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[Hit the post]

Eh, creative isn’t always smart or wise.

Two words *NEVER* used to describe Jim Benning.

 

[F A N]

Eh, creative isn’t always smart or wise.

I never care for creativeness. It's good to be creative but one often doesn't need to be creative when they do the simple things right.

 

[Hodgy]

I never care for creativeness. It's good to be creative but one often doesn't need to be creative when they do the simple things right.

When you manage an NHL team you have to be both creative and do simple things right.

 

[Hit the post]

When you manage an NHL team you have to be both creative and do simple things right.

OK, DimJim is good at doing simple things. It's the "right" part he had difficulty with.

 

[F A N]

When you manage an NHL team you have to be both creative and do simple things right.

Nah. It's not rocket science. The first guy that took full advantage of LTIR rules or tacked on extra years to a contract to lower the AAV were creative. The next guys who did it? Not really. If the Canucks carried less players on the roster now that they have a team in Abby to get under the cap that's not creative. It's been done before.

 

[BrentSopelsHair]

The creativity vs activity thing is something that I think has led people astray on our offseason. People see the sheer volume of change within the Canucks and say "It must be getting better! It's all coming together, playoffs or bust babyyy", when if you look at the moves individually and actually aggregate their likely effects, this team is basically in the same spot as it was before, a likely strong team offensively that is going to have to shoot its way out of the jams created by a bottom-3 defense, but we've also spent valuable future assets for this cosmetic change.

The OEL trade is a great example. A lot happening, but what actually moves the needle? Getting rid of bad players who contribute nothing & bringing in Garland - good. OEL, who will need a major bounceback season to be a contributor - not so good. Risking taking on the OEL money which will be an ANCHOR if he does not have a major return to form, as well as dealing a top-10 1st for a stupendous amount of risky money - fireable.

 

[VanJack]

Benning is a like a cat on its ninth life...can't think of another market where he'd have survived for eight years with the cumulative record the Canucks have.

Maybe that's the reason he went all-in this off-season. Having survived one of the worst seasons in Canuck history--and that's saying something given some of the teams we've seen over the past 50-plus years--maybe he feels like he's gotten a reprieve.

Whatever the reason, you have to give props where props are due. He vowed changes, and has largely delivered. This team looks a lot deeper up front; and the blueline looks stronger as well. And the goaltending is in good hands with Demko and Halak.

Most of the albatross contracts for the likes of Virtanen, Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, Schmidt and Holtby have been jettisoned. True, the Canucks have just kicked a lot of their cap problems down the road. But of course Benning's reasoning is that if it all falls apart again, he won't be around to clean up the mess anyway.

And finally, a line has been drawn in the sand. It's the playoffs in the Pacific Division, or else. So it's shaping one of the interesting seasons in recent memory.

 

[strattonius]

Benning is a like a cat on its ninth life...can't think of another market where he'd have survived for eight years with the cumulative record the Canucks have.

Maybe that's the reason he went all-in this off-season. Having survived one of the worst seasons in Canuck history--and that's saying something given some of the teams we've seen over the past 50-plus years--maybe he feels like he's gotten a reprieve.

Whatever the reason, you have to give props where props are due. He vowed changes, and has largely delivered. This team looks a lot deeper up front; and the blueline looks stronger as well. And the goaltending is in good hands with Demko and Halak.

Most of the albatross contracts for the likes of Virtanen, Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, Schmidt and Holtby have been jettisoned. True, the Canucks have just kicked a lot of their cap problems down the road. But of course Benning's reasoning is that if it all falls apart again, he won't be around to clean up the mess anyway.

And finally, a line has been drawn in the sand. It's the playoffs in the Pacific Division, or else. So it's shaping one of the interesting seasons in recent memory.

I can't really blame him because I do think if they miss the playoffs he'd finally be fired. Holding the Roussel, Beagle, Eriksson for 1 more year would've been a great 2022 off-season but likely one that Benning would have no part of.

It really looks like a great off-season to a more casual Canuck fan in the sense that they will definitely be a better product this year...and probably only this year.

 

[BrentSopelsHair]

Benning is a like a cat on its ninth life...can't think of another market where he'd have survived for eight years with the cumulative record the Canucks have.

Maybe that's the reason he went all-in this off-season. Having survived one of the worst seasons in Canuck history--and that's saying something given some of the teams we've seen over the past 50-plus years--maybe he feels like he's gotten a reprieve.

Whatever the reason, you have to give props where props are due. He vowed changes, and has largely delivered. This team looks a lot deeper up front; and the blueline looks stronger as well. And the goaltending is in good hands with Demko and Halak.

Most of the albatross contracts for the likes of Virtanen, Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, Schmidt and Holtby have been jettisoned. True, the Canucks have just kicked a lot of their cap problems down the road. But of course Benning's reasoning is that if it all falls apart again, he won't be around to clean up the mess anyway.

And finally, a line has been drawn in the sand. It's the playoffs in the Pacific Division, or else. So it's shaping one of the interesting seasons in recent memory.

