the big wing theory

[krutovsdonut]

so because it happened gradually, i think it gets overlooked that benning has transformed the canucks at wing since the sedins retired. in the last year, benning has added roussel, schaller, leivo, pearson and miller. with virtanen that is 6 of 8 wing slots now potentially held by new guys who to varying degrees are all big guys playing a grinder or power forward role. and if he could find the cap room it sounds like he'd take a run at ferlund to get to 7 of 8. and then he went and used our first draft pick to grab another big power forward winger.

s0 we are trending toward boeser as the only "finesse" winger and he's not a particularly small guy.

we've focussed a lot on the state of the defence and the rookies, but, even with major questions marks about schaller, this move toward size on the wing arguably dramatically transforms the team just as much. we have not looked like this in a long time and it is definitely going to be noticed by other teams.

so is this random luck of the draw of who was available, or is this part of a plan?

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[Fatass]

I’ve heard Benning say on several occasions that he’s trying to get us bigger, and faster.

 

[Love]

He wants the team to get bigger and he’s stated that a few times. For that reason I’m very surprised that there hasn’t been more smoke around Ferland to Vancouver. There were even rumours that we were interested in him back in January. Of course we’d have to clear cap space in order to sign him but Benning doesn’t seem eager to dump any of our dead weight.

 

[krutovsdonut]

I’ve heard Benning say on several occasions that he’s trying to get us bigger, and faster.

agreed. i've also heard about top 6 scoring. not sure i've heard his take on what his ideal winger set looks like. the guys he is getting seem to mesh naturally with horvat, but i am not sure about pettersson.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

 

[DL44]

Kassian moved due to some of his off ice habits...
Something Ferland has a history with along with a troublesome health record as well.. Would be surprised he would be the target the canucks are after...

Would prefer Johansson's production and versatility or Dzingel's speed and production... Both these pieces would be better fits.. But $$$.

 

[F A N]

He wants the team to get bigger and he’s stated that a few times. For that reason I’m very surprised that there hasn’t been more smoke around Ferland to Vancouver. There were even rumours that we were interested in him back in January. Of course we’d have to clear cap space in order to sign him but Benning doesn’t seem eager to dump any of our dead weight.

Not enough fuel. There may be other factors at play as Nyquist was presumably a bigger target.

 

[F A N]

so because it happened gradually, i think it gets overlooked that benning has transformed the canucks at wing since the sedins retired. in the last year, benning has added roussel, schaller, leivo, pearson and miller. with virtanen that is 6 of 8 wing slots now potentially held by new guys who to varying degrees are all big guys playing a grinder or power forward role. and if he could find the cap room it sounds like he'd take a run at ferlund to get to 7 of 8. and then he went and used our first draft pick to grab another big power forward winger.

s0 we are trending toward boeser as the only "finesse" winger and he's not a particularly small guy.

we've focussed a lot on the state of the defence and the rookies, but, even with major questions marks about schaller, this move toward size on the wing arguably dramatically transforms the team just as much. we have not looked like this in a long time and it is definitely going to be noticed by other teams.

so is this random luck of the draw of who was available, or is this part of a plan?

I always felt like that Pominville with a bit more size is his ideal winger type.

 

[Get North]

Add Justin Bailey to the list. He shouldn't get games at the NHL level, but it seems like every signing since last year is over 6'0.

I remember after McDavid getting drafted, a lot of talk was going that we had to build a big, heavy team to beat the skilled Oilers. Our best and most skilled player for the next 15 years will likely be Pettersson and compared to other teams like Colorado, Chicago, San Jose, Winnipeg, and Dallas. We will definitely need size on the wings to compete against those teams, it's going to take more than just skill.

 

[Shareefruck]

I personally don't think that it's by design, but I don't think it's random either. I think it's more of a reflection on the league getting faster and a combination of the following:

* a premium being put on fast talented players
* slower talented players being less sought over because of that
* Benning trying to pick up scraps that are left behind and attempting to find gems within the garbage heap
* the only pick-ups of this mold that are feasible/modestly work out are the bigger, slower players because there are many of them who are dismissed by other teams for having a limited ceiling and a skillset that isn't really ideal in this era.

That's a complete shot in the dark guess on my part, though. I've been noticing this trend for a while as well and that was always my natural impression of what seemed to be going on.

