Post-Game Talk: GM 62 | Canucks def. Wild | 3-1 (EP40, Sherwood, Blueger | All Hail Lankinen
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He was a VERY highly touted offensive d-man coming out of junior.
He made the Leafs as an 18 YO when he wasn’t ready and had the weight of the world placed on his shoulders.
You can do a deep dive on the Leafs drafting and development of their prospects (especially d-men) and it’s actually quite alarming to see how many guys they absolutely ruined back then.
As an aside: there was a young kid named Craig Redmond who was going to be a high first round pick and he took the fairly unusual step of proclaiming if the Leafs picked him, he would refuse to play for the team/organization because they (led by their owner Harold Ballard) were ruining so many young prospects.
Anyways Benning’s confidence and career was in shambles by the time he was traded to the Canucks. He was a reclamation project by then.
It was Quinn and Burke in charge of resurrecting the Canucks franchise at the time and they valued bigger tougher d-men. To Benning’s credit he tried to add a feisty, tougher side to his game in hopes of impressing managment to earn a larger role, but it seemed like management had already made up their mind on him.
So…he played a smaller role with the team. He was benched and/or sat in the pressbox for long periods and although a good citizen, he even had a public dispute with Pat Quinn about how he was being treated and I think the media and fans kind of sided with Benning at the time.
I don’t think you’d compare him to Bryan Allen at all though.
I’d say more like a poor man’s version of Doug Lidster is how he played in Vancouver. He tried to be a two way d-man and had kind of given up on being an offensive guy by the time he arrived in Vancouver.
He had 139 points in 72 games in his draft year. Even by the standards of the time those were huge numbers (not sure now, but possibly record breaking for an 18 year old).
Anyways, long story short Benning was a slightly undersized offensive d-man that had a very disappointing NHL career that was likely ruined by the Leafs.
Interestingly his kid brother Brian was a very similar d-man who was nowhere near the same level of prospect (a 2nd rounder) yet went on to have the better NHL career because the Leafs weren’t able to ruin him.
Just want to come here and sing Petey's praise. Good game by the vet. Let's string up another one.
stampedingviking
Registered User
Do you mean Eldar god?Didn't watch the game, was painting my warhammer shit (which I'm sure you are all TOTALLY dying to see right????), and we won.
Once again you're all welcome. I am but a humble nerd, there's no need to worship me as an elder god whose entangled in the cosmic thread and can do random things to help the team win.
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
Thx for the clarification. Weird how solid he was as a NHL defenseman (no allstar but very capable) yet he couldn't find a player "like him" in some more than a half a dozen years as a GM.
I'm reminded of the nasty contract negotiations between Tanev & Benning:
- Tanev's dad apparently replied something like: "oh yeah....Jim, I remember *YOU* as a NHL player. You were so soft yourself that whenever you went into the corners of the ice with a dozen eggs attached to your hip, you'd come out with 13 unbroken eggs"
Wow.Tanev's dad apparently replied something like: "oh yeah....Jim, I remember *YOU* as a NHL player. You were so soft yourself that whenever you went into the corners of the ice with a dozen eggs attached to your hip, you'd come out with 13 unbroken eggs"
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
To be honest I hear stuff like that often gets said in many contract negotiations. Can't take things too personally.
Mr. Canucklehead
Kitimat Canuck
The most striking example for me was Burke’s “mouse on the back” comment regarding Brendan Morrison.
Well, I imagine that's more an equivalent to regular chess, but certainly possible. So Boeser won't get anything close to what the Canucks have already tabled, which makes one wonder, why would the Canucks value him so highly?What if Alvin is playing 5D chess and saying Boeser didn't generate much interest so that he signs for a lower contract with van
Not sure we want him if he continues playing the way he has most of this year. Wouldn’t mind a shorter term (3yr?) deal for about 5aav but doesn’t sound like that’s close to what he’s looking for.What if Alvin is playing 5D chess and saying Boeser didn't generate much interest so that he signs for a lower contract with van
Will be interesting to see what he ends up getting. Lots of cap space so it’s possible a team pony’s for his demands.
Thx for the clarification. Weird how solid he was as a NHL defenseman (no allstar but very capable) yet he couldn't find a player "like him" in some more than a half a dozen years as a GM.
I'm reminded of the nasty contract negotiations between Tanev & Benning:
- Tanev's dad apparently replied something like: "oh yeah....Jim, I remember *YOU* as a NHL player. You were so soft yourself that whenever you went into the corners of the ice with a dozen eggs attached to your hip, you'd come out with 13 unbroken eggs"
Wow, I never heard this at the time. Pretty damning indictment of Jim’s player assessment abilities, or negotiating abilities if he was trying to play that angle. Either way, just one more data point on the graph of Jim Bennings incompetence.
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
He looked decent. No gaffs. Some good passes. Skated the puck out one time that was noticeable. Someone mentioned he was getting pushed back in his own end too much - there is something where he’s not quite polished or doesn’t give you the confidence that it’s going to be a clean play out. Can’t put my finger on it exactly.
But definitely looks like there’s a good foundation to work with there. Optimistic that Foote can develop him into a solid player.
Reverend Mayhem
Serial Hanlon's Razor Ignorer
- Feb 15, 2009
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Thx for the clarification. Weird how solid he was as a NHL defenseman (no allstar but very capable) yet he couldn't find a player "like him" in some more than a half a dozen years as a GM.
I'm reminded of the nasty contract negotiations between Tanev & Benning:
- Tanev's dad apparently replied something like: "oh yeah....Jim, I remember *YOU* as a NHL player. You were so soft yourself that whenever you went into the corners of the ice with a dozen eggs attached to your hip, you'd come out with 13 unbroken eggs"
What a f***ing imbecile
Usually the GM will say some harsh truths, whereas this is a straight up fabrication or completely false evaluation of the player.
And considering he let Tanev walk it's not hard to believe Benning actually felt that way.
That f***ing moron, absolute clown.
The list of putrid Dmen Benning acquired, and he calls Tanev of all people soft and lets him walk. Insanity
No surprise that a completely terrible talent evaluator would suggest a player who sacrificed his body to block anything he could was “soft”. It’s one thing for a “hockey guy” to be a bumbling idiot when it comes to the operations side of the coin, but the dude was clueless about the product on the ice too
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LuckyDay
Registered User
Part of me thinks Tocchet's system is not great for him. Lekkerimaki has a lethal shot, he needs to use it and not constantly be looking for the perfect play. Just put the puck on net.
He did that a couple of times, he just need to be a bit faster and stronger to create separation to use his shot.
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