It's one of those things where it all comes back to the original sin of not canning him any number of times it was entirely warranted. All of his actions are understandable due to his abilities and motivations, and I can't blame him for it. If I'm at a friend's house and his kid is playing with matches, there's only so many times that you can warn the kid or your friend while hearing "I don't care, I trust him". When the house burns down you can't blame the kid, you blame the person who should have known better

 

[racerjoe]

It's one of those things where it all comes back to the original sin of not canning him any number of times it was entirely warranted. All of his actions are understandable due to his abilities and motivations, and I can't blame him for it. If I'm at a friend's house and his kid is playing with matches, there's only so many times that you can warn the kid or your friend while hearing "I don't care, I trust him". When the house burns down you can't blame the kid, you blame the person who should have known better

I don’t know, I think there is room for both.

I specifically remember Dave Nonis not doing that horrendous trade for Brad Richards that probably saves his job.

 

[BrentSopelsHair]

I don’t know, I think there is room for both.

I specifically remember Dave Nonis not doing that horrendous trade for Brad Richards that probably saves his job.

And I respect that immensely, that was a character move to not take the big swing that might save his job. I more mean I expect people to look out for themselves, especially when someone has proven themselves to be as small-minded and incurious as Benning has over his tenure

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

The creativity vs activity thing is something that I think has led people astray on our offseason. People see the sheer volume of change within the Canucks and say "It must be getting better! It's all coming together, playoffs or bust babyyy", when if you look at the moves individually and actually aggregate their likely effects, this team is basically in the same spot as it was before, a likely strong team offensively that is going to have to shoot its way out of the jams created by a bottom-3 defense, but we've also spent valuable future assets for this cosmetic change.

The OEL trade is a great example. A lot happening, but what actually moves the needle? Getting rid of bad players who contribute nothing & bringing in Garland - good. OEL, who will need a major bounceback season to be a contributor - not so good. Risking taking on the OEL money which will be an ANCHOR if he does not have a major return to form, as well as dealing a top-10 1st for a stupendous amount of risky money - fireable.

Running the risk could be a fireable offence, and standing pat could be a fireable offence..It runs both ways IMO...

After the disaster of last season, waiting around another year for a perfect storm, and burning off yet another year of the current cores chances of succeeding was a non starter....This is precisely why players would start to look elsewhere.

Jake Guenther (a winger) is 2-3 years away, ..this is a 'now' team, that has enough young impact players on the roster.

The trade could turn out to be one of the most significant trades in Canuck history..One way our the other..It could kick the Canucks up a considerable notch, or we could have acquired a Louie Eriksson version of a defenceman...long term.

 

[BrentSopelsHair]

Running the risk could be a fireable offence, and standing pat could be a fireable offence..It runs both ways IMO...

After the disaster of last season, waiting around another year for a perfect storm, and burning off yet another year of the current cores chances of succeeding was a non starter....This is precisely why players would start to look elsewhere.

Jake Guenther (a winger) is 2-3 years away, ..this is a 'now' team, that has enough young impact players on the roster.

The trade could turn out to be one of the most significant trades in Canuck history..One way our the other..It could kick the Canucks up a considerable notch, or we could have acquired a Louie Eriksson version of a defenceman...long term.

I feel like it's tough to talk about any of his moves like its a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, because he has created this environment for himself. He personally dug the whole that needed to be escaped this offseason, and the magnitude of his accumulated missteps left us in a place where the only way to show tangible change was to make an incredibly risky move, because it's not like there any surplus value on the roster to spare or any expectation that he'll make a smart, predatory trade of declining talent for rising talent.

Also this is only a "now" team because the project has taken so long. If you look at the roster, the defense is not that of a "now" team, and that is on management alone. Their accumulated failure and continued employment has led to a place where we are going into a fight to the death with one arm behind our back and our shoes untied because we overslept

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

I feel like it's tough to talk about any of his moves like its a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation, because he has created this environment for himself. He personally dug the whole that needed to be escaped this offseason, and the magnitude of his accumulated missteps left us in a place where the only way to show tangible change was to make an incredibly risky move, because it's not like there any surplus value on the roster to spare or any expectation that he'll make a smart, predatory trade of declining talent for rising talent.

Also this is only a "now" team because the project has taken so long. If you look at the roster, the defense is not that of a "now" team, and that is on management alone. Their accumulated failure and continued employment has led to a place where we are going into a fight to the death with one arm behind our back and our shoes untied because we overslept

We're all aware that he created his own cap problems...and made a high risk move to improve the team , in the 'now'

So, I'm assuming you think that he should have picked Guenther at #9, and postponed going all in for another season?

 

[m9]

We're all aware that he created his own cap problems...and made a high risk move to improve the team , in the 'now'

So, I'm assuming you think that he should have picked Guenther at #9, and postponed going all in for another season?

