The Jim Benning and Management Megathread - CAD got you down? He has you covered

[Ho Borvat]

Not to defend bieksa, cause he was a disaster, but I really lay a much larger chunk of the blame on Sbisa. I can remember three times off the top of my head where KB had to cover. I think if KB had played with Hamhuis, he would have been fine. Where we played Sbisa with Hamhuis, and hell Hamhuis looked bad.

Totally agree with the moving the puck though, and some of that blame has to fall on coaching and the lack of adjustments. There is stuff I learned in Bantam that could have been more effective at breaking the forecheck.

I think a Corrado-Bieksa 3rd pairing last year would have been nice to see for an extended period of time.

I mean, Corrado is essentially Tanev-lite so I think it would have allowed Bieksa to play more to his strengths.

 

[sting101]

I appreciate the "shift disturber" argument there. If Prust can goad other teams' better players to take penalties, it's a win. But he won't, nor will any other "tough guy", prevent other teams from taking liberties with our players. Despite Boston being so tough, that didn't stop Savard from being obliterated. This "protection" narrative does not exist.

Also, if Dorsett/Prust happen to be standing next to Horvat because they're playing on the same line together then...we've already lost. Complete waste of talent if that happens.

Uhhhh Dorsett played along side of Horvat for a large part last year. 8th overall what a disaster.

Ferland absolutely impacted the series against Calgary

Up next Jake Virtanen. Do you think his game might attract a few flies. If Virtanen is on our 4th line it's a lot more likely that after Jake blows somebody up that Ferland or Gadzic comes after him. Would it be a good idea to have Prust along side of him? Do you really think this isn't worth worrying about.

Yeah Savard got hurt, Horton got hurt and the Bruins pack mentality won them a Stanley Cup. If your not the most talented team you can still win by narrowing the gap in every way fashionable.

You don't think it has value.......I do

 

[Upoil]

I don't mind a hockey fight that spontaneously erupts in the course of play. It's damn entertaining. I don't care much for staged fights.

I also believe that fighting has absolutely no impact in deterring cheap shots or dirty play. No one has to "answer the bell" and a smaller, dirty player is rarely going to fight another team's enforcer. If a player who clearly doesn't want to fight and is over-matched and jumped by a bigger player, the linesmen very quickly intervene. This is usually followed up later in the game by a staged, goon vs goon fight. This has no deterrence factor at all.

For the same reasons, fighting has some, but much less of an intimidation factor than many claim. Quite simply, no player is ever forced to fight. Players that play "heavy" with big physical and frequent body checks have a far greater impact in terms of intimidation than fighters do. Players want to know where a Michael Ferland or Cal Cluterbuck or Alexei Emelin or Raffi Torres are on the ice. This is intimidation.

I think if you polled all NHL players and asked if the prospect of an enforcer on the other team makes them more careful about the way they play the answer would be universally and resoundingly "not a chance". Enforcers are well respected and appreciated for the job they do, the their impact on a game is virtually zero.

This was highlighted by Nolan taking runs at Henrik and not only didn't have to 'answer the bell' his team ended up with a 7 minute power play.

 

[Pip]

I think a Corrado-Bieksa 3rd pairing last year would have been nice to see for an extended period of time.

I mean, Corrado is essentially Tanev-lite so I think it would have allowed Bieksa to play more to his strengths.

Corrado is Tanev-lite?

 

[Ho Borvat]

Corrado is Tanev-lite?

Corrado seems to think so

In short, he is the anti-Bieksa.

So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone who he has modelled his game after.

“I really look up to Chris (Tanev),†Corrado said. “He has become one of the better defencemen in the league, especially defensively.

“I try to watch him as much as possible, talk to him as much as possible.

“He’s just so smart. And he’s willing to do anything for defence. You see the way he blocks shots. And the way he puts his body on the line.

“He doesn’t try to run around and crush guys. He’s just very smart.

“That’s a guy I definitely lookup to a lot.â€

 

[racerjoe]

Corrado seems to think so

That quote is disaterous for us! He should be following a true culture carier or a Mentorpede like Sbisa!

 

[PM]

Corrado doesn't want to run around and crush guys? He's cut. Looking fast and making the boards rattle is what it's all about.

 

[Ho Borvat]

Corrado doesn't want to run around and crush guys? He's cut. Looking fast and making the boards rattle is what it's all about.

Corrados also not a good hockey name like Sutter.

I just don't see what kind of role he can play on this team.. hes young... cheap... wasn't drafted by Benning... just don't see how he fits on this team.

 

[PM]

Corrados also not a good hockey name like Sutter.

It may not be a good hockey name but it IS a good Italian name and we know how much Francesco loves his fellow Italians.

