Has your opinion of Jim Benning changed?

[I am toxic]

Yes. That was a good hire by Benning as well in addition to Green and promoting Brackett. Thanks for pointing that out. I think he’s really improved the goaltending. He deserves a lot of credit.

"good hire by Benning" - check

"and promoting Brackett" - check

"really improved the goaltending" - check

"in addtion to Green" - che . . . hold on . . .

 

[Sanchise90]

Id say thats accurate.

How would you weigh those 3 factors though?

would you rather have a GM thats great at Signings but awful at Drafting and Trades?

Perfect world, your GM is outstanding in all 3 of those facets but its not a perfect world.

I mean Jim Nill is terrible at drafting, but great at signings and trades. How do you evaluate him?

 

[FreeMcdavid]

I mean Jim Nill is terrible at drafting, but great at signings and trades. How do you evaluate him?

Would rather have it the other way around.

I put drafting at the top of attribute i want in a GM in order to build team that can challenge for many years.

Signing and Trading are for when the team and core is already assembled.

 

[Off Sides]

I refuse to change my opinion of Benning. That picture where he looks surprised with his eyes's bulging out is how I want my opinion of him to remain.

 

[Cancuks]

Jim Benning is like that old saying: "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Make enough trades and free agent signings and a few will work out in your favor. But the vast majority of his transactions have still been trash.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

First. I apologize for my earlier post. I was out of line and regret it.
I agree for the most part with your post. But I also think we should see some internal growth. There is no doubt that we will need some outside additions to get to the next level. The lack of cap space is a real handicap and probably means those additions won’t happen for another two years and that assumes no more bad contracts.
I see the team as in a similar spot as when Gillis took over last go round. We probably need another better GM to get us there. The tough part is finding those guys as there are a lot of what I consider to be mediocre GMs in the NHL and few really top notch ones.

All good man. I'm a lawyer so I have fairly thick skin and I try not to take anything personally on here. Water off a duck's back.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

All good man. I'm a lawyer so I have fairly thick skin and I try not to take anything personally on here. Water off a duck's back.

Fellow lawyer. So I can relate. After a few thousand lawyer jokes your skin gets thicker!
Cheers

 

[crowi]

Eh, at least the premise of the thread was good, perhaps location of it was misplaced. When one makes an observation about how poor Benning has been, then it goes south fast.
Which begs the question - why even have this on General forum. Rabid fans (including op) will jump anyone with a differing opinion of the great man.

 

[zcaptain]

This is my take on Benning....

IMO, when he first got here, some decisions were being made for him. One, and the biggest mistake he made was signing, Eriksson, but I truly blame this on Aqualini and the Sedin's, who refuse to admit the gig was over.

Players were held onto longer than they should have, and they lost value. IMO, when Benning did move Hansen, and Burrows, he did pretty good getting what he got. With Hamhuis, it was really Dallas at the TDL that played Benning, trying to get Hamhuis cheap, and ultimately leaving Benning with no time to make another deal.

Kesler was another gem, as he basically handcuffed the team with a 1 team trade list. This eventually ended up on Benning's lap...…...

So the returns for those veteran assets, were tap dance and exit stage left...….meaning Benning was handcuffed
to some extent...…...Some fans blame Benning for those moves, I see them as being a residue of past and present
manipulations, not totally in Benning's control.

Now as for Eriksson, Myers, Beagle, Roussel and Ferland

Eriksson had a solid season the year before and was coveted by a lot of teams in Free Agency, like I said, I think Aqua and Sedin's had a lot to do with it. (if he had played as well as his last year, pre Canucks, would anyone be yapping?) Myers has made the Canucks stronger...I don't particularly like him, but its true! Beagle is a solid veteran top FO, defensive forward. At one time this year, the Canucks had 3 of the top 10 FO guys...Beagle was one. The poor guy does not get a lot of offensive starts. Nor any strong wingers....just grinders. Roussel is a warrior, and plays an honest 3rd line shift, and the Ferland signing is at pretty decent hit.....too bad for the injuries

In short, yes, I would agree, his signings have been a little high, but some may have had hidden benefits, aka Tanev still not injured. I can't say for sure, is it because we have Myers, I think he has a small part in Tanev not playing all the difficult minutes.

