 'sell' the team to the general public.
- LeftCoaster

Hockey is a team game and the same can be said for marketing, creating interest in the team and selling tickets. It's a collective effort and goes from the management all the way down to the gourmet hot-dog vendors. Nowadays it's all about the entirety of the entertainment package and not just the product on the ice (of course that is a huge factor but it's not everything - fans will show up if they feel the team is exciting to watch and their overall experience at the games is fun and positive). Fans will watch the team even through hard times if they know the club has a sound and positive philosophy going forward, and is proactive in terms of putting out the best product possible.

I looked it up, Benning has 15 years of experience in what I'd consider directly related experience to serve as a GM.

"named Director of Amateur Scouting in 1998 of the Sabres. Benning remained in that role until 2004. In the summer of 2006, he became the assistant general manager of the Boston Bruins. His name was included on the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Bruins after their Stanley Cup Championship in 2011. The Vancouver Canucks formally introduced him as their general manager in a press conference on May 23, 2014"

It's not Bennings job to sell tickets, it's his job to build a championship team. Winning obviously sells tickets but IMO it's the President of Hockey Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Linden and Victor De Bonis to 'sell' the team to the general public.
- LeftCoaster

Good article from John Shannon @ Sportsnet on role of the GM diminishing in NHL
...

"But things have been altered in the last 20 years.
For one, Gary Bettman’s view of a more central government has cut back on the managers’ role.
Secondly, a more powerful NHLPA has been put in place to protect the players to a much higher level.
Thirdly, a new kind of owner has appeared, one who wants to be involved in the business of the game, how it is played and how much money has to be spent.
Finally, the position of team president has evolved to have much more influence within the business of hockey. The once iconic domain of the general managers has become very crowded. Some would argue for the better, others to the game’s detriment."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/h...le-of-the-gm-diminishing/

Hockey is a team game and the same can be said for marketing, creating interest in the team and selling tickets. It's a collective effort and goes from the management all the way down to the gourmet hot-dog vendors. Nowadays it's all about the entirety of the entertainment package and not just the product on the ice (of course that is a huge factor but it's not everything - fans will show up if they feel the team is exciting to watch and their overall experience at the games is fun and positive). Fans will watch the team even through hard times if they know the club has a sound and positive philosophy going forward, and is proactive in terms of putting out the best product possible.
- Zogg

I looked it up, Benning has 15 years of experience in what I'd consider directly related experience to serve as a GM.

"named Director of Amateur Scouting in 1998 of the Sabres. Benning remained in that role until 2004. In the summer of 2006, he became the assistant general manager of the Boston Bruins. His name was included on the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Bruins after their Stanley Cup Championship in 2011. The Vancouver Canucks formally introduced him as their general manager in a press conference on May 23, 2014"
- LeftCoaster

No doubt he has credentials but should his first shot at GM be for a team in a critical stage in their franchise history? Transitioning this team from the twins will be a really tough job.

If they resign the twins then you know they have no plan at this point in time to address this.

Hockey is a team game and the same can be said for marketing, creating interest in the team and selling tickets. It's a collective effort and goes from the management all the way down to the gourmet hot-dog vendors. Nowadays it's all about the entirety of the entertainment package and not just the product on the ice (of course that is a huge factor but it's not everything - fans will show up if they feel the team is exciting to watch and their overall experience at the games is fun and positive). Fans will watch the team even through hard times if they know the club has a sound and positive philosophy going forward, and is proactive in terms of putting out the best product possible.
- Zogg

Of course it is, as it is with any corporate entity. Everyone is important, that said, it's not as black and white as you're painting it.

Ownership, Chief Operating Officer & President of Hockey Operations would have upper management meetings to discuss corporate/business goals and objectives as well as a budget. That's what would happen in my corporate world anyways.

Benning, IMO, would take his budget and path forward from these meetings to try and set his operation up from there. His job is to build a team, to manage the pro and amateur scouting, to manage the coaching staff, to manage the players and their agents along with their contract situations, to manage the training staff, etc.

The furthest thing from his mind, outside of towing the company line, is to sell tickets. The man is busy trying to manage a hockey team, which is a huge task when you think of all that goes into it.

