Jim Benning extended as Canuck GM

[yave1964]

  Asking for "patience with what we are building" Canucks President Trevor Linden announced that GM Jim Benning whose contract was up at the end of the year had been extended.

 

  I gave serious thought to putting a poll on here asking if a) it was a terrible idea or b) IF IT WAS A FREAKING GOD AWFUL IDEA but I figured it was a matter of semantics. Anyway Jim 'you say Milbury sucks I say hold my beer' Benning is to remain the man in charge of bringing in talent such as Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter, Loui Ericksson on long term over inflated contracts and then deciding that this year the group of Gagner, Nilsson and Del Zotto were NHL players and not a bad personal injury lawsuit team. 

 

  Anyway this about sums up how I feel:

 

 

[FD19372]

Poor Canucks fans. I feel bad for them.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

To me, the funny thing here is, the Canucks have had some unexpected good performances by many young players and some young players (who are legit) coming into their own...and I think these events, even though Vancouver will likely not make the playoffs this year, probably saved Benning's job.

 

Imagine, if you will, if Vancouver really HAD been as bad as most expected (I.E. languishing in or near last place with absolutely nothing going for them).....Benning, with his previous decision making, would NOT have survived this.

 

So.....just because a few young players are starting to show promise and the immediate future may not be as bleak for Vancouver as previously thought.....does this make Jim Benning any better of a GM?

Well..................  lol........

 

I actually am a bit more optimistic overall for the talent in the Vancouver system than I probably should be.

But if this team has any chance of re-igniting the fires of competitive play year in, year out moving forward, then the young talent that is on the team is going to need a smart man to support it with good players and good decisions.

I don't think Benning is that man.

 

He got lucky this go-round, but should things start to go sideways, like really sideways (very possible) AND he starts making MORE questionable signings (again, very possible), then fans and even ownership may rue the day Benning was extended.

 

Like a few other teams in the NHL, the Canucks have a couple bad contracts they probably need to jettison somehow before any kind of forward progress truly takes place.

Problem is, those bad contracts are the handiwork of Benning.

Unless he does a complete 180 and admits to himself he bunked up those signings, then history is likely to repeat itself, all the while those bad contracts continue to haunt Vancouver.

 

I am not sure who was available as  a GM replacement, but I were a Canucks fan, I would be happy that there are some glimmers of hope talent-wise within the organization........but nervous as all hell that Jim Benning will mismanage it somehow.

[J0e Th0rnton]