My two problems with Jim is

1) he is a .500 GM . Eriksson is a terrible unforgivable contract. We knew Loui was coming to the Canucks but the contract structure is beyond dumb. It shows how long the thought the Sedins would be here and they were still relying on them heavily.

Schaller is a bad contract that any GM could have made but there is no real harm done. Canucks had close to 10 mil in cap space all year and have no cap issues next year.

Beagle is an over payment but Roussel is a bargain.

My bigger problem with Benning is he reacts after the fact. Tanev Sutter and Edler should have been moved last summer and here we are today what do we do with them. None of them were bad signings at the time but should have been movd by now.

2) His drafting . He has had 6 first round picks and 3 look good and 3 not so good. As fans we can hope for players to be selected Like Jake but as a GM it is up to him and his staff it is up to them to do their homework.

I think this year had to be successful for JB to have public support but fell short by a few months.
- VANTEL

- LE contract was bad but Vrbata and Vanek were hits.

- drafting has been pretty good. Pettersson Demko Boeser Hughes will all be staples. But it's a 50/50 thing.

- Schaller was a miss which is too bad as many had high hopes, but filling in the bottom 6 is always risk/reward.

- Rousell is a hit but if the roles were reversed with Beagle all the whiners would be crying about Rousell. Cup Champions cost money as they have proved their worth. The cryers are all over Beagle right now after only 42 games played as a Canuck...lets see where he is with a better team and a full season next year.

I guess my point is that everything Benning does is just 50/50. Nothing really 'gets us over the hump' and as Booner stated early on in Benning's tenure he probably won't be here to see all of his work mature. Which is good and bad. We are improving albeit slowly. What would really suck is if another GM comes in and absolutely destroys the good things that Benning has done which could happen. Again it's all 50/50 lol

Both Tampa and Dallas have signed a junior free agent, both of who I had hopes that Benning might have been considering...(frank)en Benning.

My two problems with Jim is

1) he is a .500 GM . Eriksson is a terrible unforgivable contract. We knew Loui was coming to the Canucks but the contract structure is beyond dumb. It shows how long the thought the Sedins would be here and they were still relying on them heavily.

Schaller is a bad contract that any GM could have made but there is no real harm done. Canucks had close to 10 mil in cap space all year and have no cap issues next year.

Beagle is an over payment but Roussel is a bargain.

My bigger problem with Benning is he reacts after the fact. Tanev Sutter and Edler should have been moved last summer and here we are today what do we do with them. None of them were bad signings at the time but should have been movd by now.

2) His drafting . He has had 6 first round picks and 3 look good and 3 not so good. As fans we can hope for players to be selected Like Jake but as a GM it is up to him and his staff it is up to them to do their homework.

I think this year had to be successful for JB to have public support but fell short by a few months.
- VANTEL

I agree with a lot of this but highlighted is the most standout part.

I can't think of more than a couple, if any, times that JB clearly demonstrated he had thought ahead of a situation and was fully prepared when adversity struck.

One thing I would disagree with is his success % with 1st rounders, he was clearly forced into taking Jake and he recognized McCann wasn't going to turn out and shipped him off early, so I'd give him a pass on round 1 in 2014.

Both Tampa and Dallas have signed a junior free agent, both of who I had hopes that Benning might have been considering...(frank)en Benning.
- Reubenkincade

im assuming Jim has to keep those last few roster spots open. Seen lots of chatter on twitter from people saying that Hughes and Lockwood are both looking to sign, and that Madden is seriously considering leaving at the end of this year at North Eastern to go pro.

I couldnt get a single agreement at New Years that Markstrom had improved.


Petey is a feather in Jims cap. Hard to use EP as a dismissal to moving forward. This is what moves you forward. If he was another crap pick it would be a negative towards a firing. It doesnt work the other way... Markstrom was re-signed by JB iirc. Not a negative either.
- boonerbuck

Lol. You’re so full of poop. Lol

I agree with a lot of this but highlighted is the most standout part.

I can't think of more than a couple, if any, times that JB clearly demonstrated he had thought ahead of a situation and was fully prepared when adversity struck.

One thing I would disagree with is his success % with 1st rounders, he was clearly forced into taking Jake and he recognized McCann wasn't going to turn out and shipped him off early, so I'd give him a pass on round 1 in 2014.
- NorthNuck

Like a backup goalie?