That's why I sometimes wonder why Linden doesn't curtail Benning on the public speaking, they contradict each other sometimes because it's NOT Bennings job to sell.

Relax. It's summer fodder.

We don’t have a clue on how this team will perform next season. Yet we spend a huge amount of time posting made-up line combos and fantasy trade proposals. I don’t understand how people can spend months and months posting that stuff.

But we still can assess the job of team management. It’s important. If they (frank) up then the whole deck of cards come crashing down. It’s the one true topic we all can actually relate to. We all have jobs and some business management experience. I doubt any of us have NHL playing experience.

I'm surprised that we don't discuss it more.
- bloatedmosquito

I don't post rosters, I skip over all of those posts I'm just saying Linden and Benning are certainly on the same page. If you aren't on the same page as your boss you are fired. Benning will be doing less interviews in the future

No doubt he has credentials but should his first shot at GM be for a team in a critical stage in their franchise history? Transitioning this team from the twins will be a really tough job.

If they resign the twins then you know they have no plan at this point in time to address this.
- bloatedmosquito

To me, and this is just my personal feelings, you'll never have a winning team unless you draft well, which the Canucks have never been good at. Read into that what you will.

So in that sense, from that perspective, he's the right man for the job. BUT…I would've put a professional person (assistant GM) next to him and organized my managerial team differently to dampen some of the missteps that I've seen in the contract and trades department.

It's not Bennings job to sell tickets, it's his job to build a championship team. Trading for Kane this summer sells tickets.
- LeftCoaster

Fixed

Fixed
- VanHockeyGuy

You can't take any shots if you don't have any bullets!!

You can't take any shots if you don't have any bullets!!
- LeftCoaster

Yep.

To me, and this is just my personal feelings, you'll never have a winning team unless you draft well, which the Canucks have never been good at. Read into that what you will.

So in that sense, from that perspective, he's the right man for the job. BUT…I would've put a professional person (assistant GM) next to him and organized my managerial team differently to dampen some of the missteps that I've seen in the contract and trades department.
- LeftCoaster

Which they had but was let go for supposedly not towing the company line.

“Laurence’s core responsibilities were managing the salary cap and contract negotiations and he’s got a lengthy history with the game,” said Linden. “For the time being, both John and Jim have a lot of years in the business and internally we have people who can help out.”

“We had a big group,” Benning said.

“They’re all really good people, but we need to be more streamlined. This is more about streamlining things and making sure we have better communication in our group.”

"Gilman once said part of his job was to tell Gillis no when the GM had a bad idea."

I'm patiently waiting for my tee-off time, which is a late one due to it being Men's Night.


Did you know Henrik only needs 30 points to become the first player in Vancouver Canuck history to score 1000 points? Daniel needs 58.

I wonder how many of the early franchises like Vancouver, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Minnesota & St. Louis, after the 67 & 70 expansions, don't have a 1000 point player?

Which they had but was let go for supposedly not towing the company line.
- belcherbd

It was the merging of two different management groups more than anything. I don't think you can read anymore into it than that. As an owner, I would've said "this is what we're doing, this is not a democracy"….the end!

Los Angeles
Marcel Dionne - 1307
Luc Robitaille - 1154
Dave Taylor - 1069

Philadelphia
Bobby Clarke - 1210

Pittsburgh
Mario Lemieux - 1723
Jaromir Jagr - 1079

Minnesota/Dallas
Mike Modano - 1359

St. Louis
Bernie Federko - 1073

Buffalo
Gilbert Perreault - 1326

Vancouver
Henrik Sedin - 970

I'm patiently waiting for my tee-off time, which is a late one due to it being Men's Night.


Did you know Henrik only needs 30 points to become the first player in Vancouver Canuck history to score 1000 points? Daniel needs 58.

I wonder how many of the early franchises like Vancouver, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Minnesota & St. Louis, after the 67 & 70 expansions, don't have a 1000 point player?
- LeftCoaster

We have only one, Gil Perreault. He finished with 512 goals and 814 assists for 1,326 points. He spent his entire career with us. Dave Andreychuk is #2 with 804 points.