His trades have been fine. Baertschi was a fill the hole trade, that was under the time when Aqua ad the Sedin's were pushing still. I think without hide sight, it was a good trade. Baertschi filled the top line LW for a few years, not bad for giving up a 2nd, really, even if he wasn't a bonified top LW, he was a lot better than what we had. Gudbranson trade sounded good on paper...….and if Gud had played better, all would have been forgiven, but in the end Pearson made the pain go away. Lucky for Jimbo! Miller has been a gem, and well worth the risk. I think Benning said thank you to the big guy upstairs on that one....it could have blown up on that one. But it was a good trade.

His one big problem is Cap and he has always balanced it out, every year, so I think he is innocent until proven guilty on that one, as there are a lot of people saying the sky is going to fall, but Benning seems to think all is well, so the jury is out on that one, and I will hold him at fault if it explodes in his face, and costs us a prospect or 1st to fix it, but until then. Let's hold off on that one.

Now onto the drafting.....Jim Benning is the GM and in charge of his employees. He is the one that empowers them to speak their mind, promotes them and sets the dye, he is ultimately responsible for them and their picks. And he sets the direction...….he should get the credit.

I will also add, that I believe Jim is a very decent man, honest, trustworthy and loyal. I believe that is a weakness, and it has been exploited from time to time. But I also believe that he has learned over the years, and become a better GM, year after year.

No, he is not perfect, but I do believe his rebuild was done fairly quickly, considering the first 2 years, and I believe he is an above GM, who I also think his players believe in. We are in first place now....that is not a fluke like some suggest.

 

[zcaptain]

PS...………...and the Luongo Recapture penalty is just pure BS and an unjust action. and that is a 3 Million a year
handcuff, the team does not deserve to have and nothing to do with Benning.

 

[Cucumber]

Jim Benning is like that old saying: "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Make enough trades and free agent signings and a few will work out in your favor. But the vast majority of his transactions have still been trash.

Again every single trade or signing made sense at the time. Just players come and fail to impress for whatever reasons. Some of it is coaching.

Also it's a whole entire team that discusses signing and trades its not just Benning. Iirc Gillis agm Gillman or something like that was the one in charge of signings and resigning. Benning gives the final go for sure but it's a team decision that made sense everytime.


I think Benning built an outstanding core and once some cap comes off we will see how good Benning is at finishing a rebuild.

For now he is a 8/10 imo. Such an underrated gm

 

[4Twenty]

This is my take on Benning....

IMO, when he first got here, some decisions were being made for him. One, and the biggest mistake he made was signing, Eriksson, but I truly blame this on Aqualini and the Sedin's, who refuse to admit the gig was over.

Players were held onto longer than they should have, and they lost value. IMO, when Benning did move Hansen, and Burrows, he did pretty good getting what he got. With Hamhuis, it was really Dallas at the TDL that played Benning, trying to get Hamhuis cheap, and ultimately leaving Benning with no time to make another deal.

Kesler was another gem, as he basically handcuffed the team with a 1 team trade list. This eventually ended up on Benning's lap...…...

So the returns for those veteran assets, were tap dance and exit stage left...….meaning Benning was handcuffed
to some extent...…...Some fans blame Benning for those moves, I see them as being a residue of past and present
manipulations, not totally in Benning's control.