Also, McCann might not be Barzal or Pasternak, but he’s already played over 200 games and is almost at 100 points. Pretty far from “not working out”

im assuming Jim has to keep those last few roster spots open. Seen lots of chatter on twitter from people saying that Hughes and Lockwood are both looking to sign, and that Madden is seriously considering leaving at the end of this year at North Eastern to go pro.
- Codes1087

He has 4 roster spots available.
Madden and Lockwood can sign AHL deals, so really only 1 spot is taken up.
I am sure he is looking around the world at potential players, including the Swedish defenseman VHG posted the other day.

My two problems with Jim is

1) he is a .500 GM . Eriksson is a terrible unforgivable contract. We knew Loui was coming to the Canucks but the contract structure is beyond dumb. It shows how long the thought the Sedins would be here and they were still relying on them heavily.

Schaller is a bad contract that any GM could have made but there is no real harm done. Canucks had close to 10 mil in cap space all year and have no cap issues next year.

Beagle is an over payment but Roussel is a bargain.

My bigger problem with Benning is he reacts after the fact. Tanev Sutter and Edler should have been moved last summer and here we are today what do we do with them. None of them were bad signings at the time but should have been movd by now.

2) His drafting . He has had 6 first round picks and 3 look good and 3 not so good. As fans we can hope for players to be selected Like Jake but as a GM it is up to him and his staff it is up to them to do their homework.

I think this year had to be successful for JB to have public support but fell short by a few months.
- VANTEL

Solid.... but.

Rousell isn't a bargain at 3m, he's slightly over market value but not a bad contract.

Beagle, Eriksson, Sutter, Schaller, gudbranson(Pearson now) are all massive(2×) payments and are horrible contracts.

OJ was trending point per game before his injury.

Boeser, pettersson are clear wins.

Hughes and OJ are question marks but look like they'll be wins.

McCann was a bust.
Virtanen was a reach but aqua wanted a local boy, it was always going to be him or Sam Reinhardt, not Benning's call.

Elder and Sutter have NTC, one Benning and ones Gilles. Can't move them.

Tanev should have been moved early.

I give dim Jim a B minus.

neither is pencilling karlsson/panarin/tavares/duchene into future lineups but we see it anyway lol

but i agree, i can see him taking over for holland this summer
- Codes1087

Nobody is penciling in Taveras or Duchene.
EK or Panarin are way more likely then stevey Y.
12 percent chance each compared to 0.1 percent.

I agree with him taking over for Holland.

Like a backup goalie?

Also, McCann might not be Barzal or Pasternak, but he’s already played over 200 games and is almost at 100 points. Pretty far from “not working out”
- 1970vintage

I personally don't think there was anything major to be done about the goalie situation this year, I didn't buy into the hysterics when that was happening, so no I don't count that among his lack of foresight.

I also think McCann would not have put up those points had he remained in Van. He joined the team too early, the locker room hated him, etc. He was never going to be the 1/2 C we would've wanted him to be.

- LE contract was bad but Vrbata and Vanek were hits.

- drafting has been pretty good. Pettersson Demko Boeser Hughes will all be staples. But it's a 50/50 thing.

- Schaller was a miss which is too bad as many had high hopes, but filling in the bottom 6 is always risk/reward.

- Rousell is a hit but if the roles were reversed with Beagle all the whiners would be crying about Rousell. Cup Champions cost money as they have proved their worth. The cryers are all over Beagle right now after only 42 games played as a Canuck...lets see where he is with a better team and a full season next year.

I guess my point is that everything Benning does is just 50/50. Nothing really 'gets us over the hump' and as Booner stated early on in Benning's tenure he probably won't be here to see all of his work mature. Which is good and bad. We are improving albeit slowly. What would really suck is if another GM comes in and absolutely destroys the good things that Benning has done which could happen. Again it's all 50/50 lol
- LordHumungous

Good thing we have Pearson as a champion now.
I bet Ovechkin was glad that beagle dragged that team ri a cup championship.

Seriously though, a 4th liner on a championship team isn't necessarily better then any other 4 liner. I don't get your hard on for him? He's an injury prone 3g 3million dollar center.

50/50 is very generous.

His "best moves" are heavily influenced by the team being one of the worst teams in the league during his stewardship.

Still waiting for someone to find a team who has drafted in the top 10, 4 out of 5 years, soon to be 5 out 6 and hasn't drafted 2 great players. Hughes has a good chance to make it 3 but many of us here also thought JV and Joulevi were locks too.

