Confirmed with Link: Lawrence Gilman, Lorne Henning, Eric Crawford AND Mike Burnstein fired

[Love]

Go to 2:24 of this video to see a brief conversation between Benning and Gilman. Benning putting together words that barely qualify as a coherent sentence, and Gilman just smiling and nodding. At the end, you can almost see contempt in his face.

Call me crazy, but I don't think Gilman is too upset getting away from this mickey mouse, farce of a management team.

I love how he just says, "Virtanen." before he even knows who will be available at that pick.

 

[The Jesus*]

"Kill me pls"

 

[a Fool]

He has the exact same look on his face that I do. Jesus. What a depressing situation.

 

[FOurteenS inCisOr]

Gilman and Henning probably put too much pressure on Benning to negotiate and actually win a trade.

For shame...

 

[Win One Before I Die]

Well at this point we can only get better, because there is no way in hell this team can get any worse at this point.

 

[tantalum]

I personally can't wait until Jankowski is a Canuck.

 

[MS]

Well at this point we can only get better, because there is no way in hell this team can get any worse at this point.

I don't think we've remotely bottomed out.

The voices of reason in the front office were just booted. The 5 main pillars of this organization are now Linden, Benning, Weisbrod, Smyl, and Delorme.

Be prepared for that collection of idiots to groupthink us into the abyss.

What we've see so far is probably only the tip of the iceberg. They're already planning a huge Lucic contract in 2016.

 

[dwarf]

Well at this point we can only get better, because there is no way in hell this team can get any worse at this point.

I think its just morale is at its worst, with all the unpopular moves beginning with the Sbisa signing.

At least they are doing all the hard and unpopular things they wanted to do in a relatively fast time frame.

Lets hope they stop soon though, and start with some positive things, at least for the sake of season ticket sales..

 

[vanuck]

"Kill me pls"

Epic. He knows.

Well at this point we can only get better, because there is no way in hell this team can get any worse at this point.

You may say that now...

 

[PRNuck]

I personally can't wait until Jankowski is a Canuck.

Yeah...tomorrow's gonna rock.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

I don't think we've remotely bottomed out.

The voices of reason in the front office were just booted. The 5 main pillars of this organization are now Linden, Benning, Weisbrod, Smyl, and Delorme.

Be prepared for that collection of idiots to groupthink us into the abyss.

What we've see so far is probably only the tip of the iceberg. They're already planning a huge Lucic contract in 2016.

I like Looch, but that contract'll kill us.

 

[absolute garbage]

Well at this point we can only get better, because there is no way in hell this team can get any worse at this point.

I've been there many times. Trust me, it will get worse multiple times.

 

[dwarf]

I don't think we've remotely bottomed out.

The voices of reason in the front office were just booted. The 5 main pillars of this organization are now Linden, Benning, Weisbrod, Smyl, and Delorme.

Be prepared for that collection of idiots to groupthink us into the abyss.

What we've see so far is probably only the tip of the iceberg. They're already planning a huge Lucic contract in 2016.

Hopefully Lucic bottoms out on LA. He had a horrible season last year, and it could get worse playing in the west.

It is hard to have faith in our old boy Canucks and Wisebrod, with their brutal track records. But I am hoping they can learn from their mistakes.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Go to 2:24 of this video to see a brief conversation between Benning and Gilman. Benning putting together words that barely qualify as a coherent sentence, and Gilman just smiling and nodding. At the end, you can almost see contempt in his face.

Call me crazy, but I don't think Gilman is too upset getting away from this mickey mouse, farce of a management team.

Makes me think Gilman was behind trying to trade for Reinhart, and this was Benning trying to justify not doing it.

 

[PM]

If Benning just wants a yes man who agrees with everything he says he should hire the Moj as AGM. I'm starting to wonder if some posters here are actually just the Moj going undercover, trying to infiltrate us.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

If Benning just wants a yes man who agrees with everything he says he should hire the Moj as AGM. I'm starting to wonder if some posters here are actually just the Moj going undercover, trying to infiltrate us.

Moj just hated Gillis. Moj is actually quite insightful will all other aspects of life, other than hockey. When he's not on that, I find myself agreeing with him quite often. When he does talk hockey, I just kinda turn off the station.

 

[dwarf]

If Benning just wants a yes man who agrees with everything he says he should hire the Moj as AGM. I'm starting to wonder if some posters here are actually just the Moj going undercover, trying to infiltrate us.