Now as for Eriksson, Myers, Beagle, Roussel and Ferland

Eriksson had a solid season the year before and was coveted by a lot of teams in Free Agency, like I said, I think Aqua and Sedin's had a lot to do with it. (if he had played as well as his last year, pre Canucks, would anyone be yapping?) Myers has made the Canucks stronger...I don't particularly like him, but its true! Beagle is a solid veteran top FO, defensive forward. At one time this year, the Canucks had 3 of the top 10 FO guys...Beagle was one. The poor guy does not get a lot of offensive starts. Nor any strong wingers....just grinders. Roussel is a warrior, and plays an honest 3rd line shift, and the Ferland signing is at pretty decent hit.....too bad for the injuries

In short, yes, I would agree, his signings have been a little high, but some may have had hidden benefits, aka Tanev still not injured. I can't say for sure, is it because we have Myers, I think he has a small part in Tanev not playing all the difficult minutes.

His trades have been fine. Baertschi was a fill the hole trade, that was under the time when Aqua ad the Sedin's were pushing still. I think without hide sight, it was a good trade. Baertschi filled the top line LW for a few years, not bad for giving up a 2nd, really, even if he wasn't a bonified top LW, he was a lot better than what we had. Gudbranson trade sounded good on paper...….and if Gud had played better, all would have been forgiven, but in the end Pearson made the pain go away. Lucky for Jimbo! Miller has been a gem, and well worth the risk. I think Benning said thank you to the big guy upstairs on that one....it could have blown up on that one. But it was a good trade.

His one big problem is Cap and he has always balanced it out, every year, so I think he is innocent until proven guilty on that one, as there are a lot of people saying the sky is going to fall, but Benning seems to think all is well, so the jury is out on that one, and I will hold him at fault if it explodes in his face, and costs us a prospect or 1st to fix it, but until then. Let's hold off on that one.

Now onto the drafting.....Jim Benning is the GM and in charge of his employees. He is the one that empowers them to speak their mind, promotes them and sets the dye, he is ultimately responsible for them and their picks. And he sets the direction...….he should get the credit.

I will also add, that I believe Jim is a very decent man, honest, trustworthy and loyal. I believe that is a weakness, and it has been exploited from time to time. But I also believe that he has learned over the years, and become a better GM, year after year.

No, he is not perfect, but I do believe his rebuild was done fairly quickly, considering the first 2 years, and I believe he is an above GM, who I also think his players believe in. We are in first place now....that is not a fluke like some suggest.

Again every single trade or signing made sense at the time. Just players come and fail to impress for whatever reasons. Some of it is coaching.

Also it's a whole entire team that discusses signing and trades its not just Benning. Iirc Gillis agm Gillman or something like that was the one in charge of signings and resigning. Benning gives the final go for sure but it's a team decision that made sense everytime.


I think Benning built an outstanding core and once some cap comes off we will see how good Benning is at finishing a rebuild.

For now he is a 8/10 imo. Such an underrated gm

Excuses, blame others, and a low bar.

If you're working from the position that every single thing he does was right, but they just didn't work out, it's hard to take your evaluation seriously. You can do that with every GM and every move in NHL history.

 

[sting101]

If Van wins the Pacific. Benning wins GM of the year.

Miller Pearson Myers Hughes Demko Gaudette all having huge impacts on the teams success this year. Farland is about to return and Leivo was excellent till he got hurt also.

Chayka and Sakic are probably the other favorites

 

[4Twenty]

If Van wins the Pacific. Benning wins GM of the year.

Miller Pearson Myers Hughes Demko Gaudette all having huge impacts on the teams success this year. Farland is about to return and Leivo was excellent till he got hurt also.

Chayka and Sakic are probably the other favorites

Usually the other GM's reward excellence, only one winner went to a team with less than 104 points.

97 points is unlikely to get it for him, the difference between leading that division and being out of the playoffs altogether is 2 points. Media and fans tend to award "surprises" moreso than excellence.

Doug Armstrong should be up there too, as well as McLellan in Washington.

 

[zcaptain]

Excuses, blame others, and a low bar.

