Canucks Management Discussion | Part 23

[polarbearcub]

It's a Helpless , frustrating feeling knowing this ownership group is trying to run the hockey opps themselves

 

[Bad News Benning]

Yeah, as a baseball fan I don't know if I'd switch places with the Braves or the Phillies.

Rather be a fan of the Braves/Phillies (who both have strong farm systems) than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Stewart is the Benning of MLB GM's.

 

[vancityluongo]

Ownership on a different page than management, and Lucic signing elsewhere? This post just made my week!

No kidding haha. Best news about the Canucks front office in a long, long time.

 

[Bad News Benning]

It's a Helpless , frustrating feeling knowing this ownership group is trying to run the hockey opps themselves

It sucks the ownership wasn't around in the 90's to see what a proper rebuild can do for this team. Sedins totally transformed this organization and the fans outlook. All Aqua sees is "how can I milk this market for money and make the playoffs" since that's all he has really known as this teams owner. He should be realizing the quickest way to a profit Is a rebuild but I don't have much hope for that.

It's sad that one man can have such a big influence on your favorite team and we are pretty helpless to do anything about it. We can stop going to games but we will know that this organization will simply respond by making short term moves and the media will defend them with the "fans won't support a loser" ******** they have been spinning.

When Benning is rightfully **** canned I want Aqua to personally come out and say we are rebuilding. Nothing less will be acceptable. You need a clear direction from ownership or I feel we will hire the wrong GM again with the wrong mandate.

 

[David71]

This franchise is in complete disarray at every level. Terrible ownership. Impossibly bad management. Lousy couch. Brutal roster.

We are the single worst franchise of the 130 NA professional sports teams right now. Anyone thinking otherwise is in complete denial.

We're a joke. An embarrassment.

completely agree. add to the fact that free agents might not even wanna put vancouver as their prefered destination with the way the mgnmt team+ownership is operating. time to fire these guys. owners are pretty dumb as well. all they want is money they're arent really seeing the bigger picture. watch come july 1st all the top guys will be gone and vancouver is left with scraps. probably sign a bunch of 3rd and 4th line guys.

 

[Rotting Corpse*]

Rather be a fan of the Braves/Phillies (who both have strong farm systems) than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Stewart is the Benning of MLB GM's.

Oh right, they exist.

I somehow missed the Braves putting together a top farm system. Was a disaster a couple years ago. Same with Philly.

 

[F A N]

It sucks the ownership wasn't around in the 90's to see what a proper rebuild can do for this team.

They were around. Aquilini is suppose to have been a life-long fan.

This franchise is in complete disarray at every level. Terrible ownership. Impossibly bad management. Lousy couch. Brutal roster.

We are the single worst franchise of the 130 NA professional sports teams right now. Anyone thinking otherwise is in complete denial.

We're a joke. An embarrassment.

I disagree and I am not in denial. Do you think a franchise like Detroit Lions is better? And if you think the franchise is such a joke and an embarrassment, why do you still follow the team?

 

[Ryp37]

"Hey long time fan who has seen the Canucks go from laughing stock to cup threat back to laughing stock, why do you still follow the team"

The fans need to start calling out the Aqualinis, which is kind of hard when they aren't showing up to the games and the Aquas are ducking every Q and A session.

 

[MikeK]

"Hey long time fan who has seen the Canucks go from laughing stock to cup threat back to laughing stock, why do you still follow the team"

The fans need to start calling out the Aqualinis, which is kind of hard when they aren't showing up to the games and the Aquas are ducking every Q and A session.

I've tried to give up on the Canucks but I just can't. They are apart of my soul. When people tell me to start cheering for another I always laugh. Those are the casual fans who think we pick our favorite teams. From my earliest memories I have I can remember my dad watching them. The Canucks are apart of my life. All I can do now is not spend my money on them and ride out the storm.

 

[clunk]

I've tried to give up on the Canucks but I just can't. They are apart of my soul. When people tell me to start cheering for another I always laugh. Those are the casual fans who think we pick our favorite teams. From my earliest memories I have I can remember my dad watching them. The Canucks are apart of my life. All I can do now is not spend my money on them and ride out the storm.

Yep. It's ****ing impossible to leave. The Canucks are a drug. I really wish they weren't sometimes. People who truly don't have a connection to a sports team like I or you do just don't understand and think we're nuts, lol.

 

[Tiranis]

If Benning and Linden are not in agreement with ownership then they have no one to blame but themselves. They knew what they were getting in to when they accepted their jobs. This is nothing like Gillis who had the rug pulled out from under him after going to the SCF.

 

[MikeK]

Yep. It's ****ing impossible to leave. The Canucks are a drug. I really wish they weren't sometimes. People who truly don't have a connection to a sports team like I or you do just don't understand and think we're nuts, lol.

Thank god we have the internet and can come to forums and "vent"... lol.

 

[Jack Tripper]

the only parallel i see in current na pro sports where there's so much reported disarray and incompetence from ownership to the front office is with the sacramento kings, and that franchise is the joke of the nba

the upcoming season could easily be the ugliest in canucks history

 

[MikeK]

the only parallel i see in current na pro sports where there's so much reported disarray and incompetence from ownership to the front office is with the sacramento kings, and that franchise is the joke of the nba

the upcoming season could easily be the ugliest in canucks history

And we still have the Sedin's decline and retirement with no real contingency plan in place to look forward to. I swear, the next 3 seasons are going to be real bad unless lightening strikes and we are gifted from the gods. We are in a Lowe-like era and I fully expect it to be 5+ years before we're even close to being a contender again. The damage and missed opportunities the management and ownership group has caused will hurt the team for years. Some of us around here are either just too blind, or too young to realise what this type of damage can do.

