Management Thread: Hot Turkey Rice Stew and 3/4 Pop Tart Edition

[Peen]

It gets interesting when guys like Iain are noting how quiet the organization is. But the drafts are so close, the new GM would have less than 2 months to decide expansion and entry draft rankings for Vancouver. I got no clue what happens.

You say that as if it’s a complicated decision on who they should be protecting when there’s only seven guys who are clearly worth protecting.

They have four slots available to add.

It’s not some big decision to choose between Gadjovich, Lockwood, Pearson, Lind, MacEwen lol

 

[timw33]

IIRC and from that video, Benning was worried the deal would be scuttled if they asked for the 3rd, so they added a 3rd.

The trade was Kesler and a 3rd for Bonino, Sbisa, 1st and 3rd.

And they....posted this video for everyone to see

 

[m9]

The one hesitation I have here is that this is the least amount of access/knowledge the local media has ever had and I would bet a ton of the speculation is just guessing. People post Dhaliwal all the time but he mostly talks to agents and is also as dumb as a brick so I don't trust how he interprets the information he gets.

The only guy who seems to have any reliable, inside information is Patrick Johnston. He has been first on a bunch of things and seems to be tied in pretty good.

 

[timw33]

It’s not some big decision to choose between Gadjovich, Lockwood, Pearson, Lind, MacEwen lol

We're getting off scot free if thats the quality of player that is getting taken by Seattle.

And losing one of those under 24 year olds somehow thins out an already thin crop of young players. Just insanely depressing.

 

[F A N]

We've done this before, but Benning inherited a ridiculously good situation on the blueline and in goal :

Lack (age 26)
Markstrom (24)

Edler (28)
Tanev (24)
Hamhuis (31 but a top-4 defender for like another 5 years after Benning's hiring)
Hutton (21, walks into top-4 minutes in Benning's 2nd year)

Basically if he gets one of Anaheims 263 young puck-moving defenders they had at the time in the Kesler deal, this team is set on D and in goal for an extended period.

Up front, there were fewer prime assets but the Sedins were still playing at a high level for multiple years and you had Horvat and the 2014 #1, plus additional assets from the Kesler deal. Plus a mountain of cap space.

Except it didn't work that way. Lack wasn't a #1 goalie. Never was. Markstrom wasn't ready to even be an NHL backup. The top 5 goalie Markstrom we saw took quite a bit of work and time to get there.

You forgot Garrison and Bieksa. The Canucks had Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, and Bieksa in 14-15. Did you think the D was any good? No way Hutton and someone like Vantenan could have changed that.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

It gets interesting when guys like Iain are noting how quiet the organization is. But the drafts are so close, the new GM would have less than 2 months to decide expansion and entry draft rankings for Vancouver. I got no clue what happens.

Gillis got fired about two months from the draft. It's certainly possible.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Except it didn't work that way. Lack wasn't a #1 goalie. Never was. Markstrom wasn't ready to even be an NHL backup. The top 5 goalie Markstrom we saw took quite a bit of work and time to get there.

You forgot Garrison and Bieksa. The Canucks had Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, and Bieksa in 14-15. Did you think the D was any good? No way Hutton and someone like Vantenan could have changed that.

Putting up a .921 save % while starting the majority of the games for over half a season is a #1 goalie. His longevity as a #1 was short, but he still was a #1 goalie during that season.

 

[m9]

It gets interesting when guys like Iain are noting how quiet the organization is. But the drafts are so close, the new GM would have less than 2 months to decide expansion and entry draft rankings for Vancouver. I got no clue what happens.

Both expansion and entry drafts have been pushed back to the end of July, so we are more than two months away.

For comparison, Benning was hired on May 21st and the entry draft was on June 27th.

Shouldn't be any issues.

 

[I am toxic]

Putting up a .921 save % while starting the majority of the games for over half a season is a #1 goalie. His longevity as a #1 was short, but he still was a #1 goalie during that season.

He had hip problems afterwards.

He was a #1 until those wrecked him.

 

[wonton15]

Imagine the carnage when Benning isn't fired and Green and all his assistants are re-signed except Clark

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Imagine the carnage when Benning isn't fired and Green and all his assistants are re-signed except Clark

That would make life a lot easier for a many of us who will probably see increased productivity in other aspects of our lives.

 

[timw33]

This is the kind of draft where you have to lean on the scouts who have been tracking the 21' draft class over the past couple of years, so really could care less if there's a new GM at the helm 6-8 weeks before the draft, that's plenty of time to get up to speed with where your scouts stand and give some input if you're already in the NHL ecosystem and have input.

 

[DCantheDDad]

This is the kind of draft where you have to lean on the scouts who have been tracking the 21' draft class over the past couple of years, so really could care less if there's a new GM at the helm 6-8 weeks before the draft, that's plenty of time to get up to speed with where your scouts stand and give some input if you're already in the NHL ecosystem and have input.

Exactly. The GM doesn't have to be the smartest guy in the room at the draft. He needs to make a decision based on what his advisors (scouting staff) are presenting.

 

[tantalum]

It is so chilling to me that anyone could look at the last 7 years and diagnose that the solution was a coaching change up until the last few days. This is such a mixed message.

I can. Ownership only responds to bad press and an upset fan base. They don’t respond to competence and achievement levels.

It’s only been the last week or so where you have the media aligning against the job management has done and the more causal fan base is starting to follow suit (you can see that change in fan tone on Reddit, Facebook etc).