If you're working from the position that every single thing he does was right, but they just didn't work out, it's hard to take your evaluation seriously. You can do that with every GM and every move in NHL history.

I am not saying he is perfect, nor that he has not made mistakes, but IMO, he has made adjustments and he has moved the team upwards in a rather short time. In comparison, teams like Edmonton, Detroit, LA, Buffalo and New Jersey have all have lesser success in their rebuilds, and managing their Cap.

For that matter, Toronto, who completed a rebuild in rather short time after getting their executive together, have also made decisions that cost them a 1st round pick to repair. All of these teams in someway, have made worse decisions than Benning.

Again Benning has made mistakes, but managing players on NTC's contracts and trying to move them, while having interference from the Management group of Aqualini and the Sedin's, did make things difficult. And I do not think Benning had any choice but to move forward with their objective at first. You will never hear him complain, and he was probably hired with that understanding, but it is hard to squeeze water out of a stone, or create new assets from nothing, all the while your core is all aging out.

Remember the point of a core aging out, when making your comments, because it had a huge impact on Benning and the moves he made. That and no assets anywhere in the system, outside of Horvat.

Also remember, that up to this date, he has had absolutely no problem managing his cap, and it is only the fans perceived opinion that there is trouble with the cap and he will not be able to management going forward, that fuels part of your POV.

Keep in mind that Benning does not disclose everything, nor every comment, nor every agreement, and that he has a plan, which we do not entirely know. We do not know what discussions he has had with Bettman, we do know what conversation he has had with other GM's, not with his players, aka Eriksson. So, on cap issues, I think you are premature. Again, if it comes to pass that the Cap forces Benning to move good assets or picks to clear cap, then let's all hold him accountable. But that has not happened yet.

As for trades, Pearson negates the Gudbranson trade, and the Miller trade pretty much, puts him ahead of the game.
The other trades, were only small trades, but in saying that, the Baertschi trade, worked out well for the Canucks as well.

So, in conclusion, yes, he is not perfect, but over all, he has moved the franchise forward, and upward, at a decent rate and in a decent amount of time.

Keep in mind, that those things that may happen, may not happen, that works both ways, but in comparison to the league, he has done his job, and does not deserve the hate, in fact he deserves a little respect.

Are there better GM's? Probably. But there are worse...………..we could have hired Chia, or one of the past Toronto GM's.

 

[4Twenty]

Yeah, that's just more of the same excuses, blame on others and a low bar. How can you be sure they can maintain an upward trend. I'd imagine people were saying the same things about Chia and the Oilers when they qualified for the playoffs in McDavid's 2nd year.

They're having a nice season to be sure, but there's a lot of season left and a lot of issues the man needs to manage moving forward, and I'm not confident he has the skills to do it.

 

[Hansen]

Again every single trade or signing made sense at the time. Just players come and fail to impress for whatever reasons. Some of it is coaching.

Also it's a whole entire team that discusses signing and trades its not just Benning. Iirc Gillis agm Gillman or something like that was the one in charge of signings and resigning. Benning gives the final go for sure but it's a team decision that made sense everytime.


I think Benning built an outstanding core and once some cap comes off we will see how good Benning is at finishing a rebuild.

For now he is a 8/10 imo. Such an underrated gm

Revisionist history at its finest.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

He’s improved, went from terrible to slightly bad.

Pros: Drafting
Cons: Trades, pro scouting/free agents, negotiating contracts.

Jim’s a straight shooter; not slick, persuasive or clever.

 

[Shruggs Peterson]

I never really understood why Benning has been afforded a longer leash than others that previously had his role in Vancouver.

Since Aquilini assumed an ownership role in the franchise in 2004, there has been:

Dave Nonis: 1 division title and 1 playoff appearance in 4 seasons
Mike Gillis: Conference title, SCF appearance, 5 division titles, 5 playoff appearances in 6 seasons

Jim is set to pass Gillis if he survives this season. I know the expectations of the team have changed dramatically from the time Gillis had control to what Benning has been doing the last few years, but it just seems strange that he's been afforded this much patience in year 6. I also seem to remember something around Trevor Linden stepping away from the team because he pushed for a rebuild as recent as 2018 but ownership was not on board with that.

