The Greatest General Managers in Canucks History (#4)

Who is the fourth greatest General Manager in Canucks’ history?


  • Total voters
    75

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
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29,798
Kitimat, BC
The Rankings so far:

#1 - Mike Gillis - 45.5% of Vote
Link to Thread:

The Greatest General Managers in Canucks History (#1)

#2 - Pat Quinn - 73.8% of Vote
Link to Thread:
The Greatest General Managers in Canucks History (#2)


#3 - Brian Burke - 89.0% of Vote
Link to Thread:
The Greatest General Managers in Canucks History (#3)


We've had lots of polls with respect to the best players in Canucks' history, so I thought it would be a fun exercise (famous last words) to see who HF Van thinks the best off-ice Canucks' Masterminds in history are - I figure we can run through this with GMs, and then do one for Coaches as well.

The list of Canucks' general managers that we've had is below, clipped from Wikipedia. Like Wikipedia, I'm including Mike Keenan as an option as he was the de facto/acting GM for an extended period of time.

Disagreement and debate are healthy and encouraged. Just keep it clean, civil and respectful.

The List:


1Bud Poile
Dagger-14-plain.png
February 25, 1970 – April 1973
  • No playoff appearances
[3][4][5]
2Hal LaycoeApril 1973 – January 31, 1974[5][6]
3Phil MaloneyJanuary 31, 1974 – May 31, 1977
  • 1 division title and 2 playoff appearances
[6][7]
4Jake Milford
Dagger-14-plain.png
May 31, 1977 – June 1982
  • 1 Stanley Cup Finals appearance (1982)
  • 1 conference title and 4 playoff appearances
[7][8]
5Harry NealeJune 1982 – May 23, 1985
  • 2 playoff appearances
[8]
6Jack GordonJune 4, 1985 – June 1, 1987
  • 1 playoff appearance
[9][10]
7Pat Quinn
Dagger-14-plain.png
June 1, 1987 – November 4, 1997
  • 1 Stanley Cup Finals appearance (1994)
  • 1 conference title, 2 division titles, and 7 playoff appearances
[10][11]
Mike Keenan (acting)November 14, 1997 – April 19, 1998[citation needed]
8Brian BurkeJune 22, 1998 – May 3, 2004
  • 1 division title and 4 playoff appearances
[12][13]
9Dave NonisMay 6, 2004 – April 14, 2008
  • 1 division title and 1 playoff appearance
[14][15]
10Mike GillisApril 23, 2008 – April 8, 2014[16][17]
11Jim BenningMay 21, 2014 – present
  • 2 playoff appearances
[2]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 

Dab

Registered User
Apr 17, 2017
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Went with Nonis. Had an amazing draft and a franchise altering trade (for the positive).

worried vote splitting let’s Benning take it.
 

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
39,974
29,798
Kitimat, BC
Jake Milford for me.

Architect of the 1982 Cup Finalist Canucks team. Made some really astute deals - Gradin for a 2nd, Boldirev and Rota for Lever and Smith, Brodeur and a pick for a measly 5th - some nice deals.

He drafted pretty well, too - Smyl was huge for us. He also drafted guys who became quality players (if not always for the Canucks) in Bill Derlago, Rick Vaive, Curt Fraser, Brent Ashton, Doug Lidster, Patrik Sundstrom, Garth Butcher, Petri Skriko...

His biggest flop was the Vaive/Derlago for Tiger Williams and Jerry Butler deal. While you can argue the trade gave the Canucks some needed character and grit - which they may not have gone far in 82 without - Derlago and particularly Vaive were excellent players and the Canucks could have used their talent as the decade wore on.

Employing quality coaches in Harry Neale and Roger Neilson was good, too.

Anyway - he’s my number 4.
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
28,590
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Jake Milford for me.

Architect of the 1982 Cup Finalist Canucks team. Made some really astute deals - Gradin for a 2nd, Boldirev and Rota for Lever and Smith, Brodeur and a pick for a measly 5th - some nice deals.

He drafted pretty well, too - Smyl was huge for us. He also drafted guys who became quality players (if not always for the Canucks) in Bill Derlago, Rick Vaive, Curt Fraser, Brent Ashton, Doug Lidster, Patrik Sundstrom, Garth Butcher, Petri Skriko...

