Your description makes Benning out to be either arrogant or a moron. Maybe he’s an arrogant moron? No wonder this is the worst era in our history.
If Benning was actually humble, at least he could've learned from people who were smarter than him. This way, over time, he could've become a lot better than the current version of himself.
But
naaaah.
Guy chose to go "my way or the highway" and proceeded to push out anyone and everyone who disagreed with his view on things. Thinking that he knew it all and didn't need to listen to others. The quintessential hockey man who paid his dues on his way up and now sees himself as knowing everything it takes to build a championship team. In his mind, he's already reached his final form.
Newsflash: Jimbo thinks the game is still played like it was in the 80's.
The tragedy doesn't stop there too. Instead of accepting his failures like a man and taking a good hard look in the mirror, he basically chose to blame everything but himself: COVID, injuries, the schedule etc.
This only stems from the arrogance of a man who thinks that he alone knows what winning teams look like. Therefore, he cannot be wrong or faulted when asked why the Canucks aren't where he thought they'd be. After all, it's not like anyone else would've known better... right?
And that's really the pitfall of this type of leadership/management: you end up with too many blind spots because you don't tolerate differences of opinion in the office. When you get rid of all the dissenters, you limit your exposure to different viewpoints and ways of thinking. For instance who's gonna be there to tell you that drafting a guy with poor IQ at 6th OA is a bad idea? Like it wasn't already enough that Benning is pretty much a dinosaur in terms of hockey thought, but for him to be
this conceited as well? F*** me... That's the absolute
worst combination of traits you can possibly have. Gee, 50 years with no Cups and we really lucked out on this guy eh!
One day, when people look back on this era they'll see it for what it is: a regime run by an incompetent moron flying by the seat of his pants with no long-term plan/strategy whatsoever. But until then... cue the shills.