GMJB moves so far - HF grades

[Spectrefire]

Kesler - B+

Made the best of a ****** situation. With Anaheim being the only team Kesler would go to, Benning really didn't have much leeway with negotiations. Waiting past the trade would probably have ended up being a terrible idea as once free agency hits, Anaheim may just go a different route with Spezza or Statsny. Really wish he could've pried a prospect like Palmeri or Smith-Pelly out, but getting Bonino was a pretty good get. Easily the best trade-able roster player on that team.

Garrison - A-

I love Jason Garrison. I hate Jason Garrison's contract and declining play. He's essentially our 5th defenseman with Tanev, Edler, Bieksa and Hamuis all lined in front of him. His position on the depth chart doesn't match his salary, and keeping him would keep a good prospect like Corrado out of the line-up. This is a good move for the future of the team, just wished we could've gotten a bit more for him, but again, with Tampa being really the only team he'd accept a trade to (Montreal has zero room or need for Garrison), hands were tied.

Dorsett - C+

I like Dorsett, he'll give us a very servicable 4th line with Richardson and Matthias. A 3rd rounder seems like a bit of a high price for him though. Would've been happier had it been a 4th round pick.

Draft -B

I don't like the Virtanen pick. I accept that he's definitely in that range, but I was really hoping for a flashy player like Nylander or Ehlers.

Really liked the McCan pick though. Seems as good of a player to take at 24th overall.

Disappointed that Ho-Sang didn't continue to drop. Would've thought he had a chance of being available at 35th overall.

----

All in all, wasn't super happy with the outcomes today, but not entirely disappointed either. I understand why the trades were under-valued (basically cleaning up Gillis' mess) and draft picks are draft picks. Horvat proved me wrong, maybe Virtanen can too.

 

[me2]

Should an A be reserved for something above adequate? Like bringing back more value than you send out or some other excellent aspect to the deal?

 

[CanucksSayEh]

Hate everything but the Virtanen pick. Didn't know much bout the top prospects tho, like drafting local though.

 

[David71]

dont like the mccann pick would have preferred them picking robby fabbri if he was still avaliable at that time.

 

[Hansen]

dont like the mccann pick would have preferred them picking robby fabbri if he was still avaliable at that time.

brb getting a time machine and a hitman, gonna make it happen

 

[Finkle is Einhorn]

dont like the mccann pick would have preferred them picking robby fabbri if he was still avaliable at that time.

I'm not sure I understand what bearing an already drafted player has on the McCann pick.

 

[mossey3535]

Should an A be reserved for something above adequate? Like bringing back more value than you send out or some other excellent aspect to the deal?

nawwwwwwwwww what are you talking about?

 

[Wolfhard]

I have a hard time understanding some people's letter grades in here. Giving the Kesler or Garrison trades an A? That's insane!

An A should be reserved for something that exceeds all expectations. An absolute theft. Stuff like the Forsberg trade, or Neely for Pederson. To a smaller degree, I could even argue that the Ehrhoff deal is almost A-worthy.

A B would be above average. More than you'd expect to get, but not exorbitantly so.

C-, C, C+ are basically fair value.

D is less than fair value

F is a head shaker



To me, the Kesler deal is a C-. I think we got fair value, but maybe to the low end. The 10th pick instead of the 24th would have pushed this into C or C+ range for me.

The Garrison deal has me asking, did we get what he's worth? No. That drops the deal to a D. But then we actually added more to it? The Garrison deal for me settles firmly on an F. I don't care that he got traded at all, but we didn't get anywhere near fair value for him.

Dorsett is a D. Not against the player, but we overpaid.

Santorelli, I'm not willing to grade, because I feel that it depends on what we do with the roster spot. He may be occupying space for another plan.

Overall grade for Benning on his Draft Day deals is a D. This team needs change, but Benning is wasting assets right now in order to make them swiftly. He's not getting full value on deals that need to be done, or even attempting to get close to full value.


You could check those grades by reversing them for the other team. Meaning Anaheim would get a C+ in the Kesler deal. Keeping their 10th overall (and drafting Richie), and keeping their good young prospects. While also moving the guy that would be spare parts with Kesler coming in, and a defenseman that they had to shelter. From Anaheim's end, it's a pure win, and almost worthy of a B (but that, in my mind, would drop our return to a D)

T-bay wins the Garrison deal, and gets an A, because they get a top 4 defenseman to replace Sami Salo, and also add a prospect, and a pick. All for one 2nd rounder? I think Yzerman probably ran away with the paperwork on this one, as soon as it was signed.

New York gets a B for Dorsett. We turned our 4th liner into a 5th round pick. They turned theirs into a 3rd.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

^ yeah, what is this? duke?

