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.
Free-agency grades for all 32 NHL teams