2018 Management Discussion

[me2]

You can almost set your watch to Benning directly contradicting whatever tenuous rationalization the ellipsis gang on here use to proclaim his latest move as genius.

Like clockwork.

 

[me2]

Benning will be gone at the point where the Linden Effect wears off and fans finally start to turn on them.

We saw a bit of this at the trade deadline and at the Gudbranson extension, and now a lot more here with these signings. When a house media guy like Dan Murphy is getting critical, that's a great sign that this nightmare could finally be close to over.

The team has a brutal schedule in October and it'll be interesting to see what happens if/when the team struggles.



Absolutely. There has never been a Canuck team I've cared less about. Oh, yay, we get to watch some other teams' old overpaid journeyman lose games for us instead of our young players.

I am not sure that will be enough. After promising playoffs after playoffs and competitive hockey the team failed year after year. It is now so bad almost nobody expects it to do well, the fans have already given up on the season and are treating it as a defacto rebuilding year and are already looking to the draft and 2020-2023. The team failing terribly that early just gets the draft hype going.

What would get him fired is Beagle and Roussel having bad years. Tank or not, that is unacceptable given they were signed to be good for the team and good players on long deals. There are too many people unhappy with all the trash signings.

 

[RandV]

I am not sure that will be enough. After promising playoffs after playoffs and competitive hockey the team failed year after year. It is now so bad almost nobody expects it to do well, the fans have already given up on the season and are treating it as a defacto rebuilding year and are already looking to the draft and 2020-2023. The team failing terribly that early just gets the draft hype going.

What would get him fired is Beagle and Roussel having bad years. Tank or not, that is unacceptable given they were signed to be good for the team and good players on long deals. There are too many people unhappy with all the trash signings.

Beagle and Roussel could play great in their 4th line role (though with Schaler Roussel is probably 3rd line), but with a middle six built arond Sutter-Eriksson-Granlund-Gagner-Roussel(?)-Virtanen(?) combined with our paltry defense the team still isn't likely going anywhere other than the basement.

The players on their way out from last season our the Sedin's and Vanek, and rather than taking a chance on some young guys replacing them Benning loaded up the roster with more veteran grinders. That will likely back fire on him regardless of how well the new guys grind it out.

 

[Toss it to Tanti]

The frustrating thing is that I was legitimately excited for this season.... I knew they were going to be crap but hey at least I could watch some fast paced, young guns hockey. Now they're going to be crap, and I have to watch them trot out lines of:

Erikkson - Schaler - Sutter
Roussel - Beagle - Gagner

I get why they signed some grit... but do you need three of them? On a team that rivals Buffalo as the most offensively inept team in the league, you suffocate the chance of young skilled forwards coming in with the likes of Roussel, Beagle and Schaler?

Lord have mercy on us all.

 

[TruGr1t]

Benning will be gone at the point where the Linden Effect wears off and fans finally start to turn on them.

We saw a bit of this at the trade deadline and at the Gudbranson extension, and now a lot more here with these signings. When a house media guy like Dan Murphy is getting critical, that's a great sign that this nightmare could finally be close to over.

The team has a brutal schedule in October and it'll be interesting to see what happens if/when the team struggles.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Benning will have at least two more years here regardless of on-ice results. Linden has made him effectively bulletproof and they've set expectations so low with their "rebuild" narrative that I don't think totally tanking again will get Benning fired. Maybe if Beagle and Roussel join Eriksson as absolute bust signings we might see some front office movement, but I'm not optimistic.

Assuming we finish bottom of the league again they'll just say: "Hey fans! We're rebuilding like you wanted ... look how good we are at rebuilding! Jack Hughs! Don't complain ... this is what you wanted all along!"

The organization is seriously screwed at the top with the consortium of Linden and ownership. You have a group of people who know jack all about hockey ops running a team alongside an amateur scout and some snake-oil salesman. Not surprised its gone sideways.