 

[CherryToke]

1) Kesler Trade = A
Not sure how you can really improve on the situation when Kesler gives you 1.5 teams to trade to. It didn't even seem like Chicago had any serious offers. And I am sure Benning inquired about the 10th, but wanted it done before the draft-so he settled on the 24th.

2) Garrison = B
Didn't fit the faster version Canucks the management wants to build. Pretty much a free 50th overall pick and no cap retained.

3) Dorsett = B-
Would've preferred a 4th rounder, but hopefully he becomes a mainstay on the 4th line.

4) Draft = A
BPA in all positions.
I wanted Virtanen at 6
McCann was rated 10-15 and seems like a Horvat-lite with a faster release.

that's a scary thought considering Horvat is nothing special. I think they are pretty even though.

 

[dave babych returns]

Fire Jim Benning.. he said Kesler's value would be highest at the trade deadline and then traded him at the draft. Is he incompetent or just a liar like his boss?

Lol if serious. Lol if sarcastic. So, lol.

I stand by what I said.



It was fun to say and I'd said it again

Check out the Ducks board and they are really upset to see Bonino to go....

What did you actually expect? JB was handcuffed due to Kesler.

Guess you haven't heard how he threw this team under the bus but that's just him being him. Blunt, but harsh...'I want to win now, not 4 years down the road.'

McGuire, LeBrun, and Button all said this was a good trade considering the situation that Kesler put the Canucks in.

You look at how Desjardins has had to work with HARD WORKING players and that's what we got.

You know who were hard workers? Trent Klatt and Brad May and Murray Baron.

 

[MS]

Kesler trade - C-. Poor value for the player, and not the players/assets I think should have been targeted. On the other hand, Benning was completely handcuffed by Kesler and I have no doubt we could have received a much better package had the list of teams been longer. And it's good to have this situation behind us.

Garrison trade - D. I don't like trading young-ish, affordable top-4 defenders for nothing. This will be a steal for TB. Don't like that Edler is still here, and don't like how a quality pro like Garrison was treated - whole situation is a bit of a mess. It's nice we saved some cap space ... but then we re-invested half of that in a cap dump in Sbisa from Anaheim.

Vey trade - B+. Goes a ways to redeeming the Garrison trade. The sort of trade the organization should be making - worthwhile shot at a young player close to the NHL trapped in a deeper organization.

Dorsett trade - C-. Not a player I like, and a bit of an overpayment for him. But I understand the need to surround a new coach with players he likes/trusts.

First round - B-. Picked at two ugly spots, just after the talent dropped off. Took decent enough players for the spots, I guess. Do like that they tried hard to move up for #1 overall.

Mid-rounds - B. The three middle players in the draft look like decent shouts. I'm not a fan of Russians or goalies ... but if you're going that route the picks are reasonable. Forsling looks like a very good pick.

Late rounds - F-. Absolutely horrendous. Might as well have drafted Batman and the Hamburgler for all the success these guys will have. Totally wasted picks.

 

[Diamonddog01]

Garrison trade - A. We needed to get rid of either Garrison or Edler, and Garrison was my preference to go. With Tanev getting a raise it's ridiculous to have a 5th defenceman making that, and with an NTC to boot. Didn't retain salary. Outstanding move.

Kesler trade - B. I think the return was good given the circumstances. Very curious to see what the offers were at the deadline. Given that we got roster players back for this trade it will take time to evaluate it properly. Can Bonino play as a 2nd line C? Can Sbisa improve/reach some of his potential? My personal preference was for Vatanen (I would've been happy with Vatanen, 24th and a forward) so not giving this an A just yet.

Vey trade - B. Don't know much about him but by all accounts he's NHL ready. The team needed players in the 22-26 range and Benning has done an excellent job in acquiring them.

Dorsett trade - C. I would've preferred Hansen on the 4th line with better players on the 2nd and 3rd lines. I see why they did it (past experience with Willie, want to make the bottom 6 grittier) but I don't like giving up a 2015 draft pick.

Draft - B. Not as high on Virtanen as some. Liked other picks. Not going to nitpick on 6th and 7th round picks lol.

Overall I give Mr. Benning's work (or Jim Beam as I like to call him) a solid B/B+. Going to wait until the dust settles on the 1st to see where we are at and what the team looks like, but so far very encouraged by his decisiveness, ability and willingness to make deals and the fact that he has a vision for the team.

 

[Rick Rocket]

Kesler trade - C+
Garrison trade B-
Dorsett trade - D
Vey trade - C+
Virtanen selection - B-
Mcann selection - C
Demko selection - A-

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Garrison trade - B+

Odds are most people had not even heard of Jeff Costello before that trade, and now are gripping about giving him up along with a 7 rounder. both insignificant. Got Vey for him and dumped his bad contract off the books.