Hah.

Joey Kenward annoys me the most. I have never seen interviews and questions softer than his.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Hah.

Joey Kenward annoys me the most. I have never seen interviews and questions softer than his.

He works for Canucks TV/canucks.com, he has to ask softball questions. If he strayed from that, it'd be going to close to biting the hand that feeds.

 

[Verviticus]

yeah joeys job is explicitly softballs. its not good but you cant really fault him or tell if hes good at a real job

moj is just a gross aggressive man with stupid opinions and a dumb voice. bill simmons but nowhere near as successful

 

[tantalum]

Hopefully Lucic bottoms out on LA. He had a horrible season last year, and it could get worse playing in the west.

It is hard to have faith in our old boy Canucks and Wisebrod, with their brutal track records. But I am hoping they can learn from their mistakes.

Hopefully lucic has a fantastic season so the kings extend him. Otherwise......shudder

 

[BuzzBuzz]

Makes me think Gilman was behind trying to trade for Reinhart, and this was Benning trying to justify not doing it.

Wasn't the rumor that Gilman wanted Barbashev after personally scouting him? Not sure if that was legit or Hfboard thing

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Wasn't the rumor that Gilman wanted Barbashev after personally scouting him? Not sure if that was legit or Hfboard thing

I was on the Barbashev train pretty hard. I don't hate the McCann pick either, though.

 

[Peter10]

Had to rant on another board

Guess I just have to find a spot to vent my anger here.

So last year Gillis was fired, I liked the guy but understood that he had to go. Was confused when Linden was named President but once it seemed clear it was more of a "representive" thing I thought that was good. I supported the Benning hire as he seemed to be a guy with a good understanding of identifying talent at first but then i noticed that this very good 2006 Bruins draft was actually managed by Gorton and not him. Also saw that all "his" Sabres picks, while several solids among them, were not really outstanding.

So let me give you an overview over the "emotionally ride" I have now expierenced with this team over the last year.

2014 Draft: Really liked what he did there with Virtanen, McCann and Demko. I justified the Kesler deal as ANA was the only team he wanted to go to. Hated the Garrison move (still one of my more liked players), was OK with Dorsett, interested to see how Vey was going to turn out.

2014 Free Agency: Indifferent on the Vrbata signing, he pretty much only had success with the Coyotes, feared it could blow up, luckily it didnt and he was one of the best UFA signings last year. As for Miller, everyone and his mom saw it coming. I was positivly surprised by money and term as I expected something like a 5y deal, probably this was why I wasnt bothered much by the signing in the end although I would have prefered what CGY did with Hiller.

2014 around end of October: First games played and I really start to like the Miller signing, he had a couple of bad games but looked really good most of the time, still a bit confused the avoid starting Lack with a passion in particular as Miller mentioned he will need time to adjust to the travel schedule. Furthermore I get a better understanding of Ducks Fans when they talked about this Sbisa guy. His main achivement is being part of a Pronger trade. Throws a real big hit that will make you go wow every other game but is mainly noticed for handling the puck like a granate. Luckily I am just in my mid 30s by now and despite excesive abuse of beer and tobacco this is still not enough to give me a heart attack (though I felt close to that at times). Anyways, I am getting excited about my planned trip to Vancouver later the season, team seems to be fun to watch, much improved over what Torts called hockey.

Closing in to the end of 2014: Overall I am kind of happy with the team, they seem to be on track. Sedins actually score again, Bonino has done a hell of a job so far although he is slightly dropping in production. Miller while still good most of the time and stealing a few games continues to have a real tough game ever 3-5 outings, seems to be fatigued yet Läck barely sees any starts. I am starting to accept the fact that Sbisa is Sbisa, luckily his contract is due by the end of the season and management can settle for a better suited deal. After all I dont mind him as a no 5 or 6 defender. Oh and did I mention that Horvat is slowly picking it up and gets better every game? Even Burrows is scoring again.

End of February 2015: Miller has gone down with an injury, finally Läck will play more, I sort of like it. There is that strange latvian guy with the name of Kenins, just had his 1st month of NHL hockey behind him and he looks faboulus. This is just crazy as I cant really remember any other young unexpected guy making some noise with the Canucks. Likeable guy too. Getting really excited about my Vancouver trip now.