The irony is the organization always says they don't want to be the Edmonton Oilers. Meanwhile, the Canucks are carbon copying the MacTavish/Lowe era Oilers.

And if they somehow stumble into Jack Hughes we might never get rid of these guys.

 

[medgett]

Benning will be gone at the point where the Linden Effect wears off and fans finally start to turn on them.

I’ve wondered if we’re starting to reach that point. When Linden was named President, there was a lot of positivity, but also a lot of questions as to what happens when things inevitably go poorly, although I’m not sure we thought it would go this poorly this quickly. His reputation in this market seemed untouchable, but a lot of this lands at his doorstep and IMO, it seems that his image is beginning to tarnish.

I feel that instead of Linden’s name conjuring memories of ‘94, it now makes us think of the bottom feeder team we’ve become and all of the terrible management decisions that have the team where it is today. It might just be a recency bias and maybe it’s still salvageable, but as of today, given the evidence we have of this group’s incompetence, it seems far more likely that Linden will be regarded much more how Lowe is Edmonton than Shanahan in Toronto.

 

[tantalum]

They are becoming the Oilers but there is a difference. The canucks ownership for better and for worse are quite reactionary when it comes to the prevailing attitude about the team. Once fandom starts to turn they will make a move....it's what they do. The key to that fandom turning in Vancouver seems to be the local media. A critical local media results in an overall critical fan base (not just the few frequenting a message board).

I think the media is reaching their breaking point with the management group. You'll have iMac who will remain firmly entrenched in the rear ends of Linden and Benning but the others will start to break from the cult and at that point you''ll get a change.

If the three UFA signings struggle out of the gate it would provide immediate ammunition to rally the fan base to the cause.

 

[Hit the post]

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Benning will have at least two more years here regardless of on-ice results. Linden has made him effectively bulletproof and they've set expectations so low with their "rebuild" narrative that I don't think totally tanking again will get Benning fired. Maybe if Beagle and Roussel join Eriksson as absolute bust signings we might see some front office movement, but I'm not optimistic.

Look on the bright side, that's the hill that Linden decided to stand on.....

*IF* it stays that bad that Benning get's fired eventually - have to expect Linden to be doing those Clearly Contacts commercials again. The rot stinks from the top (and the top ain't Benning).

 

[Fire Benning]

Canucks should be all over this to take on Callahan or Killorn.

 

[Nuckles]

Canucks should be all over this to take on Callahan or Killorn.

There's one slight problem, Callahan has a 16 team trade list which I highly doubt we're on and Killorn has a full NTC. There's also someone like Coburn, but he also has a 16 team trade list.

 

[Fire Benning]

There's one slight problem, Callahan has a 16 team trade list which I highly doubt we're on and Killorn has a full NTC. There's also someone like Coburn, but he also has a 16 team trade list.

Yeah and also Linden doesn't think taking on bad contracts is possible.

 

[tantalum]

Yeah and also Linden doesn't think taking on bad contracts is possible.

It's not! Vegas took on everybody's bad contracts last year! No more exist and no one is up against a cap while looking to make further moves.

God this management team is terrible.

 

[Pavel96]

Just pathetic lol. Just stick to deluded, nonsensical, pro benning arguments instead of your homophobic trolling.

 

[Phenomenon13]

It's not! Vegas took on everybody's bad contracts last year! No more exist and no one is up against a cap while looking to make further moves.

God this management team is terrible.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgVAjwaXUAARW4Y.jpg:large

 

[member 290103]

Yeah and also Linden doesn't think taking on bad contracts is possible.

That's just Linden's way of deflecting the notion that the team should be doing this. He and Dim have no desire to take bad contracts. They want to make the playoffs and are doing everything they can to position to team to just sneak in and lose 4 games in quick fashion. If this means sacrificing a chance to be an excellent team long term, they are ok with that.

They are complete and total unadulterated idiots.