Kesler Trade-C+

I think McCann may turn up into a solid prospect, so may have to revisit this trade. Regardless you can't allow a player to force the gm's hand. kesler wanted to play for a winner, i think he eventually would have opened up to more teams.

Virtanen- B-

Terrible pick, with nylander still on board. this organizational lacks top end skill, I don't know why you go for him. Regardless I remember thinking Filatov was the next best thing, so what do I know.

 

[PM]

How in the world can anyone in their right mind give the Garrison trade an A? It was a complete waste of assets and we had no need to quickly dump salary. It's not like we are the Blackhawks trying to dump salary in order to re-sign our superstars. You will all be crying for the days of Garrison if we pay Niskanen or some other UFA 6mil a year.

 

[bossram]

Too many people are drinking the Linden Kool-Aid. This was a bad draft weekend.

Kesler trade: C. Nowhere near enough value. We got a 3rd liner in Bonino and a guy who one day we hope becomes Bonino for our most valuable trade chip. And two throwaways. What we needed was top-end, young talent. Nothing doing.

Garrison trade: B-. Obvious cap move. Would have liked more value. Garrison+ for Vey doesn't look great on paper.

Dorsett trade: C. Gave up too much value for a 4th liner IMO. He's a minor upgrade on Sestito.

Vey trade: B+. 50th pick for an NHL ready player with upside is pretty good. Vey has much less projection rich. And knowing our scouts, we would have taken a meathead like Hunter Smith with the 50th rather than Mckeown anyway.

Draft: D-. Virtanen and McCann are decent selections. However there were a slew of players with more upside that were available at both picks. Demko is an OK pick. But picking goalies early is generally bad practice because they're so erratic. And you can find quality goaltending prospects from the fringes of the prospect world. Our 3rd pick was intriguing. But with guys like Point still available, I don't like it. The rest of the draft was hot garbage.

We could have walked out with Ehlers/Nylander + Scherbak. Used one of our 2nd/3rds to move up and take Barbashev. Still have been able to grab Point. Still have Forsling. And then have two of Watson/Kulda/Kase/Perron/Tkachev/Hickets etc.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

niskanen/ernhoff are both better dmen than garisson.

 

[Diamonddog01]

How in the world can anyone in their right mind give the Garrison trade an A? It was a complete waste of assets and we had no need to quickly dump salary. It's not like we are the Blackhawks trying to dump salary in order to re-sign our superstars. You will all be crying for the days of Garrison if we pay Niskanen or some other UFA 6mil a year.

I will be laughing with joy if he pick up Ehrhoff for 6M per year.

 

[Gormo]

I think all the moves have been good (outside of Dorsett, bit puzzled by that one) and overall a B+ collectively.

You need to put all of these moves in the proper context, obviously they are not intended to help the team immediately.

A few years from now we should prevail in all of these deals; potentially in a very big way, barring the unforeseen.

Kesler and Garrison, expensive NTC contracts, no upside.

In exchange we have Sbisa, Vey, McCann, Bonino. Relatively inexpensive. Collectively a ton of upside.

Not bad I say.

 

[Barney Gumble]

I think all the moves have been good (outside of Dorsett, bit puzzled by that one) and overall a B+ collectively.

You need to put all of these moves in the proper context, obviously they are not intended to help the team immediately.

A few years from now we should prevail in all of these deals; potentially in a very big way, barring the unforeseen.

Kesler and Garrison, expensive NTC contracts, no upside.

In exchange we have Sbisa, Vey, McCann, Bonino. Relatively inexpensive. Collectively a ton of upside.

Not bad I say.

3rd pairing left side D (seems like we got rid of a left side D because we had too many ) making over $2 million is hardly inexpensive when we already have a 3rd pairing left side D making $550,000.

 

[canucksfan]

niskanen/ernhoff are both better dmen than garisson.

But you have to sign them first. Niskanen will get close to 6 million. Not sure what Erhoff will get.

 

[Barney Gumble]

But you have to sign them first. Niskanen will get close to 6 million. Not sure what Erhoff will get.

Considering the amount of players available, could be more money than even that ($6 million). Look at Phaneuf and his contract. And give them a long-term deal + the dreaded "NTC".

 

[canucksfan]

If they sign a top d man to a big contract they will have 23 million in d man tied up not including Tanev.

 

[Balls Mahoney]

This has been one of my favorite threads this off-season. So interesting to get everyone's takes. I love the franchise re-boot that comes twice a decade.