This isn't 90's or even 2000's Pat Quinn. The guy is in his 70's with degrading health. He's an advisor, but really he's more valuable bridging the gap between the Old Boys Club and the new kid (Trevor).
benning is grabbing guys buried in organizations with deep pipelines, which is fundamentally a good move as long as your scouting is solid and you know you're getting hidden gems.
but why is benning doing this? well check this out:
1989 canucks:
butcher
lidster
reinhart
snepsts
nordmark
melnyk
benning
1991 canucks:
lumme
diduck
lidster
murzyn
kurvers
dirk
what happened between those two seasons to turn the canucks from a laughingstock into a team that gave gretzky a scare? pat quinn grabbed lumme and diduck from the habs for the combined price of a 2nd and 4th round pick, because they were both buried in a deep d corps that included desjardins, lefebvre, schneider, odelein, jj daigneault, donald dufresne, and alain cote, with brisebois on the way. the oldest guy in that group was svoboda at 24.
the other thing that happened between '89 and '91? jim benning lost his roster spot and a year later retired from pro hockey.
In light of the Jordan Subban negotiations (and maybe the Zack Kassian situation), I'll bring this story back up.
This makes so much sense it's not even funny.
Jim Benning was criticized and cut from the team for his lack of size.
Obviously that hit a nerve with him and now he's obsessed with size.
It's like the once-fat kid who was teased in high school and now has an eating disorder and body dysmorphia.
That's a bit of a low blow. More perhaps he's watching Anaheim dismantle Calgary and understanding that having a nasty team with size has always been a good formula.
Not that he is executing that particularly well thusfar...
Our group won't fully change until our best players are no longer our best players.
I hope he gets the job, personally. I think he probably already has it, and they're waiting for the round to end to announce it.
Well I hope him and Linden get along and that stupid experience doesn't ruin our chances of getting him.
Anaheim is a good team. And has a good mix. They've got plenty of small players. I also think Calgary is just purely outmatched both physically and talent wise.
Calgary isn't getting smashed because their smaller. It's because Anaheim is excellent and they have a heavy forcheck.
They have size too. Obviously but guys like Palmieri, Vatanen, Cogliano aren't big. They're just rugged. It's a team mentality. I understand what benning wants here. It's just you can't have your 6th dman and 12th forward being the example. The ducks have perry and getzlaf taking the lead down their.
I can see another messy end between Jimbo and the Canucks circa 2020 or 2021.
Funny how a guy when he was a player was so ripped on for his size and non physical game then goes on to help build the Bruins hahah
The 1985–86 season was also his option year, providing him with multiple decisions regarding his future with the Leafs organization.[18] Benning expressed uncertainty about the team's interest in retaining him, believing he would play elsewhere, as they had experienced some success while he was injured the previous season.[18] In addition, the Leafs had recently hired new coach John Brophy, whose physical brand of hockey was believed not to be compatible with Benning's style of play.[16] Benning stated later that, during the team's 1986 preseason training camp, Brophy discussed with him the type of defensemen he wanted: larger defensemen who fought and demonstrated toughness.[19]
It's difficult not to wonder...Camp Cuts: Canucks cut Jordan Subban, also 11 other guys
The diminutive dynamic defenceman didn't play a pre-season game.
Daniel Wagner / Vancouver Courier
September 22, 2015 05:39 PM
Pass it to Bulis
Earlier today, Harrison half-heartedly detailed the demotion of Guillaume Brisebois and Dmitry Zhukenov. It’s understandable why he wouldn’t get worked up about the two players heading back to the QMJHL. Not only did they have no shot at making the Canucks roster, but they also weren’t even on the Canucks main training camp roster. Really, they’d been cut a week ago, but no one had the heart to tell them.
But this afternoon we discovered that they were just part of a much larger cut, with one name in particular standing out from the rest: Jordan Subban.
In total twelve players were cut from the Canucks today: Subban was assigned to the Utica Comets, along with Anton Cederholm, Dane Fox, Evan McEneny, Ashton Sautner, and Mackenze Stewart.
...
It’s not surprising to see the likes of Cederholm, Fox, McEneny, Sautner, and Stewart get sent down this early in the pre-season. All five of them will be battling for jobs with the Comets this season and have little to no chance of even getting called up to the Canucks, let alone start the season with them. It’s probably best for them to get sent down now so they can work on earning a job in the AHL.
It is surprising, however, to see Subban get cut, mainly because it means he won’t see any pre-season action with the Canucks. Subban didn’t appear in the pre-season opener against the Sharks, which led most to believe he’d play in the rubber match tonight in Vancouver.
Instead, Ben Hutton gets his second game of the pre-season, perhaps indicating that Canucks management likes what they see in the 22-year-old and want to give him a longer look.
It has to be disappointing for Subban, who was a standout at the Young Stars tournament in Penticton and is easily the most dynamic defenceman in the Canucks system. While he had little to no chance at cracking the opening night roster -- the Canucks top-six is all-but set and Frank Corrado has staked a claim on the role of seventh defencemen -- he likely would have relished a chance to prove himself against bigger and stronger competition in the pre-season, proving he has what it takes to at least be a call-up in case of injury.
The 20-year-old Subban still has plenty of time to prove himself, however, and now has to re-focus on his first professional season in the AHL.