Mid March 2015, my trip to VAN: First day there, I run into Coach Willie D and chat with him for a bit, great guy! First game I watch they win a tough game against Anaheim, i mean ANAHEIM! Ducks are the better team but Vancouver outworks, outlucks them and Big Kass scores a goal to secure the win. Next up LA, they struggle - no problem...oh wait lost 0-4 or so, well that can happen, after all we have that Bieksa-Sbisa pairing. As of now i am pretty sure Sbisa will probably traded and they just play him top 4 minutes in order to increase his trade value. Canucks go on and beat up the Leafs and Flyers which gets me more and more confident. Last game of my trip is against the Blue Jackets team, up 2-0 yeah that looks good until they give up 6 goals or so and lose the game. I have a crap load of beer to end my trip and i am fine with it. Läck was named 1st star in at least 3 of those games, fans love him to no end, seems to be a sure bet to be at the very least the no 1b goalie next year.

April 2015: Back in Germany and the Canucks barely hang onto a playoff spot, much helped by great performances of Eddie Läck and some insane number of empty net goals (i think they ended up with 22 or so over the whole season). Then the Canucks announce the re-signing of two of the key contributors, oh wait thats just Dorsett and Sbisa. Hmmm Sbisa really? For 3.6m a year over 3 more years? I guess I had too many beers but the day after i wake up and notice thats indeed true. So far I have defended/justified every move Benning made but this raises more than an eyebrow. Anaheim was probably still partying that they got rid of him and his contract and now Benning gives out one of the most undeserved contracts in hockey history, justifies it with Sbisa watching a lot of tape and trying to improve. Gotta ask my boss for a 50% pay raise if i promise to watch tape.

Later in April 2015: Canucks lose in the first round against the Flames. Läck has a bad game Miller gets the next start despite admitting being unsure if he is ready to go. Well yeah, its not like i am not used to disappointing playoff performances.

June 2015: Rumors emerge that one of Läck/Markstrom will be dealt. Still hoping for Miller but dont hold my breath and hope they find a dancepartner who takes a flyer on Markstrom. A bit later Benning confirms Miller stays and he ll trade the one of Läck/Markstrom who returns the best value. Apparently EDM is highly interested in Läck, now thats the last team I want Eddie go to. Draft inches closer and it seems Bieksa has been asked to waived his NTC. As much as i like Kev, his time is up. Overpaid for what he brings and not really a good fit for the direction this team apparently wants to go, after all Benning mentioned he wants to get young and acquire some pics and as it looks like there is a deal in place with SJ. One day later on draft day, the deal falls through as San Jose doesnt want to give up a 2015 2nd round but only one in 2016. Another day later or so Benning deals Bieksa to Anaheim for a 2016 2nd rounder. Maybe its just me but I think Anaheim will be better than San Jose next year, so this pick is probably worse...hmmm. Oh by the way, did I mention Eddie Läck got dealt? And we got nothing less than a 3rd and a 7th while guys like Lehner and Jones only returned a 1st and this Talbot dude got the Rangers only 2 2nd round picks. Benning says Carolina was the only team that made an offer, yeah thats the perfect time to deal a player. :roll:

July 1st, 2015: Free agency is about to start. I dont expect much, after all the Canucks dont have much cap space and cant do much as most of the team is filled and not many trade options are left. Glenndening and Corrado will fill out the defense, after all Benning mentioned that they had to create roster space since both have to clear waivers now. After that he goes on and signs Bartkowski... So we now have Edler-Tanev, Hamhuis-Sbisa, Weber-Bartkowski, so Glenndening and Corrado can have a lot of fun together at the press box. While I am still trying to figure out why Barty was signed I see a tweet that Kassian has been traded. Yeah I saw the writing on the wall, neither Benning nor Desjardins felt Kassian was going to amount to anything but i am sure we will at least get a pick for next years draft out of that. Now you can probably understand my confusion when i see that Benning traded him for 31y old Brandon Prust. Didnt he say we want to get younger, seems weird. At least Pierre LeBrun says on twitter that the Canucks also received a 5th round selection in 2016 (self high five), too bad he corrects himself a couple of minutes later and says the 5th goes the other way. Didnt Benning strongly emphasised during the draft that he wants more picks and that the 2016 seems to be even more deep than the 2015 draft?