His biggest flop was the Vaive/Derlago for Tiger Williams and Jerry Butler deal. While you can argue the trade gave the Canucks some needed character and grit - which they may not have gone far in 82 without - Derlago and particularly Vaive were excellent players and the Canucks could have used their talent as the decade wore on.

Employing quality coaches in Harry Neale and Roger Neilson was good, too.

Anyway - he’s my number 4.

a trailblazer in terms of stocking up on european talent. both as free assets (hlinka, bubla, lindgren, molin, eldebrink) and undervalued assets (gradin and brasar via trade, drafting first round talent like sundstrom and skriko so late those rounds don’t even exist anymore).
 

Hit the post

I have your gold medal Zippy!
Oct 1, 2015
22,288
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Hiding under WTG's bed...
Jake Milford for me.

Architect of the 1982 Cup Finalist Canucks team. Made some really astute deals - Gradin for a 2nd, Boldirev and Rota for Lever and Smith, Brodeur and a pick for a measly 5th - some nice deals.

He drafted pretty well, too - Smyl was huge for us. He also drafted guys who became quality players (if not always for the Canucks) in Bill Derlago, Rick Vaive, Curt Fraser, Brent Ashton, Doug Lidster, Patrik Sundstrom, Garth Butcher, Petri Skriko...

His biggest flop was the Vaive/Derlago for Tiger Williams and Jerry Butler deal. While you can argue the trade gave the Canucks some needed character and grit - which they may not have gone far in 82 without - Derlago and particularly Vaive were excellent players and the Canucks could have used their talent as the decade wore on.

Employing quality coaches in Harry Neale and Roger Neilson was good, too.

Anyway - he’s my number 4.
Hard to imagine that all rookie line: Gradin, Smyl and Fraser. Grit, skill and finesse.
 

I am toxic

. . . even in small doses
Oct 24, 2014
9,352
14,635
Vancouver
Jake Milford for me.

Architect of the 1982 Cup Finalist Canucks team. Made some really astute deals - Gradin for a 2nd, Boldirev and Rota for Lever and Smith, Brodeur and a pick for a measly 5th - some nice deals.

He drafted pretty well, too - Smyl was huge for us. He also drafted guys who became quality players (if not always for the Canucks) in Bill Derlago, Rick Vaive, Curt Fraser, Brent Ashton, Doug Lidster, Patrik Sundstrom, Garth Butcher, Petri Skriko...

His biggest flop was the Vaive/Derlago for Tiger Williams and Jerry Butler deal. While you can argue the trade gave the Canucks some needed character and grit - which they may not have gone far in 82 without - Derlago and particularly Vaive were excellent players and the Canucks could have used their talent as the decade wore on.

Employing quality coaches in Harry Neale and Roger Neilson was good, too.

Anyway - he’s my number 4.
I had mistakenly attributed some of Milford's moves to Neale in the first of these threads, mixing up '82 and '84 in my aging memory.

Nonis had the integrity to put the jersey ahead of his employment, and some good acquisitions occurred during his tenure, but gotta go with Milford at #4, given that Burke and his treatment of Zezel are moot at this point in the discussion. Quinn #1, Gillis #2, Burke #3 with a big asterisk, Milford #4.
 
Last edited:
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Frankie Blueberries

Allergic to draft picks
Jan 27, 2016
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I voted Nonis but I wasn't there to see Milford. Sounds like he was better based on the posts in this thread though.
 

Hit the post

I have your gold medal Zippy!
Oct 1, 2015
22,288
14,030
Hiding under WTG's bed...
I had mistakenly attributed some of Milford's moves to Neale in the first of these these, mixing up '82 and '84 in my aging memory.

Nonis had the integrity to put the jersey ahead of his employment, and some good acquisitions occurred during his tenure, but gotta go with Milford at #4, given that Burke and his treatment of Zezel are moot at this point in the discussion. Quinn #1, Gillis #2, Burke #3 with a big asterisk, Milford #4.
I'd rank Phil Maloney on equal footing with Milford because of context. He had even less to work with (not talking about the on-ice product) but the administrative/ownership side from what I recall. The WHA kind of knee-capped him (granted it hurt other NHL clubs but the Canucks could ill afford losing even what little they had to the rival league).
 