That said I do think he has done some good things and drafting outside of those top picks is one.

Like a backup goalie?

Also, McCann might not be Barzal or Pasternak, but he’s already played over 200 games and is almost at 100 points. Pretty far from “not working out”
- 1970vintage

So.... virtanen is a good pick as well?

50/50 is very generous.

His "best moves" are heavily influenced by the team being one of the worst teams in the league during his stewardship.

Still waiting for someone to find a team who has drafted in the top 10, 4 out of 5 years, soon to be 5 out 6 and hasn't drafted 2 great players. Hughes has a good chance to make it 3 but many of us here also thought JV and Joulevi were locks too.

That said I do think he has done some good things and drafting outside of those top picks is one.
- belcherbd

OJ was point per game when he got injured.... pretty good for a rookie defensemen.

I would put Benning's draft record against the Oilers, Florida, Carolina, Jersey or philly. Who have all been in the same boat.

I agree with a lot of this but highlighted is the most standout part.

I can't think of more than a couple, if any, times that JB clearly demonstrated he had thought ahead of a situation and was fully prepared when adversity struck.

One thing I would disagree with is his success % with 1st rounders, he was clearly forced into taking Jake and he recognized McCann wasn't going to turn out and shipped him off early, so I'd give him a pass on round 1 in 2014.
- NorthNuck

Wut?

OJ was point per game when he got injured.... pretty good for a rookie defensemen.

I would put Benning's draft record against the Oilers, Florida, Carolina, Jersey or philly. Who have all been in the same boat.
- New world order

I agree OJ looked like he was rounding a corner and will be the first one to laud Benning if he turns into an impact player in the NHL.

I personally don't think there was anything major to be done about the goalie situation this year, I didn't buy into the hysterics when that was happening, so no I don't count that among his lack of foresight.

I also think McCann would not have put up those points had he remained in Van. He joined the team too early, the locker room hated him, etc. He was never going to be the 1/2 C we would've wanted him to be.
- NorthNuck

The goalie situation might not have been devastating, but it supports your point, react vs proact.

McCann should have been sent back to SSM for another year of Jr. hockey but (probably more Linden than Benning) the organization needed to sell the future. Same for Virtanen. A late 20’s pick shouldn’t be expected to be a 1/2 C. Now with Gaudette maybe McCann is redundant and you could move him for a youn D...

Wut?
- belcherbd

I don’t know about “clearly”, but it does smell fishy. If Van hadn’t drafted Jake where do you think he goes? High teens Inwould think:

The goalie situation might not have been devastating, but it supports your point, react vs proact.

McCann should have been sent back to SSM for another year of Jr. hockey but (probably more Linden than Benning) the organization needed to sell the future. Same for Virtanen. A late 20’s pick shouldn’t be expected to be a 1/2 C. Now with Gaudette maybe McCann is redundant and you could move him for a youn D...
- 1970vintage

Yeah it would have been nice to send one or both of JV and McCann back to junior for sure. Probably would have helped us be slightly further ahead today.

Wut?
- belcherbd

Look at all of JBs other draft picks. Do you really think Jake was his guy?

50/50 is very generous.

His "best moves" are heavily influenced by the team being one of the worst teams in the league during his stewardship.

Still waiting for someone to find a team who has drafted in the top 10, 4 out of 5 years, soon to be 5 out 6 and hasn't drafted 2 great players. Hughes has a good chance to make it 3 but many of us here also thought JV and Joulevi were locks too.

That said I do think he has done some good things and drafting outside of those top picks is one.
- belcherbd

Do you mean like the Coyotes, who had 4 straight top 10 picks, starting in 06, that got OEL and player who is slightly above average , like Turris?

Nobody is penciling in Taveras or Duchene.
EK or Panarin are way more likely then stevey Y.
12 percent chance each compared to 0.1 percent.

I agree with him taking over for Holland.
- New world order

You did in both blogs yesterday.

I'll forgive them if they tank hard and get their GM fired + great lotto odds
- Nucker101

JB, like a Burke, has built a core. Deserves credit for it. But like Burke he may not last to see it come into fruition

Look at all of JBs other draft picks. Do you really think Jake was his guy?
- NorthNuck

McCann was an aquaman pick. Sam was the apple of his eye though

You did in both blogs yesterday.
- Marwood

You actually read his comments?