Does Jim Benning get a contract extension --- YES/NO

[dwarf]

Benning is a dolt. Why would anyone hire a dolt to do anything? Oh that's right, our owner likes to be in charge of everything.

We are even drafting and trading for the dolt squadron. Who needs competitiveness, when you can have yes men.

 

[Breakers]

I'm almost 100% sure I've read/heard Benning got a 5 year deal. Isn't that the norm for general managers anyway?

That's funny I was like 99% certain it was a 4 year deal, but I could almost definitely be wrong. I just thought I heard that earlier somewhere

Any article about his hire doesn't mention his contract length.

 

[Ryan Miller*]

Baertschi has almost no value. What's he worth, maybe a 3rd? What team would actually want to acquire him?

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here.

One poster says Baertschi is trash and another says he has "almost no value."

Are we talking about the same 24 year old who finished 77th in the league in 5v5 points/60?

 

[TeddyBare]

In My Opinion, the only way Benning gets a contract extension, and isnt fired next off-season is if one of his draft picks absolutely sets the league on fire for a rookie and gets a crap load of press while doing so.

Im talking something like
Boeser puts up 50+ points
Juolevi has a season similar to provorov
Virtanen turns into a legit power forward with scoring ability.

Just something to make Benning look like a drafting genius. But I don't see any of this happening.

 

[Cogburn]

Should he?

No, no I don't think so. While I am now less critical of his moves than I was, I don't believe he has shown enough positives to the negatives that he and the whole administration have brought to our team.

Will he?

Probably. Gillis also got a little more slack after he expressed a desire to do something other than ownership. However, if something (outside of anyones control) happens to negatively affect us, I think Benning is the first to go as a scapegoat/sacrificial lamb.

 

[pomx]

He's a good GM, yes he gets extended.

 

[CloutierForVezina]

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here.

One poster says Baertschi is trash and another says he has "almost no value."

Are we talking about the same 24 year old who finished 77th in the league in 5v5 points/60?

A buttery soft, oft injured 35p player who's already 24 with his prime years likely behind him?

What is he, a poor man's Kyle Wellwood? Oh my.

 

[Tv9924]

Sorry but if you add our prospect depth + nylander and tkachuk, this team is not remotely as bad as it is now.

I would say that we would prob compete for a playoff spot with them.

We would prob lose a few players that were drafted higher in the 2nd rounder, but maybe get some gems.

It's so ****ing odd, I dono how he can draft so well after the 1st round, yet blows 90% of the time in round #1

McCann wasn't a bad pick he was just rushed.

I hope Benning doesn't get extended but I wouldn't be surprised if he does. Him being gone wouldn't solve the problem though, I'd like to see Linden and Weisbrod gone as well. The only guy who should stay is Judd Brackett.

 

[Ryan Miller*]

A buttery soft, oft injured 35p player who's already 24 with his prime years likely behind him?

What is he, a poor man's Kyle Wellwood? Oh my.

Wellwood? Baertschi has outscored his highest point totals as a Canuck in less games in the last 2 seasons.

Baertschi is buttery soft whereas Nik Ehlers is some fearsome behemoth.

Weird how an "oft injured" player has averaged 70 games played past 2 seasons.

"Already 24."

 

[Tv9924]

Wellwood? Baertschi has outscored his highest point totals as a Canuck in less games in the last 2 seasons.

Baertschi is buttery soft whereas Nik Ehlers is some fearsome behemoth.

Weird how an "oft injured" player has averaged 70 games played past 2 seasons.

"Already 24."

He'll be 25 in less than a month, basically retirement age.

Baertschi is one of Benning's few good moves.

 

[RandV]

Odd that at the end of this post you say you wouldn't resign him. I see it exactly the same way and that's why i voted extend.

He's not perfect. He holds media scrums as if he's the reason you're donating $5 to a Canucks telethon. But he's worked out a lot of the rookie mistakes he was making in his early years and in my mind he has turned the corner. Why bin him now when he's just starting to have positive equity?

That's a huge misconception here. His first few seasons weren't "rookie" mistakes, they were bumbling idiot mistakes. There are always new guys stepping into the GM role, most don't require this "rookie" learning process. And Benning should have had a transferable experience after being an AGM for 8 years, or however long it was in Boston.

So basically if Benning has learned from his early mistakes and improved on the job that just puts him at the mildly incompetent level, like a Dave Nonis. Considering that he could possibly have another year or two on his contract (?), giving him an extension will likely end up meaning he'll have run the team longer than Mike Gillis did, and that would be a complete joke.

 

[CanaFan]

Wellwood? Baertschi has outscored his highest point totals as a Canuck in less games in the last 2 seasons.

Baertschi is buttery soft whereas Nik Ehlers is some fearsome behemoth.

Weird how an "oft injured" player has averaged 70 games played past 2 seasons.

"Already 24."

"Best seasons as a Canuck" lol

You mean the seasons where he was our 4th line centre? Ya, crazy he couldn't outscore Baertschi from the 4th line.

Funny thing is Wellwood didn't play for Vancouver his entire career. Let's see some of his other seasons:

22 years old - 41 pts
23 years old - 42 pts (48 games)
28 years old - 47 pts

Maybe try waiting until Baertschi has ONE season as good as Wellwood before getting all offended at the comparison lol

 

[PG Canuck]

Odd in six years Gillis the only good choices were Horvat and Hutton.
Not even lucky choices in the later rounds.

