I'm not a Benning fan but I think Brock Boeser saved him last year & Petterson has saved him for a few years.
He might be gone after his contract is up but I don't think he'll be fired in the meantime. Not that I think he's a good GM.
Its secure now, will it be in 2-3 years if things don't improve? Of course not. But Boeser last year & Pettersson this year have bought him time. Probably a few years.
I agree with you about the president. And that's even more reason for the idea. Either way Benning is not going to be fired but if they added to the group maybe we'd get to the end of Benning's tenure quicker. Or atleast to a part where there's a clear vision & not Benning cutting corners left & right because ownership is impatient.
The baseline is how much improved the drafting has been during his tenure. I much prefer Gillis as a GM but its undeniable the drafting has been much better in this era. And thats with Benning trading picks away left & right. They've done a much better job finding guys in the later rounds which is where I give them credit.
I know Brackett has alot to do with it, its not solely Benning. But with his background he oversees the draft & if we are going to crap on the parts of his regime that have been garbage (as we should) I think the positives of this regime should be acknowledged aswell.
Benning is about as secure as a 2 year contract suggests.
I agree that adding a President will make Benning's tenure shorter.
Look, with Aquilini logical markers don't apply. He extended Benning when Boeser and Pettersson were the lone bright spots. I'm not sure he double-counts those factors to do it again, but your guess is as good as mine. The team was mired in 3 years of terrible play. The contracts were bad, and the pro scouting brought no help. His trading acumen has been hilarious. Yet still, he got extended. The bar isn't too high here it seems.
It almost seems likely Aquilini is pushing so far against his natural quick-trigger tendencies in order to repair his reputation. Benning is more or less a hood ornament in said function.
Gillis' drafting should never be the baseline. The baseline, at the very least, should be the Potato. Give Melvin's thread a look for reference.
Benning is about average in drafting hit rates and porous everywhere else. That's giving him his due while recognizing where he is weak. Even with your premise of supposing that he is good at drafting and not so good everywhere else, is that enough? We'll see at the end of year #2, the summer of 2020.