July 2nd, 2015: Canucks twitter feed annonces some changes in the front office. Before clicking on the link to the press release I seriously consider that there is something up with Benning, by now you must have noticed how far from reality I am removed by now. In the end it turns out that they have fired some of the last remains from the previous regimes, gone is Laurence Gilman, a great cap cruncher (although he handed out some weird NTCs), Lorne Henning - who was responsible of creating a successfull farm team in Utica and last but not least the Director of Player Personnel Eric Crawford, a guy how had major input on the recent Canucks Drafts which (for a change) did not seem to be extremly questionable. A few minutes after the announcement, the guys on TSN1040 mention that Gilman told them he wants nothing to do with the Sbisa/Dorsett extension, which leads to the conclusion that he butted heads with Benning and that this was one of the main reasons he was let go.

To conclude this, first of all I guess I own everyone who read through this an apology. I just had to vent my displeasure and rant along, if you stayed through this, i dont know why. After all this seems to be a carbon copy of the Oilers approach circa 2006-2014. Have an historic icon (Lowe = Linden) run the show and then hire old time buddies of the management group without consideration of management skill (Weisbrod because he dealt with a cap in the NBA and got most famous for insisting that freaking Jankowski was the best player in his draft class), firing guys who have a sense of hockey and have management following every stupid order of ownership without telling them that this is the most akward way of handling a franchise.

I wont say that i am done with this team as this will never be true. Once a die-hard, always a die-hard, no matter what, but there will be tough times ahead. I still have high hopes for all the young guys in the system, Horvat, Virtanen, McCann and Cassels all seem to be like very very good draft picks and Bartschie is probably the best trade Benning made but this management group seems to be so overpowered when it comes to identifying trade value this cant be good. Contract management also fails the 101 CBA test. No matter how good you draft, with failures like that you will have a real tough time to be anywhere close to compete regularly for a playoff spot.

#rantoff

So actually until a few days ago I was pretty sure I would spend another €3,500 to make a two week trip from Germany to Vancouver early next year and have a great time in probably the best city of the world and enjoy 5 more games of Vancouver Canucks hockey. But guess what, I am just going to wait and see what comes out all of that. While I loved the city and being there, I also want to make sure I can catch some good hockey when spending this much money, I just want to have the full package then, spent $CAN 1100 alone for 5 tickets last season but i am not prepared to do this again with a team managed by guys with no direction what so ever. Rather wait a few more years and save some more money for a real outstanding trip.

 

[tc 23]

Had to rant on another board



So actually until a few days ago I was pretty sure I would spend another €3,500 to make a two week trip from Germany to Vancouver early next year and have a great time in probably the best city of the world and enjoy 5 more games of Vancouver Canucks hockey. But guess what, I am just going to wait and see what comes out all of that. While I loved the city and being there, I also want to make sure I can catch some good hockey when spending this much money, I just want to have the full package then, spent $CAN 1100 alone for 5 tickets last season but i am not prepared to do this again with a team managed by guys with no direction what so ever. Rather wait a few more years and save some more money for a real outstanding trip.

Very well written rant. I completely emphasize with you. It's hard to support the team when the future looks so bleak because of management. Hopefully for us, the team turns things around soon.

 

[Drop the Sopel]

This is the 5th move I haven't liked since the end of the season-


Stewart signing- No justification for giving him a contract

Sbisa extension- abhorrent all the way around

Lack trade- pick wasn't high enough to justify the deal

Kassian- nowhere near enough in return to move the guy 7 years younger

Today- Gilman had to be left in charge of contracts/negotiating. Had a great track record there - no excuse to remove him from those duties, even if you're not going to listen to his opinions on player evaluation.

Crawford- not sure what to make of him. Tough to separate out who did what, but he was a big part of our scouting staff that got awful results.

Probably as disappointed with who wasn't fired(Delorme) as who was fired.

For me, drafting and development is what it's all about in the next handful of years. So I'm not sure if this will hurt in that regard or not. Because doing house cleaning in the organization with the worst drafting/development in the NHL over the last half dozen years seems pretty justified. Gillis said he had the biggest budget to play with of any team in the league, and adjusted for number and quality of picks, we got 30th place results. That's putrid with the resources at his disposal.

This is pretty terrifying in terms of what the contacts and negotiations will look like moving forward. But in terms of assessing talent, I'm not so sure they lost anything today. Never fealt Henning/Gilman were strong in this area.