 

[Bleach Clean]

I personally don't think that it's by design, but I don't think it's random either. I think it's more of a reflection on the league getting faster and a combination of the following:

* a premium being put on fast talented players
* slower talented players being less sought over because of that
* Benning trying to pick up scraps that are left behind and attempting to find gems within the garbage heap
* the only pick-ups of this mold that are feasible/modestly work out are the bigger, slower players because there are many of them who are dismissed by other teams for having a limited ceiling and a skillset that isn't really ideal in this era.

That's a complete shot in the dark guess on my part, though. I've been noticing this trend for a while as well and that was always my natural impression of what seemed to be going on.

I think it's by design.

Benning chased Miller while leaving Nyquist hanging. He sought out Myers... and is trying now trading Tanev? Saddled the team with Eriksson, Beagle, Gudbranson, traded for Pearson, Leivo etc... He targets size when he can.

His draft video actually sheds light on his approach: Draft skill, trade/sign size when able. Check out his comments at the 8:00 min mark and the 12:20 min mark here:

 

[Phenomenon13]

Benning has always emphasized the importance of size and has even attributed it to health. I believe he's very honest and followed through with what he's said by going after size throughout the lineup.

 

[DFAC]

Kassian moved due to some of his off ice habits...
Something Ferland has a history with along with a troublesome health record as well.. Would be surprised he would be the target the canucks are after...

Would prefer Johansson's production and versatility or Dzingel's speed and production... Both these pieces would be better fits.. But $$$.

Doesnt Johansson have a history of concussions?

I wish we could somehow get rid of Sutter and Loui’s contracts. Unlike many around here, I would try and sign Ferland to something like a 4.5m x 3yrs. He’d look good on our wings until Podz can step in and fill a similar role in our top 6

 

[krutovsdonut]

bump for ferland.

 

[vancityluongo]

My theory is that as a small defenseman himself, Benning always had trouble handling fast wingers with size and strength, so now he's been anchored to that belief for the past 30 years.

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Well it makes sense. You could argue that having size on the wings, especially when your most skilled players (EP and Hughes) are tiny is a necessity. But the question is why spend so much money to do it - is Benning just creating a big cap problem down the road?

 

[Guardian452]

Well it makes sense. You could argue that having size on the wings, especially when your most skilled players (EP and Hughes) are tiny is a necessity. But the question is why spend so much money to do it - is Benning just creating a big cap problem down the road?

Nope. When Hughes' and Pettersson's contracts are up in 2 years, Edler and Sutter will be off the books. If they manage to dump Eriksson, that's roughly $16 million in cap space. Add the $5-$10 M that the cap should increase in those 2 years, that's the roughly $20 M available for signing both.

 

[CpatainCanuck]

Nope. When Hughes' and Pettersson's contracts are up in 2 years, Edler and Sutter will be off the books. If they manage to dump Eriksson, that's roughly $16 million in cap space. Add the $5-$10 M that the cap should increase in those 2 years, that's the roughly $20 M available for signing both.

OK in theory, but it leaves no room for error regarding Benning's recent long-term acquisitions (Myers, Miller, and now Ferland). If these guys don't end up being productive players over the course of their contracts Benning has no cap room to fill the holes.

 

[krutovsdonut]

My theory is that as a small defenseman himself, Benning always had trouble handling fast wingers with size and strength, so now he's been anchored to that belief for the past 30 years.

query whether our wingers knocking the crap out of small dmen on other teams makes things worse for hughes, or whether those wingers also somehow protect hughes from the same treatment.

 

[Hoghandler]

This team looked absolutely barren on the wings going into last offseason, both on the big club, as well as in the system. There was also no size or pushback there. In 1 calendar year they have completely revamped the look up front over the coming seasons.

With the additions of Miller, Pearson, Ferland, Rousell and Leivo you could make the case we haven't had this much quality wing depth on the team since the 2010 season.

Then they took 3 wingers with their 1st 3 picks, adding more size, skill and snarl. The makeover on the wing over the last calendar season is unlike anything I've ever seen following this club...

Seems to largely have gone unnoticed in the media for some reason.

 

[Fire Benning]

Benning has been on record that he thinks big players reduce injuries. That theory is obviously stupid and wrong, but that's been the rationale.

 

[Jay Cee]

We are definitely finally heading in the right direction for team toughness. We are not the softest team in the NHL anymore anyway.

I would like to see one real heavyweight but that is a luxury. We cannot trade Virtanen though. He is a proven useful player, if not yet/ever top 6.