Who will benefit the most from a GM and or Coaching change?

F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
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Benning and Green have been here for a while and there are some young players that have gone through the system under them. Who do you think will benefit the most from a GM and or coaching change? For what it's worth the closet thing to a young player who was let go that blossomed elsewhere was Kassian. The best player that was let go that went on to greater things was Bonino.

My vote goes to Stecher, Virtanen, and Gaudette in that order. Benning appears to be a non-committal in terms of locking up younger players who aren't star level players. Perhaps that is influenced by Green who has been pretty reserved when it comes to treating young players who are not star level players. At some point you stop trying to "develop" them and take the player as they are.

Both Stecher and Virtanen have been given bridge contracts and both have not exactly established a consistent role on the team under Green. They have kind of been yo-yoed around. With another coach they will probably be given a more consistent role. Benning doesn't seem sure what he has in these two players or have much faith in them. On another team, I think the GM would try to sign these guys to long term affordable contracts and bet on their upside.

My other vote goes to Gaudette since he appears to be receiving similar treatment as Virtanen under Green.
 

MS

1%er
Mar 18, 2002
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Vancouver, BC
Gaudette if someone was smart enough to switch him to wing instead of persisting with drowning him as a bottom-6 center where he can't handle the defensive responsibilities of the position.

Stecher if someone realizes this isn't 1988 and you can have more than 1 small defender on a team at the same time.

But yeah, mostly the fans.
 

Seattle Totems

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Apr 14, 2010
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Add any remaining players that were acquired by Gillis to the list of benefactors. Benning and Weisbrod will probably start going after Bracket acquisitions next.
 
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moog35

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Jul 25, 2007
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Gaudette if someone was smart enough to switch him to wing instead of persisting with drowning him as a bottom-6 center where he can't handle the defensive responsibilities of the position.

Stecher if someone realizes this isn't 1988 and you can have more than 1 small defender on a team at the same time.

But yeah, mostly the fans.

Agree with your opinion on Gaudette benefiting from a switch to wing. Look at how much it helped Kesler’s offensive game when he was switched to wing for that half season on Sundin’s line.
 
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Pastor Of Muppetz

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Oct 1, 2017
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Agree with your opinion on Gaudette benefiting from a switch to wing. Look at how much it helped Kesler’s offensive game when he was switched to wing for that half season on Sundin’s line.
I also agree...Gaudette was getting annihilated in the face-off circle ...I remember this costing us dearly in a few games this season..
 
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MS

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Mar 18, 2002
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I also agree...Gaudette was getting annihilated in the face-off circle ...I remember this costing us dearly in a few games this season..

Yeah. What exactly is the endgame of leaving Gaudette at center?

He's a pure skill player who seems very unlikely to ever develop the defensive chops and faceoff skill to be a bottom-6 center, and our top-2 centers are locked in place for the next 5+ years.

Leaving Gaudette at C is basically guaranteeing yourself a poor result where you don't get value for this asset and don't see him develop into a contributor for the team. He's a talented guy, put him on wing and set him loose on a scoring line with fewer defensive responsibilities.
 
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sting101

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Feb 8, 2012
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Disagree on Gaudette to wing. He's only played 120 NHL games.

The endgame would be to have 3 lines that can score? Why take him away from a position that could be a huge strength if he can develop some more defensive chops.

I think Stecher is the obvious one for me. Green seems lukewarm on him but he seems to thrive with more minutes and paired with Edler. I also could see a new coach really liking Zack MacEwen to the point of giving him a regular spot in the lineup every night.
 

PuckMunchkin

Very Nice, Very Evil!
Dec 13, 2006
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I think our 2nd tier prospects.

This is assuming that with front office change would also bring changes to Utica and the development team.
 
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Bad Goalie

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Jan 2, 2014
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I also agree...Gaudette was getting annihilated in the face-off circle ...I remember this costing us dearly in a few games this season..

He couldn't win a draw here either.

He is also not a play maker. Most of his points in Utica were goals. He would benefit most linked up with a play maker.
 
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Bad Goalie

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Jan 2, 2014
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Yeah. What exactly is the endgame of leaving Gaudette at center?

He's a pure skill player who seems very unlikely to ever develop the defensive chops and faceoff skill to be a bottom-6 center, and our top-2 centers are locked in place for the next 5+ years.

Leaving Gaudette at C is basically guaranteeing yourself a poor result where you don't get value for this asset and don't see him develop into a contributor for the team. He's a talented guy, put him on wing and set him loose on a scoring line with fewer defensive responsibilities.

He is just another player suffering from Benning's failure to acquire actual quality centers for his organization. Jasek is another perfect example. His best play came on the wing his first short season.

He gets 2 good ones and then fills in the gaps with whomever. In Utica it's often been only one good one and then everyone whines about the Comets not developing players. The wings are matched up with garbage in the middle and suffer the consequences on the score sheet.
 
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archangel2

Registered User
May 19, 2019
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I do not get the hatred toward Benning. For nearly 12 years we drafted shit and he needs to rebuild our depth. I think some posters think that with a snap of one's fingers we will be threats again.

My concern is with the owner (I have never liked him) and the pressure he putting on Benning to win already. The Tyler Madden trade smells of an owner putting the screws to a GM. If we do not resign Toffoli, I predict that deal will go down as one of the worst in Canucks history. Maddon is going to be good
 

Pip

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Feb 2, 2012
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I also agree...Gaudette was getting annihilated in the face-off circle ...I remember this costing us dearly in a few games this season..

moving Gaudette to wing I would love to try but definitely not because of his faceoff ability lol. Every young player struggles and typically ends up decent enough for it not to matter.
 

Pastor Of Muppetz

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Oct 1, 2017
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moving Gaudette to wing I would love to try but definitely not because of his faceoff ability lol. Every young player struggles and typically ends up decent enough for it not to matter.
I think he needs to improve on his face-offs before he plays C ..(we have one of the best teachers in that regard)..Or he shouldn't be taking any draws in the D zone.
 

Fatass

Registered User
Apr 17, 2017
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I do not get the hatred toward Benning. For nearly 12 years we drafted shit and he needs to rebuild our depth. I think some posters think that with a snap of one's fingers we will be threats again.

My concern is with the owner (I have never liked him) and the pressure he putting on Benning to win already. The Tyler Madden trade smells of an owner putting the screws to a GM. If we do not resign Toffoli, I predict that deal will go down as one of the worst in Canucks history. Maddon is going to be good
Benning isn’t responsible for our recent good drafting. Bracket was, and Benning forced him out. Agree about our owner too.
 

Didalee Hed

I’m trying to understand
Sep 14, 2019
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moving Gaudette to wing I would love to try but definitely not because of his faceoff ability lol. Every young player struggles and typically ends up decent enough for it not to matter.
That and faceoff ability is irrelevant for centres. Of course, it’s not always convenient to pair up a faceoff impaired centre with a faceoff positive winger, but yeah. Faceoff ability for centres is a good thing. Hardly a necessity though.

I myself only ever played defence in my “career” that ended in junior. On multiple teams though I took faceoffs since I was particularly good at it. I’d do my draw and fall back into my defence position.
 

Bob Long

Registered User
May 31, 2018
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I also agree...Gaudette was getting annihilated in the face-off circle ...I remember this costing us dearly in a few games this season..

I went through the face off info from each game, and yeah some days AG got bent over a log on face-offs. Other nights he looked OK. He needs to get stronger, which he should over the next year and I have a lot of faith in Malholtra getting him to 50%.
 

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