 

[VanJack]

Imagine the carnage when Benning isn't fired and Green and all his assistants are re-signed except Clark

Sadly, there's a real possibility that this is the scenario that plays out.

The only consolation is that it won't be Jethro who hires the next coach......Aquilini will have his fingers all over the next coaching hire. Not sure if that's 'a good thing' or 'a bad thing'.

Come to think of it, it might actually be worse.

 

[MS]

You mean they wouldn't be hiring Trevor Linden in 2014 lol.....that's essentially what that hire was and it's why he fell for the hockey jargon good ol' boy.

I can still remember Linden commenting on how he was super impressed that Benning could remember specific goals that some of that year's draft prospects had scored during the season, as though it was this amazing thing.

 

[timw33]

I can still remember Linden commenting on how he was super impressed that Benning could remember specific goals that some of that year's draft prospects had scored during the season, as though it was this amazing thing.

"I uhhh remember Jake....he was 225 pounds....and he goes around a 16-year old 165 pound D and he scores a goal on an .895 goaltender...and thats the moment i knew he's our guy"

 

[MS]

Except it didn't work that way. Lack wasn't a #1 goalie. Never was. Markstrom wasn't ready to even be an NHL backup. The top 5 goalie Markstrom we saw took quite a bit of work and time to get there.

You forgot Garrison and Bieksa. The Canucks had Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, and Bieksa in 14-15. Did you think the D was any good? No way Hutton and someone like Vantenan could have changed that.

Lack was a #1 goalie ... we just found out later that he had a degenerative hip condition.

Markstrom could totally have been a backup in 14-15. He walked into Utica as an elite goalie at that level from Day 1. He wasn't as good as 2020 but his two years backing up Miller he outplayed Miller.

Our top pairing in 14-15 was one of the best in the NHL. Hamhuis was an elite 2nd pairing guy ... but was stuck playing with Yannick Weber. And the Sbieksa pairing was a disaster. Absolutely it should have been easy to find better players than Weber and Sbisa.

Also it would have helped if the coach actually tried to avoid bad matchups with the blueline in the playoffs. It should have been Edler/Tanev and Hamhuis/Bieksa playing 52 minutes of every game. Hartley played his bad #6 defender like 6 minutes/game in that series.

 

[vancityluongo]

It is so chilling to me that anyone could look at the last 7 years and diagnose that the solution was a coaching change up until the last few days. This is such a mixed message.

The only charitble conclusion I can make from that is that someone they didn't think would be available/rejected them in the past is now interested in replacing Benning or coming in as President.

Big question is: who?

 

[xtra]

Except it didn't work that way. Lack wasn't a #1 goalie. Never was. Markstrom wasn't ready to even be an NHL backup. The top 5 goalie Markstrom we saw took quite a bit of work and time to get there.

You forgot Garrison and Bieksa. The Canucks had Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis, and Bieksa in 14-15. Did you think the D was any good? No way Hutton and someone like Vantenan could have changed that.

Putting up a .921 save % while starting the majority of the games for over half a season is a #1 goalie. His longevity as a #1 was short, but he still was a #1 goalie during that season.

Damn I guess we are gonna be looking for a #1 goalie this off season cause demko and his career high (this year) .914 sv% is clearly not a #1 goalie.

Unless you want to move the goal posts

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Lack was a #1 goalie ... we just found out later that he had a degenerative hip condition.

Markstrom could totally have been a backup in 14-15. He walked into Utica as an elite goalie at that level from Day 1. He wasn't as good as 2020 but his two years backing up Miller he outplayed Miller.

Our top pairing in 14-15 was one of the best in the NHL. Hamhuis was an elite 2nd pairing guy ... but was stuck playing with Yannick Weber. And the Sbieksa pairing was a disaster. Absolutely it should have been easy to find better players than Weber and Sbisa.

Also it would have helped if the coach actually tried to avoid bad matchups with the blueline in the playoffs. It should have been Edler/Tanev and Hamhuis/Bieksa playing 52 minutes of every game. Hartley played his bad #6 defender like 6 minutes/game in that series.

With any other coach, that team beats the Flames in 5-6 games. That was one of the most horrendous playoff coaching displays I've seen in my lifetime. I remember the team needing a goal in the final minutes game 1 and seeing Matthias, Richardson and Dorsett on the ice while the Sedins finished up with 17 minutes of ice time.

 

[vanuck]

PLEASE don't get my hopes up...

 

[Zippgunn]

Sadly, there's a real possibility that this is the scenario that plays out.

The only consolation is that it won't be Jethro who hires the next coach......Aquilini will have his fingers all over the next coaching hire. Not sure if that's 'a good thing' or 'a bad thing'.

Come to think of it, it might actually be worse.

I'm betting that if it's obvious that FAQ has his fingers in the coach selection process then the field of available candidates will shrink rapidly...

 

[Melvin]

It is so chilling to me that anyone could look at the last 7 years and diagnose that the solution was a coaching change up until the last few days. This is such a mixed message.

wait til they win the last two games of the season and decide benning is doing a great job after all.

 

[MS]

With any other coach, that team beats the Flames in 5-6 games. That was one of the most horrendous playoff coaching displays I've seen in my lifetime. I remember the team needing a goal in the final minutes game 1 and seeing Matthias, Richardson and Dorsett on the ice while the Sedins finished up with 17 minutes of ice time.

It was the worst display of coaching in NHL history. Nothing else is even close.

The guy conceded last change and rolled his lines 1-2-3-4 like he was coaching a pee-wee house game. Just let Hartley match his top players against our weakest players every shift. It's still unbelievable.