Canucks News: Benning Must Sell at Deadline, Boeser May Join Utica Comets

Canucks GM Jim Benning’s plan to “retool” while competing for the playoffs won’t cut it anymore. He has no choice but to start a rebuild in earnest.

The Vancouver Canucks are in the midst of their bye week. With no games until Saturday, fans can only wait, and speculate about the trade deadline.

And there has been quite a bit to speculate about. Ryan Miller, Jannik Hansen and Alexandre Burrows are generating varying degrees of interest around the league. Based on the reports from NHL insiders, it sounds like Jim Benning is actively shopping those players around the league.

The attitudes of most fans is, it’s about time!

No Choice but to Sell at Deadline

Jason Botchford (The Province) — There is no option — Canucks need to sell, sell, sell

"Bluffing like there is some profound choice to be made this week isn’t doing the city or the team it follows any favours.For another season, the retool has been exposed a fraud, and there aren’t any options left this week. The Canucks have to rebuild their player base, and the next step in doing it has to be trading veterans for assets — preferably draft picks."

Between last year’s trade deadline and the statements from management throughout the year, no one in Vancouver is quite sure whether Benning intends to make any trades.

Botch sums up what I think a lot of fans are feeling: at this point, he doesn’t have a choice.

More from Canucks News

• Canucks are in “wash, rinse, repeat” mode after Monday’s 5-1 loss
• Canucks send Jack Rathbone and Vasily Podkolzin down to Abbotsford
• Canucks acquire Ethan Bear, Lane Pederson from Carolina
• Brock Boeser, Curtis Lazar placed on injury reserve
• Canucks officially unveil Reverse Retro jersey in latest aesthetic change

Sure, you can point to the fact the Canucks are still just six points back of a playoff spot. The problem is, they’ve been trying to make up those six points for well over a month. They have a sub-500 record, and are just two points above 28th-place in the league.

The Western Conference, and the Pacific Division specifically, has been jam packed with good teams in years gone past. But this season, the conference and the division are instead full of teams who just can’t seem to win consistently.

The weakness of the competition can make Vancouver seem like they still have a shot. But if you’ve watched the Canucks play recently, you know that they just don’t have enough going for them to get over that hump.

At this point, even the general manager has to recognize that. When Benning took the job, he sold the vision of a quick turnaround. The results of that vision speak for themselves: the team is no further ahead this year than it was last season.

This trade deadline is an important crossroads for the Canucks. If they decide to double down on their “quick fix” scheme, they might face a full-scale revolt from fans. On the other hand, if they seize the opportunity to change course, the fans may be more than willing to forgive past mistakes and get on board with a full rebuild.

Related Story: Boeser, Gaudette to Turn Pro This Year?

Boeser and Gaudette from NCAA to AHL?

Jeremy Davis (Canucks Army) — Would Boeser and Gaudette be Better Served by Going to the Comets this Year?

"Boeser is a top tier prospect that nearly everyone (including his own college coach) expects to be in the NHL next year. That doesn’t mean he needs to try his luck in the NHL right now though. Especially on a faltering team playing for a coach that might not even be back next year. It might make more sense to have Boeser’s Canucks debut come at the beginning of next season, following off-season workouts and an NHL training camp (something Boeser has never been a part of because of the NCAA’s rules).There’s also his wrist injury to consider. While the surgery was labeled a success, Boeser has produced well below expectations this season and there’s reason to think that he might not be back to 100%"

One of the reasons trading Hansen, Burrows and/or Miller at this year’s deadline makes so much sense is, they would likely receive mid-round draft picks in return. In three seasons with the Canucks, Benning has already turned some mid-round picks into promising young players, such as Nikita Tryamkin.

Another one of those promising mid-round picks is Adam Gaudette, who is having a fine season in in the NCAA. There is plenty of speculation that he and Brock Boeser will make the jump from college to pro before the end of this season.

But Canucks Army’s Jeremy Davis asks an intresting question: does that mean they’ll be in Vancouver, or with the Utica Comets?

Davis draws a parallel to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, who joined the AHL mid-season last year. Boeser, though a promising prospect, is coming off wrist surgery, and may not be 100-percent healthy. Gaudette is healthy, but may not be quite NHL-ready.

If Benning does sell off veterans, Vancouver may end up in a race to the bottom. In that scenario, perhaps older prospects like Alexandre Grenier and even Jordan Subban could get a shot with the big club? Boeser and Gaudette, meanwhile, could cut their teeth in the AHL

Worth thinking about.

Next: Trade Rumor - Hansen Submits 8-Team List

Even without games to play, Vancouver Canucks fans have a lot to think about. The next week will say a lot about what this management team has learned in the past two seasons.

Do they still belief in their playoff dream? Or, like much of their fanbase, have they decided it’s time to change course? By March 1, we could have our answer.