But under Benning they've chosen Demko, Tryamkin, Forsling, Gaudette, Brisebois, Boeser, Juolevi, Lockwood, Elias Pettersson, Kole Lind, Gadjovich, Dipietro. & I still have hope for Virtanen!

Honestly I see a handful of HHOF'ers in that list Benning drafted. They've all had really good rookie years in the NHL to believe they can be great.

Forsling and Tryamkin will be two of the best remembered Canucks in sometime. I'm excited to see what those two can become on the Canucks.

 

[Wo Yorfat]

The 2014 draft wasn't really Benning's draft. You saw it in the Virtanen pick - multiple sources have indicated this was predetermined prior to Benning's arrival. You saw it in the McCann pick - taking a centre from the OHL, how original for the Canucks! Then there were reports that Benning never really liked McCann much. Some chaff from the WHL, usual.

A couple picks were clearly Benning's, i.e. Tryamkin - taking a Russian was a complete departure from the previous Canuck drafting philosophy. And Demko - taking a goalie in the second round was also a departure.


Benning's scouting system was only fully put in place this off-season. Also, Benning was the person who promoted Brackett quickly through the ranks.

Congrats. The biggest spin/dishonest post of all time. [MOD]

 

[timw33]

Getting Boeser, Baertschi, Gaudette and Brisebois out of the 2015 draft is reason enough for Benning to stay. That's heroic.

2017 draft looks similarly foundational.

Heroic.....




....wat?

 

[denkiteki]

I would prefer Hurricane Irma be headed for Vancouver than Benning be extended.

Uhhh really you would rather risk dying over having Benning as GM?

I voted no but since he's still here... who knows? If he actually drafts like last year, maybe he gets an extension to rebuild since for some reason he can't seem to get fired.

 

[Iceberg Slim]

2 years left on Benning's contract per Ryan Biech (Canucks Army):

https://twitter.com/ryanbiech/status/906732693529882625

 

[F A N]

I couldn't vote because there isn't a 3rd option of "it depends." If the Canucks actually make the playoffs this season I think he's getting an extension. If the Canucks finish in the bottom 5 again this season I think he will be gone, perhaps Linden as well.

But will he and should he get an extension are two different things. For me, "should he" get an extension depends on how his draft picks and recent acquisitions look/turn out. That's a bit hard to evaluate but at the end of the day he was hired for his draft prowess. The bar is very low in terms of Canucks drafting. There's no reason why his drafts shouldn't produce a lot more NHL player than previous regimes if he is as good as advertised.

Uhhh really you would rather risk dying over having Benning as GM?

It's just an incredibly stupid comment. Not unusual around here really. There are some people here who rather see devastation and real-life mass suffering than to have Benning keep his job.

 

[PG Canuck]

Two years LEFT. What the ****????

 

[Wo Yorfat]

Uhhh really you would rather risk dying over having Benning as GM?

I voted no but since he's still here... who knows? If he actually drafts like last year, maybe he gets an extension to rebuild since for some reason he can't seem to get fired.

It's going to hit somewhere, I don't consider Vancouver lives more important than Floridian lives or those in the surrounding islands. So yes, ofc I'd shift a hurricane to remove JB.

 

[Knight53]

Wellwood? Baertschi has outscored his highest point totals as a Canuck in less games in the last 2 seasons.

Baertschi is buttery soft whereas Nik Ehlers is some fearsome behemoth.

Weird how an "oft injured" player has averaged 70 games played past 2 seasons.

"Already 24."

FlatStanley or iloveloov

 

[LaVar]

if he doesn't get an extension, trevor better be following him out

however, they're probably here for the next 3 years minimum knowing our luck

 

[Bleach Clean]

With the realization that his contract still has 2 years remaining, extension talk seems premature. That usually occurs when heading into the final year of a deal, so as to avoid a "lame duck" situation.

All that said, firing him this offseason is definitely on the table. WD is gone. That card has been played. General fan interest is at an all time low. People are still confused about management's 'plan'. Overall, none of his prospects have burst onto the scene. He's had trouble establishing what he's supposed to be good at, if anything. It's all hope-based analysis. Nothing concrete.

That leaves him vulnerable. If the team finishes bottom5 and Boeser fails to establish himself as an NHLer, there really isn't a justification to keeping Benning. Any average GM would be an improvement. I think ownership will finally buckle at that point and fire him. In fact, the reason I think ownership hasn't fired him to this point is that they are trying to change the perception many have of them as being reactionary or impetuous. 5 years is enough time to appear to be methodical in their decision making.

 

[Hit the post]

Two years LEFT. What the ****????

Does seem to indicate how much *perceived* interference Aquaman is viewed throughout the league (or at least pending prospective GMs looking to work here). Where a guy who's never had the position of GM (only assistant GM) can wield that kind of leverage (long-term deal) - tells you the "quality" of other options available.

That or just how stupid Linden is. Maybe he should've stuck to only PLAYING hockey instead of managing.

 

[DFAC]

He's not as bad as you all make him out to be. There's alot of hyperbole and overreaction on hf