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iFan

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May 5, 2013
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It’s so entertaining to see Gillis as #1 when most members here wanted him gone and trashed on him :laugh:
 

tradervik

Hear no evil, see no evil, complain about it
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Jun 25, 2007
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It’s so entertaining to see Gillis as #1 when most members here wanted him gone and trashed on him :laugh:
Gillis got less than 50% of the vote. I'd like to see who would win in a straight two-way runoff with Pat Quinn.
 

lawrence

Registered User
May 19, 2012
15,883
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To Florida
Bertuzzi
Bryan Allen
Alex auld

to Vancouver
Lukas kraicek
6th rounder
Roberto Lulongo.

Dave nonis should be given some credit for this trade.
 

lawrence

Registered User
May 19, 2012
15,883
6,620
so should mike keenan lol


Bryan McCabe
Todd Bertuzzi
3rd rounder

for

Trevor Linden,
ya know what, that was a good trade too, but I also thanked Nonis for locking up the Sedins for 3 years for 11 million how the f*** did he do that, back then.
 

RandV

It's a wolf v2.0
Jul 29, 2003
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It’s so entertaining to see Gillis as #1 when most members here wanted him gone and trashed on him :laugh:

There was nowhere near the same type of majority opinion towards Gillis as there has been towards Benning. I don't recall any polls to go on but I'd say at best it was 50/50 on here in the end.
 
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vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
28,590
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Bryan McCabe
Todd Bertuzzi
3rd rounder

for

Trevor Linden,
ya know what, that was a good trade too, but I also thanked Nonis for locking up the Sedins for 3 years for 11 million how the f*** did he do that, back then.

that was nice too, but i mean when keenan gave luongo to nonis to get bert for the second time

and we say keenan wasn’t good for anything...
 

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
39,974
29,798
Kitimat, BC
To Florida
Bertuzzi
Bryan Allen
Alex auld

to Vancouver
Lukas kraicek
6th rounder
Roberto Lulongo.

Dave nonis should be given some credit for this trade.

Signing Alex Burrows to his first pro contract was a huge move, as well as bringing in Vigneault as coach.

Nonis gets a lot of flak, but he did make a couple of really nice moves.
 
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MadaCanuckle

Registered User
Jun 25, 2012
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Signing Alex Burrows to his first pro contract was a huge move, as well as bringing in Vigneault as coach.

Nonis gets a lot of flak, but he did make a couple of really nice moves.
No doubt, but he's the next on my list. Went with Milford.

How can anyone vote JB is beyond me....
 

Pastor Of Muppetz

Registered User
Oct 1, 2017
26,010
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#4 Jim Benning

No question that Benning has made some poor trades, and signings (mostly in his first 3 years, during the 'rebuild on the fly)..Most notably the Eriksson signing (which according to Lebrun, was an ownership decision)..A lot of teams are scrambling to get under the cap, and the Canucks are no exception..Earlier UFA signings robbed Benning of his flexibility in dealing with the cap this season (this will probably cost him his job in due course).

On the other side, He inherited an older squad, with a barren prospect pool, and managed to draft some amazing pieces without particularly good draft positions..Demko,Pettersson,Boeser,Hughes,Hoglander,Podkolzin ..and also made some good trades Miller, Motte. Schmidt...This will have more of an impact going forward, than what the remaining Canuck GM's contributed.

Benning is no 'genius', or 'brilliant' GM, but he isnt terrible either..

1.Pat Quinn
2.Mike Gillis
3.Brian Burke
4.Jim Benning
 
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tantalum

Hope for the best. Expect the worst
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Apr 2, 2002
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Lol how many of those 7 people who voted Benning are going to change their vote?
 

Pastor Of Muppetz

Registered User
Oct 1, 2017
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Lol how many of those 7 people who voted Benning are going to change their vote?
I wrote it today (after 3 consecutive shellackings)....When he is gone (he had a good run) I don't think that his tenure here will be looked at that badly..

Obviously, everyone is currently peeved with him with the current performance of the team...which is understandable.
 

Frankie Blueberries

Allergic to draft picks
Jan 27, 2016
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I wrote it today (after 3 consecutive shellackings)....When he is gone (he had a good run) I don't think that his tenure here will be looked at that badly..

Obviously, everyone is currently peeved with him with the current performance of the team...which is understandable.

Based on what, winning one playoff series in 7 years?
 
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