 

[y2kcanucks]

There's one slight problem, Callahan has a 16 team trade list which I highly doubt we're on and Killorn has a full NTC. There's also someone like Coburn, but he also has a 16 team trade list.

My guess is Tyler Johnson and/or Ondrej Palat would have to be involved in that case.

Tampa has a slew of top prospects so there's a lot there they can afford to move.

 

[I in the Eye]

If I'm Yzerman, Benning is the first gm I call to be the 3rd team involved. Yzerman tells Benning who he'll move, and what the cost will be. Don't involve another team until he's fully exhausted the Canucks option first.

 

[Phenomenon13]

If I'm Yzerman, Benning is the first gm I call to be the 3rd team involved. Yzerman tells Benning who he'll move, and what the cost will be. Don't involve another team until he's fully exhausted the Canucks option first.

He's going to bluff Benning into taking in garbage winning know how players like Callahan.

My guess is Tyler Johnson and/or Ondrej Palat would have to be involved in that case.

Tampa has a slew of top prospects so there's a lot there they can afford to move.

Even more unlikely Palat holds 20 team NTC and Johnson a full NTC.

 

[PhilMick]

If I'm Yzerman, Benning is the first gm I call to be the 3rd team involved. Yzerman tells Benning who he'll move, and what the cost will be. Don't involve another team until he's fully exhausted the Canucks option first.

Welp, so much for next year's 3rd rounder.

 

[timw33]

Tampa has a slew of top prospects so there's a lot there they can afford to move.

This is what happens when you horde picks (especially 2nds) and make a ton of fantastic selections, they have enough draft picks that make the team on cheap ELCs (like Point), enough picks and futures to upgrade their team (McDonough and Miller), and STILL have enough assets leftover to make a move for Erik Karlsson and not totally destroy their future.

 

[I in the Eye]

He's going to bluff Benning into taking in garbage winning know how players like Callahan.

I'd offer Benning a 5th / 6th rounder or a middling prospect to take on the buyout contract of Matthew Carle ($1.8 cap space 2018-19 and 2019-20).

 

[RandV]

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Benning will have at least two more years here regardless of on-ice results. Linden has made him effectively bulletproof and they've set expectations so low with their "rebuild" narrative that I don't think totally tanking again will get Benning fired. Maybe if Beagle and Roussel join Eriksson as absolute bust signings we might see some front office movement, but I'm not optimistic.

Assuming we finish bottom of the league again they'll just say: "Hey fans! We're rebuilding like you wanted ... look how good we are at rebuilding! Jack Hughs! Don't complain ... this is what you wanted all along!"

Maybe I'm being optimistic but I'd think a continual decline in both the on-ice product and ticket sales/fan involvement could put the nail in the coffin before the season is over. If Benning had largely left things alone and let the kids play I'd think you have a case, and there's still a chance of that depending on injuries and who Green decides to play.

Last year fans had the familiarity of the Sedin's and the excitement of Boeser to get them through the season and even then sales declined, so if this year Benning's apparent plan of having 5 Dorsett's for every 1 Pettersson in the lineup for mentorpedeship I think we could be due for another 14-15->15-16 level of drop in on ice play. Fan reaction/apathy should get even worse, and I don't think you can just ignore that with "rebuilding" because eventually enough people will catch on that it isn't actually what we're doing.

What's especially damning is the recent contrast of what the fanbase could be, which we saw when the Sedin's announced their retirement.

 

[member 290103]

Where is Harvinder Bovartji and a proposal to trade Horvat, Boeser and next years 1st round pick for Erik Karlsson?

 

[Shattered Dreams]

Watch Jim trade Goldobin and a pick for Callahan

 

[timw33]

I'd offer Benning a 5th / 6th rounder or a middling prospect to take on the buyout contract of Matthew Carle ($1.8 cap space 2018-19 and 2019-20).

Are you allowed to trade a salary cap buyout though?