Because making a trade where you are giving up a top ten draft pick and taking on one of the worst contracts in the league was the only way to improve the team this off-season?

 

[Pip]

We're all aware that he created his own cap problems...and made a high risk move to improve the team , in the 'now'

So, I'm assuming you think that he should have picked Guenther at #9, and postponed going all in for another season?

This isn’t an either or scenario. There’s a ton of different ways in which to improve the team.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Because making a trade where you are giving up a top ten draft pick and taking on one of the worst contracts in the league was the only way to improve the team this off-season?

Who's claiming that....?...Its a risk...no doubt about it...

"It goes beyond that, however. There’s no doubt that Benning knows how much Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and the rest of the core, want to win. He needed to show that the organization is also committed to winning, especially after an offseason in 2020 where they seemingly focused on cutting costs as opposed to building a playoff team.
You can quibble about whether Benning made the right moves, but the fact of the matter is that he needed to do something big to prove to the Canucks core that losing and failure are no longer options".
7 Canucks Offseason Thoughts: Why Benning’s bold moves weren’t just an attempt to save his job

 

[RandV]

I can't really blame him because I do think if they miss the playoffs he'd finally be fired. Holding the Roussel, Beagle, Eriksson for 1 more year would've been a great 2022 off-season but likely one that Benning would have no part of.

It really looks like a great off-season to a more casual Canuck fan in the sense that they will definitely be a better product this year...and probably only this year.

From the perspective of where the team was when he made the trade yes but he still carries blame because he's the one who put the team there in the first place. He wouldn't have needed to give up a first and take on OEL's contract if a year ago he prioritized Toffoli and Tanev over Virtanen, Holtby, and chasing OEL before settling on Schmidt. And of course he wouldn't have needed to dump these bad contracts if he just didn't sign them in the first place which was an obvious error the moment they were signed.

In the end it's like 5 steps backwards 1 step forward.

 

[Fatass]

Who's claiming that....?...Its a risk...no doubt about it...

"It goes beyond that, however. There’s no doubt that Benning knows how much Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and the rest of the core, want to win. He needed to show that the organization is also committed to winning, especially after an offseason in 2020 where they seemingly focused on cutting costs as opposed to building a playoff team.
You can quibble about whether Benning made the right moves, but the fact of the matter is that he needed to do something big to prove to the Canucks core that losing and failure are no longer options".
7 Canucks Offseason Thoughts: Why Benning’s bold moves weren’t just an attempt to save his job

Why didn’t Benning spend less on the cap and instead of signing, Schmidt, Holtby, and Virtanen, just keep Tofoli and Tanev?

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Why didn’t Benning spend less on the cap (Schmidt, Holtby, Virtanenkeep Tofoli and Tanev?

You'll have to ask him..

 

[Fatass]

You'll have to ask him..

I think he does these dumb things because he’s terrible as a GM. Why do you think he does these bad moves?

 

[VanillaCoke]

"5 steps backwards 1 step forward" is probably one of the best descriptors of the dim jim era I've ever heard

 

[Lindgren]

Who's claiming that....?...Its a risk...no doubt about it...

"It goes beyond that, however. There’s no doubt that Benning knows how much Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and the rest of the core, want to win. He needed to show that the organization is also committed to winning, especially after an offseason in 2020 where they seemingly focused on cutting costs as opposed to building a playoff team.
You can quibble about whether Benning made the right moves, but the fact of the matter is that he needed to do something big to prove to the Canucks core that losing and failure are no longer options".
7 Canucks Offseason Thoughts: Why Benning’s bold moves weren’t just an attempt to save his job

So, we're here:

But ...
Gillis
injuries
Linden
Francesco
covid
high BC taxes
negative media
negative fans
frustrated and impatient young core

I'm probably leaving something out. It's like listing negative value contracts on the Canucks books—I always forget one.

 

[Hit the post]

So, we're here:

But ...
Gillis
injuries
Linden
Francesco
covid
high BC taxes
negative media
negative fans
frustrated and impatient young core

I'm probably leaving something out. It's like listing negative value contracts on the Canucks books—I always forget one.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

I think he does these dumb things because he’s terrible as a GM. Why do you think he does these bad moves?

Grade: B-. One thing you can say about Benning: The man knows how to erase his own mistakes.
He flipped Schmidt to the Jets (after that signing didn't work) for a 2022 third-round pick, which is what he sent to Vegas to get him last offseason. He bought out the last year of Holtby's deal after the Kraken passed on him. He traded free-agent mistakes Roussel, Eriksson and Beagle to the Coyotes for Ekman-Larsson and his massive contract -- which itself was a mistake, although one that Benning might not be around to witness at its worst. He also acquired Garland in that trade, shipping out the ninth overall pick in the process.
Halak and Dickinson are solid additions. Poolman is the defensive version of the deals he handed out to Roussel and Beagle at forward. But beyond all of this was the fact that the Canucks scared up enough cap space for Pettersson and Hughes. Another thing you can say about Benning: His offseasons are never boring.

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