My opinion of him hasn't really changed, he's always had a drafting background and now the team sees the benefits of that, but I just wonder why he was the one to stick around to oversee it after 4 (what could be 5) years of not making the playoffs.

 

[Nucks N Canes]

Not all trades have the same value, and can’t be judged equally. Look at the team right now. Miller, Pearson are too 6 forwards for us, Leivo top 9. He gave up a first, 3rd, carcone and Gudbranson to get those guys who have dramatically improved our team. It really too concerned about minor deals that happened 4 or 5 years ago. there is a huge element of throwing s*** at the wall in a rebuild, which is why so many do not work out.

The only guy that I’d love to have back is Mcann.

I'm stating solely on him as a trader it's alright, but he's still nothing special, he has taken chances at times when the safe move was rely on the draft as the team was so far away. And the guys he traded for could have gotten for free on the waiver wire.

For what he did with miller, trade has worked out but argument was he could have gotten him cheaper. If Canucks have a poor second half people will wish that he gave up the two seconds that most still considered to be an overpay.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I'm stating solely on him as a trader it's alright, but he's still nothing special, he has taken chances at times when the safe move was rely on the draft as the team was so far away. And the guys he traded for could have gotten for free on the waiver wire.

For what he did with miller, trade has worked out but argument was he could have gotten him cheaper. If Canucks have a poor second half people will wish that he gave up the two seconds that most still considered to be an overpay.

Sure. You could make an argument for every single trade that you could have gotten a player cheaper. But it doesn’t mean it’s true. There’s no way of knowing that.
I think most Canuck fans thought at the time that a first was a fair price for Miller. What fans including myself were concerned about was that the first could turn into a lottery pick if Van didn’t make the playoffs in either of those two years.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Nope, he's still trash.

 

[FreeMcdavid]

I never really understood why Benning has been afforded a longer leash than others that previously had his role in Vancouver.

Since Aquilini assumed an ownership role in the franchise in 2004, there has been:

Dave Nonis: 1 division title and 1 playoff appearance in 4 seasons
Mike Gillis: Conference title, SCF appearance, 5 division titles, 5 playoff appearances in 6 seasons

Jim is set to pass Gillis if he survives this season. I know the expectations of the team have changed dramatically from the time Gillis had control to what Benning has been doing the last few years, but it just seems strange that he's been afforded this much patience in year 6. I also seem to remember something around Trevor Linden stepping away from the team because he pushed for a rebuild as recent as 2018 but ownership was not on board with that.

My opinion of him hasn't really changed, he's always had a drafting background and now the team sees the benefits of that, but I just wonder why he was the one to stick around to oversee it after 4 (what could be 5) years of not making the playoffs.

He's been afforded a longer leash because Aquallini knows he was too hands in 2014-2016 era. You cant really fire the guy when behind the scenes Aquallini was the one demanding playoffs when it was time to restart.

So Aqua gave him an extension and became less involved. The last few years is all on Benning and therefore he will be fired if they collapse this season.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

I'll never understand why Benning didn't trade Hamhuis, Ryan Miller, or Vrbata at the trade deadlines when they were pending UFA agents, the Canucks were well out of a playoff spot, and Benning had no intention of re-signing them. I know people will say for Hamhuis that ownership got in the way (Dallas was the only buyer and our owners hate each other), but still, Miller had pretty decent value and we knew we weren't going to re-sign him, and we were far out of the playoffs...it makes no sense. It's poor asset management that's inexcusable IMO.

 

[lush]

Pretty much all of his accomplishments fall into the category of: "a stopped clock is right twice a day"
You draft enough and trade enough ... something eventually works out