 

[Tinhorn1]

I feel a bit weird just relaying content from HW, but I know many of you are interested and believe that she has sources. After reading her for many years, I certainly do. Anyway, she posted a bunch more. A very sad, though maybe unsurprising, read:

It goes much deeper than just Higgins. A pattern going back to Mitchell and then Luongo. Parting of NTC. Blocking trades and trade requests. Getting too young to fast with over reaching expectations placed upon the vets given the lack of support. Broken promises. You've all heard the stories. Miller apparently had two more offers before he signed with us now feeling like he was sold a bill of goods. He'd welcome a trade.

Agents cautioning players against signing in Vancouver mainly because of the instability of ownership. I don't mean financial. No clear direction. Unrealistic timelines. The days of being treated with respect have dwindled, in the opinion of of some agents and ex-players. Agents feel trade protection has no meaning with the Canucks.

Cliques forming in the dressing room. Perhaps a product of family men versus the young and the restless? Feeling that some younger players have not had to earn a job while vets who have given their all have been scapegoated for the results.

As Doc says maybe just impatience. Maybe sour grapes from players who couldn't get the job done.

I was told ownership keeps changing the goal posts. Say they are fine transitioning but refuse a rebuild. Refused the Luongo trade initially. Refused the Kesler deal, initially. Refused a deal for Edler, Burrows and Higgins 2 summers ago. Got into a pissing contest with MG over a rebuild. Seems Torts and MG were actually on the same page.

Hired Linden with full autonomy but that was short lived. Hearing Linden has to keep putting out internal fires.

Ownership has mandated spending to the cap and being active in FA. Wanted to offer the moon for Lucic.

Anyway, I was painted a picture of a team in disarray with no one sure who is in charge. Ownership described as business men with no clue how to run a sports franchise. Wanting to keep up with the Jones but no clue how to do that. Even to the point of interfering, from time to time, with line up decisions, or at least trying to. This is where Linden putting out fires comes in.

I dunno. Maybe just fan frustration boiling over still. But players talk. Agents talk. Owners talk. As Doc says, maybe the nature of a painful rebuild and in that sense it's all normal.

 

[Hit the post]

Miller apparently had two more offers before he signed with us

I highly doubt it was from any West Coast team.

 

[m9]

Unfortunately this is the worst-case scenario, but one we all kind of knew about. It always made no sense how Gillis suddenly went from an amazing GM to a pretty bad one soon after the Stanley Cup run. Benning is likely a bad GM on his own, but this kind of thing doesn't help.

 

[topheavyhookjaw]

Rather be a fan of the Braves/Phillies (who both have strong farm systems) than the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Stewart is the Benning of MLB GM's.

I think Stewart is worse tbh. The Shelby Miller trade is so much worse than just about any transaction in any other sport in the last few years.

It would be trading Juolevi this summer, and other prospects, to get Brayden Schenn.

Also, the Sacramento Kings are in worse shape, their ownership meddles more and just cycles through coaches and managers.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I feel a bit weird just relaying content from HW, but I know many of you are interested and believe that she has sources. After reading her for many years, I certainly do. Anyway, she posted a bunch more. A very sad, though maybe unsurprising, read:

Good gravy.

If true, that's colossally bad news. Firing bad management is easy street compared to getting rid of incompetent owners...

 

[Scurr]

Meh. I didn't buy ownership as an excuse for Gillis and I don't buy it for these guys. A retool was certainly possible when Gillis wanted to rebuild and when Benning took over imo.

 

[Tim McCracken]

I feel a bit weird just relaying content from HW, but I know many of you are interested and believe that she has sources. After reading her for many years, I certainly do. Anyway, she posted a bunch more. A very sad, though maybe unsurprising, read:

Thanks for posting that. Is "HW" from a blog or site? This is bang on and almost being kind.

The other things is, the whole Aquilini-Brady gong show got serious legs among the players and is a running joke. Very embarrassing. And how Malhotra was handled at the end didn't go over well either.

 

[Nuckles]

Meh. I didn't buy ownership as an excuse for Gillis and I don't buy it for these guys. A retool was certainly possible when Gillis wanted to rebuild and when Benning took over imo.

At this point it's too hard to deny that ownership is meddling...big time. There have just been too many reports in the past few years. But as for Benning, it's still not an excuse for the terrible contracts he's handed out and the terrible trades he's made (in terms of value, not even talking about moving youth for vets).

 

[topheavyhookjaw]

At this point it's too hard to deny that ownership is meddling...big time. There have just been too many reports in the past few years. But as for Benning, it's still not an excuse for the terrible contracts he's handed out and the terrible trades he's made (in terms of value, not even talking about moving youth for vets).

Yes, I still have issues with some of the processes he seems to employ, who he targets, how he values assets etc. It does in my view soften the 'there's no direction' criticism because it sounds like Linden and him are given changing direction consistently.

 

[Scurr]

At this point it's too hard to deny that ownership is meddling...big time. There have just been too many reports in the past few years. But as for Benning, it's still not an excuse for the terrible contracts he's handed out and the terrible trades he's made (in terms of value, not even talking about moving youth for vets).

Yeah, and the same for Gillis imo. He went to the finals in 2011 and had the team picking 6th overall in 2014. Do you really blame the owner for getting involved at that point? I don't. Same goes for Benning tanking the 2nd year of a retool. When the plan your GM sets forth totally bombs, most of these guys are going to start getting involved.

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

Thanks for posting that. Is "HW" from a blog or site? This is bang on and almost being kind.

The other things is, the whole Aquilini-Brady gong show got serious legs among the players and is a running joke. Very embarrassing. And how Malhotra was handled at the end didn't go over well either.

Hockey Widow(HW) posts on a hockey forum called Canucks Corner. It's a smaller scale site and that's probably why she posts there instead of somewhere like CDC or here.