 

[Nuckles]

It may not be a good hockey name but it IS a good Italian name and we know how much Francesco loves his fellow Italians.

I'm Italian. Hire me, Aquaman.

 

[Intangibos]

I'd rather have Kassian with the young guys to keep the other team 'honest' than Prust. NHLers have shown they don't like getting involved with Kassian, while Prust has no shortage of willing fight partners because he's not remotely scary.

 

[KeninsFan]

If Linden truly believes in "you're either part of the solution or part of the problem", I fully expect to see Linden fire Benning by January.

I'd be willing to bet that doesn't happen.

They seem to live by a "our way or the highway" mantra, as evidenced by their firings of our competent staff like Gilman and Crawford. The problem is this mantra only works when their way is the right way.

Linden is untouchable in this city. He's literally the least accountable President we could have.

Benning can flop, this team can tank and we're still gonna see fans turn up in Linden sweaters at next year's season ticket holder meeting.

We're gonna need at least 3 seasons like last year for Linden's approval rating to near 50%.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Linden will only cut benning when the owners want that. Id say atleast two years from now and both missing the playoffs.

 

[Scurr]

You can't fire a GM after the team exceeds expectations on route to a 101 point season. It should go without saying.

 

[RandV]

This was highlighted by Nolan taking runs at Henrik and not only didn't have to 'answer the bell' his team ended up with a 7 minute power play.

Really the only time it's ever really worked in the modern era of hockey is when a specific hockey players dad was not only the head of league discipline but also proven to be biased.

 

[Intangibos]

You can't fire a GM after the team exceeds expectations on route to a 101 point season. It should go without saying.

I said this season. Do you think we're getting 101 points this season? Honestly?

 

[Josepho]

Linden will only cut benning when the owners want that. Id say atleast two years from now and both missing the playoffs.

Aquilini seems to have a low tolerance for missing the playoffs though...

2008 - Nonis Fired.
2014 - Gillis Fired.

Granted, 2 is a small sample size, but those are the only 2 times the Canucks have missed the playoffs. I can't imagine the Canucks missing the playoffs 2 years in a row without Jimbo getting the boot.

 

[Upoil]

I said this season. Do you think we're getting 101 points this season? Honestly?

I think it's weird that people keep bringing up the 101 point season last year as an accomplishment for Jimbo.

Gillis Canucks were routinely roasted for putting up good regular seasons and then getting bounced in the first round. Jimbo's Canucks do exactly the same thing and it's viewed as a successful season. It was more in line with the Nucks we've seen over the last 5-6 years than the Torts tire-fire we saw. Yet it's an indication of Jimbo being a good GM? Weird.

 

[Scurr]

You can't fire a GM after the team exceeds expectations on route to a 101 point season. It should go without saying.

I think it's weird that people keep bringing up the 101 point season last year as an accomplishment for Jimbo.

Gillis Canucks were routinely roasted for putting up good regular seasons and then getting bounced in the first round. Jimbo's Canucks do exactly the same thing and it's viewed as a successful season. It was more in line with the Nucks we've seen over the last 5-6 years than the Torts tire-fire we saw. Yet it's an indication of Jimbo being a good GM? Weird.

How did you get that from my post?

 

[Kickassguy]

Anyone catch Weisbrod on the radio today? Anything of note?

 

[Scurr]

I said this season. Do you think we're getting 101 points this season? Honestly?

I'd be willing to bet they exceed most peoples expectations. I expect people to say they'll miss the playoffs and then say "I told you so!" when they do. Again.

 

[Intangibos]

I'd be willing to bet they exceed most peoples expectations. I expect people to say they'll miss the playoffs and then say "I told you so!" when they do. Again.

Really? It wouldn't be hard to exceed HF's expectations, since we expect them to be one of the worst in the league. The casual fans in Vancouver on the other hand think Benning went out and acquired some real good guys with real good goal scoring and real good hitting like Sutter. They think we actually got better this offseason.

 

[F A N]

Vrbata, Burrows, Hansen, Dorsett. You throw Virtanen in there and there's no room for Kassian.

 

[Upoil]

How did you get that from my post?

So you were saying you can't fire him purely on optics then? Is your position that you couldn't fire him because of the 101 point season but the results of the season aren't indicative of the job the GM did?

 

[PM]

Vrbata, Burrows, Hansen, Dorsett. You throw Virtanen in there and there's no room for Kassian.

Or just leave out Dorsett. Or sell high on Vrbata for a good futures-based return. Or force Burrows to go to Anaheim as well (not that I want him to go). All three are better than adding to Kassian to get a washed up enforcer.